Hello and welcome to Project Nitsuj. The worlds of anime exist in pure fiction. Stories and ideas that writers create in the hopes of entertaining millions of readers worldwide. However, there are times when real-life events make their way into the anime world and help shape the story they’re trying to tell. Sometimes it’s a character based on a real-life person. Other times, it’s an actual event that happened told through the visuals of anime to reach a wider audience. While this is rare it has been known to happen from time to time. I’m Nitsuj and these are the Top 11 Anime Based on Real Events.
#11. Steins; Gate
First off, the time-traveling aspect is made up, but a lot of the stories in the anime are based off a real-life event. Between the years of 2000-2001 a man by the name of John Titor began appearing in online forums claiming he was a time traveler from the year 2036. Obviously, nobody believed him despite him describing the time machine in detail and even warning us about a world war and nuclear fallout in the years to come. The anime is actually based on his predictions and time traveling is real in this universe. Titor would pretty much go silent after 2003 with everyone writing off his predictions as the ramblings of a man with an active imagination. And seriously, Titor, you’re from the future and you couldn’t tell us about the presidential elections, the goddamn pandemic, or Russia and Ukraine? Hell, even lottery numbers or a sports almanac would have been nice. You could have saved us all from huge headaches. The whole Titor situation is proof that even if a time traveler were to travel back in time chances are we probably wouldn’t care or take them that seriously.
#10. Mawaru Penguindrum
A rather forgetful anime from 2011. The story focuses on two brothers seeking out a mysterious item called Penguindrum in order to save their ill sister. At first glance the anime may seem unrealistic and out there plot-wise, but the anime was inspired by real-life terrorist events. In 1995 the Japanese death cult Aum Shinrikyo would attack 5 subways releasing sarin on three lines killing 14 people, injuring 50 people (some of whom died later on), and causing temporary blindness to 1,000 others. While the anime may have made the event more kid-friendly, it does show it from the perspective of kids who were involved in the attack and how it affected them on a mental level.
#9. Tokyo Magnitude 8.0
One of the big fears of Japan is earthquakes. It’s become a common occurrence that most Japanese citizens aren’t even fazed by them anymore. Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 tells the story of three sisters who get caught in an earthquake and their struggle and determination to survive the aftermath of this tragic event. The strange thing about this entry is that this anime was more of a prediction rather than a real event. Using real-life scientific research, the creators of the anime predicted that Japan would be hit by an 8.0 earthquake in 2012 and they weren’t that far off. Japan would get hit by an earthquake only it occurred in 2011 and it was a 9.0 earthquake with an estimated death of 15,899 people. While they may have been off by a year and the size, it’s scary how close they were.
#8. Golden Kamuy
The often-underrated series actually does have a lot of real-life events rooted into the anime. The main character Sugimoto was a real soldier from the Russo-Japanese war who became a celebrated war hero and was the great-grandfather of the author. The 7th Division was a real group in the army who served on the frontlines and fought in some of the most violent battles during the Russo-Japanese War. Many of the locations they visit are real locations in Hokkaido with many of these lands becoming national parks that were once home to the Ainu. Other characters are based off of real-life people and the talks of the Ainu culture are all real. The author wanted to make sure he got the Ainu culture right to the extent that he consulted historians, books, and was even supervised by an Ainu linguist to make everything authentic. He even hired a Russian linguist as well to get the Russian right. So while the story behind the gold is fiction, some of the characters, the locations, and talks about the Ainu culture are real and should be taken to heart while watching the series.
#7. Yasuke
Aside from being a pretty awesome anime (actually, note to self: review Yasuke), this series is based on the real-life African samurai under the same name. Yasuke was a real-life samurai who would go on to serve Oda Nobunaga as one of his most trusted retainers. In fact, it was believed he was the first black man Oda ever saw and the two surprisingly got along quite well according to reports. He would serve Nobunaga up until his death and even joined his son Nobutada in trying to avenge the death of his father. While Yasuke’s death is shrouded in mystery, the anime does a good job telling the life of this character and his contributions to Nobunaga’s cause.
#6. Tetsuko no Tabi
One of my favorite hobbies is watching anime and sharing my thoughts and experiences with people online because I’m weird like that. I also enjoy collecting nice watches if you’re looking to get me a birthday gift. At a young age, Hirohiko Yokomi was always fascinated with trains and the various train stations he visited. As he got older he would go on to travel around Japan and believed his adventures were worth bragging about to others. So he had a manga artist accompany him on his travels and document his adventures, turning his passion/hobby into an anime/manga for all to enjoy. This series is proof that something as simple as traveling can be entertaining.
#5. Onagawa Chuu Baske Bu: 5-nin no Natsu
Yeah. This hits hard. Remember that earthquake we talked about earlier? Well, this is one of the feel-good stories from the aftermath. A 47-minute special, this anime is a documentary that tells the story of the Onagawa Middle School Girls Basketball team. The earthquake left devastation as team members and staff were depleted leaving only 5 regular players who could still play for the team. In a show of resilience, the 5 girls band together and continue to play the game for their school, their hometown, their teammates who couldn’t play, and most importantly for themselves and each other. It’s a special that tugs at the heartstrings and shows that when we as humans band together we can overcome just about anything. While it’s not groundbreaking and is part documentary it is inspiring to watch and to see what these girls would go on to do after this as they got older.
#4. Welcome to NHK
The life of a recluse is anything but stellar as presented in this anime. Welcome to NHK follows the story of real-life author Tatsuhiko Takimoto who became a recluse, dropped out of college and tried to make it as a game designer. We see the life he lives, the effect it had on him and everyone around him, and the mental anguish he found himself in during all of this. The series is also based on the real-life conspiracy theory around the Japanese TV network, NHK, which was suspected of making people reclusive. Tatsuhiko says he continues to deal with the depression shown in the series to this day and still lives off the royalties it garners. This series reminds us that if you or a loved one is dealing with depression or reclusion then get help. There’s no shame in asking for help and there’s always someone out there ready to help.
#3. Vinland Saga
The epic Viking manga turned anime takes us to 11th-century England during the age of Danish control. The show does a good job depicting Vikings as ruthless invaders who show little to no remorse for their actions and features an assortment of characters who are based on real-life Vikings such as Thorfinn, Askeladd, Thorkell, and even Prince Canute is a dramatized version of King Cnut the Great and his rise to power. The series also takes inspiration from well-known books such as The Saga Of Eric The Red and The Saga Of Greenlanders which feature accurate and historical accounts of this time period. War is never pretty and this anime holds nothing back in its battle scenes.
#2. A few Studio Ghibli movies
Studio Ghibli despite being the poster child for excellent and beautiful fantasy-based animes, has been known to dabble in animes based on real events. The first that comes to mind is Grave of the Fireflies which depicts the story of two siblings trying to survive in Japan after WWII. Not only does the film show the harsh reality of Japan after the war, but it follows the life of Akiyuki Nosaka who wrote the book as an apology to his little sister who died of malnutrition that he blames himself for. Another film is The Wind Rises which centers around Jiro Horikoshi who developed the fighter jets that were used in the attack on Pearl Harbor and how he despised seeing his creations used as a tool for war when he just wanted to help people. The final film that a lot of people don’t know about is My Neighbor Totoro. Hayao Miyazaki goes on record saying that the film is based on the childhood trauma he and his brothers experienced as they watched their mother suffer from tuberculosis. In fact, the main characters were supposed to be boys, but Miyazaki turned them into girls because it was way too painful for him. Studio Ghibli may be known for their colorful works, but even they’re not afraid to add real-life events to their work.
And number one. . .
#1. Bakuman
From the writer and artist of Death Note, comes their real-life experience of working in the manga industry. Bakuman takes readers into the life of a manga writer and artist struggling to come up with ideas for their manga, keep their series popular, compete against others, meet their deadlines, and avoid the dreaded cancellation. The struggles in the manga industry are real and this series holds nothing back in showing what writers, artists, and creative teams struggle with on a regular basis. While the industry has supposedly gotten slightly better it’s still incredibly rough and this series serves as a warning to anybody hoping to get into this line of work. This job is hard and if you’re just looking to make money and not give it your all then you better switch jobs because this line of work will eat you up and spit you out like a cat coughing up a hairball.
And that’s my list. Know any other anime based on real events? Let me know in the comments below. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj. And Happy Thanksgiving to everyone out there.