There is no shortage of contrasting mediums of entertainment that fight for the audience’s attention, yet it often feels like there’s an endless level of freedom and creativity that’s present in anime. Anime can get unfairly generalized into a form of storytelling that’s filled with stereotypically aggressive masculine characters and colorful and bright female figures. Archetypes exist in anime, but the horror genre is often able to transcend expectations and tell mature and unpredictable stories.
Plenty of these horror anime series submerge the audience into dark and uncomfortable narratives, but it’s also common for there to be some central creature that operates as nightmare fuel. Some of these beasts are so terrifying that they could anchor their own monster movie independently of their anime origins.
10 Neon Genesis Evangelion’s Angels Present Esoteric Terror
One of the most popular genres of anime caters toward gigantic battles between humongous mecha robots and otherworldly kaiju threats. Neon Genesis Evangelion begins like most mecha series, but it gradually transforms into a meditation on depression, loneliness, and the futility of existence. Evangelion may feature common themes, but it presents them in a highly unique manner. All of the Angels feel more like abstract paintings than giant monsters. Their very designs confound the human mind, and they truly feel alien in nature. The EVA Series that later get introduced are absolutely horrific.
9 The Titular Aliens From Parasyte -The Maxim- Would Make David Cronenberg Wince
Anime frequently explores the idea of an ordinary human who suddenly becomes a supernatural hybrid with some kind of dark force, which triggers a tug of war between their humanity and these new powers. Parasyte -the maxim- involves an efficient alien invasion that’s underway, and Shinichi becomes an unlikely savior in this war after his hand becomes the host to the parasitic invader, Migi. It’s the body-destroying nature of the Parasyte aliens that make them so fascinating. They function in a way that unfurls the human body and makes it look like disturbing papercraft art.
8 Blood-C's Bunny Beasts Are A Horrifying Mix Of Extremes That Cannot Be Tamed
Blood-C chronicles a young girl's mission to rid the land of its murderous monsters, but it's the nature of these beasts that helps Blood-C stand out. Anime understands that sometimes the most disturbing visuals can come out of the perversion of something safe.
Blood-C contains a traumatic sequence where a number of demonic Bunny Beasts ravage a community and barely leave any carnage behind. Transforming demon bunnies who have a penchant for violence and a disdain for humanity are truly terrifying, especially since they tend to operate in packs. It's such an upsetting and confusing amalgamation of ideas.
7 Attack On Titan’s Central Creatures Have Caused Generations Of Internalized Fear
Attack on Titan begins in a disturbing place with a dystopian world that’s overrun with giant monsters, but the story only becomes more upsetting over time. Humanity proves that it’s a greater threat than the Titans, but that doesn’t stop the unkempt look of these beasts from terrifying audiences. The Titans are so compelling because even though thousands of them roam the world, there are a select group of special Titans with unique abilities and designs. Even the most uninteresting Titan is terrifying, but creatures like the Jaw Titan, Warhammer Titan, and Cart Titan feature even more disturbing looks.
6 The Yokai Who Populate Gantz Are Enough To Make One Question A Higher Power
Gantz is a true mind-bending anime series that effortlessly mixes horror, science fiction, mystery, and so much more to create an overwhelming vision of the end of the world. Gantz unpacks a number of individuals who die, only to learn that their eternal peace has been turned into a twisted game to hunt down aliens. This may not sound that unique, but the aliens and yokai who populate Gantz are like fallen Gods who demand vengeance. Gantz deserves credit for the extremely creative approach to its threats, who remain frightening and fascinating.
5 Berserk's God Hand Are All Terrifying In Their Own Ways And Represent Highly Organized Evil
Berserk is one of the most layered and rewarding dark fantasy series that's ever been made. Guts wields an exaggerated blade that can make swift work of most of the demons that he encounters. Berserk’s supergroup of evil, God Hand, is made up of several intimidating members, each of which indulges in different varieties of horror.
Void is like a visceral exoskeleton come to life, and there are such intricacies to his design. It's not hard to imagine a movie where Void and the rest of God Hand are the focus and they just slowly inflict evil upon the world.
4 Elfen Lied's Lucy Is A Ticking Time Bomb Of Explosive Psychic Proportions
Horror anime can be neatly categorized into series that present their monsters as horrific beasts and those that hide the true severity of these creatures in plain sight. There's something deeply frightening about a monster who naturally resents humanity, yet masquerades as an unassuming Earth girl. Elfen Lied presents Lucy as a tortured science experiment who eventually gets the upper hand over her captors and seeks grander vengeance. Lucy is a member of a humanoid alien race who possesses extreme telekinetic and psychic powers. Lucy inflicts wanton damage, and it's the type of destruction that benefits from a deeper look.
3 The Baby Face Stand From JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind Has A Creepy Goal
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind features some inventive Stands, which come in many shapes and sizes, but the most disturbing is Melone’s Baby Face. Baby Face has a computer-like architecture where Melone can educate the growing Stand and create an inherent target for the Stand. What’s especially upsetting about Baby Face is that it seeks a partner to mate with in order to forge the perfect product for revenge. Baby Face’s look, aim, and what it’s capable of doing make it a blessing that it doesn’t receive an extended focus in Golden Wind.
2 Princess Mononoke's Boar Demon Functions Like Free-Roaming Death
Studio Ghibli films often carry a bright exterior, but they don’t shy away from dark themes and the realities of life. Princess Mononoke has a lot to say about man’s tainting of nature and the symbiotic relationship that exists between them. The pain of the world and the fallacy of man gets personified in some powerful ways, with the invasive Boar Demon being the most prolific creature. This monster feels like it’s consistently rotting and full of living death. It’s a powerful metaphor for what the movie explores.
1 The Shinigami From Death Note Are Endlessly Creative
Death Note is one of the more popular series to come out over the past few decades, and even those who don't know much about anime likely have a basic understanding of Death Note. The dark series benefits from its very direct power fantasy premise that brilliantly examines the dangers of corrupting influences. Shinigami come in many forms in anime, but Death Note’s Ryuk has such an evocative look and ethos. Ryuk doesn’t look like a typical devil, but he’s still deeply intimidating. Furthermore, quirky affectations like Ryuk’s affinity for apples only give this creepy monster more depth.