Horror has been an essential part of anime ever since the medium got its start as kamishibai paper plays with each decade offering their own famous horror series. The 2010s was no exception to this. While there were plenty of horror comedies in the decade, like Zombie Land Saga and Is This a Zombie?, there were plenty of series that knew how to scare their audience.
Some horror anime during this period like to take a psychological approach. Characters often found themselves trapped in a strange, new world where danger lurked around every corner. Some characters dealt with the loss of their humanity or being at the mercy of powers they couldn’t control. Quite a few series from this time also emphasized that the real world had plenty of horror in addition to the supernatural. It also helped that a lot of horror games and novels were getting adapted into anime at this time.
10 Danganronpa (2013)
Danganronpa: The Animation is a murder mystery anime based on the visual novel, Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc. The story revolves around 16 high school students locked inside their high school, “Hope’s Peak Academy.” While at the mercy of an anthropomorphic bear called Monokuma, their only option of escaping the Academy is to kill another student and not be found guilty at the ensuing trial.
Court Is In Session…
That’s just the start. If the class can figure out who killed who, the murderer will be executed. However, if a murderer is not caught, the class risks being put to death. One student, Makoto Naegi, who has been selected into the Academy, joins up with his classmate Kyoko to solve the murders.
One difference the anime has with the games is that less gets explained early on in the former. This helps add to the ongoing mysteries of just what’s happening in the series.
Stream on Crunchyroll
9 Psychic Detective Yakumo (2010)
Psychic Detective Yakumo adapts the series of novels by Manabu Kaminaga of the same name. When her friend Miki loses consciousness within a supposedly haunted building, Haruka Ozawa enlists the aid of the sardonic Yakumo Saitou, an alleged psychic. It turns out that, while not quite a psychic, Yakumo can physically see ghosts through the aid of a magic eye.
“Truth Always Hurts People”
The anime adaptation is known for occasionally raising the stakes when compared to the source material. Notably, one case where a person’s death turns out to be an accident was rewritten to involve a serial killer with multiple victims, with Yakumo and Haruko nearly being burnt to death. Of course, the anime sometimes takes twists in lighter directions, too.
8 Junji Ito Collection (2018)
Junji Ito Collection offers a horror anthology anime series, bringing famed horror writer Junji Ito’s manga stories to life. Notably, which stories were being adapted were kept secret until the series’ release in the hopes of surprising fans. After 12 episodes, the series also had a two-part OVA based on the Tomie manga.
From a Master of Horror Manga
Admittedly, the anime adaptation has received criticism from fans of Ito’s work, feeling the animation relies too much on still images. That said, Junji Ito is still a master of horror and the anime at least captures the creepy atmosphere of his work. Ito’s work would later inspire another horror anthology anime, Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre, which also notably featured a few crew members from Junji Ito Collection.
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7 Another (2012)
Another is an adaptation of the Yukito Ayatsuji novel of the same name. Set towards the end of the 1990s, the series revolves around Kōichi Sakakibara. After transferring schools, Kōichi finds himself caught up in a mystery involving the deaths of people connected to his class. Adding to the mysteries are Mei Misaki, an aloof girl who wears an eyepatch, and Misaki, a student who mysteriously died, yet his classmates carried on as if he were still alive.
“Don’t Mess With Things That Don’t Exist! It’s Dangerous!”
Between the anime and the original novel, the death count often goes in different directions. Some characters survive the anime, but meet their fate in the novel. The reverse is true, especially as the anime adaptation adds characters that it eventually kills off. However, this all adds to the mystery and ultimately gives us a series where anyone can die.
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6 School-Live! (2015)
School-Live! tells the story of Yuki Takeya, a cheerful girl who is part of Megurigaoka Private High School’s School Living Club with her friends. However, Yuki seems to be living in her own little world. While trying to find ways to have fun, Yuki doesn’t seem to realize that she and her friends are the sole survivors of a zombie invasion overwhelming the city.
“Let’s Go On a Test of Courage!”
Gradually, Yuki starts to realize the truth of the zombies and goes from acting oblivious to accepting the reality of the situation. While viewers get to see the school through Yuki’s eyes, the lurking danger of what’s really going on eventually becomes apparent.
Buy on Amazon Prime Video
5 Tokyo Ghoul (2014)
Ken Kaneki of Tokyo Ghoul sees his life change forever when he falls for Rize Kamishiro, little realizing she’s a “ghoul” who eats human flesh. While saved from becoming her next meal, he is injured in the process and the transplant leaves him a ghoul himself. Soon, Kaneki finds himself trapped within a war between an organization out to hunt ghouls and ghoul supremacists. All the while, Kaneki struggles with the loss of his humanity.
“Why Should I Apologize for Being a Monster?”
As with various horror series that came out in this period, the series’ main terror is psychological. Not only does Kaneki have to deal with what he’s becoming, the story takes place in a world where any person you know could turn out to be a flesh-hungry ghoul. On the other hand, things are hardly kinder towards the ghouls, as they risk being targeted and being experimented on.
Stream on Hulu
4 High School of the Dead (2010)
High School of the Dead focuses on a group of high school students that face off against a zombie apocalypse where infected humans become beings known only as “Them.” Led by a young man named Takashi, the group has to survive the fallout of an incident known as the “Outbreak.” The situations the students find themselves in are already quite dire, but things can always get worse.
“But Our World…Had Already Been Completely Destroyed.”
The series is known for its heavy use of blood and gore, with the zombies often seeing graphically attacking victims whenever they appear. It’s almost hard to tell what’s worse: being killed by the infected or surviving and becoming just like them. That said, the series makes a point that the human characters can be just as dark and treacherous as “Them.”
Stream on Hulu
3 Parasyte: The Maxim (2014)
Parasyte: The Maxim is an anime adaptation of the Parasyte manga. The story follows high school student Shinichi Izumi, whose hand becomes the host of an alien parasite, Migi, though they both retain their original intellects. He soon finds himself fighting other parasites, who use humans as a source of food. Early on, the emotionless Migi fights if only for the sake of self-preservation, but he might develop more human emotions as they story goes on.
“Maybe Humans Are the Closest Thing To Demons Alive.”
The true horror of the series is that Shinichi is one of the lucky ones. The parasites normally take over their host bodies, effectively killing the original personality. Making matters worse, taking over human bodies causes them to develop a taste for other human flesh. The victims also go through a variety of horrifying mutations after their bodies are taken over, to the point a talking hand seems mundane.
Stream on Hulu
2 Parasyte: The Maxim (2019)
Within The Promised Neverland, a young orphan named Emma living a happy life in Grace Field House. When another orphan, Conny, turns up dead after supposedly being adopted. Realizing the danger they are truly in, Emma and her friends plan an escape plan. However, the world outside of Grace Field House has plenty of dangers, too.
“Is This Place a Farm?”
Viewers are treated to a strange world where an arrangement known as “The Promise” settled the conflict between humans and demonic creatures. In exchange for demons leaving the human world alone, the demon world is supplied with human farms that provide the demons with food, which surprisingly keeps them from going mindless. Supposed orphanages are set up hosting children who little realize the danger they are in.
Stream on Hulu
1 Devilman Crybaby (2018)
Go Nagai’s classic Devilman series got a 2010s remake through Devilman Crybaby, also stylized as DEVILMAN crybaby. Young Akira reunites with his old friend, Ryo, and soon learns about the world of demons. Akira is able to fuse with one of these demons, becoming the entity known as “Devilman.”
The human race soon begins to panic when knowledge of the demons is revealed to the world. However, Akira will realize the stakes are larger than the world when Ryo’s true identity comes to light.
Between Heaven & Hell…
The Devilman series was always known to be scary, but the modern animation really showcases how dark things can get. The series is filled with horrific scenes, like the Sabbath party that marks the start of Akira’s transformation into Devilman, which all leads up to the war between humans and demons. Even Akira can be scary at times and he’s the hero.
Stream on Netflix
