It’s spooky season and what better then to curl up with some thrilling entertainment? Here are my picks of some of the best horror or horror themed anime out there that are essential viewing if you’re in the mood for something scary:
20. Hell Girl
An anthology show which ran for four series, this anime follows the mysterious Hell Girl, who can enact revenge for people through the ‘Hell Correspondence’ website. This eerie and supernatural show isn’t the most action-packed but definitely is a great psychological series.
19. Portrait de petit cossette
A three episode ova about a Japanese art student who grows obsessed with a doll-like girl which quickly turns into a nightmare. This anime has some really creepy visuals and isn’t one I hear mentioned all that much, but is well worth checking out if you want a short, sweet scare.
18. Yami Shibai
Creepy short urban legends – each episode is only a few minutes long, making this a perfect bite-size watch – Yami Shibai or ‘Theatre of Darkness‘ tells numerous ghost stories over the course of it’s nine seasons. Easy to dip in and out of, the animation isn’t particularly amazing but it brings to mind creepy webcomics and manga so if that kind of style is your thing, there’s plenty to find here.
17. Blood +
Ordinary school girl, Saya, finds out that she has incredible fighting powers when a monster attacks her one night – and the key to it is in her forgotten past. More of an action show then some of the others, this is also one of the longer ones at fifty episodes.
16. Vampire Hunter D (2000)
With art from Amano, this movie centres around the mysterious ‘D’, a dhampir (half human, half vampire) vampire hunter. When a young noble woman is taken away by a powerful vampire it is up to D to bring her safely home to her family – he’s not the only one on the trail however as a group of bounty hunters also hope to beat him to the prize. A dark action fantasy which looks a little dated these days but still pretty enjoyable.
15. Mieruko chan
One of the more recent series on this list, Mieruko chan focuses on our titular heroine who is an ordinary teenage school girl… except that she can see ghosts. Terrified by these spirits she does her level best to pretend like she can’t see them at all, but it’s harder then would might first seem given how many of them seem to be drawn to her and her friends.
14. Junji Ito series
Junji Ito is famous in manga circles as being one of the most renowned horror manga artists and writers of all time. This adaptation of some of his stories is a little lacking in terms of art and production value but a good introduction to his work if you’re not familiar or just want to revisit some of his creepy stories.
13. School Live
I don’t want to say much about this one as it’s really a series that is best to go into totally blind. The series follows a group of girls staying in their school and what happens to them there. It’s bright and colourful and has really lovable characters and some shocking twists. It’s a series that has fallen under the radar a little but one I often tend to recommend to people who want something a bit different and on the darker spectrum of more recent shows.
12. Ghost Hunt
This series centres around school girl, Mai, who ends up assisting a powerful ghost hunter and his team in investigating various phenomena in the region. It has some lighter moments compared to other series on here but offers some genuinely creepy scares here and there.
11. Made in Abyss
Not a horror in the more traditional sense but this fantasy show about a young girl and her robot friend who venture down into a mysterious abyss has enough dark themes for me to put it on this list. Don’t be fooled by the childish art style, this is a series which deals with some really mature topics and the further on it goes, the deeper into the darkness it delves.
10. Berserk
Like the one before, this one isn’t a horror in the traditional sense but there are enough dark themes in this series for it to fall in this category, in particular that infamous ending scene in the 1997 animation. The series follows lone wolf swordsman, Guts, who ends up working with an ambitious young war lord by the name of Griffith and their fight for power in a war-torn land, beset by demons. It’s not one for the faint hearted but has a truly amazing story and cast of characters.
9. Parasyte
When highschool student Shinichi Izumi wakes up with an alien trying to take over his body he manages to keep the parasite stuck in just one area – his right hand. Cheated of it’s attempt at possession, the alien called Migi is left with no other choice for its survival: work with it’s new host against the other aliens who seek to destroy it. Together the two must form a co-existence so they can both can live. This series is pretty high on body horror and offers some great drama amongst the horror too.
8. Another
Another is one of those animes which probably comes closest to a trashy teen horror movie, like Final Destination. A mysterious curse starts to effect a class of school children, and it’s down to new student, Kouichi and his enigmatic new friend (and suspect), Mei to try and determine the cause of it before the whole class is wiped out. It’s got some twists and shocks but ultimately this show is one of the more easy watching ones on the list, but a fun one nevertheless.
7. The Promised Neverland Season 1
More thriller than horror, I still think the first season of The Promised Neverland has a place on this list. It tells the story of a trio of children in an orphanage who find out the truth behind where the ‘adopted’ children go, and their cat and mouse game of survival to escape. This is a truly tense and riveting anime which will keep you on the edge of your seat. The second season switches genre and unfortunately chooses to skip a lot of the manga arcs but the first season is still a fabulous watch and can easily be watched as a stand alone.
6. Kara no Kyoukai series
A series of films, rather than a typical anime, the world of Kara no Kyoukai (set in same universe as the more famous Fate/ franchise), is set around a young Japanese woman called Shiki who has a mystical power which allows her to see the lines separating a person to their death. The series is gorgeously animated and soundtracked, each film revealing a little more of the overarching story about Shiki herself whilst she investigates into strange hauntings.
5. Shinsekai Yori
A coming-of-age story about a group of friends who grow up in a seemingly utopian society, but when they start to examine how their society came to be and what lies beyond it, they begin to see the darkness slipping between the cracks. One of the more underrated series here, it’s got more drama and slice of elements initially before tackling darker storylines as the anime progresses.
4. Hellsing Ultimate
Another classic, Hellsing Ultimate, is a blood-soaked action series based around vampire hunters. When young rookie police-woman, Seras is accidentally caught up in a violent attack on a village she is turned into a vampire by the mysterious Alucard and must learn how to grow in her new instincts and help the organisation of Hellsing as they deal with even greater threats that could threaten all of humanity.
3. Shiki
Shiki follows a varied cast of characters in an isolated village who is beset upon by a strange illness which rapidly causes its victims to waste away and die in a matter of days. As the deaths become more frequent, fingers point towards the new family who moved into the village who may just be vampires… A series with some great scares and twists and turns, this one is a great anime which manages to perfectly nail the horror tone.
2. Perfect Blue
Perfect Blue is a film directed and written by the infamous Satoshi Kon (Paprika, Paranoia Agent), and follows young idol turned actress Mimi who struggles with her sanity and her personal safety as frightening events happen. A more psychological watch, this is a classic which everyone interested in dark themes should check out.
1. Higurashi no Naku Koru Ni
One of the older series on this list, though it has recently received the reboot treatment thanks to Studio Passione, this tells the story of a group of youngsters in an isolated mountain village called Hinamizawa in the 1980s. What starts off as a slice of life show quickly derails into madness and paranoia as something dark begins to affect the characters. This show isn’t as fondly remembered nowadays and the original series animation looks a little janky compared to more modern series but there is a sense of dread and anxiety that this show perfectly manages to capture, and the later arcs really go into unusual and thought-provoking territory. If you haven’t seen this horror classic, then definitely add it to your list for this Halloween!
But that’s not all, as I wanted to mention two more upcoming horror anime on the horizon:
Housing Complex C
Airing this new fall season, Housing Complex C is a four episode series about a girl called Kimi who lives in a housing complex where mysterious and horrific incidents happen.
Uzumaki
Junji Ito was mentioned above with the series which adapts many of the mangaka’s short stories but one of his most popular works is that of Uzumaki (or ‘Spiral’), which features spirals and madness. Set for a 2023 release and with no more information out yet, the show runners are choosing to stick with the original series distinct black and white style.
