Both titles is provided with historical facts about post war Russia and Japan relationships.

Both anime deal with russian-japanese relations. "Giovanni's Island" takes place during WWII while "Bakumatsu Spasibo" takes place in 1855. "Giovanni's Island" is centered around kids and shows the daily life of people (+ it has some fantasy elements) while "Bakumatso no Spasibo" is slightly more dry and focuses around polititians and their negotiations.