It might not look like it, but making an anime that’s pure horror isn’t that simple. For one, hand-drawn animations can’t quite capture the frame-by-frame tension and shock value of the horror media. That’s why scary horror anime are rare. Consequently, the few true horror anime in existence hold a special place in everyone’s hearts.

The best horror anime give goosebumps, a feeling of dread, and unsettling scenery that utilizes the medium in ways that live-action films cannot. If that’s what viewers are looking for, the upcoming shows are among the freakiest, scariest, and most horrific to ever come out of the industry.

Updated on October 9, 2024 by Mark Sammut: The Fall 2024 anime season has one huge horror anime, but is it any good?

Monster
,
Berserk
,
Attack on Titan
,
Tokyo Ghoul
,
Made in Abyss
, and
Blood+
have too few proper horror moments to qualify. However, they are fantastic and incredibly dark.

Does Fall 2024 Have Any Horror Anime?

While exciting in the grand scheme of things, new seasons do not generally mean that much for horror. Unfortunately, most lineups do not feature the genre in any significant way; at most, a single show that just about qualifies might be included.

2024 has, for the most part, been awful for horror anime. The year has largely ignored these types of shows, with the only major offering being an uneven Netflix anthology series. At least, that was the case up until Fall 2024.

The current season has a major horror series that happens to be based on one of the genre’s most beloved manga. Is it scary?

Uzumaki: Spiral into Horror

Junji Ito’s Uzumaki is a horror masterpiece that, like most of the author’s creations, seems impossible to adequately translate into an anime (or live-action). Ito’s stories have generally inspired mediocre or terrible animated adaptations, but this Fall 2024 series seemed set to be an exception. The trailer was fantastic, paving the way for a great first episode.

Sure, the segment rushed over a few elements that hurt the story’s overall pacing and could have ramifications moving forward, but it was still an admirable attempt to capture the source material’s nightmare-inducing magic. Uzumaki: Spiral into Horror opted to replicate the manga’s aesthetic, a wise decision that, in hindsight, should have been obvious. The story wastes little time getting going, quickly establishing the premise: a town is slowly becoming overrun by spirals. They are appearing everywhere, and their presence influences people’s minds. With plenty of creepy visuals and a sense of foreboding, Uzumaki‘s first episode set a high standard.

Unfortunately, the second episode had a significant dip in quality, with nearly everything being considerably worse than its predecessor. Despite trying for a similar look, the animation is way stiffer and rougher, morphing scary scenes into laughable ones. The pacing is worse too, which is hardly perfect in the first episode.

Honestly, Uzumaki: Spiral into Horror might have had the quickest decline in anime history. One episode. Come on.

Uzumaki: Spiral into Horror
is scheduled for four episodes. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

Now, onto the best horror anime…

24 Horror News

MyAnimeList: 5.40

• Japanese Title:Kyoufu Shinbun
• Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi, Fantasy
• Studio: Next Media Animation
• Based On: Manga by Jirou Tsunoda
• Streaming Service: Crunchyroll

Loosely based on a 1970s manga that produced a sequel in 1990 and a two-part OVA series, Horror News received its biggest animated showcase in 2014 via a 14-episode ONA release. While hard to definitively say, the show was perhaps inspired by Theatre of Darkness: Yamishibai‘s visual style, with both utilizing near-static imagery to tell creepy tales drenched in supernatural touches. Rather than Japanese folklore, Horror News revolves around more conventional mythical entities like vampires, along with incorporating some sci-fi touches.

Although Yamishibai has its issues, the anime executes its ideas far better than Horror News. Unfortunately, the latter rarely brings its pieces together in a way that is satisfying or terrifying. Even when a concept has potential, it is undermined by CG characters that really look out of place, particularly the male protagonist (Kigata Rei). The stories also tend to overstay their welcome, lasting for multiple 10-minute episodes.

23 The Grimm Variations

MyAnimeList: 6.79

Airing during the Spring 2024 anime season, The Grimm Variations fully embraces its iconic horror-fused origins by giving modern makeovers to six Brothers Grimm fairy tales. Stories like Cinderella and Hansel and Gretel have been done to death, and the world does not need any more faithful adaptations of the original shorts or Disneyfied takes that strip away all nightmarish moments in favor of talking animals (note: Disney has produced plenty of great movies).

Now, a lack of competition can only carry a show so far, and The Grimm Variations needs to offer something more than just being the only new horror anime. So, how good is Wit Studio’s anthology series? Well, it is a mixed bag, as many of these types of series tend to be. To the studio’s credit, the episodes provide very imaginative spins on these classic tales, including subverting themes and character roles to provide a different perspective (“Cinderella” does this particularly well). Each story feels fresh not only from the source material but also from each other, with some stories focusing more on action or psychological drama compared to pure horror.

Still, The Grimm Variations can be confusing, particularly its later storylines. When good, the show is very good; when bad, the show can be frustrating. However, the anime is never boring, and it makes good use of its anthology structure. Honestly, The Grimm Variations is more than the sum of its parts.

22 Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales

MyAnimeList: 7.39

Utterly overshadowed by its successor, the vastly superior Mononoke, Ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror is an anthology series consisting of three storylines: Yotsuya Ghost Story, Goddess of the Dark Tower, and the Medicine Seller. The latter introduces Mononoke‘s protagonist and is a must-watch for anyone who loves the sequel series since it is essentially another arc. It is also Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales‘ strongest story and arguably the only reason to seek out this compilation.

That’s not to say that the other arcs have nothing to offer, as they both feature occasional moments of brilliance; however, they are let down by uninteresting characters and a severe lack of notable surprises. They are also not really all that scary, despite being based on classic Japanese horror stories. Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales is serviceable but nothing more.

21 Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales Of The Macabre

MyAnimeList: 6.63

If someone is into horror and manga (or even anime), they will almost definitely recognize the name Junji Ito. Unquestionably, the genre’s most famous mangaka, he has produced some of the creepiest imagery in the business, and he is a master of both short and long-form tales. The Human Chair, The Enigma of Amigara Fault, and The Hanging Balloons are cosmic horror masterpieces that can be read in about 10 minutes; meanwhile, Tomie and Uzumaki are both terrifying and epic. Junji Ito is a master of his art, and most of his stories are worth checking out.

Unfortunately, his manga just refuses to produce a decent anime. While there have not been many attempts over the years, the adaptations that exist are nearly all underwhelming or straight-up terrible. Gyo: Tokyo Fish Attack can be entertaining in a B-movie type of way, but the anime movie is closer in quality to Sharknado than Jaws. Attracting some hype before its debut, the Junji Ito Collection might just be the most disappointing horror anime of all time, and it is not worth watching.

If forced to pick the best anime adaptation, Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre wins by process of elimination; however, Netflix’s series should not be anyone’s first exposure to the mangaka’s work. Only die-hard fans who are morbidly curious should check out Junjo Ito Maniac since they are at no risk of having the stories spoiled for them. Studio Deen is more than capable of producing greatness, but this show is let down by uneven animation and a cheesy tone that is more likely to inspire laughs than screams of terror.

20 Ghost Stories (Japanese Version)

MyAnimeList: 7.74

Ghost Stories is technically one of the better-known horror anime, although its infamy is largely due to an English dub that turns the show into a comedy. While dated in place, the latter is the more memorable iteration of this story, and it is well worth a watch by people who enjoy abridged series like TeamFourStar’s DBZ. Comparatively, the original Japanese version tends to be ignored, to the point of barely garnering any recognition in this day and age.

Although not god-awful, Ghost Stories is generally a forgettable horror anime that follows a group of children as they take on fairly generic cases. It is like a less-interesting version of Ghost Hunt or the recent Dark Gathering. Despite being the definition of mediocre, Ghost Stories warrants a mention due to the sheer lack of available horror anime out there. If someone simply wants an accessible and family-friendly show that can keep them mildly entertained for a few hours, they can do much worse than this series.

19 Zom 100: Bucket List Of The Dead

MyAnimeList: 8.03

In truth, it is a stretch to describe Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead as horror since it does not try to be scary at all. Nevertheless, the show is still a great pick for fans of the genre, particularly if they are into zombie apocalypses. While oversaturated in Western cultures, the same cannot be said for anime. Sure, the industry has produced zombie stories like Highschool of the Dead and Zombie Land Saga, but they are infrequent enough to still seem fresh when they do appear. And, they tend to be diverse too, ranging from action-romps like Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress to romps like Is This a Zombie?

Zom 100 does not fit neatly into any one genre. The anime has humor but is not a comedy, and while most episodes have some action, these sequences are rarely the story’s focus. Similarly, the show gets gory and dark at times, but these moments flirt with horror without fully embracing it. Ultimately, Zom 100 is about life, reflected by the protagonist’s drive to make the most out of his remaining days after he is freed from the shackles of employment thanks to an outbreak. Weirdly enough, this zombie anime is rather uplifting.

18 Pet Shop Of Horrors

MyAnimeList: 7.24

Pet Shop of Horrors is a hard-to-find 4-part OVA series that aired over two months in 1999. The show works well enough as a teaser for Matsuri Akino’s manga, which has received a few sequels since its original incarnation ended in 1998. Although not completely devoid of an overarching narrative, each episode generally focuses on a self-contained story as the audience follows a character who purchases a unique pet from a shop run by Count D. These strange creatures can change somebody’s life for the better, but they are also high maintenance, to put it lightly; more importantly, if their owner fails to treat them right, they will face dire consequences.

Pet Shop of Horrors has an awesome concept with a lot of room for expansion, as can be seen in the source material. While the anime does not fully capture the manga’s appeal and ends too quickly to build any significant momentum, it is still a decent watch when viewed in a vacuum. Count D is a fascinating and complex character, and the individual stories produce their share of uncomfortable moments. The show looks like a horror production, although it does not produce all that many legitimate scares.

17 Mieruko-chan

MyAnimeList: 7.40

Horror anime are so rare that whenever one shows up that is actually decent, it tends to attract quite a bit of attention. Mieruko-chan‘s eponymous schoolgirl has the unfortunate ability to see ghosts, and these spirits are ripped right out of nightmares. As she is generally the only person who can witness these terrifying entities, Mieruko has to pretend they do not exist, something that often proves rather difficult.

Mieruko-chan is almost like a slice of life horror anime, in the sense that most of the episodes simply follow the protagonist during her everyday life. This repetition does hurt the show’s fear factor to an extent, but the designs of the ghosts are genuinely scary.

16 Happy Sugar Life

MyAnimeList: 6.78

Happy Sugar Life is a trip that starts messed up and just keeps on finding new ways to get messier. While there are some folks with decent intentions, there are no traditionally “good” characters, and that extends to the main girl, Satou.

The anime is filled with violent deaths, depressing themes, tragic moments, and uncomfortable scenes. While not often terrifying, Happy Sugar Life is nearly always suspenseful. This horror anime needs to be experienced blind and preferably binge-watched over a weekend.

15 School-Live!

MyAnimeList: 7.62

School-live! is often compared to Puella Magi Madoka Magica, an anime famous for turning the magical girl genre on its head. School-live! does something similar with the “cute girls doing cute things” subgenre by throwing a zombie apocalypse into the mix. These two wildly different worlds collide to form the anime’s protagonist, a girl who is in serious denial about her situation.

While not lacking in dark and intense moments, School-Live! also tries to cater to standard moe conventions as well. Consequently, the show is not that tonally consistent since it only seems to have one foot rooted in horror. Despite these points, Lerche’s anime is still enjoyable and relatively clever.

14 Ajin: Demi-Human

MyAnimeList: 7.39 (Season 1)

Look past Ajin‘s uneven CG animation to find a fast-paced action horror series with a strong premise soaked in moral ambiguity. In this world, “Ajin” is a species that cannot be killed, and if a human turns into one, they are immediately arrested for a future filled with pain. Kei Nagai learns this the hard way and quickly finds himself on the run.

Available on Netflix, Ajin succeeds because it doesn’t present either side – the Ajin or humans – are pure evil or good. It adds an element of intrigue to each situation, some of which are graphic and intense.

13 Elfen Lied

MyAnimeList: 7.48

Elfen Lied is a twisted and more modern take on a monster girl trope in horror. Instead of being a vampire or werewolf, however, the main monster human in Elfen Lied is a Diclonius – a powerful being that has become the subject of experiments in the anime until she decides that she cannot take it anymore and breaks free in the bloodiest way possible.

As the said monster girl escapes captivity and tries to live normally among human beings, certain circumstances will force her to unleash her true potential and nature. The amount of blood and violence in Elfen Lied tends to overshadow the rest of the content, including themes of human experimentation and cruelty, but the show has a few genuinely uncomfortable and disconcerting moments that will leave an impression on most viewers. While it has not aged extremely well, especially its “romance,” Elfen Lied is still one of the more popular horror-leaning anime of all time.

12 Cat Soup

MyAnimeList: 7.32

A short film released in the early 2000s, Cat Soup is far from a mainstream name, although it has acquired some notoriety over the years. Cut from the same bizarre cloth as Angel’s Egg, Cat Soup is a surreal trip that is light on story and heavy on atmosphere. After Nyatto’s soul is confiscated by Death, she and her brother go on a hellish journey to try and recover it. Along the way, they traverse unfathomable landscapes rich in beauty and dread, all the while running across larger-than-life figures that are not even human-adjacent.

Obviously, Cat Soup is not a traditional horror anime nor does it constantly attempt to horrify audiences. However, the film’s nightmarish creativity is not only a sight to behold but also punctuated with chilling imagery. While not scary, it is unnerving.

11 Hell Girl

MyAnimeList: 7.61 (Season 1)

Most horror films and shows tend to come with their own lesson or representation of social issues. Hell Girl has those in spades as it’s quite literally about a demon dishing out punishments to social deviants such as bullies, thieves, and cheaters.

In the anime, anyone with a tormentor can seek help from the enigmatic “Hell Girl” by seeking out a mysterious website and posting their grudges there. The girl from hell will then dish out her own brand of cruel justice against the wrongdoers. It’s psychologically disturbing and represents the darkest whims of society, particularly ones that deal with vengeance and retaliation.

10 Vampire Hunter D & Bloodlust

MyAnimeList: 7 (Vampire Hunter D)

Based on Hideyuki Kikuchi’s novels, Vampire Hunter D is drenched in haunting Gothic imagery. Set thousands of years in the future, humanity is on its last legs, and the few surviving people are largely fighting a losing battle against all sorts of nightmarish entities. Vampires sit at the top of the foot chain, although they do face a threat in the form of a dhampir named D. The series has spawned two anime adaptations: 1985’s Vampire Hunter D OVA and 2000’s Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust. Both releases are worth watching in their own right, and they hold up well considering their ages.

Madhouse’s Bloodlust is reasonably well known, and the movie is one of the studio’s crowning achievements. While the story is decent but nothing too amazing, Bloodlust makes up for it with gorgeous visuals and a tense atmosphere. Although a bit too action-heavy to be genuinely scary, the film’s backdrops and creatures are perfect examples of Gothic horror. Madhouse also frames its environments and structures in a way that makes them feel massive and overwhelming.

While overshadowed by its (far superior) sequel, 1985’s Vampire Hunter D has many of its successor’s strengths. The OVA nails its presentation and tone; even though the animation is dated nowadays, the actual art is still impressive. The film revels in gore in a way that only old-school OVAs seem to do, but these sequences fit the story being told.

9 Another

MyAnimeList: 7.47

It’s horror and anime so if those two were to be made into a Venn diagram, then “school” would probably come out as the most common ground. Sure enough, Yomiyama North Middle School is one of the most haunted institutions in anime ever.

The haunting all began when one student committed suicide in the past and her classmates pretended that she was still alive in order to cope. This inadvertently summoned a malevolent ghost who then started causing even more suicides and deaths not just among the student population but also in the students’ respective families over the course of decades.

8 Devilman Crybaby

MyAnimeList: 7.75

More disturbing than anything else, Devilman Crybaby is quite a handful. Initially, it seems to follow a typical plot where the social outcast protagonist merges with a being in order to become more relevant. However, in the anime’s case, this being is a demon and not those friendly shonen types that are pushovers. No, Devilman Crybaby has hyperviolent and over-sexualized demons, those that the bible warned everyone about.

As such, Devilman Crybaby isn’t something viewers can watch with their families. As the main protagonist tries to wrestle with his demon host, people around also fall prey to the same affliction until everything in their world goes wrong and becomes a satellite for hell. It’s a complete horror package this one, filled with body horror, satanic imagery, and overt adult content.

7 When They Cry

MyAnimeList: 7.88 (Season 1)

Otherwise known as Higurashi, When They Cry wears a deceptively welcoming facade. Most viewers will probably think that it’s a moe and cutesy anime about provincial school life and teen hormones when it’s actually about a murder fest.

That’s no joke, in the protagonist’s hometown, there’s an annual provincial festival with a local urban legend surrounding the festivity. To make matters more suspicious, the days leading up to the festival were filled with reports of local murders and disappearances. Producing 100 episodes over more than a decade, When They Cry is a time investment that does not always pay off, and the most recent two seasons (Gou and Sotsu) are particularly divisive. That said, the 2006 original and its sequel, Kai, have a few of the most iconic horror moments in anime, and they tell an overall engaging mystery story.

6 Ghost Hunt

MyAnimeList: 7.76

For a horror anime, ghost hunting is as straightforward as it gets and Ghost Hunt revolves around that rather foolish notion. It follows the exploits of a group that calls itself the Shibuya Psychic Research who are mostly just adventurous high school students.

It’s not as horrific as some other anime but Ghost Hunt tackles several issues such as religion, different cultures, and, of course, paranormal events that mostly have tragic origins. For patient viewers, Ghost Hunt can reward its fans with some spine-chilling pay-offs, though nothing too hardcore or nightmare-inducing. Still, the cases are generally all interesting and consistently attempt to be at least somewhat horrifying, even if they generally avoid taking things too far.

5 Theatre Of Darkness: Yamishibai

MyAnimeList: 7 (Season 1)

Depending on how viewers watch their horror, Yami Shibai or Japanese Ghost Stories is like watching a sleep paralysis episode unfold. This anime consists of several short stories or episodes each of which is about particular Japanese urban legends.

The animation is a little too crude, but it’s usually the storytelling that sells the show instead of the visuals. Each story has its own lesson and narrative rooted in Japanese culture and tradition as well as some hyper-imaginative tales. Make sure to watch this one with the lights off and alone for a better atmosphere.

Theatre of Darkness: Yamishibai is great during its first few seasons, which are generally quite consistent. Around season 4, the anime becomes more hit-and-miss, which unfortunately does hurt its overall quality. That said, at its peak, Yamishibai is one of the best horror anime.