Horror fans don’t need to stop at slasher films. Plenty of anime also have slasher-themed stories that horror lovers can enjoy.
Anime thrives through the deeply diverse stories that it tells, but there's a lot in there that's likely to appeal to fans of the horror genre. Many anime take advantage of the limitless nature of animation and use this to craft unbelievable spectacles that would be impossible in most live-action horror movies.
Horror anime deal with supernatural monsters, apocalyptic prophecies, and everything in between. However, there are also anime that find inspiration from horror's slasher sub-genre where dangerous assailants and macabre killers stalk and hunt down their prey.
Erased is an intelligent blend of time travel science fiction with an engrossing ticking clock mystery to unmask the identity of a serial attacker before his past crimes can culminate into killings in the future. The overarching mystery that ties Erased together is strong enough to keep hardcore slasher fans interested.
However, the added supernatural element and Satoru's reckoning with his past while he spends time in his former self turns this into an extra-special horror series. The end of the series is a bit polarizing, but the premise is interesting enough to keep viewers engaged.
Satoshi Kon is considered to be one of the greatest talents of his generation between groundbreaking anime features like Perfect Blue, Paprika, Millennium Actress, and Tokyo Godfathers. Paranoia Agent channels Kon's uniquely challenging sensibilities into a 13-episode television series.
While Kon's works are typically films, Paranoia Agent's episodic format dissects the very nature of mob mentality and social phenomena. A mysterious armed assailant who's only known as Lil' Slugger terrorizes a community, yet this figure's legend gains a powerful new life through the contrasting stories that are told about him.
Anime's isekai genre is at an all-time high, which has allowed this playful form of storytelling to explore progressively darker territory. Netflix's High-Rise Invasion combines isekai mechanics with "death game" tenacity when Yuri wakes up in a new world where masked murderers hunt down high school students across a series of connected skyscrapers.
High-Rise Invasion crafts an engaging mystery as Yuri and the rest of these displaced students figure out where they are and how to escape. High-Rise Invasion is full of game-changing surprises, but its palpable sense of danger also never lets up.
Hinamizawa looks like a boring, rural community that's a great place to enjoy life's simple pleasures. Higurashi: When They Cry reveals this humble area to be the home of a supernatural curse that results in a slew of murders that paralyzes the community in fear.
There's a complex and interconnected universe that's formed through the various pieces of Higurashi media, but the core series can be enjoyed on its own as an existentially terrifying look into fate. A surreal time loop narrative plays out where pure forces work tirelessly to defeat evil, yet repeatedly face failure and the nihilistic nature of existence reigns supreme.
Happy Sugar Life dresses itself up as a cheerful slice-of-life exercise between two adorable characters, the young Shio and her teenage guardian Satou. In reality, Satou is an unhealthy individual with murderous tendencies who will do whatever is necessary to preserve Shio's innocence, even if that means executing the negative influences in her life.
Satou's actions are genuinely frightening and the bright, colorful aesthetics behind them make them even more difficult to endure. The scariest thing about Happy Sugar Life is that Shio has no idea that she's in the care of a killer.
There have been various explorations of the grander Boogiepop franchise over time. None of them are disappointments, but the most recent Boogiepop Phantom series is an elegant look into horror, guilt, and the power of perspective.
The mysterious Boogiepop character turns into a symbol of justice who arises after an unresolved series of slayings in the past continues to fester within individuals in the present. Death is on everyone's minds in Boogiepop Phantom, but it's a slasher series that uses its supernatural elements to find answers and light in this darkness.
Monster is a gruesome tale about responsibility and power. Kenzo Tenma is a renowned surgeon whose decision to honor his vows as a doctor results in the survival of a ghastly serial killer. Kenzo wrestles with his role in the killer's life and what his duty should be here.
At 74 episodes, Monster is a bit more of a commitment than other slasher anime, but it's well worth the investment. Monster pulls audiences into its narrative so quickly that they'll likely binge through the whole thing in the same amount of time that it'd take them to watch a series that's a third of the length.
Hiroya Oku is perhaps best known for his subversive mix of horror, action, fantasy, and future dystopia series Gantz, but Inuyashiki is a more recent work that explores his twisted take on the superhero genre and the corruptive nature of power. The 11-episode series looks at an elderly man and a disaffected teenager who both become powerful cyborgs after they experience the same cosmic events.
Hiro, the teen, uses his new strength to go on an id-filled killing spree where no one is safe. This pushes Inuyashiki to rise above his humble existence and put an end to Hiro's slayings before irreversible damage is done to the world.
Chainsaw Man's first season has only just started to air, but the horror-seinen hybrid already has a rabid fandom that's fallen in love with the detailed bloodbaths that fill Tatsuki Fujimoto's manga. Chainsaw Man is set in an alternate universe where a system of devils govern power and fear through the consumption of each other.
Denji is a beleaguered teenager who's saddled with extreme debt, but his life forever changes when he possesses control of the Chainsaw Devil. Denji uses his blade-based Chainsaw Man form to rid the world of devils, which applies an altruistic slant to the standard slasher structure.
Another is a tightly-plotted 12-episode horror anime that keeps the audience guessing right up until its final moments. Koichi transfers to a new school and learns that the mysterious girl that he's started seeing, Mei, might actually be a sinister spirit that's part of an infamous massacre.
Another grows more engaging with each new detail that comes forward. While admittedly more of a psychological horror story than a traditional slasher, Another still accumulates a high body count and is full of grisly executions as Koichi races against time to connect these cryptic dots and avoid greater casualties.
Daniel Kurland is a freelance writer, comedian, and critic, who lives in the cultural mosaic that is Brooklyn, New York. Daniel’s work can be read on ScreenRant, Splitsider, Bloody Disgusting, Den of Geek, and across the Internet. Daniel recently completed work on a noir anthology graphic novel titled, "Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Noir: A Rag of Bizarre Noir and Hard Boiled Tales" and he’s currently toiling away on his first novel. Daniel's extra musings can be found @DanielKurlansky on Twitter.
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