Thriller is an often underrated genre, so much so that these days it is hard to find an anime that belongs only to the thriller genre. Most thriller anime will also belong to other genres, like shonen, comedy/parody, fantasy, etc. This is an understandable decision from a business point of view, since the less niche an anime is, the more likely it is to be popular.
Even so, there are enough thriller anime out there for fans of the genre to enjoy. Some anime names mentioned in this list are popular ones, while others are less heard of (but definitely worth the watch).
10 Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni
Within a few days of moving to Hinamizawa, Keiichi Maebara starts noticing little oddities surrounding the lives of his fellow villagers. He then eventually uncovers a connection between mysterious disappearances and murders in the village, and the annual village festival.
He turns to his new friends for answers, but for some reason, they always ignore his questions and change the topic instantly. An increasingly paranoid Keiichi vows to get to the bottom of this mystery.
9 Zankyou No Terror
Two teenage boys immediately capture the attention of the Japanese police when they take responsibility for the numerous bombings that occurred 6 months ago, all across Japan.
Identifying themselves as Sphinx, the only clue the police has about the boys is the word VON. This word was painted in red and was found at a now ruined nuclear facility. Who are these boys and what could they possibly want?
8 The Promised Neverland
Orphans at the Grace Field House lead fairly happy lives. But one thing no one can explain is how every few months, a child is sent away to a new home and is never seen again. All children ignore this phenomenon, except for three siblings.
They decide to poke their noses into the weird occurrences at their orphanage. However, none of them is prepared to deal with the hidden secret buried within the walls of the place that they call home.
7 Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica
The appearance of a feline familiar changes the lives of students Madoka Kaname and Sayaka Miki permanently. The creature offers them one wish each in exchange for becoming magical girls.
Homura Akemi, a magical girl herself, warns the two against this decision. She explains to them that all that glitters is not gold, that there is a very heavy price to pay. But will the two innocent girls listen to her?
6 Death Parade
When people die, they go to a bar where a bartender named Decim asks them to play random games. The outcome of the games (which seem innocent at first) decides the fate of the departed souls. Winners get reincarnation while losers are sent to the Void, where their souls rot for eternity.
The longer a game is played, the clearer people’s true intentions become. Such is the life at Quindecim, where nothing is as it seems.
5 Another
Transfer student Kouichi Sakakibara instantly notices how everybody in his school, including the teachers, ignore the very existence of Mei Misaki. Not paying heed to warnings by his friends, he befriends the lonely girl.
He then comes to know of the murder of a female student nearly 50 years ago and soon after, the students of 3-3 of Yomiyama North start dying through extremely shocking ends.
4 Re:ZERO - Starting Life in Another World
Subaru Natsuki finds himself transported to a world where he is instantly beaten up by thugs. A girl named Satella saves his life, so he decides to help her with her search for her stolen insignia. Once the duo finds what they need, they are murdered.
The next day Subaru wakes up only to repeat the day he’d had yesterday. He soon realizes he’s caught in a horrible time loop with no way out of it.
3 Mirai Nikki
Teenager Yukiteru Amano is forced to play a game of death by the god of time and space, Deus Ex Machina. His only defense is a Random Diary which shows him certain portions of the future. Much to his surprise, a pretty girl named Yuno Gasai comes to his rescue.
With the passage of time, Yuki realizes not only is Yuno mentally deranged, but she also knows a lot more than a Random Diary could ever tell her.
2 Steins;Gate
Rintarou Okabe is an eccentric self-professed scientist who spends his days in his lab on useless science experiments. However, one day he realizes one of his experiments can actually send a mail to the past.
Of course, changing the past changes the future permanently. This is something Rintarou and his group of rag-tag friends did not anticipate. Soon they start getting into bigger and bigger troubles, making them realize the heavy price one has to pay for time travel.
1 Death Note
A bored shinigami’s Death Note lands in the hands of a bored but brilliant student named Light Yagami. Light reads up on its rules and wastes no time killing despicable criminals, by jotting down their names into this diary.
The mysterious deaths of criminals all over Tokyo forces the Japanese police to take the help of an excessively brilliant detective known only as L. But is a mere human enough to stop a boy with the powers of a powerful God?