Anime is great, anime is dumb, anime is fantastical, and sometimes anime and/or manga is just a bit too "real". And, once in a blue moon, anime will take a character from real-life history, and reinterpret them in the context of their setting. Much of the time this is done in gacha-game adaptations or Battle Royale type settings. But, excluding those, there have been quite a few that have really made us relate to historical figures like Nikola Tesla or Leif Erickson.
And, as with anything, there have been some re-interpretations that are so poorly done that we almost gave up on the medium altogether. So today, as an anime family, let's take a look at some of the best and worst in recent memory.
10 Best: Oda Nobunaga In Oda Cinnamon Nobunaga
Oda Nobunaga shows up in Anime a lot. He's there in Drifters, Nobunagun, Nobunaga's Ambition, Nobunaga The Fool, and even Gakuen Basara. But never before has this twisted man shown up reincarnated as a...Shiba-Inu?
In Oda Cinnamon Nobunaga, an anime airing this season, a band of dogs comes together made up of the reincarnated souls of all the generals from the Warring States Era. Still, we can't help but love the little guy, because animal companions, whether in anime or in games, just pluck at our heartstrings.
9 Worst: Mercurius in Dies Ares
The Shinza Bansho series might be one of the most overly complex and confusing franchises of all time, at least from our point of view. These all started as a series of visual novels and over time have received anime adaptations, the most recent one being a show called Dies Irae.
From what we can tell, this show is based on the third out of four novels and focuses mainly on the character Mercurius or Karl Ernst Krafft. Krafft was a real-life astrologer born in 1900. His anime counterpart, on the other hand, acts, looks, and has almost nothing to do with his real-life reference.
8 Best: Lief Erickson In Vinland Saga
Not often do we get to watch an anime about history outside of Japan. And, even less often, do we get anything related to Vikings. As well-known as these pillaging Danish warriors were, there isn't a huge amount of media that go into them or their society, outside of maybe How to Train Your Dragon.
But, Vinland Saga does it and does it exceptionally well. But it makes sense, considering the studio behind German-inspired Attack on Titan is behind this anime. And, one such character you might remember from your History Books, Leif Erickson. Most people know him as one of the earliest Europeans to have set foot in North America, but that's about it. But, the Anime does a fantastic job characterizing the man's love for adventure, the sea, and it also gives him a real good reason to travel to "Vinland"
7 Worst: Adolf Hitler In Drifters
We don't know what it is with Japanese media and their weird obsession with including Adolf Hitler in some way, but it happens more than you'd think. This piece of trash human shows up in the Persona game series, in the Full Metal Alchemist Movie, and even in the anime Drifters made by the same guy behind Hellsing Ultimate.
And, in Drifters, he's even sort of shown in a positive light! The guy commits suicide, is sent to the isekai-realm of Drifters and Ends, then builds an elitist empire all over again! Nevermind how unnecessary this is, it's also quite boring. Drifters is a fun show, but this aspect of it is not.
6 Best: Moses In Beyblade
This might just be our favorite meme image of all time. Now, Anime has a habit of overexaggerating mundane things. For example, the Prince of Tennis compared a special shot to something that could wipe out the dinosaur, and the anime/manga Toriko exaggerates food/cooking to an absurd degree.
But nothing compares to the audacity the creators behind the Beyblade Anime had when they rewrote history and said that Moses used a Beyblade to part the Red Sea. That's right, it's not an almighty being that split the ocean, but just an old dude with a real passion for letting it rip.
5 Worst: Aleister Crowley in A Certain Magical Index
Aleister Crowley was an odd figure in human history and is still relatively well known to this day. The guy was an occultist, "magician", poet, novelist, and painter. And honestly, that's just the tip of his "expertise". The guy has a long and mostly odd history and is represented in the anime format by his counterpart of the same name in A Certain Magical Index.
But, instead of being a bald bulky guy, Crowley in Index is an androgynous immortal wizard. You know, basically the same thing right? In the show, Crowley is emotionless, bland, and doesn't have a shred of the oddity even his Wikipedia page has.
4 Best: Miyamoto Mushasi In Vagabond
Vagabond is one of the best pieces of media of all time. In fact, for any big manga-lovers out there, we're sure they keep Vagabond, Vinland Saga, and Berserk all on the same tier. These three mangas have all been running for over a decade and Vagabond is the most realistic of the three.
It tells the tale of one Musashi Miyamoto, the sword-saint of Japan. And, amazingly, we got to see his journey through the lens of an incredibly talented Mangaka is just so enrapturing. Sadly, we doubt that the story will ever end, and it's clear that the author's passion for the story has long since passed.
3 Worst: Jack The Ripper In Nobunagun
Quite honestly, Nobunagun is a pretty fun little anime. It's pretty shallow in concept, but the ideas it puts forward and interesting. In this world, the government has located weapons that contain the souls of history's brightest and more innovative people. The main character, for example, carries a gun that holds the soul of Japan's famous Oda Nobunaga. And her partner? He's got a knife with Jack the Ripper inside. But what's the problem?
Honestly, we kind of hate how much Jack the Ripper is romanticized in Japanese media. Heck, even a manga we'll be talking about next is currently utilizing him in much the same way Nobunagun does. The guy was a deranged murderer, a creep, and doesn't need to be put under a positive spotlight quite so often.
2 Best: Kojiro Sasaki In Shuumatsu no Valkyrie
Shuumatsu no Valkyrie: Record of Ragnarok is one of the most visually stunning Manga we've ever read. On the surface, it's nothing more than one long Tournament Arc. But, upon further reading, people will easily be able to see the appeal. The story takes place during a tournament between Humanity and the Gods of every religion in order to decide if Humanity should be allowed to keep living.
One of the combatants in the tournament is actually the rival of Musashi Miyamoto, the man known as Sasaki Kojirō. And, this interpretation of Kojiro has to be our favorite. Not only does it still paint him as someone who always lost the fight, but it also makes him seem like one of the most gifted swordsmen of all time.
1 Worst: Saber And Some Other Fate Characters
Quite honestly, we aren't huge fans of the Fate series, but even we can admit it's pretty popular. The entire franchise is centered around "summoning" historical figures to fight over the Holy Grail. Why? Because the grail is basically equivalent to the Dragon Balls. Now, our personal pick for awful representation is Saber, as she's meant to represent King Arthur, just as a female.
But, she lacks all personality in our opinion. The series has an astoundingly deep well of characters, so we won't say Saber is the end-all pick, everyone has their own favorites and least favorites. But, we couldn't include a list about historically-based Anime characters without including this series in some way shape or form.