Horror anime. Your favorites!

[hey]

I know there is a suggestions thread, but that's general recommendations, and this is more specific. Which means talking about this would be off topic in that massive, too large, thread. On to the point.

Considering the time of year I'm interested in checking out some good horror movies. (If there is such a thing.) So I thought I'd ask...

What are your favorite horror animes?
What do you like about them?
What kind of horror are they? (e.g., dark, silly, graphic, comedy, gothic, fantasy, etc.)
Are they a movie or series?
What other animes would you compare them to?

[Yamamaya]

I've only watched three horror animes.

Hell Girl(Shigoku Shoujo)
Higurashi no naku koro ni
Umineko no naku koro ni.

I like how they incorporate quite a bit of psychological elements into them.

[Fish and Chips]

Actually, the recommendation thread is for ALL recommendations, no matter how broad or narrow. However, since you've taken this into let's talk about horror Anime, I imagine they'll let it slide.

Anyway, looking over what I've seen, I don't seem to have many horror series. Unless you consider the Berserk Manga horror, which some people do. Hard to recommend though, for reasons that are self-evident.

[Yamamaya]

Actually, the recommendation thread is for ALL recommendations, no matter how broad or narrow. However, since you've taken this into let's talk about horror Anime, I imagine they'll let it slide.

Anyway, looking over what I've seen, I don't seem to have many horror series. Unless you consider the Berserk Manga horror, which some people do. Hard to recommend though, for reasons that are self-evident.

Yeah, from the little I've heard about the Berserk manga, it's definitely a NSFW series.

[Radical Dreamer]

I know there is a suggestions thread, but that's general recommendations, and this is more specific. Which means talking about this would be off topic in that massive, too large, thread.

Actually, this sounds more like a "talk about your favorite horror series" thread, as Fish and Chips mentioned. Since this is more about general discussion of horror genre anime, it doesn't need to be a part of that thread, but if it were just asking for suggestions, then yes, we'd lock it and ask you to repost it in the recommendations thread. This is fine, though.

[blkmage]

Definitely Higurashi. Any list without it is incomplete.

Now then, that's really the only one I've seen. There are a few others I've heard being thrown around when ever horror comes up. The first are Ayakashi and Mononoke (not Princess Mononoke). Apparently, they've got a pretty distinctive art style as well. The next has been mentione already: Jigoku Shoujo. The last is Mouryo no Hako, which apparently still isn't completely subbed.

I'm not sure Umineko is horror enough to be horror. It really is a lot more mystery than Higurashi and the murders aren't as intense. I think a big thing is the lack of people going insane in Umineko. Also, the magical element sort of detracts from the brutality and violence of some of the murders in Higurashi. Of course, some scenes in Umineko are quite nightmare fuel-ish, but in general, it has a very different feel from Higurashi.

Still, Higurashi is fantastically creepy. Highly recommended.

[Tsukuyomi]

I agree with BlkMage and whomever mentioned Higurashi 8D I'll admit I haven't seen alot, but I have seen a couple and Higurashi takes the cake ^__^

[Fish and Chips]

Well, I catch a lot of series with definite horror elements to them, but they're not really horror in the strictest sense of the word. For example, Umineko. Umineko has a ton of horror spots, but it's a mystery at its core. I'm not really sure I'd consider that horror (suspense, though...).

Similarly, Hellsing isn't horror, it's action with supernatural special effects.

[blkmage]

Actually, I think Kara no Kyoukai might fit. It's more supernatural, but the first few movies definitely have the whole 'something strange is happening over at this place, check it out' sort of thing. The atmosphere is definitely creepy and some of the situations are also quite creepy. It might barely pass as horror.

[Yamamaya]

Well I simply listed it as horror due to its horror moments in it.

I've noticed with Japanese horror that often it is not a genre based entirely on blood and gore. For example, with the huge amount of gore in Elfen Lied, one would almost expect it to be a horror anime but it's not. On the other hand, Shigoku Shoujo, which does not have near the amount of gore as EL is in the horror genre.

It has much more to do with psychology than with the actual blood, guts, and gore that tend to define some American horror movies/show.

[goldenspines]

Well, I catch a lot of series with definite horror elements to them, but they're not really horror in the strictest sense of the word. For example, Umineko. Umineko has a ton of horror spots, but it's a mystery at its core. I'm not really sure I'd consider that horror (suspense, though...).

Similarly, Hellsing isn't horror, it's action with supernatural special effects.

Hellsing is horror if you watch it really late at night. 8D;

I usually avoid most horror anime just because I don't like horror. The closest I've come to horror in anime is watching Umineko and Ghost Hunt.

[Maokun]

Boogiepop Phantom is not exactly horror but it manages a very suspensful and dark atmosphere and it's actually very good. I've always felt it like the underrated cousin of Serial Experiments Lain.

100 Stories (or his more official, sillier name in the US, Requiem from the Darkness) is horror themed, though I didn't find it particularly scary. I am hard to scare anyway, and the series has good production values and awesome music, so you may want to give it a try.

The more childish Ghost Stories (Gakko no Kaidan,) surprisingly managed to give me a couple better scares and the ending is absolutely heartwarming, so I'd recommend it even more. (don't expect great production values in this one.)

Finally, and I'm surprised it hasn't been mentioned yet, Petshop of Horrors may be the most Lovecraftian of the offerings in anime horror. It has a great understanding of the "uncanny" and though it doesn't really have truly scary moments, it keeps you tense and disturbed. Be wary that is quite risqué and sadly, only 6 episodes long.

[hey]

Oh wow overload, but in a good way. I've got a ton of research to do on these.

I've noticed on average it seems like anime isn't afraid to have a few extra drops of blood. I'm assuming when we are talking about anime and gore then we're talking about about gore relative to other animes.

I know personally I'm a bigger fan of suspense and psychological horror than the blood and guts. By the sounds of it a lot of the above animes would work well for that. Although this isn't just about my taste, so I am interested in perspectives outside of that.

I noticed some of you questioned whether or not certain animes on your list counted as horror or not. That got me thinking. Would you consider Death Note as a horror anime?

[blkmage]

Death Note is more like Catch Me If You Can. It really is just an elaborate game of chess between two smart people. The suspense isn't generated by the actual murders, it's from seeing which one of Light or L will win and which one will lose. There's nothing there to unsettle the audience. The audience is made fully aware of who's doing stuff and their motivations. This is the same reason I don't consider Umineko horror, at least not once it really gets rolling.

[KhakiBlueSocks]

[font="Trebuchet MS"][SIZE="4"][color="RoyalBlue"]I think xxxHolic does carry about it a very spooky, horror story type vibe with it. Though it also has it's comedic moments, I think xxxHolic can qualify as a horror anime.[/color][/SIZE][/font]

[minakichan]

Code Geass.

[blkmage]

Code Geass.

（　´_ゝ`）

[Maokun]

I think xxxHolic does carry about it a very spooky, horror story type vibe with it. Though it also has it's comedic moments, I think xxxHolic can qualify as a horror anime.

Yes, XXXholic is quite recommendable too, if much, much more lighthearted, which is not necessarily a bad thing. (don't be fooled by the triple X, nothing pornographic on it, btw.)

Rumiko Takahashi also loves her horror stuff, Mermaid's Forest bein perhaps her best work on the matter. Also, the few episodes InuYasha dedicates to ancient spiritual japanese lore are quite effectively chilly.

[KhakiBlueSocks]

Yes, XXXholic is quite recommendable too, if much, much more lighthearted, which is not necessarily a bad thing. (don't be fooled by the triple X, nothing pornographic on it, btw.)

Trust me, I wouldn't have mentioned it if it was!

[rocklobster]

I'm seconding Petshop of Horrors and adding Blood+. Definitely a good horror anime.

[Roy Mustang]

I'm seconding Petshop of Horrors and adding Blood+. Definitely a good horror anime.

I don't know. I would go with movie Blood: The Last Vampire more as a horror then I would go with the Blood+ the series.

The art was just down right creepy in the movie and it was just more artful like in Blood+ and it had a love story to go with it in the series.

Not to say that Blood+ is bad or anything as I did love the series. Its just the movie fits the horror theme then Blood+ did.

Okay, here are other ones that I feel that fits some what of the horror anime theme.

Kakurenbo: Hide & Seek

Le Portrait de Petit Cossette

and Tokko. The horror in that one is the ending and crappy writing skills in that seires.

There is two other ones that would fit the horror, but I never not list them as I feel that you need to be 18+ to see them.

One of them is if anime met the SAW movies and the other one about bugs that love to eat people.

[color="Red"][font="Book Antiqua"]Col. Roy Mustang[/font][/color]

[Agape]

Well before I became a christian I tried to avoid horror movies, and now especially that I am one. But I have seen my share. My tastes are more toward the gothic fantasy type, not exactly scary. The only two I've seen, which I really enjoyed at the time, are :

Demon City Shinjuku( I know this was kinda scary)
Vampire Hunter D( 1985 + Bloodlust)- one of the best horror animes of all time in my opinion.

[hey]

Death Note is more like Catch Me If You Can.

I've been thinking about what you said, and I definitely agree with you that it's a catch me if you can, but like most good animes it's genre crossing. That's part of what gives it depth. I also think that's why so many of us are making comments in this thread like "I'm not sure it's horror." or "It's kind of like horror." when they are referring to different shows.

In the case of Death Note, the more I think about it, the more I think you could make a case for it being horror as well as other archetypes or genres.

Here are some horror elements to consider:

* The shimigami (sp?) are creepy.
* The base mechanics of the Death Note have some horror elements like usage of the Death Note prevents a person from having one of the normal afterlife options.
* Light can be seen as a clever or charming horror villain. Instead of a hockey mask or getting you in your sleep he wears the face of a normal student and he gets you simply by thinking about you. (Tell me that isn't creepier than a monster you know is a monster by looking at it.)


Anyway those are just a few thoughts that made me wonder in the first place.

Yes, XXXholic is quite recommendable too, if much, much more lighthearted, which is not necessarily a bad thing. (don't be fooled by the triple X, nothing pornographic on it, btw.)

Rumiko Takahashi also loves her horror stuff, Mermaid's Forest bein perhaps her best work on the matter. Also, the few episodes InuYasha dedicates to ancient spiritual japanese lore are quite effectively chilly.

Thanks that's good to know about xxxholic. I keep seeing references to it, but I was a bit nervous about checking it out. I'll check it out!

I'm seconding Petshop of Horrors and adding Blood+. Definitely a good horror anime.

Someone mentioned petshop of horrors to me awhile back. They said it wasn't something I'd probably like, but the story sounded pretty cool to me. Is there anything you can compare it to that might help me get a good sense?

[CrimsonRyu17]

and Tokko. The horror in that one is the ending and crappy writing skills in that seires.

[ClosetOtaku]

Already mentioned were Vampire Hunter D, Hellsing, and Boogiepop Phantom. Agree that Higurashi qualifies, but I haven't finished that series.

Going a little outside the box -- would anyone consider Mushishi to be in the realm of horror? It invokes the strange and uncontrollable without necessarily involving the occult. Some episodes are tame, but others...

Fine line between 'suspense' and 'horror'. I think Perfect Blue might qualify, though it may be more a 'suspense' drama than anything else.

[blkmage]

I've been thinking about what you said, and I definitely agree with you that it's a catch me if you can, but like most good animes it's genre crossing. That's part of what gives it depth. I also think that's why so many of us are making comments in this thread like "I'm not sure it's horror." or "It's kind of like horror." when they are referring to different shows.

In the case of Death Note, the more I think about it, the more I think you could make a case for it being horror as well as other archetypes or genres.

Here are some horror elements to consider:

* The shimigami (sp?) are creepy.
* The base mechanics of the Death Note have some horror elements like usage of the Death Note prevents a person from having one of the normal afterlife options.
* Light can be seen as a clever or charming horror villain. Instead of a hockey mask or getting you in your sleep he wears the face of a normal student and he gets you simply by thinking about you. (Tell me that isn't creepier than a monster you know is a monster by looking at it.)


Anyway those are just a few thoughts that made me wonder in the first place.

Again, just because something contains elements of horror in them doesn't make them horror. By your arguments, something like FMA or Naruto would be horror. Both of those contain creepy and unsettling things, consequences for the use of supernatural macguffins, and villains that are more horror villains than Light.

The most important thing is intent. Death Note's intent isn't to horrify the audience. I'll bring up the comparison of Higurashi and Umineko again. Higurashi's intent was to be confusing and disorienting and horrific. Umineko's intent was to set up a mystery, where both sides present their cases and you watch the events unfold. This goes hand in hand with the atmosphere that the author wants.

Also, Light is not a horror villain. By your definition, any villain would be a horror villain. Light's motives are plainly clear. He's not insane. His course of action is logical and it's possible to position yourself such that he won't kill you because he makes his motivations clear. The motivations and trains of thought of horror villains are much more shrouded in mystery and they're much more indiscriminate and erratic.

[hey]

Again, just because something contains elements of horror in them doesn't make them horror.

True.

By your arguments, something like FMA or Naruto would be horror. Both of those contain creepy and unsettling things, consequences for the use of supernatural macguffins, and villains that are more horror villains than Light.

Well that's not what I was going for, but I take your point.

The most important thing is intent. Death Note's intent isn't to horrify the audience.

That's a great guideline, and I'd also suggest that intent or result could be equal. I can't say for sure if the writers of Death Note intended it to have horror elements, but I can say that some of the characters actions, and scenes had elements of the horror genre.

Also, Light is not a horror villain. By your definition, any villain would be a horror villain.

That may be a loose interpretation of what I was going for. I wouldn't say he's a classic slasher villain, but at the same time he has more in common with them than you might think on the surface.

Light's motives are plainly clear. He's not insane.

Light's motives are pretty clear, at least after a few episodes. As for his sanity honestly that's debatable and I think one of the points of Death Note. For Light and the supporters of Kira he is justice. For L and the people who sided with L's beliefs Light/Kira was a mad murderous monster.

His course of action is logical and it's possible to position yourself such that he won't kill you because he makes his motivations clear.

Not all horror monsters are mindless. Look at Dracula, depending on the version of the story, he was very seductive and calculating.

The motivations and trains of thought of horror villains are much more shrouded in mystery and they're much more indiscriminate and erratic.

Good point. I can't think of a classic horror villain/monster that was obvious in his motives. There may be one out there, but it's not a typical element.

Although I would like to make it clear. I'm not saying I strongly think Death Note qualifies as horror. I'm not even saying I think it is. I'm just wondering if it has more horror elements than you'd think by giving it a casual glance, so I thought I'd explore it.

You've made some compelling arguments as to why it is not a horror, and that's enough to say even if it was it's not typical. Although if someone decided to label it as such I would totally get that.

[Fish and Chips]

To me the difference between horror and suspense is knowledge. Let's take a common scenario in these sorts of stories, climbing the stairs. In suspense, you don't know what's at the top of the stairs, and that scares you. You don't want them to climb the stairs, because you don't want to know. In horror, you know exactly what's at the top of the stairs, and that scares you. You still don't want them to climb the stairs, but because you know exactly what's up there.

So Death Note, really, qualifies much more as suspense than it does horror.

[Fantasy Dreamer]

To me the difference between horror and suspense is knowledge. Let's take a common scenario in these sorts of stories, climbing the stairs. In suspense, you don't know what's at the top of the stairs, and that scares you. You don't want them to climb the stairs, because you don't want to know. In horror, you know exactly what's at the top of the stairs, and that scares you. You still don't want them to climb the stairs, but because you know exactly what's up there.

True facts. That being said, I don't know that I've seen any "horror" animes. XD Suspenseful, sure, but not horror... I don't even know if they make specifically horror animes... =/

[Maokun]

Someone mentioned petshop of horrors to me awhile back. They said it wasn't something I'd probably like, but the story sounded pretty cool to me. Is there anything you can compare it to that might help me get a good sense?

Think Friday the 13th, the TV series, but instead of cursed relics we're dealing with unfathomable mythical monsters sold as "pets".