Anime is viewed as one of the most inventive and limitless mediums of animation, and it’s incredible just how many unique visions have been made possible through the power of anime. There are dozens of eclectic genres that anime can indulge in, and while certain archetypes of the shonen, shojo, and magical girl genres remain at the forefront of anime, there’s also a steady push toward more frightening horror content.
Horror is a difficult genre to properly convey, and plenty of properties can be scary at the time, only to not play as well in retrospect. The mood and terror of some horror anime can quickly fade, but there are also some series that only get scarier with each passing year.
10 Higurashi: When They Cry Gets More Grim & Unpredictable With Each Episode
Presentation is everything, and there are lots of horror anime that advertise themselves to be terrifying adventures, but there’s an extra level of effectiveness present when this dread comes as a surprise. Higurashi: When They Cry has evolved to include several complementary series and spin-offs, all of which expand upon the death-filled time loop curse that’s at the center of the story. Higurashi is an exercise in patience, and it takes time for it to show its hand, but it’s incredibly satisfying and deeply disturbing. Its blunt violence and feelings of hopelessness are impossible to shake away.
9 Devilman Crybaby Is A Violent, Blood-Soaked Examination Of Identity
Go Nagai’s Devilman series has been indulging in body horror and bloody massacres for decades, but Masaaki Yuasa’s 2018 reinvention of the series, Devilman Crybaby, may be the most powerful entry from the franchise. Devilman Crybaby sticks to the anime’s narrative about a disaffected teenager who suddenly gains demonic powers and has the opportunity to prevent greater fallout or just embrace his darker impulses. Devilman Crybaby’s questions about humanity and identity are effectively contemplative, but the series gets so hyperbolized when it comes to its depictions of violence. It’s a lot to take in, but it’s also incredibly frightening.
8 Paranoia Agent Is A Stunning Look Into Mob Mentality And The Powers Of Imagination
Satoshi Kon is responsible for some of the most moving and prolific works of anime from the past few decades. Kon’s efforts are typically focused on the cinema, and Perfect Blue and Paprika remain challenging psychological nightmares.
Paranoia Agent is Kon’s foray into television, and he creates a brilliant narrative about a mysterious violent criminal known as Lil’ Slugger. Lil’ Slugger’s attacks plague a wide range of individuals, and the series becomes a dissection on memory, shared experiences, and the infectious nature of groupthink. It’s a series that’s as smart as it is scary.
7 Inuyashiki Examines The Bottomless Darkness That’s Present In Some People
Inuyashiki is a slow burn into cynical forces, and it’s astounding just how much the anime is able to say across a scant eleven episodes. Inuyashiki comes from Hiroya Oku, who’s responsible for Gantz and other material that’s just as intellectually stimulating as it is viscerally disturbing. Inuyashiki centers around a cosmic event that leaves two individuals, an ignored elderly man and an angry teenager, with incredible powers. Inuyashiki examines how the teenager turns to mass destruction and keeps the public suppressed in terror, whereas the elderly man tries to fulfill the role of hero for the first time in his life.
6 Deadman Wonderland Turns A Deadly Life Sentence Into Mass Entertainment
There is an increasing number of anime that turn life or death scenarios into twisted competitions or even riffs on children’s games. Deadman Wonderland exists within such an infrastructure where the affluent and rich wager upon deathmatches that are set up within a massive prison. Deadman Wonderland follows Ganta Igarashi, an innocent student who’s forced into this combative existence. The initial premise and quest for redemption that drives Deadman Wonderland are entertaining, but the blunt force behind the battles and how truly limited the characters’ lives can be is what makes the horror anime something to repeatedly revisit.
5 Another Presents A Broken School That Can’t Move On From The Sins Of The Past
Transferring to a new school is often a cause for stress, but Another proves just how uncomfortable this experience can be. Kouichi Sakakibara transfers to a new school that’s immersed in darkness and rumors over a girl who passed away there decades earlier.
Kouichi’s friendship with a strange girl with an eyepatch brings him deeper into this murder mystery, where no one is safe. Admittedly, Another often indulges in the mechanics of the mystery genre, but the constant death and sense of dread that hangs over the series makes it undeniable to overlook its impact as a horror series.
4 Corpse Party: Tortured Souls Presents An Alternate Reality That’s Full Of Vengeful Spirits
Corpse Party: Tortured Souls is a four-episode OVA series based on a series of video games that looks at a group of high school students who get transported to an alternate dimension wherein their school is now haunted by the lost souls who met their ends there. Zombies, ghosts, and demonic forces try to take out these unsuspecting students, which results in some gruesome displays of carnage. There’s little room for fat in Corpse Party: Tortured Souls, which allows each episode to capitalize on bloody setpieces that are genuinely shocking most of the time.
3 Shiki’s Disturbing Mystery Grows More Horrific With Every Turn
Shiki is a horror anime that casts a small town under a cloud of mysterious deaths and darkness as demonic forces known as Shiki generate a growing body count. Shiki generates most of its fear out of the random deaths that plague the community, but also the truly ferocious nature of the vampire-like Shiki. Shiki’s story and characters are hardly revelatory, but it nails its horror and is full of haunting imagery. Shiki is the rare example of a series that grows scarier and more intimidating with each new episode as the audience goes deeper into this mystery.
2 Blue Gender’s Alien Threat Goes For The Jugular
There are many anime series that focus on a deadly alien invasion or a futuristic dystopian society. Blue Gender doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it still crafts an engaging story that’s full of exciting action and some horrifying extraterrestrial threats. The Blue are a terrifying species of alien, and they’re the primary target of Yuji Kaido and the few remaining members of the human race. The war between humanity and the Blue is bold, bloody, and biologically disturbing. The distinct hybrids between bug and man, as well as the carnage that’s left in between, will stick with the viewer.
1 Happy Sugar Life’s Cute Veneer Only Makes Its Deadly Turn Hit Harder
Happy Sugar Life is an incredibly dangerous anime series that toes the line in response to going too far. The psychological horror series is such an intense trip because it presents itself with cute, colorful aesthetics before darkness strikes. Happy Sugar Life spends its time inside of the head of a deeply disturbed individual, Satou, who becomes obsessed over the purity of a young girl named Shio. Satou’s goal to protect Shio from darkness leads to a string of murders. Satou is the most dangerous person for Shio to be around, but Happy Sugar Life presents her as a savior.
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