Ask John: How Many Biographical Anime Are There?

Question:
Other than the obligatory samurai period dramas, have there ever been anime based on real life historical characters, a la Production I.G.’s interesting–and entertaining–take on France’s crossdressing spy, Le Chevalier D’eon?

Answer:
I think this is an interesting question, and I’ll do my best to provide a thorough response, but my ability to answer will be limited by the extent of my knowledge. So there will probably be examples that I’m unfamiliar with, or which I forget. Also, in the spirit of the question, I’ll expand the answer just a bit to cite not just strictly biographical anime, but anime based on real historical people. After all, I doubt that Chevalier can be called a strict biography as I doubt that the historical Frenchman Charles-Genevieve Eon de Beaumont actually encountered any genuine sorcerers or supernatural monsters.

Since the question takes samurai dramas for granted, I’ll only briefly cite titles like Rurouni Kenshin, Peacemaker Kurogane, and Shura no Toki, which illustrate the historical Shinsengumi. Likewise I’ll only mention titles like Yotoden and Time Stranger that co-star Nobunaga Oda. Famed swordsmith Goro Nyudo Masamune appeared in Samurai Deeper Kyo. Yagyu Jubei has been romanticized in Jubei-chan and Makai Tensho. But let’s move on to a few examples outside of the samurai genre.

The most literal example of a biographical anime may be The Diary of Anne Frank. The “Anne no Nikki: Anne Frank Monogatari” (Anne’s Diary: Anne Frank Story) television movie was animated by Nippon Animation and broadcast in 1979. Anne Frank’s diary was again turned into an anime in 1995 as Toei Animation’s motion picture “Anne no Nikki” (Anne’s Diary).

Nippon Animation was also responsible for the 1991 television series “Trapp Ikka Monogatari” (Trapp Family Story), an adaptation of Maria Augusta Von Trapp’s biography “The Story of the Trapp Family Singers.” Many will be more familiar with the Academy Award winning film adaptation of the biography titled, “The Sound of Music.”

Likewise, Toei Animation also produced more than one anime biography. Toei was responsible for the 1978 television series “Pink Lady Monogatari: Eiko no Tenshitachi” (Glorious Angels: Pink Lady Story), based on the lives of the wildly successful late 70s J-pop duo “Pink Lady.”

One of Madhouse’s early anime works was the 1979 television series Animation Kikou: Marco Polo no Boken (Animated Travels: Marco Polo’s Adventures).

Macross creator Shoji Kawamori worked in an especially literary vein in 1996 to direct the “Ihatov Gensou: Kenji no Haru” (Ihatov Fantasy: Kenji’s Spring) OVA biography of revered Japanese poet and author Kenji Miyazawa. The OVA was released in 1996 to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of Miyazawa’s birth. TOKYOPOP released the OVA in America under the title “Spring & Chaos.”

Also available in America are the autobiographical “Hadashi no Gen” (Barefoot Gen) films, based on creator Keiji Nakazawa’s own recollections of surviving the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

The fall 2006 television special “Daremo Shiranai Koizumi Junichiro no Shoutai” (Everyone, Become Acquainted With Koizumi Junichiro’s True Colors) featured an anime segment by Gonzo documenting the life of outgoing Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro.

Most recently, veteran anime director and producer Noburo Ishiguro has announced plans to direct “Paaten Rai (Hatta Ga Yatteki Ta)!”, an anime film detailing the life of the highly respected, late Japanese engineer Hatta Yoichi.

Finally, for the sake of trivia, I’ll point out that countless real-life personages have appeared in non-biographical anime. Here are just a few examples. Studio Ghibli’s animated music video for Chage & Aska’s pop song “On Your Mark” cast the duo as main characters in the short film. J-pop duo Two-Mix appeared as anime versions of themselves in the short OVA “White Reflection.” The historical fiction anime television series Rose of Versailles featured real life historical figures including Marie Antoinette, Kings Louis XV and Louis XVI, and Madame du Barry. And the “Kamui no Ken” (Dagger of Kamui) movie features several real historical figures, including even American writer Mark Twain.

Addendum added June 7, 2007
Japanese readers have pointed out several examples of biographical anime that I was unfamiliar with.

The 1973 television series “Karate Baka Ichidan” (Life of a Fool for Karate) is the story of Oyama Masutasu, the founder of the Kyokushin style of karate.

The 1986 anime TV special “Niji no Kanata e Shojo Diana-hi Monogatari” (End of the Rainbow: Young Princess Diana) introduced the late Diana, Princess of Wales.

The 1990 anime TV special “Heisei no Cinderella Kiko-sama Monogatari” (Cinderella of the Heisei Era, Kiko-sama’s Story) was a biography of Japan’s present day Princess Kiko.