Netflix has built up an increasingly impressive library of anime content that includes some moody horror selections that are perfect for the season (or anytime really). However, with so many titles out there it’s not always easy to know what’s worthwhile, especially when the names of some series don’t do much to help on the matter. Here’s a helpful selection of some of Netflix’s best and most frightening anime titles so you don’t have to dig through the herd.
Parasyte –the maxim–
How Many Episodes: 24 Sub and Dub
Devilman Crybaby
How Many Episodes: 10 Sub and Dub The Devilman series has been around for decades in various iterations, but the most recent take on the material, Devilman Crybaby, feels special and like it’s trying to do something different with the property. Devilman Crybaby‘s plot isn’t overly complex. It features a world that’s at risk of being overrun by demons. Akira bonds with a demon in a way that turns him into Devilman, a hybrid between man and demon that’s the key to ending this war. Devilman Crybaby is dripping in carnage and it’s a series that trades in extremes. The legendary Masaaki Yuasa is the director and it’s the fluid ways that he plays with animation and color that makes Devilman Crybaby such a delight. Bloodshed and monsters have never been so visually beautiful.
Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress: The Battle of Unato
How Many Episodes: 3 Sub and Dub
Neon Genesis Evangelion
How Many Episodes: 26 and 2 Movies Sub and Dub Neon Genesis Evangelion may not immediately come across as a horror series, but there’s disturbing imagery that’s present from the first episode that only becomes more intense as the series goes on. Evangelion is a moody deconstruction of not just the mecha genre, but also human nature. The series elegantly meshes together provoking questions with incredible action sequences and gutting character drama. The anime stands out for its unique take on robots, monsters, and how it intertwines religion with it all. It’s an ambitious project, but few anime create the same sense of anxiety and dread as Evangelion. Neon Genesis Evangelion is still considered to be one of the most acclaimed and challenging anime even decades after its debut. There’s truly nothing else like it.
Ajin: Demi-Human
How Many Episodes: 26 Sub and Dub
Death Note
How Many Episodes: 37 Sub and Dub Death Note is one of the bigger anime to come out of the past few decades and it’s because despite the hyperbolized places that the story goes, it still presents a parable that explores the curious nature of man and the dark places that curiosity can go. Death Note is a brilliant exercise in perspective as it shifts between killer and detective with the titular and mysterious Death Note caught in between. There’s something deeply terrifying about the Death Note’s power to kill anyone whose name is written inside of it and how flippantly Light Yagami utilizes this function. Death Note has some provoking thoughts and it’s impressive that it’s able to mesh such exaggerated visuals and extreme elements into this disturbing character study. Part of the joy in Death Note is that Light makes mistakes from the start and only works himself deeper to the point of no return.
Erased
How Many Episodes: 12 Sub and Dub
Dorohedoro
How Many Episodes: 12 Sub and Dub Horror anime should primarily be scary, but one of the perks of the genre is that anime can animate terrifying visuals on a level that often surpasses standard American animation. There’s still a lot of debate on whether the increased presence of CG in anime is a good thing or not, but Dorohedoro is proof that it can be used effectively and stylistically to amplify the surreal nature of the story at hand. Dorohedoro is set in a wild gig-economy world where magic is rampant and the schism between humans and sorcerers creates crime and disorder. Most humans are subjected to crude magic and find themselves with bizarre heads as a result. Caiman, the main character, wakes up with a reptile head and no memories of who he is, which leaves him even more vulnerable than usual in this chaotic world. Dorohedoro is another excellent example of creative world building that mixes horror together with fantasy and crime in an inspired way. It’s the type of freaky meditation of identity and society that Bright wishes it had been.
Attack on Titan
How Many Episodes: 25 Sub Only
The Promised Neverland
How Many Episodes: 12 Sub and Dub Other horror-centric or monster-based anime titles to check out on Netflix when you’ve scared yourself stiff from everything else: Black Butler, Blue Exorcist, Castlevania, Gantz: 0, Vampire Knight
