Ever since Battle Royale, the media has been in love with the idea of throwing random people against one another in bloody displays of survival. And while The Hunger Games had a pretty successful run with the concept, anime has more than done the idea justice with its dozens of variations.

Death games are some of the most beloved premises in anime. Anime's greatest fights to the death portray life and death as a literal game for survival. It allows for some surprisingly deep, existential dialogues along with some pretty gruesome visual sequences.

Updated on February 28th, 2024 by Chelsea Steele: For years, death games have been a popular premise within media, and anime is no different. Some of the most popular anime series of all time feature thrilling death games such as these, where the stakes are higher than ever and characters must fight for survival every step of the way. We've updated this list to meet CBR's current publication standard, offering more info on some of the deadliest death games in anime history.

15 Battle Game In 5 Seconds Follows A Group Of Human Experiments Forced Into A Killing Game

Battle Game In 5 Seconds Rating Scores

Battle Game In 5 Seconds features one of the deadliest killing games in anime. After they're forcibly dragged onto the battlefield, the cast is taken off the grid. Additionally, they underwent human experimentation that gave them magical powers without their knowing.

The protagonist, Akira, decides to use these new powers to his advantage. He seeks to destroy the organization that subjected himself and his fellow participants to this nightmarish death game. For fans of Death Note, this anime relies on a battle of wits reminiscent of Light and L's cat-and-mouse dynamics.

14 Alice In Borderland Is A Dark Twist On The Classic Tale

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Taking inspiration from the classic Alice In Wonderland, Alice In Borderland puts an eccentric, gory spin on Alice's adventures. The main trio gets taken into a nightmarish world where their mental and physical endurance are both put through the wringer.

The games they're forced to play are bizarre and mentally straining. However, they form strong bonds and stick together as they navigate this new world. Additionally, this hit series also has a Netflix live-action adaptation. It's an excellent choice for fans of cerebral or psychological horror, such as Death Note or Tokyo Ghoul.

13 Death Parade Is Set In Purgatory Where The Newly Deceased Must Play A Game To Decide Their Fate

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Death Parade reinvented the entire concept of a death game because all of its participants have already died. Although this anime takes on a significantly more subdued tone than the rest, it's quite thought-provoking.

While its games are seemingly mundane, Death Parade puts high stakes on every single one. Taking place in purgatory, each episode reveals something new about each participant. All of their most horrifying memories and grief are revealed. Ultimately, these games decide who deserves to be reincarnated or sent to the void.

12 Darwin's Game Combines Death Games & Video Game Isekai

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Darwin's Game is a fast-paced series that blends the idea of a survival game with video games. The protagonist, Kaname, downloads a new mobile game. Quickly, he realizes this mobile game forced reality to blend with the fictional world.

Similar to Sword Art Online, Darwin's Game forces all of the players to survive in this new metaverse-like world. If they die in this bizarre reality, then they're dead in the normal reality as well. They're essentially forced to prove that they deserve to be alive.

11 Jujutsu Kaisen Features A Death Game Arc Later In The Series

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Although this arc hasn't yet been animated, Jujutsu Kaisen's Culling Game is a horrific battle royale taking place directly after the Shibuya incident. Kenjaku created this game as a way to force humanity's evolution into jujutsu sorcery and kill off the weakest links. It's a game essentially created with a "survival of the fittest" mentality.

It's also considered an act of jujutsu terrorism. Participants only score points after killing another player, and they have to follow each of the game's rules. The battle takes place across ten barriers that form a straight line across the entire country.

10 Deadman Wonderland Is A Death Game Made For The Entertainment Of Elites

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Whether it's for science or just the pure entertainment of rich people. The entire product of the Deadman Wonderland infrastructure isn't rehabilitation but bloodshed. While having prisoners run through a horrifying obstacle course is already good family fun, the chief attraction for elite eyes only is an underground fighting ring pitting individuals with an ability to weaponise their own blood called "Branch of Sin."

The construct of Deadman Wonderland is simple: Two prisoners enter. Only a few limbs can escape unscathed. The winner gets a massive cash prize, while the loser just loses a few more limbs for science.

9 Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor Features Deadly Gambling Games Where The Winner Gets Their Debts Forgiven

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Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor focuses on society's most elite class, abusing everyone else's gambling addictions in the worst way possible. When some of the most down-on-their-luck guys struggle to pay back their debt, a mysterious man in a suit slyly hands out the opportunity to pay back the debt and more.

However, this entails highly competitive gambling games that have the losers either lose a limb or be forced to work for eternity. The winners just get to be a little less poor. It's a cruel cycle that's built in a way that guarantees there are always players for gambling's cruel game.

8 Kakegurui Follows A School Of Elite Students Who Gamble Their Way To The Top

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The world of Kakegurui is a lot like Kaiji, except the victims are rich kids, and the games are far more gruesome. Students will make excruciatingly painful and humiliating gambles, such as betting fingernails, subjecting themselves to servitude, or just outright playing Russian Roulette. As a result, despite its prestige, Hyakkaou Private Academy is one of the cruelest schools around.

It encourages gambling, but its richest and most elite rig the games, either in the rules or in the cruel fact that they have endless amounts to bet. Using this to subjugate and torture the student body, its halls are more commonly filled with losers than any actual winners.

7 Gantz Sees Participants Brought Back From The Dead To Play A Bizarre Death Game

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Gantz is one of the most strangely cruel worlds in all anime. When some people die, a man in a metal ball resurrects them, gives them high-tech suits and guns, and has them hunt an alien of their choice. Points are awarded for killing or at least participating, and those who accrue enough points will get the chance to never play the game again and live out their second life in peace.

However, the game itself is increasingly strange and deadly. The aliens are either technologically advanced or are just immensely strong in either powers or their abstract proportions. Besides horrifying with their looks, they often kill their foes in some of the most gruesome ways possible. With no explanation for what's happening or why they have to kill aliens, just living is a struggle in the world of Gantz.

6 Hunter X Hunter's Greed Island Is The Ultimate Test Of Skill

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Hunter x Hunter's Greed Island didn't start out as a death game. Created by Ging Freecss and some of his friends, it was meant to be the ultimate test of a hunter's skill and a fun adventure. However, with years having gone by without any actual winner and with the prize itself being too tantalizing for people to give up, people resorted to killing on Greed Island to move further through the game.

Some players decided to kill other players so they could steal their game cards. Others would force others to collect the cards on their behalf. In a game that's already harsh, the players themselves made the game even deadlier.

5 Sword Art Online Sees Gamers Trapped Within The World Of An MMORPG

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Sword Art Online is one of the most beloved proponents of the death game genre. The grand reveal of its premise still shocks fans today, and its execution offered plenty of good drama and scenarios. Sword Art Online is the new, hot game on the block that every kid wants to play. During its day-one release, thousands of players flocked to the online world and were immediately immersed in its wonder.

Soon enough, however, they realized none of them could log off. The creator himself would reveal no one could leave his game, and any attempt to do so in the real world would instantly kill them. The only way to leave is to win Sword Art Online, while a loss means dying in the real world.

4 Future Diary Follows A Group Of Participants Fighting To Become The Successor To A God

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When the old god becomes bored and tired of his job, he has to decide on a successor. He gathers a few of the mortals he talks with, gives each of them a means of reading the future, and has them fight to the death. Future Diary is one of the most distinct and violent death game anime.

Its characters create interesting scenarios when using their titular future diaries, and their means of advancing the game are only as violent and cunning as the players themselves. With some sad backstories, romance, and world-breaking twists in the mix, this is a death game that guarantees its viewers won't know what is going to happen next.

3 Danganronpa Stars A Group Of Students Forced Into A Gruesome Killing Game

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Danganronpa is the classic death game at its strongest. It collects a few teenagers, gives them some eclectic personalities and abilities, and tells them to kill each other until only one remains. The big difference this series has is that the person running the show is a teddy bear, and it states that the killer themselves must not be caught after every kill.

The students of Hope's Peak Academy must run an investigation and trial for each murder. If they deduce correctly, the killer is executed. If they choose wrong, the killer wins, and everyone else is executed. It's a compelling game that made for a really compelling anime adaptation.

2 Btooom! Brings A Popular Online Game To The Real World

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Sword Art Online is a strong purveyor of the idea of "if you die in the game, you die in real life," but it leaves the audience to wonder what would happen if the game didn't take place in the metaverse. Btooom! is a popular online game that features plenty of guns and explosions modern gaming is infamous for.

However, one player perhaps liked the game a little too much, as they designed an entire, real-life version around it. Various Btooom! players find themselves waking up on a mysterious island with plenty of weapons at their disposal. The last person standing is the winner; however, the losers won't get the chance to respawn.

1 The Fate Series Follows Reborn Historical Figures As They Fight For The Coveted Holy Grail

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A lot of death games have regular humans or, at their most imaginative, regular humans with superpowers thrust upon them. However, the Fate series gives its death game a lot more culture and prestige to its combat. Every few generations, the families and magi of the Fate world compete for the coveted Holy Grail.

To participate, competitors must be one of the seven Masters to summon a Servant to the game. Each Servant is a legendary figure from either history or fiction and is imbued with the great powers of their legend. The Masters are often highly trained magi who've prepared special weaponry, in addition to their own powers. The rules are the same, but the battles are so much more intriguing, as superpowers and cool references collide in this mega-hit series.