There are plenty of horror movies for audiences to enjoy, but what about anime fans? Horror anime are few and far between, but some anime series tackle this medium very well. Horror anime is not scary in the traditional sense. It is tackled from a different angle, with a mixture of suspense, jump scares, and an overall feeling of dread mixed in with a good storyline.
From realistic horror based on historical events like Barefoot Gen to the borderline supernatural in Another, these horror titles are guaranteed to keep viewers on the edge of their seats.
8 Attack on Titan
Attack on Titan has been one of the most popular and gruesome anime series of the 21st century. This is mainly due to the show’s outright shock value, particularly involving Titans.
In one heartbreaking scene, a young Eren Yeager and Mikasa try and fail to lift Carla, Eren's mother, out of their collapsed house. Powerless, he is forced to watch his flailing mother be ripped apart and eaten by a smiling Titan as her blood rains from the sky. This incident is one of the catalysts that causes Eren's drive to become stronger and to join the Survey Corps.
7 Psycho-Pass
Psycho-Pass offers a distinct criticism of modern-day society and human reliance on technology. One brutal scene, in particular, shows a woman on the phone walking through a crowded street. She is approached by a masked stranger, whom she brushes past. He then approaches her again, brandishing a hammer.
He attacks her while bystanders begin pulling out their phones to record the attack. While assaulting her, a supposedly helpful AI robot appears and asks if she is “distressed” and to go to a medical facility. This scene deserves a spot on this list purely for how scarily realistic it is.
6 Mirai Nikki
Mirai Nikki focuses on a group of other people with a diary that allows them to predict the future. They are forced in compete in a battle royale scenario, given a 90-day time limit, and must find and kill all the other contestants to win. The last one standing would become Deus Ex Machina’s successor, the God of Space and Time.
Two characters, in particular, stand out; Yukiteru Amano and Yuno Gasai. They formed an unlikely partnership, and Yuno acted as a bodyguard to protect Yukiteru. What's truly terrifying is the lengths Yuno would go to in order to stay with Yukiteru. She would commit any atrocity to save his life and be with him forever. Even going as far as brutally butchering her alternate self to take her place.
5 Another
Another is an adult horror anime set in 1998 and focused on a seemingly-cursed class. It is a gory horror similar to the Final Destination franchise. In Another, the students and people involved in class 3-3 of Yomiyama North Junior High school befall tragic and curiously fatal accidents. These events all began when a student committed suicide, and her classmates pretended she was still alive as a coping mechanism.
One horrifying scene, in particular, shows a girl tripping down a flight of stairs and getting her neck impaled by the tip of her own umbrella.
4 Tokyo Ghoul
Dying for some gory horror? Look no further than Tokyo Ghoul. Ken Kaneki was an ordinary student until his life changed upon crossing paths with a hungry female ghoul. He becomes a half-ghoul, half-human hybrid after an accident and an organ transplant gone wrong.
One memorable scene in Tokyo Ghoul is hard for audiences to watch. Kaneki gets tortured repeatedly by Jason, who forces him to count backward from 1000 in groups of 7. If Kaneki failed, he would be tortured further. In gruesome scenes, Jason is seen ripping off Kaneki’s nails with pliers and even forcing a centipede inside his ear.
3 Corpse Party: Tortured Souls
Corpse Party: Tortured Souls is a 4-episode OVA series inspired by the Japanese videogame Corpse Party. It focuses on students at Kisaragi Academy, which was previously known as the cursed Heavenly Host Elementary, where many students and staff were murdered. Students at Kisaragi were spending their final day with a friend, Mayu, who was transferring to a different school. They performed a ritual to ensure they would stay friends forever, creating the "Sachiko Forever" charm. The group of friends all get transported to an alternate dimension in Heavenly Host Elementary.
There are plenty of scary moments and shock factor in this gruesome anime. A memorable moment is Mayu encountering two ghostly children, one of which was missing half of her head. After the teacher pleads with Mayu to leave these children alone, they grab Mayu and throw her against a wall in a fit of rage, splattering her guts everywhere. Mayu's recognizable purple hairclip is left hanging from the wall, along with her intestines.
2 Elfen Lied
Elfen Lied explores the life of Lucy, a Diclonius who is a mutated human born with horns and telekinetic powers. She was previously tortured, experimented upon, and imprisoned under armed guard due to her great supernatural strength.
One scene shows Lucy's escape from her asylum and how she achieved her freedom at a great cost to human life. She shreds apart her guards (and her clothes) using just her mind. As a human head rolls at her feet, she can be heard calmly singing while walking away from the carnage she caused. Her rampage continues as she walks through a rain of bullets unscathed and cleaves her opponents into two.
1 Barefoot Gen
Barefoot Gen is a historical anime movie loosely based on manga of the same name. It showcases World War II in Japan through the innocent eyes of a child and the events surrounding the Hiroshima Bomb. Heartbreakingly, it shows first-hand the effects of the bomb.
In a flash of blinding light, the bomb can be seen literally melting away the skin, teeth, and eyes of many citizens who were living peacefully mere seconds ago. One distressing scene shows a mother and child being vaporized. Even while dying, the mother was still reaching for her baby.