Anime has a way of doing series that can get to a viewer unlike any other medium. Where with film you have special effects to help bring certain elements of the film to life, if you push to far, the effects look cheesey and fake. (Don’t believe me, check out the Green Lantern feature film.) Television is also limited by this as well. American and western animated series still believe that animation is mainly for children. But anime - Japanese and other Asian animation series will push what you believe is possible for a series of those types. That is mainly because Anime creators know that animation fans come in all genders and ages. They do not limit what they will try just because the medium is in an animated form. One of the genres that anime does so well when tackling adult styles series is the horror genre. What anime can do so well and still not seem fake is scare the hell out of you. And not all of the scares have to be of the monstrous or visual kind - the scare that they can put into you with the psychological aspects of horror are astounding, if not better, than the monster and gore they show. The list below is something I compiled that I believe best showcase how well anime can do horror. 

Honorable Mention: Bio-Booster Armor Guyver

Okay, so this Guyver series from the late 1980s, early 90s isn’t really so much a horror anime as much as it is an action series. However, there is enough blood and gore in this series to really compete with some of the better horror movies out there. Also, the fucked up shit that the villains put the hero through are completely insane. They kill his friends, attack his school and kill hundreds of classmates, they kidnap his best friend and girlfriend, they tear him apart, and so much more – if you want to see a series that is just on the messed up side, then check out this series. 

Hellsing

Full of vampire goodness and killing, killing and more killing, Hellsing is one of those animes that isn’t as scary as you think it would be but every once in a while will catch you off guard with how viceral some of the scenes come across the screen. Of course, when you are dealing with an anime based on vampires, hunters and other ghoulish creatures, there is a certin amount of horror to be expected. This anime won’t mess with you as much as others on the list, but the gore and action will certainly leave you on the edge of your seat at times - and reaching for a blanket to hide under at others. 

Highschool of the Dead

I said this all of last year: Highschool of the Dead was the best zombie related media I had seen next to The Walking Dead series. HotD had just enough horror, suspense and human emotion to rank among the best zombie movies out there. I would even go so far as to say that not even George Romero could have come up with anything better. You feel what the kids feel as they try to survive the zombie apocalypse ravaging their world. The pain they go through as they lose friends and loved ones and cope with the madness gripping others. Worst of all, the end result of everything as the world’s nuclear powers decide there is only one way to handle the situation. Highschool of the Dead is a series you just have to watch.

Monster

Well worth the hype that the series received, Monster pushes the limits of suspense and human morality with every episode. This series knows what it is to pace and build upon backstories throughout the 70+ episodes. What starts off as a police drama-esque series quickly has you wondering just what right and wrong are and questioning just who is doing what. I won’t spoil any of the surprises that the series has, but I will certainly recommend this series if you want something as good as Fringe, The Twilight Zone or Night Gallery with a bit of Law and Order and ER mixed in. 

Perfect Blue

You want to talk about psychological thrillers? Than look no further than Perfect Blue. Perfect Blue is the kind of anime movie that will stick with you forever. Mima is a JPop star who begins to suffer at the hands of a stalker. If any of you can comprehend how scary that is, then you know how scary it is to have someone watching your every move. To have someone watch your every move and not knowing their full intentions is bad enough… but to think that it may all be happening in your mind is something entirely different. Scene after scene in this movie has you guessing at to what exactly is really going on and how deranged and twisted the lead character in the anime is. This is Hitchcock style horror at its best.

Pet Shop of Horrors

I will be honest here: Pet Shop of Horrors won’t scare the hell out of you, but the bizzare storylines and amazing creature creations will leave you marvelling and wondering just what it is you are watching. The tales of horror in the series are sadly predictable, but that doesn’t take away from how interesting the stories are - or the moral of the tale they are conveying. Think of it as an anime version of Tales from the Crypt: you won’t get scared but you will be left gaping in awe if you let the stories take your imagination.

School Days

Don’t let the first couple of episodes of School Days fool you. It may start off as your typical harem/comedy anime series, but the deep psychological undertones and traumas the students engage each other in quickly reminds you of some weird Hitchcock style tale with so many twist and turns that it puts M. Night Shyamalan to shame. The way these classmates engage each other, you think they were engaging in psychological warfare with a hostile foreign country. The last episode alone had me wondering aloud “What the fuck did I just see?” Even with this note, you still will still not be ready for the sick and twisted schemes these students have in store for each other through the series. Not really scary in terms of scares, this is just a psychological mind rape of the highest order.

The Devil Lady

From legendary anime creator Go Nagai, Devil Lady tells the story of Jun, a top fashion model, who discovers that she carries a genetic code in her that allows her to transform into a powerful demonic being. Recruited by a government agency who forces her to hunt down other demons, Jun’s life is put through hell as she deals with her life completely falling apart. She no longer feels comfortable at work, her close friend is frightened of her, the toll of killing others and being injured on a constant basis weigh heavily on her mind. All that, and in the end, there is no way of stopping a full on demonic invasion. The Devil Lady is certainly one of Nagai’s better works and surpasses the spiritual prequel to the series, Devilman, in many ways.