Manga is the Japanese word for comics (in the United States, they are Japanese comics). Many Japanese comics have been based on the idea of the samurai. Usually, the fighting style or history of the samurai is used. Anime is Japanese animation. Both manga and anime are connected because mangas are usually created into animation. A few mangas that I would like to mention are "Samurai Deeper Kyo", "Rurouni Kenshin" and "Samurai Champloo."
"Samurai Deeper Kyo" is a manga (which was also created into an anime). This anime/manga is set in the year 1600, during the battle of Sekigahara. This manga/anime is not totally based on samurai because there are elements of fiction.
Another anime/manga that has this influence is called Rurouni Kenshin. Which is set during the Meiji Restoration period, the samurai continues to live his life as a wandering samurai. The Meiji Restoration was the turning point of the country for Japan, where samurai were eliminated. Rurouni Kenshin tells the story of a wandering samurai named Kenshin Himura. As he is wandering, he runs into a woman named Kaoru. He eventually begins staying with her and they are put into many troublesome situations that teach something new everyday. Kenshin Himura was stuck in war before the Meiji Restoration. He’s different from the real person because after the war, the actual person left Japan with no trace.
Lastly, there is the Japanese animation television show named "Samurai Champloo." It is set in Japan during the Edo period. This is loosely based on Japanese samurai because only the element of Japanese samurai fighting is present. Another anime that I would like to mention is Escaflowne. It’s not totally based on the concept of samurai alone; however it has taken the idea of samurai fighting and merged it together with sorcery. The anime series is about a girl named Hitomi who was surprised with a trip to a different world named Gaia. Hitomi is put through various types of situations that require her to be brave in any situation she is put in. There was also a movie created in 2000 that is basically a summary of the 26 episode series into one movie.
These are only a few of anime/manga series that have been influenced by the samurai.
References:
"About Samurai Champloo." Samurai Champloo 2008 14 Jul 2008 <http://www.samurai-champloo.com/about-samurai-champloo.htm>.
McFarland, Melanie. "Anime fans will be drawn to beautiful 'Escaflowne'." The Seattle Times 29 Mar 2002 2 Jul 2008 <http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=...>.
"Rurouni Kenshin (manga)." Anime News Network. 1998-2008. Anime News Network. 1 Jul 2008 <http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/manga.php?id=1995>.
"Samurai Deeper Kyo." Starchild 14 Jul 2008 <http://www.starchild.co.jp/e/special/library/016.html>.
