Inspiration comes from many different sources when it comes to creating stories. Whether it comes from one's own culture to stories from around the world, anime takes inspiration from various sourcesーand fairytales are not different. Although the most prominent fairytale that comes to mind when thinking of anime inspiration is Alice in Wonderland, there is an abundance of other stories that anime draws ideas from in their composition.
Good or bad, the depiction can either be directly within the storyline or even the characters. From famous books, Japanese folklore, or even children literature, here are ten anime inspired by fairytales.
10 Grimms Note: The Animation (Brothers Grimm)
The Brothers Grimm, consisting of Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm and Wilhelm Carl Grimm, are well-known for their contributions to fairytales. From the likes of The White Snake to Hansel and Gretel, they wrote a lot of the fairytales that children know to this day.
Grimms Note: The Animation heavily takes influence from the two brothers and the story they wrote, as well as the characters.
9 Saiyuki (Journey To The West)
Journey To The West is where the character Sun Wukong, or The Monkey King, originated from in Chinese literatureーalthough most would know him as Son Goku in Japanese.
Saiyuki reimagines the original tale in a 16th century time period and loosely tells the events of the original novel, all while following four heroes dressed in punk-attire.
8 Ookami-San & Her Seven Companions (Little Red Riding Hood)
At first glance, it doesn't look like Ookami-san & Her Seven Companions is based on anything. However, this anime draws inspiration from the European fairytale Little Red Riding Hood.
Ryoko Ookami is the heroine who accepts her classmates' troubles, as she is in the Trading Club. Her friend, Ringo Akai, is referred to as Red Riding Hoodーand her first name also refers to the apple in Snow White, as she has a horrid personality. The anime also references her seven companions all based on other heroines and evil characters of folklore.
7 Pandora Hearts (Alice In Wonderland)
The inspiration Pandora Hearts gains from Alice in Wonderland is clearly from the supernatural creatures who dwell in the Abyss, which are called "Chains" for their appearance, as well as what they look like when in a contract.
After Oz Vessalius is thrown into Abyss, he makes a contract with a Chain named Alice who is nicknamed The Bloody Black Rabbitーor B-Rabbi for shortーwho toils a scythe and is infamous for her power.
6 Sailor Moon (Endymion And Selene)
Although the fact that Usagi comes from the moon and her name is a nod to the Japanese fairytale The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter and Princess Kaguya, Sailor Moon has direct influence from the Greek tale Endymion And Selene.
Within it, Selene is the moon goddess who falls in love with a human shepherd or astronomer named Endymion. The story becomes twisted, however, as she tells Zeus to put him into an eternal sleep so he can never leave her sideーwhich results in 50 children. Sailor Moon is loosely based on this story, however.
5 Princess Tutu (The Ugly Duckling & Swan Lake)
Princess Tutu merges two fairytales into oneーthe first being The Ugly Duckling and the second being Swan Lake.
Ahiruーmeaning "Duck" in Japaneseーfalls in love with a human boy, Mytho, and wishes to save him by collecting shards of his heart. To do this, she transforms into "Princess Tutu" to dance, collect his heart shards, and allow him to smile again.
4 Magical Mako (The Little Mermaid)
Magical Mako, or otherwise known in Japanese as Mahou no Mako-chan is loosely based on The Little Mermaid. Mako is the youngest daughter of the Dragon King and wants to go to the human world.
So, she saves a human boy from a ship, promptly falls in love with him, and makes a deal with the Witch of the Sea to be transformed into a human girl. There's one catch, thoughーshe can never turn into a mermaid again.
3 Snow White With The Red Hair (Snow White And The Seven Dwarves)
Snow White with the Red Hair takes the character of Snow White and replaces her with a strong female protagonist named Shirayuki. Although there are no dwarves in this iteration like Snow White And The Seven Dwarves, there is an antagonistic male villain who wishes for Shirayuki to become his concubine.
Shiraykui curtly refuses, flees for another country, and turns the tables by saving Prince Zen after he eats a poison apple.
2 Fruits Basket (The Great Race)
Fruits Basket has more of an influence on Chinese fairytales than some even know. While the characters turning into zodiac animals after the opposite sex hug them, the story told at the beginning of the series is actually a nod to the Chinese tale in mythology, The Great Race.
The Great Race is a Chinese story that has two variations, but Fruits Basket deals with the first variation. The Jade Emperor decides to hold a race to decide which animal is able to become one of the 12 animals in the zodiac calendar. The cat and mouse being best friends. Although they both agreed to cross the river atop the ox, the rat purposefully made the cat jolt forward and fall into the river, making the cat late for the raceーand unable to become a member of the zodiac.
1 The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya (The Tale Of The Bamboo Cutter)
Princess Kaguya has been a key character influence in a lot of anime such as Naruto and Kaguya-sama: Love is War, but The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya takes this Japanese fairytale to another level.
With fluid animation and a gentle art direction of telling the tale The Tale Of The Bamboo Cutter, this 2013 Japanese animated film tells the story of a bamboo cutter, Sanuki no Miyatsuko, discovering a small girl inside a glowing bamboo shootーthe girl happening to grow into a beautiful woman with many suitors who she gives impossible tasks.