In the year 1333, the Kamakura shogunate government is toppled after the betrayal of Ashikaga Takauji, a once-trusted retainer who was responsible for slaughtering the entire Hojo clan.
However, in the chaos at Kamakura, the rightful heir to the shogunate, Hojo Tokiyuki does what he does best – flees.
After escaping the massacre with the help of Shinto priest Suwa Yorishige, Tokiyuki takes refuge in another province. While on the run to stay alive, Yorishige convinces Tokiyuki to turn his talent at running and hiding into a battle strategy to raise an army and reclaim his birthright.
While it bends history to its whims, it looks so damn good while doing it. If you are looking for more anime recommendations like The Elusive Samurai, head on down below.
Anime Like The Elusive Samurai
For Fans of Revenge Tales
Dororo
In order to become indomitable on the battlefield, a samurai lord barters his son’s organs away to 48 demons and then abandons him.
However, his son doesn’t die. Instead, a medicine man saves him with primitive, but lethal prosthetics that allow him to hunt down the demons and regain his organs for an eventual battle with his father.
Similarities Between The Elusive Samurai and Dororo
- Pre-Warring States Era-set fictionalized historical anime about feuding warlords.
- Both series follow the main characters on their journey for revenge/justice against a lord that betrayed them.
- Cheerful, youthful characters that are exposed to vicious battles, the suffering of war, and gruesome frequent death.
- Interesting, if not beautiful animation that is a treat to watch if you like art or cinematic experiences.
Differences Between The Elusive Samurai and Dororo
- Dororo is extra fictional since it does not follow any characters of actual historical significance and is about the main character fighting demons to get back his body parts.
- Dororo is a son’s tale of revenge against his father who sacrificed him to demons in return for power.
- The Elusive Samurai goes way harder at being cinematic, Dororo goes way harder at being emotional.
Vinland Saga
Ravaging every land they touch, Vikings have become renowned for their thirst and talent for violence.
Thorfinn, a son of a great Viking warrior, spends his childhood on the battlefield in order to reap his vengeance on his father’s murderer. A man who murdered his family in front of him, plucked him from his home, and now commands him in a band of warriors.
Similarities Between The Elusive Samurai and Vinland Saga
- Young children seek revenge for their parents
- The main character uses more agility than overbearing strength
- Fictionalized stories that take place in historical eras with fictionalized versions of historical characters.
Differences Between The Elusive Samurai and Vinland Saga
- Vinland Saga is about the viking invasion of England, so it isn’t Japan-set like The Elusive Samurai.
- The Elusive Samurai is quite creative with its visuals, but Vinland Saga just has beautiful, high quality animation.
- Vinland Saga has more mature seinen-type action and storytelling while The Elusive Samurai, despite having a lot of graphic violence, is still a very shounen story in its plot and storytelling.
- Vinland Saga is a more reflective tale of revenge for the main character as it is, again, a more mature story.
The Heike Story
The Taira Clan, also known as the Heike, have developed authority in Japan. When a young girl disrespects a representative of the clan, her father pays the price with his life.
Later, this girl, now adopting the name Biwa after the instrument her father played, approaches Taira no Shigemori, the eldest son of the Taira Clan leader.
To him, she reveals the power of her eye to see the future and portends the downfall of his clan. He reveals to her the power in his eye to see the wandering ghosts of the dead and, after learning of how her father died, offers to take her in in hopes that she can help him steer his clan away from disaster.
Similarities Between The Elusive Samurai and The Heike Story
- Fictionalized version of an actual moment in Japanese history
- Both series are set pre-Warring States Era and cover an event that most people know nothing about.
- Both feature visuals that are more artful than the average anime.
- Both The Elusive Samurai and The Heike Story do a good job at creating complex heroes/villains in their narrative as well as highlighting the general shittiness of people.
Differences Between The Elusive Samurai and The Heike Story
- The Heike Story is not really an action story, it is far closer to historical drama than to shounen action anime, which is what The Elusive Samurai is.
- The Heike Story has a more experimental art style that is interesting, but not the same visual feast as The Elusive Samurai.
- The main character in The Heike Story is more a storytelling device to depict the downfall of a large clan, and not actually a character with a compelling tale of her own.
- The Heike Story is far closer to the historical event in terms of accuracy, but still has some fictional elements in the forms of its very small supernatural powers.
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For Fans of Historical Japanese Shounen Action
Hell’s Paradise
Betrayed by his ninja clan and sentenced to death for the many lives he took while working for them, Gabimaru the Hollow accepts his fate. However, every attempt at execution has failed, leading them to call in Sagiri, a member of the Yamada Asaemon Clan of imperial executioners.
While Sagiri can carry out the task, she instead offers Gabimaru a chance to receive a full pardon for his crimes. He, along with other criminals sentenced to death, will be sent to the dangerous island of Shinsekyo to obtain the elixir of life for the shogun. However, with all previous expedition teams never being heard from again, this mysterious island is a death sentence in and of itself.
Similarities Between The Elusive Samurai and Hell’s Paradise
- Historical Japanese-inspired shounen action anime
- Absolutely stunning visuals, high quality animation, and experimental interesting cinematography
- More graphic violence, death, and blood than you usually see in in shounen action anime
- Characters with special techniques that are usually powerful superhuman abilities
Differences Between The Elusive Samurai and Hell’s Paradise
- Hell’s Paradise isn’t modeled after on particular historical era, just “that time with the samurai and ninjas.” It’s characters are also fully fictional and not inspired by history.
- Hell’s Paradise is about criminals and a samurai guards being sent to a mysterious deadly island that no one returns from to fetch the secret to immortality. So it is not really a revenge tale so much as it is a survival tale.
- The characters in Hell’s Paradise have powers that are far more detached from reality than the abilities in The Elusive Samurai.
- While Hell’s Paradise has a main character, it is telling a number of character stories as well.
Rurouni Kenshin
During more violent times, there was the tale of a legendary manslayer, the Battousai. However, this assassin suddenly disappeared at the beginning of the Meiji Era, but his legend is still well-known.
Ten years later, unbeknownst to the people, the Battousai has abandoned his blood-stained ways and began living as a wanderer known as Kenshin, a goofball and pacifist that has vowed to never kill again.
After saving a sword dojo ran by a woman from an imposter posing as the Battousai, this wanderer stops his travel to temporarily stay.
Similarities Between The Elusive Samurai and Rurouni Kenshin
- Historical Japanese shounen action anime set in a real time period with at least the occasional fictionalized (but real in history) historical character.
- Grounded melee combat with the occasional superhuman special ability
- The main character is cheerful, but hunted for who they were/are.
Differences Between The Elusive Samurai and Rurouni Kenshin
- The Elusive Samurai is about a historical character and follows his story in the historical event they are famed for, but heavily fictionalizes everything. Rurouni Kenshin is about a fully fictional character in the Meiji Era and occasionally meeting real historical figures (who are also fictionalized from their real life counterparts).
- Rurouni Kenshin is not a revenge story, unless you count all those people pursuing the main character for their own revenge.
- Rurouni Kenshin has a bit of a romance element to it.
- There are less superhuman abilities in Rurouni Kenshin
- The animation in both the newer and older version of Rurouni Kenshin is not as cinematic or artful compared to The Elusive Samurai.
Golden Kamuy
After surviving the brutal Russo-Japanese war, Sugimoto gained the nickname “the immortal”. However, he now seeks the promise of gold to the north in Hokkaido in order to provide for the blind wife and infant son of his comrade who died in the war.
Yet, during his hunt, he hears the tale of a hidden stash of gold belonging to criminals with a map made out of human skin. Dismissing it as a tale at first, he soon finds that the man who told him the story has those very same map-like tattoos.
Now on a race with a native Ainu girl whose father was murdered for the gold, they try to make it to the stash before the criminals.
Similarities Between The Elusive Samurai and Golden Kamuy
- Set in a historical time period not often focused in anime (Rise of the Ashikaga Shogunate, Russo-Japanese War)
- Both series make a shounen adventure out of the historical era, but also isn’t afraid to show blood and gore.
- Likable group of characters with one who is comedic relief, but also still useful.
- Both series are often violent and serious, but that makes the moments of true silliness more effective.
Differences Between The Elusive Samurai and Golden Kamuy
- Golden Kamuy is a treasure hunt versus brutal criminals. It is not as strongly revenge-motivated as The Elusive Samurai.
- Golden Kamuy has a mostly adult cast whereas the bulk of the main group in The Elusive Samurai are children.
- Golden Kamuy isn’t quite the same levels of cinematic that The Elusive Samurai is.
- While Golden Kamuy is rich with Ainu lore, it does not feature any specific historically-inspired characters from the time period, just fictional characters.
Demon Slayer
After the death of his father, Tanjirou has taken up the role of the man of the home, supporting his mother and five siblings. However, after selling charcoal in town, he returns to tragedy.
All his family was brutally slaughtered, save for one of his sisters. Unfortunately, she has been attacked by a demon and mingled their blood, turning her into a demon as well.
However, she still shows signs of humanity, thrusting Tanjirou onto a quest to find a way to change his sister back and preserve what is left of his family.
Similarities Between The Elusive Samurai and Demon Slayer
- Historical shounen action anime set Pre-Warring States Era.
- Both Demon Slayer and The Elusive Samurai offer high quality animation and cinematic action that is a treat to watch.
- Main character is motivated towards revenge by what happened to their family.
- The main character travels with a series of other combat-trained children
Differences Between The Elusive Samurai and Demon Slayer
- Demon Slayer is about killing demons with a series of elemental sword powers, so its power system is definitely a lot more supernatural than The Elusive Samurai.
- While both have cinematic action, Demon Slayer does not feature much artfulness to its non-action scenes like The Elusive Samurai does.
- Demon Slayer does the more traditional shounen action thing by having the main character join an organization of similarly super-powered warriors. The Elusive Samurai is more about hiding out in the country.
For Fans of Taking Back The Kingdom War Epics
Kingdom
In the Ancient Chinese Kingdom of Qin, war orphan and slave Xin trains with his fellow slave and best friend Piao to achieve their dream of one day being Great Generals of the Heavens.
However, after catching the eye of an imperial minister, Piao is taken to work at the royal palace until a coup sends him back to Xin. Piao arrives half dead in order to tell Xin to complete his mission for him.
This leads Xin to the young king, Zheng Ying, who Piao was posing as a double for. This encounter thrusts Xin in a brutal age of warfare and towards his destiny.
Similarities Between The Elusive Samurai and Kingdom
- Historically-inspired but wildly fictional shounen historical action anime.
- Main character has their peaceful life upended
- The main character is trying to, or is helping someone try to, take their kingdom back from usurpers.
- Long, action filled journey as they fight various warlords who serve usurpers.
- Both Kingdom and The Elusive Samurai excel at creating diverse looking characters with unique abilities, particularity when it comes to villains.
- Characters have unique abilties that are often just over or just below being superhuman.
Differences Between The Elusive Samurai and Kingdom
- Kingdom is Imperial China-set. It also just fully makes up its own Warring States Era in Chinese history rather than being set in a real one.
- The main character in Kingdom is helping a usurped young emperor take his throne back and keep it.
- Kingdom is both a very long story and has a massive cast of characters compared to The Elusive Samurai.
- Kingdom has flashy, reality-defying shounen action early on, but embraces more grounded combat and army strategy as it goes on. It also isn’t ever as cinematic or artful as The Elusive Samurai.
The Heroic Legend of Arslan
The young prince Arslan is ready to prove himself on the battlefield, but on his first battle, his father is betrayed and his kingdom is conquered.
With his army in shambles, Arslan is forced to go on the run in search of allies to bring him back home.
Similarities Between The Elusive Samurai and The Heroic Legend of Arslan
- Heir to nobility sees his family deposed in a violent coup led by a trusted general. They are then talked into trying to take back their kingdom.
- The heir is not great at combat, but is being trained as well as guarded. They are also inspiringly innocent and optimistic.
Differences Between The Elusive Samurai and The Heroic Legend of Arslan
- The Heroic Legend of Arslan has more mature, seinen storytelling compared to the high-energy action-focused shounen story that is The Elusive Samurai.
- The Heroic Legend of Arslan seems historical and grounded, but isn’t actually based on a real time period like The Elusive Samurai.
- The Heroic Legend of Arslan is more focused on recruiting allies and wartime strategy so they realistically can take back a kingdom. The Elusive Samurai has the very shounen approach of just defeating the general one-on-one will do win everything.
Do you have more anime recommendations like The Elusive Samurai? Let fans know in the comments section below.
