Best Japanese history series

Get ready to binge. We've found a collection of must-watch history shows from Japan, now streaming on Netflix, HBO, Hulu, Prime Video, and other top services!

  • Poster for Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba

    Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba 2019

    It is the Taisho Period in Japan. Tanjiro, a kindhearted boy who sells charcoal for a living, finds his family slaughtered by a demon. To make matters worse, his younger sister Nezuko, the sole survivor, has been transformed into a demon herself. Though devastated by this grim reality, Tanjiro resolves to become a "demon slayer" so that he can turn his sister back into a human, and kill the demon that massacred his family.

    85
  • Poster for Vinland Saga

    Vinland Saga 2019

    For a thousand years, the Vikings have made quite a name and reputation for themselves as the strongest families with a thirst for violence. Thorfinn, the son of one of the Vikings' greatest warriors, spends his boyhood in a battlefield enhancing his skills in his adventure to redeem his most-desired revenge after his father was murdered.

    85
  • Poster for Hell's Paradise

    Hell's Paradise 2023

    For a chance at a pardon, a ninja assassin joins other condemned criminals on a journey to a mysterious island to retrieve an elixir of immortality.

    78
  • Poster for InuYasha

    InuYasha 2000

    Kagome Higurashi is a modern day young girl who lives with her family by the old Higure shrine. Unbeknownst to Kagome, she is the reincarnation of priestess Kikyo and posseses the "Jewel of Four Souls" (the Shikon jewel). One ill-fated day, Kagome locates an ancient well near her home and is abruptly transported through the well and into a feudal Japan, inhabited by demons. There, she encounters Inuyasha, son of a powerful demon father and a human mother, who is pinned to a tree by an enchanted arrow.

    79
  • Poster for The Apothecary Diaries

    The Apothecary Diaries 2023

    Maomao lived a peaceful life with her apothecary father. Until one day, she's sold as a lowly servant to the emperor's palace. But she wasn't meant for a compliant life among royalty. So when imperial heirs fall ill, she decides to step in and find a cure! This catches the eye of Jinshi, a handsome palace official who promotes her. Now, she's making a name for herself solving medical mysteries!

    85
  • Poster for My Happy Marriage

    My Happy Marriage 2023

    Miyo's abusive family deems her worthless – but together with her powerful husband-to-be, her true self and hidden powers slowly begin to shine.

    75
  • Poster for The Heroic Legend of Arslan

    The Heroic Legend of Arslan 2015

    Arslan is the heir apparent of Pars, a strong nation that sits at the hear of the trade route connecting the East and the West. When the pagan nation of Lusitania begins an invasion of Pars, the timid Arslan is confronted with battle for the first time. His worst anxieties are realized the Parsian army falls for a Lusitanian stratagem and are routed. He barely escapes with his life, thanks to the loyal and indomitable warrior Daryun. Together they will stand against the invasion and the cruelties of fate that are about to blow down on Pars.

    74
  • Poster for Golden Kamuy

    Golden Kamuy 2018

    In the early twentieth century, Russo-Japanese War veteran Saichi “Immortal” Sugimoto scratches out a meager existence during the postwar gold rush in the wilderness of Hokkaido. When he stumbles across a map to a fortune in hidden Ainu gold, he sets off on a treacherous quest to find it. But Sugimoto is not the only interested party, and everyone who knows about the gold will kill to possess it! Faced with the harsh conditions of the northern wilderness, ruthless criminals and rogue Japanese soldiers, Sugimoto will need all his skills and luck—and the help of an Ainu girl named Asirpa—to survive.

    77
  • Poster for Rurouni Kenshin

    Rurouni Kenshin 2023

    Ten years have passed since the end of Bakumatsu, an era of war that saw the uprising of citizens against the Tokugawa shogunate. The revolutionaries wanted to create a time of peace, and a thriving country free from oppression. The new age of Meiji has come, but peace has not yet been achieved. Swords are banned but people are still murdered in the streets. Orphans of war veterans are left with nowhere to go, while the government seems content to just line their pockets with money.

    75
  • Poster for Onimusha

    Onimusha 2023

    With a demonic, soul-consuming weapon in hand, can a legendary swordsman and a samurai brotherhood defeat a bloodthirsty zombie uprising?

    66
  • Poster for Chrono Crusade

    Chrono Crusade 2003

    Set in New York during the 1920s, Chrono Crusade follows the story of Rosette Christopher, and her demon partner Chrono. As members of the Magdalene Order, they travel around the country eliminating demonic threats to society, while Rosette searches for her lost brother Joshua.

    73
  • Poster for The Elusive Samurai

    The Elusive Samurai 2024

    Set between the Kamakura and Muromachi periods, during the Kenmu Restoration, the story follows the tale of Hojo Tokiyuki, a boy on the run after his family is overthrown by Ashikaga Takauji. With his only allies being a shady priest and his followers, the young lord must seek revenge and regain his glory, with his only weapon: a superhuman ability to flee and hide.

    74
  • Poster for Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water

    Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water 1990

    In mankind's grasp for the future, a sinister foe known only as Gargoyle begins his plans to take over the world. Nadia, with the help of a young inventor, Jean Ratlique, and Captain Nemo of the submarine Nautilus, must fight to save the world from Gargoyle and Neo-Atlantis.

    74
  • Poster for The Rose of Versailles

    The Rose of Versailles 1979

    Raised from birth as a man, the Lady Oscar commands the palace guards at Versailles in the years before the French Revolution. Her beauty and noble spirit make her a shining figure in the eyes of both men and women but she is torn between her chosen life of service and duty to class and country and her own heart and desires. She lives as a noble amidst the opulence of Versailles but her keen senses and compassion are not blinded to the poverty of the French people.

    79
  • Poster for Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play

    Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play 1995

    Junior high school student Miaka lives a normal life in Tokyo until she finds a mysterious book in the library, and she and her friend Yui are transported the Universe of the Four Gods. Upon arriving in this new universe, the girls are immediately attacked by would-be slavers and saved by a dashing young man. When Miaka isn't looking, both Tamahome and Yui vanish. Unbeknownst to Miaka, Yui has been sucked back into the real world. Back in the library, all she can do is read on as Miaka sets out for the city to find the mysterious young boy and save her friend. But what awaits for Miaka isn't what either of the girls expect—and now Miaka's only way back to her world is to become the Priestess of Suzaku and save their world.

    73
  • Poster for Revenger

    Revenger 2023

    As master assassin Usui Yuen looks into a series of assassinations made on the grand samurai clan, the Satsuma, he encounters Kurima Raizo, member and survivor of one of the attacks. Together, they discover the true nature of these murders is bigger than over stolen resources. As they get closer to the truth, will they come out alive to exact revenge?

    62
  • Poster for Anne of Green Gables

    Anne of Green Gables 1979

    Anne Shirley is a freckle-faced, red-haired girl, who grows up in an orphanage having lost her parents at a very early age. Anne is always cheerful and fun-loving despite being brought up without love or affection. When she turns 11, she is adopted by the old farmer Matthew Cuthbert and his sister Marilla. Anne starts her new life with Matthew and Marilla at a farm called "Green Gables", but actually the Cuthberts wanted a boy who could help with their work on the farm... Overcoming many hardships and meeting many friends and people, Anne grows up to be a strong-minded woman.

    78
  • Poster for Laughing Under the Clouds

    Laughing Under the Clouds 2014

    When swords were outlawed in the eleventh year of the Meiji era, the mighty samurai population began to dwindle. Those who rejected the ban on blades rebelled, causing violent unrest to erupt throughout the countryside. To combat the rise in criminal activity, an inescapable lake prison was constructed. Three young men, born of the Kumo line, were given the duty of delivering criminals to their place of confinement – but could there be more to their mission than meets the eye?

    71
  • Poster for Romeo and the Black Brothers

    Romeo and the Black Brothers 1995

    To get the money to pay for a doctor for his father, Romeo bravely sells himself as a chimney sweep. On the way to Milan he meets Alfredo, a mysterious boy on the run heading to the same fate. Upon being separated and sold to their new bosses, the two boys swear eternal friendship. Romeo has to learn the hardships of a chimney sweep's job.

    81
  • Poster for Sword of the Demon Hunter

    Sword of the Demon Hunter 2025

    Jinta journeys through a century-spanning epic, all while questioning why he wields a sword.

    62
  • Poster for YATAGARASU: The Raven Does Not Choose Its Master

    YATAGARASU: The Raven Does Not Choose Its Master 2024

    Welcome to Yamauchi, a world inhabited by the Yatagarasu, a race of three-legged ravens who shapeshift into humans. The land is divided into four regions—North, South, East, and West—each ruled by a noble family. Yukiya, the son of a leader in the North, is shocked by a call to attend to the Imperial Prince. Murder, mysteries, and an invasion from an unexpected enemy await in this epic fantasy.

    77
  • Poster for Anne Shirley

    Anne Shirley 2025

    On the beautiful Prince Edward Island in Canada, an orphan named Anne Shirley is mistakenly sent to Green Gables, the home of Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert. They choose to adopt her anyway, as Anne finds friendship, love, and happiness in her new home. Come along for the story of a purehearted and imaginative girl growing up, leaving for college, and returning home a changed woman.

    72
  • Poster for Requiem of the Rose King

    Requiem of the Rose King 2022

    The crown of England has been hotly contested throughout history, and in the Middle Ages, a series of great civil wars became known as the War of the Roses. Claiming a right to the throne, the Duke of York seeks to unseat King Henry VI and his heir in order to become king himself.

    54
  • Poster for Treasure Island

    Treasure Island 1978

    Jim Hawkins is a young boy lead by progressive events to embark on a search journey for the legendary treasure of the once dreaded pirate, Captain Flint. On their way to Treasure Island, John Silver, Jim's best friend, take over command of the ship revealing his true self as the ruthless pirate who once was the right hand of Flint himself. Feeling betrayed, Jim now has to deal with his mixed feelings and face Silver who still consider himself and Jim as friends. 

    72
  • Poster for Amatsuki

    Amatsuki 2008

    Ordinary high school student, Rikugou Tokidoki, has to take supplementary History classes, to boost his failing grade, at a state-of-the-art museum. This museum allows the visitor to use high-tech virtual reality to reconstruct a realistic Edo of the Bakumatsu period. However, once the simulation begins, Tokidoki is attacked by a strange creature. After something happens to his left eye, he realizes that he is not wearing the VR goggles - it is no longer a simulation; he's trapped in the virtual world and has no way of getting back.

    57
  • Poster for CESTVS -The Roman Fighter-

    CESTVS -The Roman Fighter- 2021

    Cestvs enters his first match at the slave gladiator training school. Though he's bewildered to discover that his opponent is his best friend, he wins the match, and his opponent is killed on the spot. According to his instructor Zafar, losers have no future. "Every time you win, your opponent will die. You're practically a murderer!" With all his sorrow and rage clenched in his fists, Cestvs survives, as one after another powerful opponents stand in his way, as well as the shadow of Nero, fifth emperor of the Roman Empire. With no other way to secure his freedom, can Cestvs seize his future?!

    58
  • Poster for The Mononoke Lecture Logs of Chuzenji-sensei: He Just Solves All the Mysteries

    The Mononoke Lecture Logs of Chuzenji-sensei: He Just Solves All the Mysteries 2025

    In 1948 Tokyo, just right after the war, Kanna Kusakabe had just become a second-year at a high school when she meets the new language teacher, Akihiko Chuzenji. Mysterious supernatural things keep happening around Kanna. Once again today, Kanna is going to open the doors to the library prep room to seek help from the surly Chuzenji-sensei who is waiting inside.

    63
  • Poster for Meiji Gekken: 1874

    Meiji Gekken: 1874 2024

    A former samurai, a yakuza bodyguard, a devious spy, and a geisha assassin try to find their place in the rapidly evolving Meiji-era while escaping the sins of their pasts.

    55
  • Poster for Ruy, the Little Cid

    Ruy, the Little Cid 1980

    In war-torn 11th century Spain, Ruy de Vivar, just a boy, dreams of becoming an invincible warrior.

    52
  • Poster for King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table

    King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table 1979

    King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table is a Japanese anime series based on the Arthurian legend.

    47
  • Poster for Emily of New Moon

    Emily of New Moon 2007

    Based on the Emily of New Moon novel by Lucy Maud Montgomery. Emily is an orphan who gets sent to live with her relatives on Prince Edward Island, after her father dies. In New Moon she lives with her Aunt Elizabeth, Aunt Laura, and Cousin Jimmy, and learns to adapt with the help of her imagination and new friends.

    50
  • Poster for TOUKEN RANBU KAI KYODEN

    TOUKEN RANBU KAI KYODEN 2024

    In 2205 A.D., evil forces attack the past, threatening to alter the course of history. The judge calls on four swordsmen, with blades blessed by a Shinto priest, to protect the past and save the future. Loyal to their former master, the demon king Oda Nobunaga, they travel back to the Honnoji Temple where he was murdered. Can they stop evil in its tracks and preserve the past? Only time will tell.

    45
  • Poster for Karasu Tengu Kabuto

    Karasu Tengu Kabuto 1990

    Those who have the blood of the Karasu Tengu in their veins must forever fight against the powers of darkness. Along with four other holy ninja warriors Genbu, Suzaku, Seiryu, Byakko, Karasu Tengu Kabuto fights against the evil god Kuroyasha Dôki and his underlings such as Junin-shu

    43
  • Poster for Byakkotai

    Byakkotai 2007

    35
  • Oda Nobunaga 1998

    Based on the novella of the same title by Ango Sakaguchi, this tells the story of 16th century Japanese warlord Oda Nobunaga in his youth.

    33
  • Poster for Nazotoki! Himitsu no Shiho-san

    Nazotoki! Himitsu no Shiho-san 2023

    National treasures, important cultural properties, and other supreme treasures are displayed in glass cases in museums and art galleries. You want to hold them in your hands and take a closer look at their backsides and details. In response to this desire, "Solve the Mystery! Secret Treasures" uses a high-resolution camera and the latest digital technology to create an ultra-high definition 3DCG image that is a perfect match for the real thing. When projected on a huge 8K-quality screen, the "dream viewing experience" was realized, allowing the viewer to freely and infinitely manipulate the 3DCG from anywhere in 360 degrees. The program also challenges viewers to solve art history and historical riddles using the "detailed depictions" and "traces" of the creators on the treasures as clues! Guided by a guide, Perfume will experience the ultimate art appreciation and mystery-solving, and discover the "true nature" of the treasures.

    20
  • Poster for NHK Special

    NHK Special 1989

    An NHK flagship program, centered around a diverse range of documentaries, delves into the dynamic shifts of society, politics and history, as well as the breathtaking wonders of the natural world.

    10
  • The 20th Century on Film 1995

    It is a program that depicts the 20th century with valuable images collected from archives in more than 30 countries around the world, memoirs and testimonies. The music by Takashi Kako, including the main theme "Is Paris on Fire?" Aoni Production is in charge of the appearance of the voice reading the memoirs and testimonies.

    10
  • Byzantine Millennium 2005

    Visit Turkey for a look at the fortunes and misfortunes of the Byzantine Empire, spanning art, architecture, and history.

    10