While many anime are completely original there are others that are based on some kind of source material. We're not talking about source material like manga, videogames, or even an original video animation (OVA). We're talking about source material that came hundreds of years before animation was even a thing.
Japanese folklore is a huge part of Japanese culture and this is reflected in tons of anime series that take heavy inspiration from Japan's centuries of mythology. Some series take inspiration from these historical folktales that you may not even know about. With this list, we'll be looking at 10 characters based on this old lore.
10 JIBANYAN
If you're familiar with the series Yokai Watch you've probably heard of the series poster character Jibanyan. If you're not familiar with Yokai Watch you're probably still pretty familiar, at least on a visual level, with Jibanyan. He's a very charming yokai that takes the form of a two-tailed red and white cat.
Jibanyan is based on the yokai of Japanese folklore called the Nekomata. It's a cat yokai of course, with two versions. The large Mountain Nekomata and the two-tailed eerie Domestic Cat Nekomata.
9 GINTOKI
The protagonist of the popular shounen series Gintama and the president of the Yorozuya is not only one of the best samurai in the business but he is also based on a very popular folktale of old Japan.
Gintoki's name is based on Sakata Kintoki who is also known as Kintaro, the Golden Boy. This folktale tells of a child that is born with superhuman strength raised in the mountains by a witch. He was a friend to the animals and saved his region from the Shuten-doji. Kintaro is also apparently based on a real person.
8 EXEGGUTOR
Making his appearance in the various Pokemon anime and videogames, Exeggutor is one of the many original pocket monsters of the series. This goofy looking tree with coconut/egg-like heads is also based on Japanese mythology.
He is inspired by the Japanese monster of myth called the Jinmenshi. This monster is a tree that grows fruit that resembles human heads. These heads apparently are always laughing and laugh so hard that they sometimes fall to the ground. The story says that they eventually died out due to people eating the fallen fruit so much.
7 TORA
Tora is a main character from the anime series Ushio and Tora. He is an ancient tiger yokai that was feared by his fellow yokai for being so powerful. He is the series partner of the other main character Ushio and he loves hamburgers.
Tora is of course a based on a yokai, but that yokai doesn't share the same name as him. This yokai is called the Raiju, which translates to thunder animal or thunder beast. Their bodies are composed of lightning and their roar sounds like thunder. While Tora takes the form of a wolf Raiju are more known for having wolf forms.
6 RYUK
We're pretty sure everyone knows exactly what Ryuk is based on because it's one of the main plot points of his series, Death Note but we'll remind you guys anyway. This being comes back to Earth only visible to the human that takes hold of his dropped book, the Death Note.
Ryuk is a being called a Shinigami. This creature of Japanese mythology is basically the Japanese equivalent of what we have in the west called the Grim Reaper. They are gods of death that bring humans towards death and are recognized as dark demons and fallen angels.
5 KURAMA
Kurama is one of the main characters of Yu Yu Hakusho and one of the most popular characters of the series, even sometimes outshining the title character Yusuke Urameshi. His name in English is "Kurama the Yoko" which translates to "Kurama the Demon Fox".
The fox that this name references is the legendary fox spirit of Japanese folklore who is also known as the Nine-Tailed Fox. This fox is a shapeshifter that originated in Chinese folklore and made its way over to Japan. It's a mischevious spirit that is usually seen tricking people.
4 INYUASHA
This protagonist of the Inyuasha series goes by many names throughout the series. He's called "Dog Face", "Mutt", "Half-Demon", and "Half-Breed" as insults from various series characters. However his name directly translates to Dog Demon.
The official full translation of this name is "Dog Forest Spirit" or "Wild Forest Spirit". He is based on the mythical race of creatures called the Yasha. These creatures are dog forest spirits that reside in the forest of course. They are also recognized as yokai at times.
3 JIRAIYA
Jiraiya is one of the greatest perverts in all of Naruto. He's also one of the most skilled ninja out there and the god father/teacher of Naruto Uzumaki. Many of his abilities tie back to frogs and toads with his summon even being a giant toad and there's a good reason for that.
Jiraiya is based on the character of Japanese folklore also named Jiraiya or Ogata Shuma Hiroyuki. He's a ninja that can use shapeshifting magic to transform into a giant toad. His arch-enemy is Orochimaru, who is a master of serpent/snake magic. Sounds familiar right?
2 KOFUKU
Of course a character from the Noragami series would have to appear on this list. The series is only all about Japanese gods and mythology and she is no exception. Kofuku is one of the main supporting characters of the series and throughout the series we find that her true name is Binbougami.
She calls herself the "God of Poverty" and that's exactly what Binbougami is. This god from Japanese folklore brings misery and poverty with it wherever it goes.
1 KING YENMA
Remember the guy from Dragon Ball Z that kinda looks like a giant red devil in a business suit that's always seen sitting behind a desk? Well he's based on a guy from actual Japanese mythology that more or less does the exact same thing that's seen in the anime with this guy.
King Yenma is based on Enma, or the King of Hell. This god judges the dead and much like King Yenma in Dragon Ball Z, decides on whether a recently deceased spirit heads to heaven, hell, or is reincarnated.