Sometimes an anime goes in an unexpected direction. Even the cutest and most pastel series can suddenly become something much darker, especially in the modern age where many shows thrive on subverting the audience's expectations. The following five anime have become infamous for their deceptive appearances and sudden dark turns. They're all great shows, but if you're expecting something light and fluffy, beware.
Higurashi When They Cry
Higurashi When They Cry starts out as a quiet and happy story, following Maebara Keiichi as he lives a normal life in the rural village of Hinamizawa. Unlike other series on this list, viewers are warned immediately that all is not as it seems as the first episode starts with footage of a vicious baseball bat murder. For the rest of the episode, though, it seems like a normal, if a slightly odd slice-of-life series as Keiichi adapts to his new school and his new friends.
As the series progresses, Keiichi learns about the curse of Oyashiro-sama. This curse means that every year one person will be killed, and another shall vanish. The third episode makes it clear this town's dark side isn't just some urban legend, as two girls attempt to kill Keiichi by hiding a needle in his food before someone tries to run him down with a van. From here on out, Higurashi becomes a blood-soaked horror series as characters slowly lose their sanity and brutally murder each other.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Puella Magi Madoka Magica is a magical girl show that starts how most magical girl shows start. Madoka Kaname is surprised when a girl from her dream, called Homura Akemi, joins her class. However, later that day, Madoka and her friend end up stumbling on a strange creature and some odd monsters, only to be saved by a magical girl called Mami. Madoka starts to hangout with Mami and Homura and watches as they save people by battling strange-looking monsters.
Episode 3 is where things take a dark turn. After encountering a new monster, Madoka watches Mami fight, trying to decide if she wants to become a magical girl as well. The fight seems very one-sided, and it looks like Mami will easily win. However, the monster suddenly transforms and bites Mami's head off, killing her instantly. From there, Madoka becomes a dark tale of Faustian bargains as Madoka learns that being a magical girl isn't all fun and ribbons.
School-Live!
School-Live! is a charming slice-of-life show following happy and preppy schoolgirl Yuki Takeya as she goes about her normal school life. Yuki is part of the School Living Club and thus lives at her school along with the club's other members. The first episode is mostly focused on Yuki and her friend Miki as they go and find a bag that Yuki accidentally left in a classroom.
However, it quickly becomes apparent that everything is not as it seems. The first episode's ending reveals that Yuki's happy school life is all in her head, and the world is actually a post-apocalyptic hellscape overrun by zombies. The School Living Club is actually a group of girls who are hiding in the school, who are only indulging Yuki's delusions out of worry about what the truth will do to her already fragile psyche. After this, the show transitions into a tense zombie survival show as the girls do their best to survive an increasingly hostile world.
The Promised Neverland
The Promised Neverland follows Emma, Ray and Norman, three orphans who live in Grace Field House. While Grace Field House is an orphanage, it seems like a nice place to live. The children get to spend their day playing in the house and its beautiful gardens, eating delicious food and taking lessons from their loving and intelligent house mother, Isabella.
As the first episode starts, the children are excited as their friend Conny is getting adopted. While she will have to leave Grace Field House, they think she'll be going to a family who loves and cares for her. However, when Conny leaves, the other kids quickly realize that Conny left their stuffed animal behind and go to reunite the pair. When the kids get to the exit, they find Conny's dead body and hear some monsters discussing the dark truth. The kids are being raised as meat for these monsters, and Isabella is in on it. The show then becomes a tense psychological thriller, as the kids try and escape before they're butchered and eaten.
Yuki Yuna is a Hero
In Yuki Yuna is a Hero, Yuki and her friends are part of the Sanshu Middle School Hero Club, a club dedicated to helping people and saving those in need. However, one day, the girls all get a strange message on their phones before they're teleported to a magical new world.
The girls learn that they have been selected by Shinju, the divine tree, to protect this world from evil monsters called Vertex. The Vertex wants to destroy Shinju and thus the world. Thankfully, the girls can use their phones to transform into more powerful heroes, allowing them to fight back against the creatures. However, in Episode 8, the girls find they are experiencing medical issues, including loss of sight and hearing. They meet a girl in the hospital who tells them the dark truth: the Hero System the heroines use actually drains their bodies, causing them to permanently lose bodily function. The girls are basically sacrifices to Shinju. After this, the show becomes a dark drama, as the girls wrestle with the truth and try to come to terms with their new life.