Horror and thriller anime are commonplace in the vast anime library, but they suffer from the same restrictions that horror and thriller suffer from in any media type: How should any given horror or thriller series utilize gore? Gory scenes are potent ingredients to a horror or thriller story, but overusing them cheapens the impact and makes them ineffective.
But with good pacing and a healthy dose of creativity, many series can manage to pull off scary tales without overusing blood and guts. There are even some anime out there that do frequently utilize gore but still manage to make each encounter shocking for the audience.
10 Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song Doesn't Seem As If It'd Contain Any Gore
While Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song isn't shy about its premise of preventing a devastating war 100 years in the future, it's precisely because the anime is focused on the prevention of war that gore seems out of place.
Nevertheless, there are quite some shocking death scenes in this series that even affect the AIs, who aren't supposed to have emotions. The carnage ramps up as the series goes on, and there are some rather disturbing scenes to sit through. Vivy's storytelling is still pretty good despite the common time-traveling plot holes, making it certainly worth a watch.
9 Another Is Rife With Surprisingly Gory Deaths
Since the entire premise of Another is about a curse and an urban legend, it's expected that people will probably die in the series. What isn't expected is the horrific methods that take various characters' lives.
One character dies after being impaled on their own umbrella, and another drowns before being torn up by the propellor of a motorboat. Another is an anime that any horror fan will love, and the gory scenes earn it extra points - even if they're mostly for shock value.
8 Jujutsu Kaisen Has Some Shocking Horror Scenes
As a series all about the supernatural, Jujutsu Kaisen isn't shy with its depictions of horror and gore. But even if viewers are fully expecting carnage and bloodshed, it doesn't mean that some scenes won't be more surprising than others.
One especially shocking scene occurs when Sukuna literally rips Yuji Itadori's still-beating heart out of his chest in a bid to take Yuji's body hostage. It's unlikely that fans were expecting a scene like that, but it happened pretty early in the series, suggesting there will be more later.
7 Neon Genesis Evangelion Surprised Viewers With The Eva's Origins
Arguably speaking, Neon Genesis Evangelion is merely masquerading as a mecha anime since its eponymous mecha suits aren't exactly machines at all. Instead, they're living representations of the Eva pilots' mothers (in the case of Asuka Langley Sohryu and Shinji Ikari, anyway).
Evas are more like cyborgs than robots or mecha, and they have human-like flesh underneath their suit armor. Viewers were shocked to see a flock of mass production Evas descend upon Asuka's Unit 02 and begin eating it, tearing into Unit 02 like vultures feeding on prey.
6 Puella Magi Madoka Magica Has A Dark Side To Its Story
This anime became famous for its third episode, during which viewers were shocked to see one of the main characters decapitated by a Witch. Puella Magi Madoka Magica certainly doesn't market itself as an anime about existentialism and suffering, but that's exactly what it turns out to be at the end. Mami Tomoe's death is the first of Madoka Magica's gory content, but it certainly isn't the last. One scene even portrays Kyubey eating one of its old bodies.
5 Psycho-Pass's Gore Is Limited But Over The Top
When fans first got to see a Dominator kill a latent criminal in Psycho-Pass, it's unlikely that they expected the victim's body to literally explode. But that's exactly how Dominators kill in Psycho-Pass: After being shot, victims' bodies swell up like a grotesque balloon before exploding into a haze of blood and guts. There aren't too many scenes showing Dominators in Lethal Elimination mode, which is honestly a welcome relief. It also makes sure that every Lethal Eliminator death in the series has an impact.
4 Steins;Gate Starts Off Peacefully But Leads To Violent Scenes
An anime about otaku fooling around with technology they don't understand doesn't seem as if it'd contain any shockingly gory scenes, but Steins;Gate isn't just about amateur otaku scientists. As the anime continues, a frightening conspiracy theory involving foreign governments and powerful organizations unfolds, leading to some startling deaths and altercations.
Even the scene where Rintaro Okabe stumbles across Kurisu Makise's corpse is alarming, so it's a good thing that her murder is made obvious right from the start.
3 School Days Saves Its Gore For The End, Making It Stand Out
At first glance, School Days is a predictable anime with a basic plotline about a high school boy who can't decide which of his classmates he wants to date. But School Days begins to stand out when viewers are made aware of Kotonoha Katsura's rapidly declining mental health as Makoto Itou continues spending time with other girls. The tension erupts at the end of the series when Sekai Saionji kills Makoto for his infidelity, prompting Kotonoha to kill Sekai out of retribution. The proverbial cherry on top is the fact that Kotonoha takes his severed head with her so they can finally be alone.
2 Elfen Lied's Edgy Plot Practically Begs For Gore
Focused on the fictional Diclonius race, Elfen Lied portrays bloodshed in its story right from the start. The Diclonii are naturally violent, so there are plenty of scenes featuring them taking out their frustrations on ordinary humans. But it's the way that Diclonii kill that's so surprising.
They have invisible vectors attached to their bodies that they can use to not only infect other humans with the Diclonius Virus but also to viciously tear apart their victims. This anatomical feature is used to depict shocking and grotesque death scenes.
1 Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Has Tons Of Gory Scenes, But They're All Shocking
Even though the Higurashi: When They Cry franchise is known for its murder and gore, it still manages to create shocking content for every death. While fans are certainly anticipating the next slew of murders when the Cotton Drifting Festival hits, it's unlikely that they're imagining the kind of cruelty that occurs in each violent encounter.
From Shion Sonozaki ripping out her own fingernails in Higurashi 2006 to Satoko Hojo tearing apart Rika Furude's intestines in Higurashi: Gou, there's no shortage of surprise carnage in the Higurashi: When They Cry franchise.