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With the exception of genre masters like Junji Ito, anime and manga aren’t exactly the most horror-friendly mediums out there. However, from the Cenobite-inspired God Hand of Berserk to the near-Lovecraftian archeology of Made in Abyss, there’s no denying that Japanese artists often manage to sneak in some unexpected scares into their work.
And with decades of Japanese animation to choose from, there are bound to be at least a few oddball productions likely to satisfy audiences with a craving for animated frights. With that in mind, we’ve decided to come up with a list highlighting six of the best anime for horror fans, as not all nightmares have to be in live-action!
While this list is obviously based on personal opinion, we’ll only be considering Japanese productions as proper “anime,” which means no Western animations like Netflix’s Castlevania! With that out of the way, don’t forget to comment below with your own favorite anime horrors if you think we missed a particularly spooky one.
Now, onto the list!
6. Hellsing Ultimate (2006-2012)
Set in an alternate reality where vampires run amuck and have to be hunted down by the Hellsing Organization, Hellsing Ultimate is a reboot of the infamous 90s anime and a great place to start for horror fans aiming to dip their toes into Eastern animation. Boasting a kick-ass art style and a narrative more faithful to its source material than the 90s iteration (which was forced to come up with its own stories in order to fill in the holes left by a then-incomplete manga), Hellsing Ultimate feels like the Japanese equivalent of 2000’s horror action films like Underworld and Constantine.
It will also likely appeal to fans of Castlevania, with the anime sporting its own iconic version of Alucard and featuring more gory vampiric action than you can shake a stake at. The plot might devolve into over-the-top nazi conspiracies, but there’s no denying this is one of the most stylish vampire stories available.
5. Devilman Crybaby (2018)
A big-budget adaptation of one of the most popular manga of all time, Netflix’s Devilman Crybaby has a lot going for it if you can stomach some of the story’s modernizations. Sure, it’s a very different beast when compared to its source material. But the iconic tale of a high-schooler absorbing the power of a horrific demon and using it to fight evil is no less engaging now than in the 70s.
While mainstream critics accused some of the show’s content of being excessively violent and gratuitous, I’m pretty confident that horror fans will appreciate Devilman’s descent into hellish levels of blood and gore. It also boasts a banger of an opening theme!
And if you like this one, you might also enjoy the existential thrills of Neon Genesis Evangelion, which is kind of an angelic counterpart to Devilman.
4. Gyo: Tokyo Fish Attack (2012)
The idea of a “land shark” might have inspired Ron Underwood’s iconic Tremors. But horror icon Junji Ito also took advantage of the concept for his underrated manga Gyo, which would later be adapted to animation in 2011. Chronicling the chaos that ensues when legged sea creatures start crawling onto land and attacking people is one of the most unusual apocalyptic scenarios I’ve ever seen in a film.
While this adaptation is nowhere near as terrifying as its source material, focusing more on the cataclysmic thrills of the seaborne crisis than the visceral scares of Ito’s manga, I’d still recommend giving this one a watch if you’ve ever wondered how folks would react to sharks eating people in traffic.
3. Another (2012)
Based on a novel instead of a manga, P.A. Works’ Another is a rare example of a horror story set in a middle school. Its odd collection of young characters only makes the violence hit even harder as the anime explores the aftermath of a gruesome series of student deaths. Featuring some iconic imagery and more than its fair share of disturbing violence, I recommend this one for horror hounds with no problem with animated gore.
And if you enjoy the sadistic thrills of Another, you should also check out Kadokawa Shoten’s original novel, as it dives even deeper into the psychological terror that makes this story so memorable.
2. Wicked City (1987)
While you might not have heard of Wicked City before, you’ve almost certainly seen out-of-context references to it during your time on the internet. From demonic spider ladies to memorable scenes of graphic violence, this time capsule of 80s excess is basically an exploitation flick in animated form.
Light on story but heavy on atmosphere, Wicked City follows a duo of secret agents as they attempt to keep an ancient mystic safe in a world where humans and demons hold a shaky truce. It’s certainly not for everyone (especially when considering the problematic depictions of sexual violence and a collection of paper-thin characters). Still, style over substance has never looked so terrifyingly good.
1. Serial Experiments Lain (1998)
My personal favorite anime on this list, the appeal of Serial Experiments Lain is hard to summarize in a few sentences, with the story following the existential plight of a young girl who finds herself chasing online ghosts while also observing the unexpected effects that the internet (here referred to as “The Wire”) has on society.
A rare treat for conspiracy theorists and folks who spend too much time online, Lain will probably appeal to A24 fans who like their scares character-focused and served with a dash of ambiguous symbolism. It also boasts a veritable banger of an ending song.