Hatachi no Ryouma with Kurofune-kun!

Name: Hatachi no Ryouma with Kurofune-kun!
Genre: Sci-Fi
Released: 2018-08-01

ハタチの龍馬 with クロフネくん！

Ranked #17255

Popularity #20503

Sci-Fi
Historical

Duration: 2 min
Aired: Aug 1, 2018 to ?
Status: Currently Airing

Synopsis

Set in the vibrant backdrop of Shinagawa, this unique anime commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Meiji Restoration by bringing history to life. The story follows Sakamoto Ryouma, a key figure known for his role in the downfall of the Tokugawa shogunate. During his formative years spent in Shinagawa under the Tosa Clan, Ryouma's legacy is honored with a statue, reflecting his significant contributions to Edo history and his experiences as a coast guard during Commodore Perry's arrival.

As Ryouma navigates the modern landscape, he is joined by Kurofune-kun, an adorable chibi mascot representing the iconic black ships. Together, they embark on an adventurous time slip that introduces Ryouma to the contemporary Shinagawa, where he encounters other notable historical figures who have also leaped through time. This delightful blend of history and modernity invites viewers to explore the past in a fresh and engaging manner, showcasing the enduring spirit of a pivotal era in Japan's development.

Otaku Consensus

Hatachi no Ryouma with Kurofune-kun! is best understood as a hyper-niche commemorative anime rather than a conventional sci-fi series, and its strongest hook is the way DLE packages Shinagawa-specific Bakumatsu history through mascot-friendly, time-slip framing. Its weakest point is also its identity: the project’s tiny international footprint, reflected by its MAL Rank #17135 and Popularity #20429, makes it feel more like a local historical media artifact than a fully satisfying seasonal anime for viewers seeking narrative scale.

Why You Should Watch

Watch Hatachi no Ryouma with Kurofune-kun! if you want a bite-size history curio rather than a textbook biopic: it treats Bakumatsu memory as local Shinagawa media, not as another national-hero epic. The appeal is for viewers who like Hetalia’s compression of history into icons, but want a calmer civic-history angle, or anyone interested in DLE’s mascot-friendly approach without the commitment of a full seasonal drama. Its sci-fi label is less about hard mechanics than the friction between a 19th-century name and a 2018 city trying to preserve him through statues, mascots, and anniversary culture. That makes it useful as an anime footnote: a compact example of how municipalities and studios turn historical anniversaries into character-driven pop culture.

Key Characters

S
Sakamoto Ryouma
This version of Ryouma is interesting because it foregrounds his Shinagawa and Tosa Clan associations rather than only leaning on the better-known assassination-era legend.
K
Kurofune-kun
Kurofune-kun turns the black ships, one of the most intimidating symbols of Japan’s forced opening, into a chibi guidepost for historical memory.

What Makes It Stand Out

1
The anime is credited to DLE, a studio widely associated with economical digital animation and mascot-driven short-form comedy, which fits the project’s promotional-history texture better than a prestige period-drama approach.
2
Its 2018 debut directly aligns with the 150th anniversary of the Meiji Restoration, making it part of a broader anniversary wave rather than a standalone adaptation cycle.
3
The title narrows Sakamoto Ryouma through a local Shinagawa lens, emphasizing his connection to Edo coastal defense and Tosa Clan presence instead of retelling the full national myth around him.
4
Its catalog status is unusual: it is listed as airing from August 1, 2018 with no end date, which separates it from the normal completed seasonal-anime model.
5
The central design conceit gives Commodore Perry’s black ships a mascot form, reframing a geopolitical shock as accessible character iconography.

Fun Facts & Trivia

Fun fact 1: Hatachi no Ryouma can be read as “Twenty-Year-Old Ryouma,” signaling that the project is interested in a younger historical image rather than only the famous final years of Sakamoto Ryouma’s life.
Fun fact 2: The anime premiered on August 1, 2018, the same year Japan marked 150 years since the Meiji Restoration of 1868.
Fun fact 3: DLE is the credited studio; outside this title, the company is strongly associated with Flash-style and short-form animation, most famously through works like Eagle Talon.
Fun fact 4: Its MAL Popularity placement at #20429 makes it an unusually obscure entry even among historical anime, which is part of why it functions more as a database discovery than a mainstream recommendation.
Fun fact 5: The Shinagawa hook is tied to a real commemorative logic: Ryouma’s statue and local memory connect him to Tosa Clan activity, Edo history, and the coastal-defense context around the black ships.