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Horror anime might not scare you like traditional horror movies, however, their oftentimes dark storylines can leave you bewildered and traumatized. Throughout anime’s long history, there have been some shows that have left fans disturbed for days after watching them. Here are ten of them.
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The Promised Neverland starts out as a jolly story about kids in an orphanage. However, it doesn’t take long to find out what’s actually going on behind the curtains.
What looks like a happy orphanage on the surface turns out to be something so horrific that it leaves you thinking about it for a while. I will not spoil the dark plot twist the anime has in store for you, as it’s the shock that makes it so good.
The major critique of the show is the unsatisfying second season, which condenses the manga’s storyline. However, the first season is still worth the watch.
To any anime veteran, Junji Ito is not a new name. He is a mangaka famous for horror stories, most notably Uzumaki.
This Junji Ito collection features episodes adapted from some of his best works. It’s a great way to experience the art of Junji Ito, as a lot of his work is yet to receive an anime adaptation. So, if you are not a manga reader, this is the best entry point into his work.
Each episode shows a new story and features some of his famous protagonists like Tomie, Soichi, and Fuchi.
Gleipnir provides a delicious mix of horror, thriller, and action. The anime feels like a generic shounen series at the start, but quickly unravels into a dark and disturbing story.
The show starts off with high school students Shuichi Kagaya and Claire Aoki. Shuichi is gifted an unknown power to turn into a teddy bear of mass destruction. There is an interesting quirk to his new power that allows Claire to step inside the teddy bear and control Shuichi.
Shuichi is trying to understand the origins of his powers, while Aoki is looking for her sister, who was also granted powers but then went missing. The search leads to the unearthing of some horrifying truths. Safe to say, both characters have a lot more in common than aligned goals.
Uzumaki is considered to be Junji Ito’s best work. It’s takes an already established supersition around the spiral — or Uzumaki — and builds on it in a more supernatural way.
The story follows Kirie Goshima and her boyfriend Shuichi Sato as they try to understand the weird curse of the spiral affecting their town. This spiral manifests in weird ways throughout the town, causing unexplainable and confusing phenomena.
Both characters struggle to grasp what this curse is and try to escape this wicked town. For any anime fan looking for a true horror series, Uzumaki is the one to try. If you have the time consider reading the manga first, as it’s much better.
Related: All Major English Cast Members Of Uzumaki
In terms of pure scare, Erased is a bit toned down, but it makes up for it in the psychological trauma department. It’s a classic murder mystery story with a time-travel twist.
Struggling mangaka Satoru Fujinuma finds himself with the weird ability to travel back in time. This ability activates when an unknown assailant brutally murders his mother and Satoru is accused. His ability then activates and sends him back 18 years to his childhood.
This wasn’t a pleasant time for him as, during his childhood, three of his classmates were murdered and went missing. He concludes that his mom’s murderer and the one who took the lives of his friends are connected.
From there begins a journey of mystery and plot twists. The anime gets darker as the story progresses making it a worthwhile psychological horror to watch.
Perfect Blue showcases the darker truths and the underlying secrets behind celebrity culture. It’s a mind-bending psychological thriller film from director Satoshi Kon that will keep you on your toes.
The story follows Mima Kirogoe — a former pop idol turned actor. She navigates this dark world of celebrities, tackling stalking, identity crises, and hallucinations. As the anime continues we get to see her descent into madness.
The reason Perfect Blue is a must-watch anime for any horror fan is how it blurs the line between reality and perception. You will often be left wondering if what you are seeing on screen is Mima’s reality or just her perception of it.
Parasyte follows the story of Shinichi Izumi, a high school student who becomes the host of an alien parasite named Migi. Fortunately, the parasite only inhabits his right hand instead of his whole body. From then on, the anime takes a dark turn, as it turns out many other alien parasites have taken over lots of humans for their nefarious goals.
The anime then showcases a good blend of action, suspense, and horror as Shinichi tries to fight and survive against parasite-infected humans. Parasyte doesn’t shy away from showing blood and gore, so be prepared to see humans dying in unimaginably gruesome ways.
The anime also has a live action adaptation, called Parasyte: The Grey, if you are interested.
Devilman Crybaby is an adaptation of Go Nagai’s Devilman manga directed by Masaki Yuasa, popular for anime like Ping Pong, Ride Your Wave, and Kemonozume. He is known to create visually striking and philosophically impactful anime and Devilman Crybaby is no exception.
This is a psychological horror that follows the story of Akira Fudo, who becomes a human-demon hybrid and is then thrust into a brutal war between humanity and demons. The beautiful thing about the anime is that there is no right or wrong; humans are just as terrible as demons, often worse.
The show builds on this idea of unchecked evils and emphasizes the darkness of human society. It does so with amazing animation filled with gore, violence, and overall disturbing imagery.
If you are looking for a suspenseful and mysterious psychological horror anime that blurs the line between illusion and reality then Higurashi: When They Cry is worth watching.
It explores the bizarre and tragic events that place in the rural village of Hinamizawa. This idyllic looking village turns out to have dark secrets which are uncovered as the story progresses. It takes multiple looping arcs to figure out what’s actually happening, leaving you in suspense for a major part of the ride.
Higurashi: When They Cry is a superb psychological and supernatural horror that masterfully shows friendship, betrayal, and the darkness of human nature.
Another is a chilling supernatural horror based on Yukito Ayatsuji’s novel of the same name, revolving around a mysterious curse placed upon a class in Yomiyama North Middle School.
To put it simply, there is an extra person in the class who should not be there. This character is someone from the class who tragically died in the past but somehow now exists in this classroom. Knowing who this is becomes difficult as the curse modifies everyone’s memories. The curse brutally murders members of the class as time passes. If the students fail to recognize who this extra person is, people continue to die.
From then on it’s a series of death and carnage as classmates die one by one while the class tries to figure out who this extra person is. The anime creates a very unsettling and chilling atmosphere with the animation and sound effects, which just adds to the mystery.