It's one thing for a horror series to scare people with jumpscares, tense, or obscene amounts of violence, but scaring them with a well-designed creepy monster is something special. The imagination is usually stronger than reality, so coming up with a design that trumps that is pretty awe-inspiring. And, while there are a ton of horror-themed anime out there, there are only a treasured few that really manage to unsettle viewers with the concept or appearance of their monsters alone.

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These monsters sent a chill down the spine of all who dared to watch the shows from which they came.

9 Devilman Crybaby

Devilman Crybaby: Demons Going Wild At A Party

First and foremost is the Netflix Anime series that surged in popularity as soon as it came out in 2018, Devilman Crybaby! This newly adapted story about Akira, Ryo, and the world of Demons is one that starts off pretty insane and only goes further down the rabbit hole with each episode. It's based on the Devilman manga from the '70s, but it takes some heavy liberties in just about every category.

All of the Demons in the show are designed to look so otherworldly, and some straight-up look silly right before the action begins. It's an intensely offputting duality. This show has this real contrast between its simplistic/exaggerated artstyle and the absurd levels of body horror, and it works so well to force the viewer to feel a least a bit shaken.

8 Parasyte: The Maxim

Parayste The Maxim: And Example Of The Body Horror

Parasyte: The Maxim is another Anime series all about foreign lifeforms that possess and merge with their hosts, similar to Crybaby. Only in this one, it's not about devils, but rather a species of alien lifeforms that take over humans from the inside. These little things tunnel in through the ear (most of the time) eat then become the human's brain. If not, they're considered a failure, which is what ends up happening with Shinichi and Migi, the Parasyte who takes over his hand. The horrifying thing about Parasyte is how little these creatures care about how it looks when shapeshifting their hosts, turning what used to be human heads into mouths, scythes, or any variation that involves deadly tendrils or teeth.

Honestly, sometimes the disfiguration is comparable to some of the creepier Junji Ito stories. Parasyte is for sure a body-horror type show, and it's oddly impressive all the stomach-turning ways it's able to illustrate these things messing with the human form.

7 Berserk

berserk griffith

Out of all the terrifying and skin-crawling horror series out there, Berserk may be one of the scariest, and it doesn't even identify as a horror series primarily. No, Berserk is actually a Seinen action series with monsters that take the form of Demons, Apostles, Angels, Ghosts, or even the God hand themselves.

All the designs in Berserk are insanely well-drawn and offputting, so much so that mangaka Kentarou Miura can make even an egg look scary. There are too many spooky creatures in this series to name, but most of the worst now travel with Griffith.

6 Gantz & Gantz: 0

One Of The Yokai/Alien Designs In The Gantz: 0 Netflix Special

Unlike Berserk or Devilman Crybaby, Gantz isn't about Demons, but rather aliens that just happen to look like Yokai, Demons, or any other variety of design that visually upsets the reader/viewer. This story is long, incredibly messed up in a variety of ways, and one of the most nihilistic things ever created.

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That said, pretty much every monster design in Gantz is uniquely horrifying. Every arc in Gantz has the main cast up against some new fever dream-esque monster squad. It really just seems like Hiraya Oku, the author, and a pretty eccentric guy in general based on his most recent work, intentionally makes sure that readers/viewers can never guess what will happen next or how future monsters will look. For those interested, give Gantz: 0 on Netflix a try, it's a great introduction to one of the best arcs in the series compressed into its own little story.

5 The Junji Ito Collection

An Example Of How Junji Ito's Designs Lose Some Impact When Colored/Animated

This next one is a bit of a curveball because while the anime adaptation of these Junji Ito (a mysterious horror manga mastermind) stories falls short in terms of its style and overall quality, the actual stories and designs it is adapting from are some of the all-time greats. To elaborate, the Junji Ito Collection is an anime anthology that came out in early 2018 and was animated by Studio Deen.

It animated some of Ito's lesser-known works, like Greased or Slug Girl, as opposed to his best stories like Uzumaki, or The Enigma of Amigara Fault. In any case, while this series has a lot of flaws, it is adapting the designs of one of the best, and they still work to a certain degree.

4 Mushishi

One Of The More Horrifying Parts Of Mushishi

Though Mushishi isn't a horror anime, it does contain some horror elements. The main focus of the story, despite its seemingly peaceful nature, is Ginko's journey to study these beings called Mushi and help both them & humanity live in harmony. That said, there are some incredibly dangerous and horrifying Mushi within the series.

Some more eerie elements include things like a Mushi that traps people in an endless maze so it can feast on them or a Mushi that will steal the eyes of anyone who looks upon it. Every Mushi in the story just looks so extraterrestrial that it viewers come into an episode already off-kilter.

3 Jujutsu Kaisen

Jujutsu Kaisen: Mahito Disgustingly Warping A Human With A Single Touch

Jujutsu Kaisen is a Shonen series. It's all about battles that feature a headstrong MC who thinks he can solve anything by just trying real hard. Frankly, it has all the classic aspects of a Shonen series.

But, the setting and future events of Kaisen are pretty horrific in nature, and it only gets worse as characters like Mahito or Sukuna start to strut their stuff, as manga readers are aware. This body horror aspect is actually what makes the series exceedingly unique, oddly enough. And, once Halloween comes around in-universe, that's when viewers need to prepare for the true horror of Jujutsu Kaisen.

2 Attack On Titan

The Infamous Smiling Titan In Attack On Titan

Attack On Titan, the story of giant humanoids who eat people. Of course, the narrative is a lot more complex than that, but at its core, AoT is about Humanity fighting back against the Titans, David vs Goliath style.

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Now, how are these "well-done" or "unsettling" monster designs when Titan usually just look like enlarged people? Well, there are the Abnormal Titans for one, or there are the 7 Founding Titans, or even just the Titans that look truly creepy, like the Smiling Titan.

1 Hunter X Hunter

Neferpitou's Most Horrifying Scene In Hunter X Hunter

Much like Jujutsu Kaisen, Hunter X Hunter is unabashedly a Shonen series. But, when HxH gets dark, it gets bottomlessly dark. There are any number of scenes that deeply unsettled fans, such as when the terrifyingly strong Neferpitou dissects a certain Hunter, or when the Mob massacre scene happened with the Phantom Troupe, or even all of the times Alluka used her ability.

Honestly, Hunter X Hunter has some of the darkest moments in Shonen history. And, as far as monster designs go, there are just too many good ones to name, but the most notable are the Chimera Ants, the Zoldyck family dog; Mike, or possibly even Hisoka when he's acting his most bloodthirsty.

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