As an anime geek, you would have watched and read a lot of anime series and it’s common. Watching some exciting fictional stories on-screen looks quite fun and interesting.

But, have you ever wondered that the anime you are fond of is actually based on a real-life story.

Surprisingly, there are several anime based on true events featuring some genuine facts that you didn’t even know about. So, in this article, you will get to know about such anime and the real story behind them.

Without waiting more let’s get started with the list of ’10 Anime Based On Real-life Stories’.

Welcome To The NHK

Welcome To The NHK is a very interesting series that highlights the lives of young adults living in depression and anxiety.

Tatsuhiro Sato, a university dropout lives a miserable life being a Hikikomori (a person who tends to avoid people and live being isolated). Due to his recluse behaviour a friend of his tries to get him out of this misery and make him a socially interactive person.

In reality, the story of Welcome To The NHK is based on a conspiracy theory about a real-life Japanese TV Network, NHK who was suspected to be the main cause behind making more and more Hikikomori.

Even the creator of this series, Tatsuhiko Takimoto revealed that the story is an actual account of himself being a Hikikomori fighting against depression and the royalties, as shown in the anime.

Bakuman

Bakuman is an aspiring story of two middle school boys who dream of becoming a great manga artist, one writer and the other as an illustrator.

This show gives the viewer a perfect look into the life of a manga artist. Their start, daily work, way of thinking, setbacks, competition among the best and the never give up attitude. Bakuman gives you the best experience of being a mangaka.

The well known duo of Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, Death Note creators, are behind this story and in a certain way thise series is a replica of these two creators life.

There are a lot of manga references in the anime as well which really exists in real life.

Mawara Penguindrum

Mawara Penguindrum is about a terminally ill girl, Himari and her brothers, Kanba and Shoma who seeks out on a journey to find a mysterious item called Penguindrum that can save their sisters’ life. In this mission, the trio of strange penguins helps and assists them to their goal.

You will not be aware of it but the illness that Himari goes through was actually real and was caused by a terror attack in Tokyo in 1995 where a group of terrorists attacked multiple Tokyo Subway lines with sarin gas.

This anime has visualised the same thing here by showing the effects of a real-world attack on a children’s life.

Grave Of The Fireflies

Grave of The Fireflies is one of the best war films of all time. The film is based on a semi-autobiographical short story by Akiyuki Nasaka.

The movie is about two young siblings, Seita and Setsuko who lost their mother in a bombing at the end of World War II. After the havoc caused by World War Seita struggles to keep his younger sister alive who suffers from malnutrition.

The story shows you how cruel and disastrous life can become after a horrible massacre. It showcases some deeply influencing and emotional moments between the brother and sister that can make you cry.

Not completely, but partially this anime is based on a real-life story.

Vinland Saga

Most of you would be well aware of this fact, if not then don’t worry, that Vinland Saga is a historical anime series set during the Dane-controlled England of the 11th century.

Vinland Saga follows the story of a young boy, Thorfinn who sets on a journey to avenge his father’s murderer Askeladd. The warriors shown in the anime are based on real-life Vikings.

Moreover, the series has taken inspiration from some well-known ancient books like The Saga Of Eric The Red and The Saga Of Greenlanders.

One of the characters of Vinland Saga, Prince Canute is dramatized as King Cnut the Great and his rise to power.

Tokyo Magnitude 8.0

Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 aired on TV in 2009 and it was the first series based on extensive scientific research about a forthcoming earthquake.

The anime is about two siblings, Mirai and Yuki, and Mari a single mother who get stuck in a region of Tokyo after a massive earthquake hits Tokyo. These three tags along with each other to return to their home safely and meet their loved ones.

The creators of this show predicted an approaching earthquake through this anime and added further that there is a 70% chance of Tokyo being hit by an earthquake beyond 7.0 magnitude in the next 30 years.

And, what’s the result of this. It actually happened when a 9.0 magnitude earthquake devastated Tokyo in 2011 just two years after the release of the anime.

Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun

Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun is a lite horror anime based on a real-life story, as said by many.

The show is about a high-school student, Nene Yashiro who wishes of having a boyfriend. In addition to this, she summons a mysterious spirit ‘Hanako-san of The Toilet’ who can grant any wish for the right price.

But, she finds out that Hanako-san is actually a boy, not a girl as rumours said. So, she becomes his assistant and works with him to fight against evil spirits and maintain the balance between the spirit world and the human world.

‘Hanako-san of The Toilet’ is a popular Japanese legend about a girl named Hanako-san that haunts girl’s restrooms in high schools. The anime has showcased this well-known Japanese legend by twisting the plot to entertain the audience, keeping the theme the same.

Yasuke

Yasuke recently got animated by MAPPA studio and premiered on Netflix.

Yasuke anime is based on a historical figure, Yasuke, who was a great warrior and fought in the 16th century of Japan. He was considered to be the first African Samurai in history.

His biggest achievement was to serve under Japan’s first ‘Great Unifier’ Oda Nobunaga during the Sengoku period of the samurai conflict. As the greatest Ronin of his time, he tries to maintain peace among his comrades and the people of his community.

But, after a local village turns into a battleground, Yasuke take charge of his sword and pledges to save a mysterious kid who is the target of dark forces and ferocious warlords.

Steins;Gate

One of the most popular sci-fi anime, Steins;Gate is also said to be an anime based on a real-life story and some sort of this rumour seems to be true.

Steins;Gate is a story about a mad group of scientists who discovers a method of sending text messages back in time. With the help of this discovery, they try to bring back the dead neuroscientist, Kurisu Makise by changing the timeline.

The main protagonist, Rintaro Okabe is said to be the real-life depiction of a certain man named John Tutor of the year 2000 who claimed to be a time traveller from the year 2036 on various online forums.

He also warned of a World War and a Nuclear fallout which don’t seem to be true in near future. This conspiracy didn’t turn out to be a big hit but the series without a doubt did!!

Gintama

Gintama, the best and the most humorous anime show of all time. It doesn’t sound like a real story but some events in the anime really happened.

Gintama is a story about Gintoki and his subordinates Kagura & Shinpachi who works as a freelancer to pay-off their rents. But, after the alien invasion of Japan, they work along with police forces to get rid of them.

The police force in Gintama known as Shinsengumi is inspired by the special police force, Mibu Roshigumi that existed in the Shogunate period of Japan.

Hidecki Sorachi, the creator of Gintama, confirmed that most of the Shinsengumi members names are derived from great historical figures like Konda Isao and Hijikita Toshiro. Even Sakata Gintoki gets his name from the legendary folk hero of Japan, Sakata Kintoki.

The series also features a historical event called as Ikedaya incident that shows the encounter between the Samurai and the Shinsengumi.

Other than these 10 there are still several anime left that are based on real-life stories, whether it is completely or partially. If you know some anime like these then write it down in the comments section below.

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