Since the start, anime characters with power and superhuman abilities have dominated the industry. Every fan remembers the names of characters like Goku, Saitama, Naruto, or Luffy. However, most fans can’t recall a single character from a horror genre anime. So, it’s time we bring those forgotten horror masterpieces to light that never got the appreciation they deserved.
The shows like Attack on Titan, Berserk, Deadman Wonderland, and Parasyte also fall into the horror category. But, their major inclination is toward the action and thriller genres. So, we kept all such shows aside and listed the ones that are pure horror.
10/10 Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories
Yamishibai is not your regular anime with a series of episodes following a particular story. Instead, each episode of Yamishibai walks you through a different tale about an urban legend. The show’s unique concept is what makes it special for people interested in horror anime. The show has given us over a hundred episodes, and the anime is still ongoing. So, Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories is one of the longest-running horror shows of all time.
Every week, a man with a yellow mask arrives at a children’s park and shares a new story. The mysterious man tells the stories on the back of his bicycle, using a traditional method known as Kamishibai. Each week, he comes up with a new story.
9/10 Highschool of the Dead
Zombies and their fear never go out of style, and the way Highschool of the Dead used zombies in the show makes it worth watching. The show jumps straight to a zombie apocalypse without wasting much time setting the atmosphere, and that’s exactly what fans love about the show.
After the zombie apocalypse, the world becomes chaotic, and the fight for survival begins. Some high school students are a part of this chaotic world and do everything they can to survive. But, zombies are not the only threat they have to face in the series.
8/10 Ghost Hound
Production I.G has been well versed in horror and thriller shows, and Ghost Hound is one of their notable projects. Fans admire the series for its incredible storyline and unexpected twists. But, what the community talks about most are the perfect mood-setting soundtracks that intensify every scene.
The story by Chiaki J. Konawa goes like this – Suiten is a fictional town on the island of Kyushu, where three high school boys, Tarō, Makoto, and Masayuki, have gone through a traumatic childhood. Consequently, they learn to shift their souls to a parallel world known as the “Unseen World.”
7/10 Hell Girl
While the series follows a standalone pattern for each episode, the main story runs in the background. Hell Girl ran for three seasons, starting from October 2005 to 2008. With so many episodes to watch, your thirst for horror series will quench fully with Hell Girl.
Whenever someone feels like a victim and desires revenge, they can summon Ai Enma, a.k.a Hell Girl using a mysterious website. Hell Girl then visits the person from whom the revenge is to be taken and ferries them to hell. However, the person who summons Ai Enma also needs to pay a hefty price – their soul goes to hell after death.
6/10 Ghost Hunt
As the name of the series suggests, Ghost Hunt is all about the paranormal world and eliminating the ghosts. The show comes up with some incredible jump-scary scenes from time to time that keeps you engaged in the series till the very end. With twenty-five episodes in total, it’s a perfect horror anime series to binge-watch in a day or two. However, you’ll be asking for more once it ends.
The story follows the adventures of Shibuya Psychic Research, a facility that investigates the occurrence of mysterious ghosts and paranormal activities throughout Japan. Mai Taniyama, the main protagonist of Ghost Hunt, finds herself involved in the research after an unfortunate incident.
5/10 Another
Another might seem a bit slow because of its perplexing story. But, after a few episodes, you start connecting the dots, and that’s when the show gets interesting. A mysterious trail of murders set up the story of Another.
Class 3-3 of Yomiyama North Middle is doomed by a weird phenomenon, which starts killing the students, teachers, and their known ones. The curse can be traced back to 1972, when a fellow student of class 3-3, Mei Misaki, died. Now, Koichi Sakakibara and his classmates try to figure out what activates the curse and how to stop it.
4/10 Shiki
Shiki is terrifying enough to make your blood run cold. On top of that, the horrendous killings and bloodbaths make the series even more likable for horror fans. The series will always keep you on edge and make you wonder what will happen next.
If vampires tickle your fancy, then you’re going to love Shiki. After the mysterious deaths start to occur in the town of Sotoba, Doctor Toshio Ozaki initiates an investigation of the matter, believing it’s a pandemic. Surprisingly, it turns out that vampire-like creatures known as Shiki are behind all the atrocities.
3/10 Ajin: Demi-Human
The only thing viewers criticize about this anime is its 3D-style animation. Keeping that aside, Ajin: Demi-Human has everything you look for in a horror series. Besides the twenty-six-episode TV show, there’s also a three-part anime movie set in the universe of Ajin.
The immortal lifeforms first appeared on Earth seventeen years ago, and now they have started to appear among humans. Nagai Kei is a student who discovers that he’s one of many Ajins. The government captures these mysterious people to learn more about their gruesome experiences, and Kei joins hands with the government for his freedom. The series is available to watch on Netflix.
2/10 Serial Experiments Lian
Fans have started to forget the old gems of the 90s, and Serial Experimental Lian is one such gem that is a perfect watch if you’re looking for something horror. This series doesn’t follow your typical horror style with ghosts and supernatural stuff. Instead, it’s a perfect take on psychological horror.
Lain Iwakura is a high school girl with no experience in computers and technology. However, her life turns upside-down when she receives an email from her dead classmate. When Lain opens the email, she transfers into a virtual world known as “The Wired.” Soon, her identity and perception of things start taking a turn.
1/10 Mononoke
With an IMDB rating of 8.3, Mononoke tops the best horror anime series list. Toei Animation is the studio behind the series, with Chiaki J. Konaka as the writer, who also gave us the incredible Ghost Hound series. The blend of murder mystery and horror in Mononoke couldn’t be pulled off any better.
An exorcist that goes by the name “Medicine Seller” fights and kills Mononoke, evil spirits in the human world that exist using negative human emotions. But, there’s a twist to how the Medicine Seller exorcises the evil. Before eliminating the spirits, he needs to know every little detail about them.
