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Curated playlist

Historical anime and manga

  • Vinland Saga (TV series)Vinland Saga, the Japanese anime television series adapted from Makoto Yukimura's manga of the same name, turns on a single declaration: "I have no enemies." Polygon called that line the biggest highlight of the entire anime. It hits hard…
  • Vinland Saga (manga)Vinland Saga began as a story about slavery, not Vikings. The manga's editor pushed for a Viking warrior hero first.
  • Instant HistoryInstant History was a black and white Japanese anime series that aired from 1961 to 1964. Together with Astro Boy, it is counted as the oldest anime television series. That places a little-known history program at the very beginning of…
  • The Wind RisesIn The Wind Rises, a boy with weak eyes builds planes instead of flying them. It follows engineer Jiro Horikoshi.
  • The Rose of VersaillesWhat if the commander of the Royal Guard at Versailles were a woman? The manga The Rose of Versailles asked it in 1972.
  • Rurouni KenshinThe hero of Rurouni Kenshin carries a sword with its blade turned backward.
  • Vagabond (manga)The manga Vagabond opens with two bleeding teenagers on a battlefield in 1600. One will become a famed swordsman.
  • Samurai ChamplooSamurai Champloo opens with a coin toss that decides whether two swordsmen keep trying to kill each other. Heads, and their duel goes on. Tails, and they must first help a young woman search for a samurai who smells of sunflowers. This…
  • Heidi, Girl of the AlpsThe 1974 anime Heidi, Girl of the Alps was never officially broadcast in Switzerland.
  • Momotaro: Sacred SailorsHow did a Japanese film screened in April 1945 spend decades presumed lost? Momotaro: Sacred Sailors turned up in 1983.
  • Tetsujin 28-goIn the manga Tetsujin 28-go, a ten-year-old boy inherits his dead father's giant war robot.

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