The 7 Greatest Samurai TV Shows, Ranked

Hiroyuki Sanada in The Eightfold Fence in Shogun

Published Oct 27, 2026, 4:48 PM EDT

I get ridiculously excited when two swordsmen spend five minutes talking and neither draws his weapon. One of them says something polite. The other understands it as an insult. Somebody bows a little too slowly. And I'm sitting there practically begging everyone to remain civilized because I know exactly what happens when the talking stops. That kind of tension is addictive.

The sword might be the most dangerous object in the room, but the person holding it usually has considerably more interesting problems. And good lord, when the fighting finally happens! There is something magnificent about watching a character's entire personality emerge through the way they handle a sword. I adore all of it, especially when a story understands that the most difficult battles sometimes happen long after everyone has put their weapons away. And who does it better than the whole Samurai culture? Here are 7 greatest Samurai TV shows of all time, ranked.

7 'Lone Wolf and Cub' (1973–1976)

Lone Wolf and Cub Akihiro Tomikawa Tomisaburo Wakayama

Former executioner Ogami Ittō (Kinnosuke Yorozuya) is betrayed by the powerful Yagyū clan, loses his wife, and takes to the roads of feudal Japan with his infant son Daigorō. Lone Wolf and Cub follows the disgraced samurai as he becomes an assassin for hire while pursuing revenge against the people who destroyed his family. The extraordinary complication is that his young son accompanies him everywhere, traveling in a wooden cart through a country filled with people determined to kill his father.

There is something wonderfully unsettling about watching Ittō move through ordinary villages with that cart. One moment he looks like an exhausted parent traveling with his child. Then assassins appear, and his terrifying reputation suddenly makes complete sense. Based on the manga by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima, the series understands how loneliness can become a way of life. Yorozuya barely needs dialogue to communicate Ittō's sorrow or determination. And Daigorō makes everything more affecting because every confrontation threatens the only family his father has left. I'd recommend this especially to somebody who believes older samurai television cannot deliver genuinely formidable action.

6 'Afro Samurai' (2007)

Afro stands prepared to draw his sword in an image from 'Afro Samurai'

A boy watches his father murdered by a swordsman named Justice, who claims the legendary Number One headband. Years later, Afro (Samuel L. Jackson) possesses the Number Two headband, allowing him to challenge Justice while making himself a target for practically every ambitious fighter alive. Afro Samurai turns that wonderfully simple revenge premise into five episodes of astonishingly stylish violence, accompanied by the constantly chattering Ninja Ninja, also voiced by Jackson.

I have an enormous weakness for how confidently this show combines samurai mythology with hip-hop. The RZA's music gives the fighting a completely different pulse, while Afro's almost stubborn silence makes Ninja Ninja's nonstop commentary even funnier. Then the story begins returning to Afro's childhood, particularly the friendships destroyed by his commitment to revenge. Those memories complicate what initially looks like a straightforward journey toward one final opponent. I particularly love the grotesque creativity of the Empty Seven Clan and its mechanical assassin. The whole thing is gloriously excessive, but its melancholy keeps the bloodshed from becoming empty spectacle.

5 'Rurouni Kenshin' (1996–1998)

A character from Rurouni Kenshin holds a long sword with a scar on their face.

Kenshin Himura, voiced by Mayo Suzukaze, was once a feared assassin known as Battōsai during the violent years preceding Japan's Meiji era. Now he wanders the country carrying a reverse-blade sword and refusing to kill, eventually finding companionship with Kamiya Kaoru and several other unlikely friends. Rurouni Kenshin follows his attempts to build a peaceful life while enemies from his past repeatedly challenge whether somebody responsible for so much bloodshed can genuinely change.

The Kyoto story is where I become almost unreasonable in my praise. Makoto Shishio is a magnificent antagonist because his belief that the strong should rule directly challenges Kenshin's determination to protect the vulnerable. And Sōjirō's smiling composure makes his confrontations with Kenshin deeply unnerving. Kazuhiro Furuhashi directed the original anime, whose strongest episodes give these fights genuine ideological weight. Kenshin possesses extraordinary abilities, yet his commitment to avoiding lethal force constantly limits how he can use them. That's the character's greatest attraction. Watching somebody capable of killing almost effortlessly fight desperately to avoid doing so is infinitely more interesting than another unbeatable swordsman collecting victories.

4 'Blue Eye Samurai' (2023–)

Close-up of Mizu scowling with her face covered in blood

Mizu (Maya Erskine) is a mixed-race swordfighter living in seventeenth-century Japan, where her blue eyes mark her as an outsider. Disguising herself as a man, she sets out to find and kill the white men who might be responsible for her birth. Blue Eye Samurai brings her into contact with aspiring apprentice Ringo (Masi Oka), proud swordsman Taigen (Darren Barnet), and ambitious noblewoman Akemi (Brenda Song), all of whom complicate a journey Mizu would prefer to undertake alone.

I was completely sold during the early confrontations, where Mizu's opponents underestimate her until they discover just how disastrously wrong they were. But the episode built around a traditional puppet performance is the one I desperately want people to experience. Creators Amber Noizumi and Michael Green intertwine the theatrical story with Mizu's personal history, making the fighting increasingly painful to watch. Her skill is extraordinary, yet nearly every relationship becomes another reminder of what vengeance has cost her. And the animation! Sword movements have weight, injuries affect performance, and even the quieter exchanges look beautiful. Mizu may be terrifying with a blade, but her inability to accept affection is what makes her heartbreaking.

Collider Exclusive · Action Hero Quiz Which Action Hero Would Be
Your Perfect Partner? Rambo · James Bond · Indiana Jones · John McClane · Ethan Hunt

Five legends. Five completely different ways of getting out alive — with style, with muscle, with charm, with luck, or with a plan so intricate it probably shouldn't work. Ten questions will reveal which action hero was built to have your back.

🎖️Rambo

🍸James Bond

🏺Indiana Jones

🔧John McClane

🎭Ethan Hunt

FIND YOUR PARTNER →

You're dropped into a dangerous situation with no warning. What do you need most from a partner? The first few seconds tell you everything about who belongs beside you.

ASomeone who already has three contingency plans running and is calmly working through all of them. BSomeone who reads the terrain instinctively and knows exactly how to use it against the enemy. CSomeone who keeps their nerve and their sense of humour when everything is falling apart. DSomeone who knows the history of wherever we are and what we're walking into. ESomeone with the right contact, the right cover identity, and the right exit already arranged.

NEXT QUESTION →

You have to get somewhere dangerous, fast. How do you travel? How you get there is half the mission.

AOn foot through terrain no one else would attempt — I move where vehicles can't follow. BOn a motorcycle, a cargo plane, or anything else that gets me there before I think too hard about it. CIn something that belongs to someone else — borrowed, stolen, or improvised under fire. DFirst class, with a cover identity and a gadget that does something I won't explain until it's needed. EBy whatever means are available — I've driven, flown, and once arrived by camel. The destination matters, not the method.

NEXT QUESTION →

You're pinned down and outnumbered. What does your ideal partner do? This is when you find out what someone is really made of.

ADisappears into the environment, flanks them silently, and ends it before I've reloaded. BCracks a one-liner, grabs a fire extinguisher or a chair, and improvises something that somehow works. CProduces a gadget specifically designed for this exact scenario and uses it with infuriating precision. DPulls out a whip, a pistol, and an archaeological insight that somehow gets us out alive. ENeutralises the threat with maximum efficiency and minimum words — they were already three moves ahead.

NEXT QUESTION →

The mission is paused. You have one evening to decompress. What does your partner suggest? Who someone is when the pressure drops is who they actually are.

AA bar with terrible lighting, cold beer, and absolutely no questions about feelings. BThe finest restaurant in the city, a bottle of something expensive, and a conversation that is equal parts brilliant and exhausting. CA local dig site, a museum after hours, or a long story about why that particular artefact matters to human civilisation. DPizza. Bad TV. Falling asleep halfway through a movie neither of you were watching anyway. EA debrief that turns into three hours of contingency planning that somehow becomes the most fun you've had all week.

NEXT QUESTION →

How do you prefer your partner to communicate mid-mission? Good communication is the difference between partners and a liability.

APrecise and minimal — tell me what I need to know and nothing else. Every word has a cost. BDeadpan and dry — keeping it light keeps me sharp, even when everything is on fire. CEnthusiastic and slightly chaotic — but always with useful information buried somewhere in the noise. DCalm and controlled through an earpiece, with a plan that covers every variable I haven't thought of yet. EBarely at all — silence is a language and they speak it fluently.

NEXT QUESTION →

Your enemy is powerful, well-resourced, and has the upper hand. How should your partner approach them? The approach to the enemy defines the partnership.

AInfiltrate their inner circle, learn everything, and dismantle them from inside out before they know we're there. BStudy the historical pattern — every villain of this type has a weakness written somewhere in the past. CGet them talking. The more they monologue, the more time I have to figure out how to beat them. DGo through them. Directly. With as much force as the terrain allows. EFind the one thing they haven't accounted for — there's always one thing — and make sure we're holding it.

NEXT QUESTION →

Things go badly wrong and you're captured. What do you trust your partner to do? Who someone is when you need them most is the only thing that matters.

ACome in alone, quietly, and get me out before anyone knows they were there. BHave already been working on the extraction since the moment I disappeared — the plan is already running. CCome in loud, come in fast, and worry about the collateral damage later — I'd do the same for them. DUse every resource, every contact, and bend every rule until I'm out — they don't leave people behind. ECharm their way in somehow, bluff through the hard part, and still manage to look good doing it.

NEXT QUESTION →

What does your ideal partner bring to the table that you couldn't replace? A great partner fills the gap you didn't know you had.

ATechnology that shouldn't exist yet and the training to use it under any conditions. BSurvival instinct so refined it borders on supernatural — and the scars to prove it's been tested. CKnowledge of history, language, and culture that makes them invaluable in places where force is useless. DThe ability to walk into any room in the world and immediately become the most trusted person in it. EStubbornness that refuses to accept a situation is hopeless — and the improvisational skill to back it up.

NEXT QUESTION →

Every partnership has a cost. Which of these can you live with? No one comes without baggage. The question is whether you can carry it together.

AA partner who never fully switches off — always watching exits, always calculating threats, even at dinner. BA partner who gets the job done brilliantly but has the emotional availability of a locked filing cabinet. CA partner who makes everything ten times more complicated than it needs to be — but who always comes through. DA partner who gets personally attached to every relic, ruin, and artefact we encounter, which slows everything down. EA partner who was not built for this and knows it — but shows up anyway, every time, without being asked.

NEXT QUESTION →

It's the final moment. Everything is on the line. What do you need from your partner right now? The last question is the most honest one.

AOne line. Absolutely dry. Delivered like the world isn't ending. Then we move. BNothing said at all — just a look that means we both already know what has to happen. CA plan I don't fully understand that somehow accounts for everything, delivered in thirty seconds flat. DA piece of historical context that reframes the entire situation and tells us exactly what to do next. ESomeone who steps forward instead of back — because that's who they've always been.

REVEAL MY PARTNER →

Your Partner Has Been Assigned Your Perfect Partner Is…

Your answers have pointed to one action hero above all others. This is the person built to have your back — for better or considerably, spectacularly worse.

Rambo

Your partner doesn't talk much, doesn't need to, and will have assessed every threat in your immediate environment before you've finished your first sentence. John Rambo is not a man of plans or politics — he is a force of nature shaped by survival, loyalty, and a capacity for endurance that goes beyond anything training can produce. He will not leave you behind. He has never left anyone behind who deserved to come home. What you get with Rambo is the most capable, most quietly ferocious partner imaginable — one who has been through things that would have broken anyone else, and who chose to keep going anyway. You'll never need to ask if he has your back. You'll just know.

James Bond

Your partner will arrive perfectly dressed, perfectly briefed, and with a cover story so convincing it'll take you a moment to remember what's actually true. James Bond is the most professionally dangerous person in any room he enters — and the most disarmingly charming, which is the point. He operates in a world of layers, where nothing is what it appears and every advantage is used without apology. You'll never be bored. You'll occasionally be furious. But when it matters — when the mission is genuinely on the line and the margin for error has collapsed to nothing — Bond is exactly the partner you want. He has survived things that have no business being survivable. He does it with style. That is not nothing.

Indiana Jones

Your partner will know the history, the language, the cultural context, and exactly why the thing everyone else is ignoring is actually the most important thing in the room. Indiana Jones is brilliant, reckless, and occasionally impossible — but he is also one of the most resourceful, most genuinely knowledgeable partners you could find yourself beside. He approaches every situation with a scholar's eye and a brawler's instinct, which is an unusual combination and a remarkably effective one. He hates snakes and gets personally attached to objects of historical significance, both of which will slow you down at least once. It doesn't matter. What Indy brings is irreplaceable — and the adventures you'll have together will be the kind people write books about. Assuming you survive them.

John McClane

Your partner was not supposed to be here. He does not have the right equipment, the right information, or anything approaching the right odds. He has a sarcastic remark and an absolute refusal to accept that the situation is as bad as it looks. John McClane is the greatest accidental hero in the history of action cinema — a man whose superpower is stubbornness, whose contingency plan is improvisation, and whose capacity to absorb punishment and keep moving would be alarming if it weren't so useful. He will complain the entire time. He will make it significantly more chaotic than it needed to be. And he will absolutely, unconditionally, without question come through when it counts. Yippee-ki-yay.

Ethan Hunt

Your partner has already run seventeen scenarios by the time you've finished reading the briefing, and the plan he's settled on involves at least two things that should be physically impossible. Ethan Hunt operates at the absolute edge of human capability — technically, physically, and intellectually — and he brings the same relentless precision to protecting his partners that he brings to dismantling organisations that shouldn't exist. He is not easy to know and he will never fully tell you everything. But he will carry the weight of the mission so completely, so absolutely, that your job is simply to trust him — and the remarkable thing is that trusting him always turns out to be the right call. The mission will be impossible. He will complete it anyway.

↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ

3 'Samurai Jack' (2001–2017)

Jack holding his sword with demons in the background in Samurai Jack.

An ancient warrior known as Jack (Phil LaMarr) prepares to defeat the shape-shifting demon Aku, only to be thrown thousands of years into a future where Aku controls the world. Samurai Jack follows his attempts to return home, encountering bizarre civilizations, dangerous bounty hunters, extraordinary warriors, and occasionally some wonderfully ridiculous personalities. Jack possesses the sword capable of defeating Aku, but finding a way back to his own time proves considerably harder than simply winning fights.

I think Genndy Tartakovsky, who created the series, understood visual storytelling better than practically anybody working in action animation. The encounter with three blind archers is magnificent because Jack must learn to fight without depending on his sight. Entire passages communicate through movement and sound while dialogue becomes almost unnecessary. And then there's the Scotsman, whose wonderfully argumentative friendship with Jack remains one of my favorite things about the show. The 2017 revival takes the character somewhere much darker, showing how decades of failure have damaged his confidence. Suddenly, the seemingly unstoppable hero is exhausted. That willingness to let Jack struggle emotionally makes his journey so much richer.

2 'Samurai Champloo' (2004–2005)

Fuu, voiced by Ayako Kawasumi, is searching for a mysterious samurai who smells of sunflowers. Her unlikely companions are Mugen (Kazuya Nakai), an impulsive swordsman whose fighting resembles controlled chaos, and Jin (Ginpei Sato), a disciplined former student of classical swordsmanship. Samurai Champloo follows their journey across Edo-period Japan, where the three regularly find themselves involved in ridiculous disputes, dangerous encounters, and situations that have almost nothing to do with their original destination.

I could watch Mugen and Jin fight each other forever. Their contrasting techniques communicate their personalities before either opens his mouth, and their reluctant partnership gradually becomes wonderfully affectionate. Shinichirō Watanabe created and directed the anime, incorporating hip-hop, graffiti, and gloriously unconventional humor into its historical setting. The music from Nujabes and the other contributing artists gives the journey an atmosphere unlike anything else. Yet the episode involving Jin's attempt to help a woman trapped in a brothel is especially moving because his quiet compassion becomes more important than his technical mastery. And somehow this same show finds room for an absolutely ridiculous baseball match. I adore that unpredictability. Every destination offers a new reason to enjoy traveling with these three.

1 'Shōgun' (2024–)

Toranaga looking serious standing by the water in Shogun.

Shōgun is undoubtedly the finest Samurai show from recent times. An English navigator named John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis) arrives in Japan in 1600, where rival political factions are maneuvering for control following the death of the country's ruler. Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) recognizes Blackthorne's potential usefulness in his struggle against the other regents, while noblewoman Toda Mariko (Anna Sawai) becomes the interpreter connecting their vastly different worlds. Shōgun adapts James Clavell's celebrated novel into an extraordinarily intricate drama about loyalty, ambition, faith, and the dangerous obligations governing samurai society.

I could listen to Toranaga negotiate for hours. Sanada makes the character's composure fascinating because every apparently minor decision carries political consequences. But Mariko is the person who completely won me over. Her confrontation with the guards preventing her departure from Osaka Castle is breathtaking. She understands the danger perfectly, yet insists upon her position with extraordinary dignity. Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks created this television adaptation.