There’s an endless amount of creativity and excitement that surrounds the medium of anime because there are so many genres and stylistic tools for animators to explore. Some niche genres remain confined to anime, but it truly feels like there’s an anime series out there for everyone, even when it comes to more mainstream interests like the horror genre.
There’s a wide range of horror anime that reflect contrasting degrees of quality. Some are foundational works of art, while others just feel like disposable products of their time. Horror can really gain a new life when content is frequently rewatched and examined, but, unfortunately, there are plenty of horror anime where one watch can sometimes be more than enough.
10 Tokyo Ghoul’s Sloppy Storytelling Eliminates Any Desire For A Rewatch
It’s truly a shame when a successful manga series gets turned into an anime ahead of schedule and ultimately fumbles during the adaptation process. Tokyo Ghoul begins with an addictive premise and successfully creates a rich world where ghouls and humans are locked in combat. Ken Kaneki becomes a vital figure who’s pulled between these two worlds. The various ghouls and their means of attacks make effective horror fodder, but the way in which the series and its follow-ups ruin Kaneki’s story make a rewatch feel like torture. It only emphasizes the missed potential.
9 The Alien Forces In Parasyte -The Maxim- Soften As Shinichi And Migi Grow Closer
Parasyte -the maxim- is an exceptional blend of horror and science fiction sensibilities as an alien invasion quietly prepares to dominate Earth. Shinichi, a regular high school student, becomes an unlikely host for Migi, an alien parasite who takes up residence in his hand. Parasyte continues to receive much attention because of its body horror and unique alien designs. Its visuals are still satisfying on subsequent watches, but the threat becomes less frightening after the audience knows the bond that’s being formed between Shinichi and Migi.
8 Deadman Wonderland’s Horrifying Prison Loses Its Punch On A Rewatch
To its credit, Deadman Wonderland accomplishes a good deal across its 12 episodes and concluding OVA installment, but it’d absolutely benefit as a longer series that can better pace out its content. Its short length turns it into another horror series that coasts on its premise and falls apart once its greatest secrets are revealed.
Ganta's development and journey feel more like a standard shonen protagonist arc on a rewatch. The elements that make Deadman Wonderland feel so dangerous and unpredictable at its start can't maintain this tempo. Subsequent rewatches dampen the horror and emphasize the action.
7 Hell Girl Routinely Features Creative Deals With The Devil
Hell Girl has become a staple in the anime horror genre, and there have been multiple iterations of the series that continue to unpack the dark pacts that fuel the series. The titular Hell Girl brokers contracts that involve the passage of souls to hell, which allows the series to adopt an episodic structure that almost makes it feel like an anthology. Hell Girl is a deeply engaging character who is always fascinating to watch. However, the episodes begin to feel repetitive rather quickly and dilute the series' impact, which makes it even more difficult to return to old adventures.
6 Hellsing And Hellsing Ultimate Result In A Half-Baked Horror Story
Hellsing is exactly the type of property that should excel in anime form, but both it and its successor, Hellsing: Ultimate, come across as incomplete and missed opportunities. A riff on the classic Dracula and Van Helsing narrative, it struggles to find its voice and doesn't do enough with any of the vampire stereotypes that it attempts to redefine. Hellsing: Ultimate attempts to stick closer to the original manga and feature a heavier focus on action, but it still feels like a messy product of its time. The whole Hellsing narrative could use a complete anime overhaul in the vein of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.
5 Yami Shibai: Japanese Ghost Stories Runs Out Of Steam And Can’t Coast On Charm
Yami Shibai: Japanese Ghost Stories is a bit of a horror institution at this point, with nine seasons under its belt. The horror anthology series adapts classic Japanese folklore and urban legends to create creepy stories.
Episodes of Yami Shibai are only a few minutes long each and reflect a very low budget where the audience needs to suspend their disbelief to some extent. This makes the twists of each story one of the major selling points of the series, so once the audience knows what’s ahead, there’s even less of a reason to rewatch the series.
4 Ergo Proxy’s High-Minded Morals Overpower Its Horror
Ergo Proxy is often considered more of a psychological cyberpunk thriller than a direct horror series, but its bleak presentation of renegade androids and its sudden turn to horror is truly chilling. Ergo Proxy is set in a future dystopia that's much scarier than Ghost in the Shell or Psycho-Pass, but it indulges more in disturbing philosophies than graphic and brutal gore. The seemingly random violence of Ergo Proxy's artificial intelligence is initially chilling, but a rewatch makes their actions understandable and less chaotic. The horror softens through empathy.
3 High-Rise Invasion Loses Itself In A Frightening World That’s Ultimately Empty
High-Rise Invasion is hard to ignore due to the flashy and blood-soaked masks that dominate the death game concept. Unsuspecting teenagers get transported to a haunting world that’s set atop several high-rise apartment buildings and filled with brainwashed assassins. High-Rise Invasion has an excellent hook, but it can’t maintain this momentum. It’s possible that subsequent seasons of High-Rise Invasion on Netflix will be able to amend these issues and create a more cohesive overall package, but until that happens, it’s a case of more style over substance.
2 The Junji Ito Collection Is A Morbid Curiosity That Can’t Deliver
Junji Ito is easily one of the most prolific mangaka of all time, and he’s responsible for countless horrifying images that would make body horror masters like David Cronenberg wince. Junji Ito’s art is detailed and macabre, which has resulted in it being very difficult to properly translate his horror creations into moving anime. Junji Ito Collection does its best, and it’s still exciting to see some of the author’s most upsetting stories come to life. None of them can compare with the manga originals, and there’s even less to hold onto during a rewatch.
1 Solving Paranoia Agent’s Brilliant Mystery Tames The Anime’s Demons
Satoshi Kon was one of the anime industry’s most fascinating and thought provoking auteurs and is the person responsible for psychologically draining projects like Perfect Blue, Paprika, and the television series, Paranoia Agent. Paranoia Agent is a brilliant character study and a look at the dangers of mob mentality and how a social phenomenon can gain a life of its own. Paranoia Agent holds up and is arguably a richer experience on a rewatch, but these revelations also de-fang its horror to some extent once it’s understood what’s really going on.