The Best Samurai Anime of All Time

Ranker Anime
Updated May 2, 2024 811.8K views 33 items
Ranked By
37.1K votes
10.7K voters
Voting Rules
Vote for your favorite samurai anime- don't downvote something if you haven't seen it!
Latest additions: Meiji Gekken: 1874, Onimusha, Rurouni Kenshin
Most divisive: Onimusha
Over 10.7K Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of The Best Samurai Anime of All Time

 

It's hard not to love an anime with epic sword fights and Edo period ideals. Here is Ranker's list of the best samurai anime of all time, as voted on by fans of the genre. With so much great samurai anime out there, it's hard to say what the best one is. If you're more interested in some good old fashioned shootin', then you'll want to check out these top western anime series instead. People often cite Shiniciro Watanabe's Samurai Champloo as the greatest samurari anime, but there are plenty of other greats, such as Samurai X, Afro Samurai and Ninja Scroll. We've included the first episode of each show when available, so check out a few you haven't seen before if you're looking for a new anime to watch.

If you add a new show to the list, make sure it falls under the specific "samurai" genre. Shows like Bleach may have swordplay, but you wouldn't consider it to be a true samurai series.