The Japanese anime industry excels as much in producing some of the best horror movies as it does in slice-of-life stories. What is particularly remarkable is that unlike other industries or film-making styles, Japanese anime uses horror as an element in a story that could be bracketed into wider genres such as sci-fi, action and supernatural.
Anime horror movies take familiar tropes and infuse them with a unique blend of unsettling imagery, psychological themes, and cultural nuances, resulting in experiences both terrifying and thought-provoking. Hardly any, therefore, are traditional ghost stories or tales of hauntings.
Take for instance Perfect Blue (1997). It is a psychological thriller which has depictions of body horror and psychotic exploration of its pivotal characters. How it unfolds on the screen might make some viewers feel deeply unsettled. Thus, the film follows the type of narratives which lack the typical monsters and jump scares and instead brings goosebumps through its presentation of crimes, bleak atmospheres and ambiguous endings.
There can also be themes of Japanese folklore and mythology — a trope employed masterfully by Studio Ghibli, but in non-horror movies. Kitarô Tanjô: Gegege no Nazo (2023), a film based on the 1960 manga GeGeGe no Kitarō and the long-running anime series of the same name, is an example. It deals with yōkai, spirit monsters in Japanese folklore. Other films of a similar nature add a layer of cultural depth to the general element of horror presented through its characters.
Anime horror movies also include traditional vampire stories but with disturbing imagery of gore and brutality — elements that may not be possible for live-action movies to show on screens. Examples include Ninja Scroll (1993) and Akira (1988). Though both involve heavy action elements and are primarily tales of the inner struggles of their protagonists, they are also classed as horror films because of depictions of the brutalities and stark realism of the harsh world the characters inhabit.
Thus, anything from psychological to action can be part of Japanese horror movies. So, if one is looking for something beyond the typical horror fare, it is time to delve into the unsettling yet captivating world of Japanese anime horror. It will certainly challenge expectations and linger long after the credits roll.
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Directed by: Rintaro, Yoshiaki Kawajiri, Katsuhiro Otomo
Voice cast: Hideko Yoshida, Toshiyuki Morikawa, Masane Tsukayama, Yū Mizushima, Hiroshi Ōtake
IMDb rating: 7
Synopsis: Zack Hugh (Morikawa), a death racer, has been cheating death for years using his secret telekinetic powers until he succumbs to it. On the other hand, Tsutomu Sugioka (Mizushima) tries to prevent a merciless robot 444-1 (Ōtake) from carrying out a government-rejected plan. Watching the events happen from a strange space-like environment is a girl named Sachi (Yoshida).
Directed by: Toyoo Ashida
Voice cast: Kaneto Shiozawa, Michie Tomizawa, Seizō Katō, Keiko Toda
IMDb rating: 7
Synopsis: Vampire hunter D (Shiozawa) is a dhampir — a half-human and half-vampire. He is hired to rescue a young woman, Doris Lang (Tomizawa), who has been bitten by the aristocratic vampire Count Magnus Lee (Katō) who wants to make her his bride.
Directed by: Kōji Morimoto, Tensai Okamura, Katsuhiro Otomo
Voice cast: Tsutomu Isobe, Gara Takashima, Kouichi Yamadera, Hideyuki Hori, Yuu Hayashi, Keaton Yamada
IMDb rating: 7.5
Synopsis: Astronauts find a paranormal entity in an abandoned space station, a lab worker unintentionally becomes a chemically turned killing machine, and a father-son duo try to survive in a city driven mad in this anthology film featuring three horror stories.
Directed by: Gô Koga
Voice cast: Miyuki Sawashiro, Masako Nozawa, Toshihiko Seki, Tetsu Shiratori, Hidenobu Kiuchi
IMDb rating: 7.6
Synopsis: Kitarō (Sawashiro) is a half-human yōkai boy whose father, Medama Oyaji (Nozawa/Seki), is looking for his mother in Japan of 1955. He comes across Mizuki (Kiuchi), who would become the human adoptive father of Kitarō in the future, in a village. A terrifying chain of events begins when a member of Mizuki’s family is murdered at the village shrine.
Directed by: Yoshiaki Kawajiri
Voice cast: Hideyuki Tanaka, Kōichi Yamadera, Megumi Hayashibara, Emi Shinohara, Ichirō Nagai
IMDb rating: 7.6
Synopsis: Set 10,000 years into the future, the world has both the undead and the living battling for existence. In their midst, vampire hunter D (Tanaka) is given a mission to rescue a young woman, Charlotte Elbourne (Shinohara), who has been kidnapped by the powerful vampire, Baron Meier Link (Yamadera). During the mission, D competes with a crew of bounty hunters and together they discover a secret about the kidnapping.
Directed by: Yoshiaki Kawajiri
Voice cast: Kōichi Yamadera, Emi Shinohara, Takeshi Aono, Daisuke Gōri, Toshihiko Seki, Shūichirō Moriyama
IMDb rating: 7.8
Synopsis: A demonic clan of killers endowed with supernatural powers is on a murderous spree in their quest to overthrow the Tokugawa Shogunate for their mysterious master. In their way stands a vagabond swordsman named Kibagami Jubei (Yamadera), a female ninja named Kagero (Shinohara) and a strange spy named Dakuan (Aono).
Directed by: Satoshi Kon
Voice cast: Junko Iwao, Rica Matsumoto, Shinpachi Tsuji
IMDb rating: 8
Synopsis: Mima Kirigoe, a former member of a J-pop idol group, takes a sudden decision to end her music career for acting. Trouble begins when people associated with her drama project begin getting murdered and a mysterious entity starts stalking her. As the threats mount, Mima begins losing grip on reality and her sanity.
Directed by: Katsuhiro Ôtomo
Voice cast: Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama, Tarō Ishida, Tesshō Genda, Mizuho Suzuki
IMDb rating: 8
Synopsis: Shōtarō Kaneda (Iwata) is a biker gang leader in the dystopian Japan of 2019. His friend, Tetsuo Shima (Sasaki), develops powerful telekinetic abilities following an accident and is now the biggest threat to the world they live in. Kaneda must do all he can to stop Tetsuo before he massacres every living thing.
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Hero and Featured images: IMDb
This article first appeared on Lifestyle Asia India
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
– What is the scariest anime movie?
Movies such as Perfect Blue, Vampire Hunter D and Akira can be called truly scary due to depictions of body horror, gory action scenes and intense psychological situations.
– What is the number 1 best anime movie?
Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away (2001) is widely hailed as the best anime movie of all time by critics.
– Which is the darkest anime?
Tokyo Ghoul and Paranoia Agent, both of which are anime shows, are counted among the darkest anime.
