Once in a while, there comes an anime that is an absolute joy to watch. There is no conflict, no violence, and no sadness. Basically, anyone can watch it for a much-needed breather amongst thousands of anime that feature edginess and melancholy plot lines.
However, there may come a time when that particular "happy" anime does a genre shiftーor be much darker than someone once thought. Whether that magical girl anime turns into a psychological thriller or that comedy turns into a battle action, here's 10 anime that have surprisingly dark undertones.
10 Gintama
Gintama began as a comedy anime through and through, but that all changed after taking on a serious tone. Although comedy remains in some episodesーand, it also resurges during certain arcsーthe tone had a shift in episode 58 when the Benizakura Arc begins.
Although it goes back to a comedy after a while, this arc began to show just how dark the series can go and mix comedy with seriousnessーwith arcs like the Yagyu Arc or the Baragaki Arc.
9 Fruits Basket
Fruits Basket has many serious undertones and tackles some dark topics from physical abuse, mental abuse, and even taking one's own life. Although the original anime was more of a comedyーalbeit the end was seriousーthe 2019 adaption of the entire manga delves into even more topics the original didn't tackle before.
Everyone has a past that is either full of abuse or something they've lost, even best girl Tohru Honda. Move over, Kyo and Yukiーas even though their pasts are horridーthe fact that Tohru smiles despite everything is quite difficult to watch at times.
8 Princess Tutu
Princess Tutu sounds like an innocent magical girl-esque anime that's about an adorable young duck who is able to turn into an amazing ballet dancer called Princess Tutu once she receives a magical pendant by Drosselmeyer. She then must regain the pieces of Mytho's heart, although her feelings of love toward him will not be returned.
Although it sounds innocent enough, even after she helps regain the pieces of his heart, she reverts back to her original form of a duck. However, FakirーMytho's best friendーvows to stay by her side forever, no matter what form she is in.
7 The Promised Neverland
The Promised Neverland was a breakout anime to many dark fantasy fans when it debuted on January 11, 2019. Although the anime sets the tone of three best friends, Emma, Ray, and Norman living happily in the Grace Field House and awaiting adoption, everything changes when Conny is adopted.
It turns out Conny wasn't sent to a new family and was instead sent to be eaten by demons. It turns out all of the orphans are actually being raised to be given away and eaten to demons, and Emma begins to concoct a plan to escape.
6 Death Parade
Death Parade has one of the happiest openings in anime history, making the dark undertones hit especially hard. The series is about the cycle of life and death and deciding what happens after someone dies or is even murdered. Run by bartenders, the main one the anime focuses on is Decim, the Quindecim bar's bartender who oversees the deceased's' games and judges them.
His assistant is Chiyuki, a human with amnesia who acts as his assistant and watches the deceased play Death Games with their souls at stake and help Decim understand human emotions.
5 School Days
School Days is an infamous animeーand not only because of the "nice boat" meme. Makoto Ito wishes to confess to one of the most beautiful girls in school, Kotonoha Katsura. To do so, he enlists the help of another girl, Sekai Saionji.
However, even after he confesses and begins to date Kotonoha, he starts to cheat on herーor what Sekai calls "practice" to do sexual advancesーwith her and every single girl in the series. At the very end, Kotonoha losses her mind after she sees Sekai kill Makoto, then proceeds to kill her, too. The last scene is of her on a boat in the middle of nowhere, holding his head.
4 School-Live!
School-Live is a total shift from its cute high school girls and bubbly first episode after viewers learn the truthーand the reality of their world. Although this is a slice-of-life series, it's a horror as well.
Yuki Takeya is a member of the School Living Club with the other members who do various actives, such a planting and playing games. However, despite the bright world seen through Yuki's eyes, it turns out they're in the midst of an apocalypse, and everyone has died. They now must live inside their school, Megurigaoka Private High School.
3 Puella Magi☆Madoka Magica
Puella Magi☆Madoka Magica has been known to have broken the mold of the magical girl genre, and there's a good reason why. Despite the opening and everything in the first few episodes following the magical girl formula, it took a drastic turn once Mami had her head bitten by a witch.
After Kyubey revealed that witches are other magical girls who filled up their Grief Seeds, that itーall hope was lost, as it did when Kyubey's innocent-sounding question of turning into a magical girl turned dreadful.
2 Happy Sugar Life
When Satou Matsuzaka falls in love with Shio Kobeーan, elementary schoolerーthings become quite complicated. First off, she's a lolicon. Second of all, she is willing to do anythingーeven kill those she considered friendsーso no one can help Shio, who she kidnapped.
Despite the name Happy Sugar Life with "happy" being in the name, this anime is a psychological thriller about a kidnapper and her kidnapee.
1 Talentless Nana
Talentless Nana is about Nana Hiiragi, a high school student who attends a school full of teenagers with abilitiesーthus dubbed as the Talented. However, Nana doesn't have any and pretends she can read others' minds with telepathy.
It turns out she's truly a cunning secret agent sent to the island school to kill the Talentedーor "Enemies of Humanity"ーso they cannot impose any threats unto humankind. The anime quickly does a genre shift in the first episode, which should set fans up for a psychological thriller kind of ride.