Hatachi no Ryouma with Kurofune-kun!

📖 SYNOPSIS

Few figures loom as large in Japanese history as Sakamoto Ryouma — the guy basically helped topple the entire Tokugawa shogunate. But before all that, he was just a young man stationed in Shinagawa, working coastal defense when Commodore Perry rolled up with his black ships. This ONA takes that younger, less legendary version of Ryouma and pairs him with Kurofune-kun, a mascot based on those very same black ships. Together they end up time-traveling to modern-day Shinagawa, wandering through real landmarks and bumping into other historical figures who've also slipped through time. It's a tourism anime at heart, made to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Meiji Restoration, but the time-travel framing gives it a surprisingly fun structure. Episodes are short and light, clearly aimed at a younger audience, so don't go in expecting deep political drama about the Bakumatsu period. Think of it more as a gentle, educational stroll through history with a cute hook. If you've enjoyed other regional promotion anime like Kimi no Matsu Basho e or Toyama Kankou Anime Project, this hits the same niche — local history wrapped in a digestible, animated package. Studio DLE keeps things simple and charming. It's the kind of thing you watch in one sitting on a quiet afternoon when you want something low-stakes that might actually teach you something about Shinagawa you didn't know.