What is World War II anime?

World War II, or the Second World War (often abbreviated WWII or WW2), was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's nations, including all great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. The war involved the mobilisation of over 100 million military personnel, making it the most widespread war in history. In a state of "total war," the major participants placed their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities at the service of the war effort, erasing the distinction between civilian and military resources. Over seventy million people, the majority civilians, were killed, making it the deadliest conflict in human history.The start of the war is generally held to be September 1, 1939, with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany and subsequent declarations of war on Germany by most of the countries in the British Empire and Commonwealth, and by France. Many countries were already at war before this date, such as Ethiopia and Italy in the Second Italo-Abyssinian War and China and Japan in the Second Sino-Japanese War. Many who were not initially involved joined the war later, as a result of events such as the German invasion of the Soviet Union, the attacks on Pearl Harbor and British colonies, and subsequent declarations of war on Japan by the United States, the Netherlands, and British Commonwealth.In 1945, the war ended in a victory for the Allies. The Soviet Union and the United States subsequently emerged as the world's superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War which continued for the next 46 years. The United Nations was formed in the hope of preventing another world conflict. The acceptance of the principle of self-determination accelerated decolonization movements in Asia and Africa, while Western Europe itself began moving toward integration.------About the pictureTop left: Battle of WuhanTop right: Second Battle of El AlameinMiddle left: Battle of StalingradMiddle right: German dive bombers over Eastern Front winter 1943-1944Bottom left: Wilhelm Keitel signing German Instrument of SurrenderBottom right: Invasion of Lingayen Gulf

Random World War II Anime You might like

Honoo no Alpenrose: Judy & Randy

(Alpenrose)

7.21

Description:

While Randy was walking through the Swiss countryside he finds a small girl, who seemed to be the only survived person from an airplane crash. The little girl didn’t remember anything, and Randy decided to take care of her and he called her Judy. The both go their childhood together. A few years later, Judy, now 16 years old, wants to find her past. With the help of Randy, she leaves to research her origins. Her single clue is a song that she keeps hearing in her head, the song is called Alpine Rose. At a time of world war, these two young people will have to overcome many obstacles to arrive at their goal in this time of war, with having only each other to comfort and support. the depth of their love. (Source : ANN)
Type

TV

Episodes

20

Ep.Length

22 Min

Rating

Teens 13 or older

Status

finished

Aired

1985-04-08

Momotarou: Umi no Shinpei

(Momotaro)

5.68

Description:

A monkey, a dog, a pheasant, and a bear travel southward after resting in their villages at the foot of Mt. Fuji. A squadron flies to Onigashima under the command of Momotarou. Parachutes blossom in the sky. Momotarou and company will take over the island after a swift and successful mission. The village children pretend parachuting with glee as they run towards Mt. Fuji. (Source: Imagica)
Type

movie

Episodes

1

Ep.Length

74 Min

Rating

Children

Status

finished

Aired

1945-04-12

Glass no Usagi

(Glass Rabbit)

6.79

Description:

Toshiko Ei and her family are residents of Tokyo. Her father is a respected and skilled glass craftsmen so the family makes a good living. However, the Ei family soon finds itself having to suffer through many tragic hardships as a result of World War II. (Source: ANN)
Type

movie

Episodes

1

Ep.Length

84 Min

Rating

Children

Status

finished

Aired

2005-09-09

Shounen Kenya

(Kenya Boy)

6.09

Description:

It is the year 1941. 11-year-old Murakami Wataru lives with his family, Japanese textile traders operating in British Kenya, when war breaks out between Japan and the Allies. Fleeing into the bush, young Wataru falls headlong into a series of fantastic adventures. (Source: ANN)
Type

movie

Episodes

1

Ep.Length

109 Min

Rating

Children

Status

finished

Aired

1984-03-10

Kishin Heidan

(Kishin Corps)

6.69

Description:

October 1941, as the second World War threatens to destroy the civilized world, an unforeseen complication suddenly occurs. An alien invasion! Despite the sudden appearance of these extraterrestrial aggressors, the Axis and Allies continue their destructive conflict. Only the Kishin Corps and their giant Geo-Armor Robots (a.k.a.: Kishin), developed from a captured alien robot soldier, stand between the Earth and total annihilation! A teenager, named Taishi, suddenly finds himself at the center of a struggle over a mysterious black attaché case entrusted to him by his father, Professor Tokamura. The case contains the controlling mechanism for one of the giant Geo-Armor Robots, and the Japanese Kanto Army, the alien invaders, and the Kishin Corps all want to recover the device! Between the spies, the armies, the aliens, and the Giant Robots, Taishi is in for an epic adventure—if he can survive it! (Source: AnimeNfo)
Type

OVA

Episodes

7

Ep.Length

33 Min

Rating

Teens 13 or older

Status

finished

Aired

1993-03-25

Momotarou no Umiwashi

5.62

Description:

Momotaro sends a sneak aircraft attack to sink the ships of Demon Island, using his animal companions as crew members and pilots.
Type

movie

Episodes

1

Ep.Length

36 Min

Rating

Children

Status

finished

Aired

1943-03-25

Omocha Bako Series Dai 3 Wa: Ehon 1936-nen

5.49

Description:

Black-and-white propaganda film. Japanese folklore characters vs. evil Mickey Mouse-like creatures.
Type

movie

Episodes

1

Ep.Length

7 Min

Rating

Children

Status

finished

Aired

1934-04-13

Kyokujitsu no Kantai

(The Fleet of the Rising Sun)

0

Description:

In Kyokujitsu no Kantai, Japan builds up on its success in the earlier series by expanding its blue-water capabilities to reach the Atlantic Ocean, challenging the Kriegsmarine in the process. Nazi Germany also launches a surgical strike on the White House and the Japanese fleet repels a German invasion of Britain. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konpeki_no_Kantai
Type

OVA

Episodes

15

Ep.Length

30 Min

Rating

Teens 13 or older

Status

finished

Aired

1997-02-21

Hi no Ame ga Furu

0

Description:

An anti-war anime based on a book containing contemporary accounts of the fire-bombing of the city of Fukuoka on the evening of June 19, 1945.
Type

movie

Episodes

1

Ep.Length

80 Min

Rating

All Ages

Status

finished

Aired

1988-09-15

Raiyantsuuri no Uta

0

Description:

An indentured Chinese laborer, brought to Japan to work in a coal mine during WWII, manages to escape his captors. He hides out in the Japanese countryside, so far from human habitation that he does not realize when the war ends, with ultimately tragic results. Based on a story by Yoichi Takashi.
Type

movie

Episodes

1

Ep.Length

90 Min

Rating

All Ages

Status

finished

Aired

1994-07-21

Chocchan Monogatari

0

Description:

This feature length film is based on autobiography of Cho "Chocchan" Kuroyanagi, who is better known as the mother of an actress Tetsuko Kuroyanagi. The story starts in pre-World War 2 Japan when Chocchan marries violinist despite the objection of both of their families. They live in poverty, have three children and are happy together. Any misfortune they face with a smile. But new obstacle for their happiness comes when the war breaks out and Chocchan's husband must leave for the front...
Type

movie

Episodes

1

Ep.Length

76 Min

Rating

All Ages

Status

finished

Aired

1996-03-20

Animentary: Ketsudan

0

Description:

A strict retelling of the Pacific side of WW2.
Type

TV

Episodes

26

Ep.Length

25 Min

Rating

None

Status

finished

Aired

1971-04-03

Natsufuku no Shoujo-tachi

6.76

Description:

In 1945, the second and third-year students of a Hiroshima girls' school are taken away to work in war factories. The remaining 220 girls of the first year try to make the best of their new-found status as the only teenagers in an almost deserted town, even amid the deprivations of wartime. On the 7th of August, an American bomber changes their lives forever. Broadcast on the 43rd anniversary of Hiroshima in memory of "the girls who lost their lives to the atom bomb." (Source: Anime Encyclopedia)
Type

special

Episodes

1

Ep.Length

34 Min

Rating

Teens 13 or older

Status

finished

Aired

1988-08-07

Himeyuri

7.06

Description:

The 30-minute film centers around a group of high school nurses called Himeyuri who served during the Battle of Okinawa during World War II. The Himeyuri Alumnae Incorporated Foundation, which runs the Himeyuri Peace Museum in Okinawa, produced the film with the aim to convey the experiences of those high school nurses, many of whom lost their lives during the battle, to children. (Source: ANN)
Type

movie

Episodes

1

Ep.Length

31 Min

Rating

All Ages

Status

finished

Aired

2012-06-23

Futatsu no Kurumi

7.11

Description:

Futatsu no Kurumi is a short story following 12-year-old Ayaka as she is teleported back in time to the fire bombing of Tokyo in 1945 and covers her experiences in this very different and unfamiliar environment. (from saizen-fansubs)
Type

special

Episodes

1

Ep.Length

46 Min

Rating

Children

Status

finished

Aired

2007-08-15

Anne no Nikki: Anne Frank Monogatari

0

Description:

This is the true story of Anne Frank, a Jewish girl living in Amsterdam during WW2. Anne's father realizes on time the danger the Jews face and hides his family (his wife Edith and his two daughters Margo (16) and Anne (13), along with four more people, in "the house behind". For two years the 8 people live in darkness and whispers, in fear to be discovered and sent to the German crematories. During that time young Anne writes a diary, describing day by day life in the cellar, her complicated realtionship with her mother and the story of her first love - Peter, the young boy in the hiding place. Anne writes down her wishes to run out free and breath the air and flowers, her dreams to be free at last. Then they are discovered and are all sent to death. (Source: ANN)
Type

special

Episodes

1

Ep.Length

85 Min

Rating

None

Status

finished

Aired

1979-09-28

Nagasaki 1945: Angelus no Kane

(Nagasaki 1945 ~ The Angelus Bells)

0

Description:

August 1945. In a converted theological seminary on the outskirts of Nagasaki, a young doctor works to help his patients, as unsettling news comes of a new weapon used by the Americans on the city of Hiroshima. When the second nuclear weapon is dropped on Nagasaki, the hospital staff must work to save lives in the midst of the concentric circles of death that their city has become.
Type

movie

Episodes

1

Ep.Length

80 Min

Rating

None

Status

finished

Aired

2005-09-09

Kuro ga Ita Natsu

0

Description:

Japan, summer of 1945. Nobuko, an elementary school girl, saves a little cat from crows. She desparately wants to keep the cat in her home. It is the time everyone suffers shortage of food, so naturally her parents don't like the idea. But Nobuko manages to convince them. She names the cat Kuro (black). Kuro eventually brings laughter to the family. However, the war situation becomes worse and worse... (Source: sazuma.com)
Type

movie

Episodes

1

Ep.Length

67 Min

Rating

All Ages

Status

finished

Aired

1990-06-04

Umigame to Shounen

0

Description:

The first film in Shin-Ei's series of annual WWII themed anime television movies for children "Sensou Douwa" (war story). (Source: AniDB)
Type

special

Episodes

1

Ep.Length

45 Min

Rating

All Ages

Status

finished

Aired

2002-08-15

Tako ni Natta Okaasan

0

Description:

The second film in Shin-Ei's series of annual WWII themed anime television movies for children "Sensou Douwa" (war story). (Source: AniDB)
Type

special

Episodes

1

Ep.Length

45 Min

Rating

All Ages

Status

finished

Aired

2003-08-15

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