27 Best Horror Anime - KinoScan.com

Japanese culture is steeped in numerous stories of evil spirits, ghosts, and other supernatural phenomena. This is reflected in anime, the traditional product of Japanese cinema.

The limitless possibilities of animation have elevated anime horror to unsurpassed heights. Japanese cartoons will surprise you with unpredictable, absolutely authentic stories, visuals, chilling and chilling music. Are you ready to be scared to death?

Table of contents

Mushishi

Rating IMDB – 8.5
Genre: Anime, cartoon, horror, fantasy, thriller, drama, detective
Japan production / 2005
Directed by Hiroshi Nagahama, Ichigo Sugawara
Cast: Yuto Nakano, Travis Willingham, Koichun Ito, Jennifer Seman, Hiroshi Shimozaki, Mika Doi, Ryo Naito, Lucy Christian, Kenny Green, Breena Palencia

A series of stories about a traveling healer named Ginko. He heals the healer not from ailments and illnesses – Ginko helps people affected by the musi. Musi – something between spirits and animals. Often these creatures, not by choice, are the source of human misfortune, trouble and illness. In these cases, the masters of the musi are called upon to heal human souls.

«Mushishi» is a horror film, but it belongs to the yashikai genre. It is an anime and manga whose main purpose when watching it is to relax and unwind from problems and psychological tension. The plot unfolds slowly and unhurriedly, without dynamic leaps, conflicts or dramatic events.

Mononoke

Rating IMDB – 8.3
Genre: Anime, cartoon, horror, thriller, drama
Japan production / 2007
Directed by Nakamura Kenji, Kohei Hatano, Sumio Watanabe
Cast: Takahiro Sakurai, Rie Tanaka, Toshiko Fujita, Kozo Shioya, Eiji Takemoto, Yusuke Numata, Aiko Hibi, Yukana, Sho Hayami, Daisuke Namikawa

Travel notes of a fighter against evil spirits. A nameless apothecary travels the world performing a ritual to exorcise the evil spirits of the mononoke.

But before he can destroy the mystical entities, the protagonist must learn the Essence, Form and Primordial Cause of each mononoke. To do this, the apothecary sometimes has to conduct entire investigations, encountering strange and frightening events along the way.

«Mononoke» is a spin-off of the 2006 anime collection «Ayakashi A full-length anime», Mononoke, was announced in June 2022 and is scheduled to premiere in 2023.

Kiseijû: Sei no kakuritsu

Rating IMDB – 8.3
Genre: Anime, cartoon, horror, drama, sci-fi
Japan production / 2014
Directed by Ken’ichi Shimizu, Yuki Inaba, Ken’ichi Kawamura
Cast: Nobunaga Shimazaki, Aya Hirano, Masaki Aizawa, Takaya Aoyagi, Junya Enoki, Issei Futamata, Shinya Hamazoe, Kana Hanazawa, Kazuhiko Inoue, Akira Ishida

What if another species takes over the Earth, turning humanity into nothing more than a feeding ground? One summer in a small Japanese town, the snow fell and immediately melted. Thus began the invasion of alien aggressors. Tiny worm-like parasites attacked earthlings by the thousands, entering the human brain through the nose and ears.

Only schoolboy Shinichi Izumi was able to prevent the infection by tying his arm with the cord from his headphones. The alien parasite stayed alive in his hand. Soon the extraterrestrial creature and the schoolboy teamed up to fight for survival.

The manga Kiseijû: Sei no kakuritsu, on which the anime is based, is ranked 12th among the best manga of all time by the Japanese Ministry of Culture.

Hellsing Ultimate

Rating IMDB – 8.3
Genre: Anime, cartoon, horror, action, fantasy
Japan production / 2006
Directed by Tomokazu Tokoro, Hideki Tonokatsu, Ken’ichi Suzuki
Cast: Yoshiko Sakakibara, Joji Nakata, Fumiko Orikasa, Norio Wakamoto, Nobuo Tobita, Motomu Kiyokawa, Sho Hayami, Hiroaki Hirata, Ryoko Shiraishi, Hiroshi Naka

With the emergence of the vampire Count Dracula in Britain also arose the organization Hellsing, the purpose of which is to fight the undead. Nowadays the organization is headed by Lady Integra Fairbrook Hellsing. She is assisted in the fight against the bloodsuckers by her faithful butler Walter C. Dornese and Alucard himself. This is the first and most powerful vampire to serve the Helsings since their defeat by the organization’s founder a century ago.

As in the original manga, there are many references to the creator of Dracula, Bram Stoker, and another founder of horror literature, Howard Lovecraft. For example, Alucard, in a reverse reading of Dracula, is the exact opposite of Bram Stoker’s character. And the Hellsing organization is similar to the paramilitary entities featured in Lovecraft’s works.

Yakusoku no Neverland

Rating IMDB – 8.3
Genre: Anime, cartoon, detective, horror, sci-fi
Japan production / 2019
Directed by Mamoru Kanbe, Takahiro Harada, Ayako Kurata
Cast: Sumire Morohoshi, Maaya Uchida, Maria Ise, Shinei Ueki, Rinn, Yuko Kaida, Nao Fujita, Hiyori Kono, Yuko Mori, Yoshino Aoyama

All orphans in the orphanage «Blagodatniy Dom» are happy. They are surrounded by the warmth and care of their foster “mother” Isabella, they are well fed and beautifully dressed. The children are allowed almost everything except to go out into the outside world. Once adopted, the foster children no longer return to Grace House.

One day, orphans Emma and Norman decide to find a friend, Connie, who recently left to join her new parents. In the course of their search, the children learn a scary thing. In fact, the foster children are not being adopted, but are being given away to be eaten by demonic creatures.

The horror anime is based on the manga Yakusoku no Neverland, which as of August 2022 had a circulation of over 41 million copies. This makes the graphic novel one of the best-selling titles in the world.

Erufen rîto

Rating IMDB – 7.9
Genre: Anime, cartoon, horror, sci-fi, thriller, drama, melodrama
Japan production / 2004
Directed by Mamoru Kanbe, Sumio Watanabe, Akira Iwanaga
Cast: Sanae Kobayashi, Chihiro Suzuki, Mamiko Noto, Emiko Hagiwara, Yuki Matsuoka, Hitomi Nabatame, Osamu Hosoi, Masakazu Kohara, Joji Nakata, Kinryu Arimoto

As it turns out, evolution on the planet is not over yet. Another species of humanoid has appeared on Earth – the Dicloniuses, who have superpowers. Trying to understand where these mutants came from and what caused their unusual gift, people subject them to cruel experiments.

One of the test subjects, a diclonius girl named Lucy, manages to escape. Lucy suffers from a split personality. One half of her longs for the destruction of humanity, and the other half longs to embrace and love everyone she meets.

The anime series consists of 13 episodes and one special episode, the events of which take place between episodes 10 and 11. The 10.5 series (as this episode is also called) differs from the main series and does not contain as many violent scenes.

Higurashi no naku koro ni

Rating IMDB – 7.9
Genre: Anime, cartoon, horror, thriller, detective
Japan production / 2006
Directed by Tiaki Kon
Cast: Soichiro Hoshi, Mai Nakahara, Satsuki Yukino, Yukari Tamura, Mika Kanai, Tyafurin, Toshihiko Seki, Miki Ito, Takuo Kawamura, Fumiko Orikasa

A classic horror film that has become the benchmark of its genre.

1983. A fairly ordinary schoolboy, Keiichi Maebara, moves into the village of Hinamizawa. Keiichi discovers that during the annual Watanagashi festival, murders take place in the village every year, the perpetrators of which have yet to be found.

This year is no exception. A visiting photographer’s corpse and the burnt body of a local nurse are found not far from the residences. Who is behind the annual bloodbaths?

The creators of the anime used photos of the real historical settlement of Shirakawa on Honshu Island as the setting. The houses in the village are made in the «gasho-jikuri» style and differ from traditional Japanese houses by their thatched, pointed roofs. A visit to Shirakawa has become commonplace for devoted Cicadas fans.

Petto shoppu obu horazu

Rating IMDB – 7.3
Genre: Anime, cartoon, horror, fantasy, detective
Japan production / 1999
Directed by Toshio Hirata
Cast: Toshihiko Seki, Masaya Onosaka, Miho Yamada, Hiroshi Yanaka, Koji Tsujitani, Mitsuaki Madono, Mitsuru Miyamoto, Narumi Hidaka, Itsuki Yukino, Sayuri Yoshida

In Chinatown there is a small pet store with unusual merchandise. Its owner sells unusual creatures, the essence of which is to give their owners reveries and love. The new pets are able to take on the appearance of people, while remaining animals.

But it is necessary to strictly follow the rules of care for magical creatures, otherwise irreparable things can happen and someone is sure to die.

The mini-series is based on the manga of the same name, which consists of 10 volumes. With the exception of the fourth volume, each manga volume consists of four chapters. The title of each chapter begins with the fourth letter of the Latin alphabet, “D”. This is very symbolic, since the number four is associated with death in Asian culture.

Shiki

Rating IMDB – 7.6
Genre: Anime, cartoon, horror, thriller, drama
Japan production / 2010
Directed by Tetsuro Amino
Cast: Toru Okawa, Koki Uchiyama, Kazuyuki Okitsu, Wataru Takagi, Yasuaki Takumi, Izumi Sawada, Nozomi Sasaki, Haruka Nagashima, Haruka Tomatsu, Hayato Nakada

Life in the village of Sotoba, tucked away somewhere in the middle of the Japanese mountains, is quiet and unhurried. Many people seek solitude and peace in the village. The long-abandoned “lord’s” mansion on the hill had new owners.

Immediately thereafter, Sotoba is plagued by an unknown epidemic that robs people of their powers and inevitably ends in the death of the infected. Rumors of the living dead from the house on the hill, who are responsible for what is happening, crawl through the village.

Anime as a genre originated in Japan in the early 19th century. The artist Katsushika Hokusai created a pair of prints in 1814 called “manga” – funny pictures. The very first anime dates back to 1907. It lasts three seconds and consists of fifty frames. Its author remains unknown.

Pâfekuto burû

Rating IMDB – 8.0
Genre: Anime, cartoon, horror, thriller, drama
Japan production / 1998
Budget: $830 000
Worldwide gross: $763 518
Directed by Satoshi Kon
Cast: Junko Iwao, Rika Matsumoto, Shinpachi Tsuji, Masaaki Okura, Yosuke Akimoto, Yoku Shioya, Hideyuki Hori, Emi Shinohara, Masashi Ebara, Kiyoyuki Yanada

A young member of a girl’s pop group, Mima Kirigoe, decides to end her singing career and become a movie actress. But not all of the girl’s fans seem to like her decision. Mima discovers that an unknown person keeps a diary on her behalf on the Internet, in which he describes the smallest details of the girl’s life.

The aspiring actress becomes uncomfortable. On the set, the situation also heats up, the producers are tempting the girl to participate in rough scenes. Gradually, Mima begins to confuse reality with the fiction occurring on the screen.

The literary basis for the full-length animated film was Yoshikazu Takeuchi’s book Perfect Blue: Kanzen Hentai, which has been significantly revised for the anime.

Anazâ

Rating IMDB – 7.5
Genre: Anime, cartoon, horror, drama, detective
Japan production / 2012
Directed by Tsutomu Mizushima, Hiroyuki Hata, Yukina Hiro
Cast: Natsumi Takamori, Atsushi Abe, Tomoaki Maeno, Madoka Yonezawa, Naoko Sakakibara, Kazutomi Yamamoto, Hiroaki Hirata, Mitsuhiro Ichiki, Kozo Mito, Seiko Yoshida

A 15-year-old high school student named Koichi Sakakibara is forced by illness to change schools and move to the town of Yomiemiya, located in the middle of the mountains. At the city hospital, he spots an attractive girl with an eye patch. She turns out to be a classmate of Koichi’s, named Misaki Mei.

But the most surprising thing happens at school – the girl seems to be noticed neither by students nor teachers. It turns out that Misaki is a non-existent classmate this year. What this means, Koichi has yet to find out.

A multiseries project based on the 2009 novel of the same name by Yukito Ayatsuji. A year later a manga of the same name was released, and in 2012 an anime adaptation of the novel was released. In May 2012 the anime issue zero, which describes the story of Misaki Mei, was released.

Blood+

Rating IMDB – 7.6
Genre: Anime, cartoon, horror, action, drama, adventure
Japan production / 2005
Directed by Junichi Fujisaku
Cast: Eri Kitamura, Katsuyuki Konishi, Hiroyuki Yoshino, Akiko Yajima, Hochu Otsuka, Keiji Fujiwara, Akira Ishida, Kentaro Ito, Yuko Kaida, Ami Koshimizu

In the city of Okinawa, a girl named Saya Otonashi lives with her foster father and brothers. The only thing that makes her different from other schoolgirls is the need for monthly blood transfusions. Also, Saya does not remember anything that happened more than a year ago.

The girl’s peaceful life is unexpectedly interrupted when she is attacked by a hand-winged monster. People from the mysterious Red Shield organization explain to Saya that she is humanity’s only hope. After all, only she has the power to deal with these monsters.

The series’ release was due to the success of the 2000 feature-length animated film Blood: The Last Vampire. All the soundtracks for the anime are works by Johann Sebastian Bach.

Devilman: Crybaby

Rating IMDB – 7.6
Genre: Anime, cartoon, horror, action, fantasy
Japan production / 2018
Directed by Masaaki Yuasa
Cast: Ayumu Murase, Koki Uchiyama, Megumi Han, Subaru Kimura, Ami Koshimizu, Rikiya Koyama, Kenjiro Tsuda, Go Nagai, Atsuko Tanaka, Junya Hirano

A long time ago, before humanity appeared on Earth, demons were in charge of the planet. For reasons unknown, they went into hibernation, allowing humans to repopulate the planet. But upon awakening, the demons began to think about regaining their power. They seek their victims and take possession of them, suppressing their human essence.

The demon Amon attacks schoolboy Akiro Fudo. But the supernatural power failed to suppress the teenager’s personality, Akiro gained the upper hand over the demon. Now Akiro is the Devil Man. He can kill demons while remaining human.

The creator of the series, streaming platform Netflix, posted all the episodes of the anime for free access around the world on the same day – January 5, 2018. After that, «Devilman: Crybaby» became the most discussed anime of 2018.

Gakuen mokushiroku: HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD

Rating IMDB – 7.2
Genre: Anime, cartoon, horror, action, adventure
Japan production / 2010
Budget: ¥10 000
Directed by Tetsuro Araki, Tetsuo Ichimura, Yuji Kumazawa
Cast: Junichi Suwabe, Eri Kitamura, Nobuyuki Hiyama, Hitomi Harada, Marina Inoue, Miyuki Sawashiro, Yukari Fukui, Shinya Hamazoe, Daishi Koshiba, Toru Inamura

A deadly zombie pandemic swiftly grips the world. At Fuzumi High School, only a few students survived the zombie attack, including Takashi Komuro and his childhood friend Rei Miyamoto.

Once out of the school building, the teens head into town to find their relatives. Here deadly ghouls await them. But the survivors may be no less dangerous.

Japanese anime in most cases is designed for an adult audience and is clearly divided according to the target audience. «Gakuen mokushiroku: HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD» belongs to the shainen genre, i.e. it is intended for men aged 18 and older. It is characterized by more complex plots compared to shōnen, manga and anime for teenagers.

Ghost Hunt

Rating IMDB – 7.4
Genre: Anime, cartoon, horror, drama, adventure
Japan production / 2006
Directed by Mano Akira
Cast: Kaori Nazuka, Yuki Tai, Ken Narita, Colleen Klinkenberd, Todd Haberkorn, Cheramie Lee, Travis Willingham, Jud Saxton, J. Michael Tatum, Jason Liebrecht

An old wooden building that sits directly in front of the school arouses everyone’s interest. The principal of the school, in order to deal with the gossip about the abandonment once and for all, summons Kazuyu Shibuya, a young but experienced exorcist.

During Kazuyu’s research, high school girls visit the building. One of them, Mai Taniyama, accidentally breaks the specialist’s equipment. To recoup its cost, Mai has to start working for Kazuyu.

Ghost Hunt manga and anime belong to the shoujo genre, aimed at a female audience between the ages of 12 and 18. The visuals of the anime are usually either grotesque-humorous or subtle-romantic. The plot is centered on a girl, and the male characters are noble, brave, and self-sacrificing.

Jigoku shôjo

Rating IMDB – 7.4
Genre: Anime, cartoon, horror, drama
Japan production / 2005
Directed by Takahiro Omori, Shunji Yoshida, Harume Kosaka
Cast: Mamiko Noto, Masaya Matsukaze, Takako Honda, Takayuki Sugo, Yuji Ueda, Toshiyuki Toyonaga, Shigeru Muroi, Ai Hayasaka, Eriko Matsushima, Nobuo Tobita

Somewhere in the vast depths of the net is a site called “Hell’s Correspondence,” which is accessed at midnight sharp. The site is indispensable for those who want revenge. It is enough just to enter the name of the offender into the search box, and before the customer appears Emma Ai, or the Girl from Hell. She will once again give the avenger a choice: he forgives the perpetrator or sends him to hell. But in the second case, after death, the vigilante himself will go to purgatory.

Each episode of the series is a novel in its own right. There are four seasons and a separate dorama of the same name. In addition, Jigoku shôjo has been adapted for the Nintendo DS and PlayStation.

Ayakashi

Rating IMDB – 7.4
Genre: Anime, cartoon, horror, fantasy, drama
Japan production / 2006
Directed by Nakamura Kenji
Cast: Hikaru Midorikawa, Hiroaki Hirata, Mami Koyama, Osamu Saka, Yuko Nagashima, Keiichi Sonobe, Wataru Takagi, Kappei Yamaguchi, Masaya Onosaka, Tetsu Inada

A modern interpretation of three classic Japanese plots. The first is about a poor samurai, Iemon Tamiya, who falls in love with a rich lady. She offers the man to poison his tired wife in exchange for a life of prosperity.

The second story describes the forbidden love between a common man, the falconer Jōshōnosuke, and a princess of spirits.

In the third, an itinerant apothecary drives out the spirits, for which he must learn the Essence, Form and Original Cause of each.

The plot of the mini-series is based on the classic plays Yotsuya Kabuki Ghost Story by Nanboku Tsuruya IV, The Dark Tower Goddess by Keka Izumi, and The Goblin Cat by Kenji Nakamura and Michiko Yekota.

Gekijô ban Kara no kyôkai: Dai san shô – Tsukakû zanryû

Rating IMDB – 7.3
Genre: Anime, cartoon, horror, thriller
Japan production / 2008
Directed by Mitsuru Obunai
Cast: Maaya Sakamoto, Ken’ichi Suzumura, Takako Honda, Mamiko Noto, Shoji Nakata, Ayumi Fujimura, Yuichi Nakamura, Shintaro Masaki, Hiroki Yasumoto, Hiroshi Iida

A girl named Shiki Ryogi and a young man named Mikiya Kokuto work for the “Temple of the Void” detective agency owned by the witch Toko Aozaki. The agency investigates paranormal phenomena.

One day, Mikiya helped a beautiful girl fight off a street gang. It turns out that a beautiful girl named Fujimo Asagami has supernatural powers. And Shiki Ryogi believes that Fujimo is the one responsible for the murders that have been shaking their hometown of Mifune lately.

«Gekijô ban Kara no kyôkai: Dai san shô – Tsukakû zanryû», or Kara no Kekai, is a series of novels by Kinoko Nasu, illustrated by Takashi Takeuchi. Between 2007 and 2013, there were a total of eleven full-length cartoons based on the stories created by the writer.

Junji Itô: Korekushon

Rating IMDB – 6.7
Genre: Anime, cartoon, horror, drama, detective, action
Japan production / 2018
Directed by Shinobu Tagashira, Minoru Inaba
Cast: Hiro Shimono, Yuji Mitsuya, Ryota Suzuki, Mami Koyama, Yuto Suzuki, Daisuke Kishio, Nobunaga Shimazaki, Daisuke Namikawa, Tomomi Mineuchi, Hiroyuki Yoshino

Truly, a collection of short but gruesome episodes lasting 15-20 minutes. The new series is about Soichi, a creepy teenager who will clearly become a maniac in the future, a girl who turns into a snail, Tomie, a beautiful girl who makes men kill each other, and many other disgusting characters and their stories.

This horror anthology was created especially for the 30th anniversary of the work of the legendary horror comic book creator Junji Ito. Interestingly, Junji Ito is not a professional mangaka, but a dental technician. Junji Ito has now earned the title “Stephen King of modern manga” with his disgusting works.

Trinity Blood

Rating IMDB – 7.1
Genre: Anime, cartoon, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, action, drama
Japan production / 2005
Directed by Tomohiro Hirata, Daisuke Chiba, Takahiro Harada
Cast: Hiroki Toshi, Troy Baker, Russell Waite, R. Bruce Elliott, Mamiko Noto, Colleen Klinkenberd, Lydia McKay, Takako Honda, Hitomi Nabatame, Gwendolyn Lao

Tokyo Ghoul

Rating IMDB – 7.8
Genre: Anime, cartoon, horror, fantasy, action, thriller, drama
Japan production / 2014
Directed by Shuhei Morita, Shin Matsuo, Soichi Shimada
Cast: Natsuki Hanae, Sora Amamiya, Shintaro Asanuma, Mamoru Miyano, Sumire Morohoshi, Takahiro Sakurai, Rie Kugimiya, Reina Ueda, Kana Hanazawa, Rintaro Nishi

Mysterious creatures – ghouls – live secretly among humans. In order to survive, they are forced to eat human flesh. After being attacked by such an infernal creature, ordinary fellow Kene Kaneki discovers that the hospital has transplanted his goole organs.

Now Kaneki is half goo, half human. His new self thirsts for blood, but the human inside him prevents him from committing murder.

Gantz

Rating IMDB – 7.2
Genre: Anime, cartoon, sci-fi, action, horror
Japan production / 2004
Directed by Itano Ichiro
Cast: Hiroshi Kamiya, Mitsuaki Madono, Hitomi Nabatame, Daisuke Namikawa, Masashi Oosato, Bin Sasaki, Mie Sonozaki, Takuro Nakakuni, Hajime Iijima, Toko Aoyama

After dying under the wheels of a train, schoolboy Kei Kurono wakes up in an unfamiliar apartment, where he meets several people who are just as recently dead. Now the lives of the unfortunates do not belong to them – they have to participate in a terrible game.

Armed to the teeth, they must find and kill aliens on the streets of the city. Those who manage to survive are rewarded with participation in the next deadly session.

Twenty-six episodes of the multi-episode project are divided into two seasons, with the last five episodes differing in plot from the original manga. «Gantz» was broadcast on Japanese television with numerous cuts due to the large number of naturalistic and bloody scenes.

Boogiepop Phantom: Boogiepop wa Warawanai

Rating IMDB – 7.3
Genre: Anime, cartoon, horror
Japan production / 2000
Directed by Takashi Watanabe
Cast: Kaori Shimizu, Roxanne Beck, Ann Benkovitz, Jessica Calvello, Crispin Freeman, Amanda Goodman, William Hersh, Megan Hollingshead, Carol Jacobanis, Leah Lane

A mystical detective story about a small Japanese town that was shaken by a series of brutal murders five years ago. And now it’s happening again.

The town is filled with monsters and monsters from which there is no escape. No one in the city is safe, not even in the sunlight. But the fight against evil begins with Boogipop, whose identity is unknown.

A recurring top horror anime mini-series has a complex, non-linear structure. Each episode describes different characters involved in the events. And the plot lines are repeated, showing dramatic events from different points of view.

Deadman Wonderland

Rating IMDB – 7.1
Genre: Anime, cartoon, action, sci-fi, horror
Japan production / 2011
Directed by Koichi Hatsumi
Cast: Kana Hanazawa, Romy Park, Kanehira Yamamoto, Kozo Dozaka, Sohei Kobayashi, Ayumi Yonemaru, Masaaki Itatori, Hiroto Kazuki, Noriaki Morita, Kazutomi Yamamoto

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, Tokyo was destroyed by a terrible earthquake. And now, thirty years later, a huge private prison is being built on its ruins with the telling name of «Deadman Wonderland». One of its inmates is an ordinary 14-year-old schoolboy, Ganta Igarashi, unjustly accused of murdering his classmates.

Igarashi is forced to take part in deadly rides in the course of which he discovers he has a superpower. He is able to transform his own blood into a weapon.

Japanese anime accounts for 60% of all animated films produced on the planet. And the production of manga, Japanese comics, in Japan consumes more raw materials than the production of toilet paper.

Yami shibai

Rating IMDB – 7.1
Genre: Anime, cartoon, horror, short film
Japan production / 2013
Directed by Tomoya Takashima
Cast: Kanji Tsuda, Sara, Shoichiro Masumoto, Ryota Murai, Sawaki Akimoto, Keisuke Ueda, Ryo Hirano, Ayaka Onishi, Risa Aizawa, Toshihiko Tanaka

A collection of short stories based on chilling horror stories and urban legends of Japan. A sinister, masked puppeteer invites the audience into his theater full of spooky stories.

There are mythological creatures, ghosts, and, of course, all the familiar attributes of horror movies: a mysterious elevator, a strange videotape, long black hair, and much more, which is scary to think about.

Since 2013, the project has already had 10 seasons, each of which consists of 13 episodes. The 10th season of the anime was just recently released in 2022. Season 11 is scheduled to be released in March 2023.

Ajin

Rating IMDB – 7.6
Genre: Anime, cartoon, horror, sci-fi, action movie
Japan production / 2016
Directed by Hiroaki Ando, Hiroyuki Seshita, Ryoichimo Sawa
Cast: Mamoru Miyano, Takahiro Sakurai, Mikako Komatsu, Hotu Otsuka, Daisuke Hirakawa, Jun Fukuyama, Ken’ichi Suzumura, Itaru Yamamoto, Shogo Nakamura, Ayaka Asai

Seventeen years ago, non-humans, creatures that are outwardly indistinguishable from humans, were first discovered on the planet. At the same time, they are immortal and have regenerative powers. Mankind, hoping to create universal soldiers out of nonhumans, began to hunt them.

Kei Nagai, an ordinary high school student, is inadvertently hit by a car, but comes back to life a moment later. To avoid falling into the clutches of the inhuman scientists, the boy decides to flee the city.

The success of the anime was the reason for the 2017 feature film Ajin.

Ghost Hound

Rating IMDB – 7.5
Genre: Anime, cartoon, fantasy, detective, drama, thriller
Japan production/ 2007
Directed by Ryutaro Nakamura, Taro Iwasaki, Daisuke Chikushi
Cast: Akiko Yajima, Kensho Ono, Jun Fukuyama, Soichiro Hoshi, Yoshinori Fujita, Sho Hayami, Yasunori Matsumoto, Sakiko Tamagawa, Fumihiko Tachiki

Many years ago, a terrible thing happened to a boy named Taro Komori. He and his older sister were kidnapped by an unknown assailant, as a result of which Taro’s sister died. When he grew up, the teenager discovered that he had the ability to leave his body while sleeping and move freely in space.

The same gift was manifested in two of Taro’s classmates, Makoto and Masayuki. Now together they learn to cross the border between parallel worlds in order to uncover the tragic secrets of the past.

One of the best horror anime. There are two manga volumes and a video game of the same name based on the series.