Manga can tell you a story that can take you anywhere in time and space. Because of this, there are a lot of wonderfully written historical fiction pieces with almost loving, or at least well-researched references to real-life people and events. In fact, it helps that nearly every place on Earth has some sort of past: there have been historical fiction mangas telling stories about the history of Asia, Europe, Africa, the Americas, and beyond. Some strive for accuracy, others outright break into fantasy, and some mangas are kind of in-between. Let's take a look at some of the best historical fiction mangas ever written. And remember spoilers abound!

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10 Honey Honey no Suteki na Bouken

It's always fun to start off with a laugh, and this comedy series starts off in Vienna during the early 1900s. A vain princess declares she will marry the man who finds her long-lost ring, only for it to get eaten by a cat. The cat's owner, a waitress named Honey gets caught up in a race around Europe and beyond. Of course, Honey might be closer to the princess than she thinks...

While technically historical fiction, the series handles the genre very loosely, like a manga-exclusive story where Honey visits a Hollywood television studio (and meets a lot of famous faces from the '60s and '70s). The show is notable for its anime adaptation being one of the first few shoujo shows to be translated into English.

9 Candy Candy

Candy Candy and Terry Manga

This melodramatic historical drama tells the story of Candy, a young orphan growing up near Lake Michigan around the start of the 20th century. She is adopted into the wealthy Leagan family, who eventually make her into a servant until she is adopted by a mysterious benefactor. Audiences see Candy lose the love of her life more than once, travel London, and even become a nurse during World War I.

The soap opera-like story inspired an anime series, a live-action film, and even a television series in Indonesia. Unfortunately, as TV Tropes noted, copyright issues with the creators make the series hard to find today. A few English dubs of the series were made, however, and a subtitled version of the show once aired in Hawaii, according to a fansite.

8 Victorian Romance Emma

Don't let the name confuse you, the series isn't based on that Jane Austen novel that inspired Clueless...which is actually more Georgian than Victorian. Emma, a young maid of all trades in 1890's London, falls in love with a wealthy gentleman beyond her social circle, a pupil of her employer, who himself has to contend with a lack of peerage. In a story dealing with social classes and manipulating pressures in the woodwork, can love end up leading to a happy ending?

In many ways, the series is a love song to Victorian England, with lovely drawings of Big Big and Crystal Palace decorating the background. And of course, in this era, even the help wears elaborate uniforms, so that even the clothing leaves an impression. In addition to the manga, there was an anime adaptation that expands on the ending.

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7 The Rose Of Versailles

In a story starting within the decadence and opulence of the Ancien Régime in France, a Parisian noblewoman, Lady Oscar, has been raised as a boy and finds herself assigned to protect Marie Antoinette, the then-crown princess, all the while a revolution is forming in the background. Political intrigue and real-life figures, from Robespierre to Madame du Barry, abound in a world filled with overindulgence.

The series was originally going to focus on Marie Antoinette before Oscar became the more popular character. It also helped that Oscar was technically a fictional character, meaning that there was more freedom in writing her story, as opposed to any real-life figures who ended up facing the guillotine.

The series inspired a plethora of adaptations, like a Takarazuka show to a live-action film. However, there haven't been a lot of official English translations, although one is expected to be released in 2020, according to Amazon.

6 Ouke no Monshou

Crest of Royal Family Manga

Also known as "Crest of the Royal Family," this long-running series has run from 1976 to the present, as of this writing. An American teenager named Carol finds herself the victim of an ancient curse while studying in Egypt that sends her back in time. While there she falls in love with the handsome young Pharaoh whose tomb she studied, makes an enemy in his priestess sister, and becomes part of ancient history, even seeing ancient kingdoms and empires firsthand.

In addition to being quite the long-runner, the series has gotten drama CDs, an OVA, and even a stage musical.

5 Anatolia Story

Also known as "Red River," this series is similar in essence to Ouke no Monshou, in that it's also about a girl that magically transported to the past. This time, it's a Japanese schoolgirl, Yuri Suzuki, who is transported to the Hittite Empire in Anatolia (Asiatic Turkey). She falls in love with a prince, nearly gets sacrificed by his wicked stepmother, and becomes revered as an incarnation of the goddess Ishtar.

The series notably has fun with the historical perspectives of its time. It's a running joke that Yuri, despite being a typical cutesy manga heroine,  is considered too skinny to be attractive in the past. Although there are some supernatural elements, many of the characters were also based directly off of real people.

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4 Inuyasha

Manga just seems to love a time-traveling heroine. This time, a magic well sends heroine Kagome to the Sengoku period. This one is more of a "historical fantasy," with a lot of the characters being yokai or some supernatural being, most notably the title character, the half-human Inuyasha, who spends the series trying to get rid of his "hybrid" status. Together, they join up with other characters to find the shards of the Shikon Jewel.

When it comes to historical accuracy, the series is more of a love song to the mythology of the Feudal period than the historical events. On the other hand, keeping out of history would explain why Kagome's adventures never seem to change the present/future.

3 Black Butler

Black Butler

Taking place in Victorian London, a thirteen-year-old orphan, Ciel Phantomhive, who is the head of his aristocratic family, who also solves crimes, ultimately wanting to solve his parents' murder. He is aided in this quest by his "butler," Sebastian Michaelis, who is actually a demon.

There are many references to historical figures. According to Amino Apps, Queen Victoria, Jack the Ripper, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, among others, all appear, or at least characters inspired by them, in the manga. Even the supernatural elements of the show technically have some historical merit...it's a reference to the rise of occultism and similar popular beliefs from the time period, according to The Artifice.

2 Barefoot Gen

This manga series deals with a first-hand account of a young survivor of the Hiroshima bombing, loosely based on author Keiji Nakazawa's own experiences during the war. A young boy named Gen loses most of his family during the bombing and now having to contend with radiation poisoning, discrimination as a "hibakusha" (a person affected by the bombing), and other hardships.

The story inspired both animated and live-action films, as well as a drama. The original manga notably deals more with the politics taking place than some of its adaptations, such as families being looked down on for having anti-war sentiments, and goes into other historical events, like the Korean War.

1 Rurouni Kenshin

Starting up in the late 1800s during Japan's Meiji period, after the Bakumatsu war, this series focuses on a former assassin turned wandering swordsman who is taken in by a kendo dojo.

Some historical characters and events appear in the series, most notably real-life samurai Saitō Hajime. The series is also known for its unique take on historical perspectives, with characters that both know what it's like to be on the wrong side of history...and being on the right side (and regretting it.) In addition to its anime adaptation, the series has also inspired a few live-action films.

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