The Best Horror Anime Streaming on Netflix
Just because you're fighting a demon doesn't mean it's horror.
Netflix might not be a specialty streaming site, but it has an incredibly robust library of anime — and it adds or commissions more titles pretty much every month.
Yet, there surprisingly isn’t that much horror anime to watch on Netflix. Sure, there are tons of shows that involve witches, evil demons, fighting vampires, or other hell-beasts and lost souls, but most of these are more action-oriented (or even romantic). The service’s own internal tagging system only lists three shows as of September 2017. Yet, there are a couple additional series lurking on Netflix that might scratch your horror itch.
From gory, “R-rated as fuck” video game adaptations, to naked cannibalistic giants, to a robotic uprising in a grim far future, here are some of the best horror anime series that Netflix currently has to offer. (Sorry, the classic Paranoia Agent isn’t currently streaming. But these are pretty great too.)
1. Death Note
Sure, Netflix’s live-action adaptation of the classic manga was a flop, even setting aside the whitewashing controversy that plagued the project, but the original anime is available to stream, and it’s as good as ever. Death Note follows a Japanese teenager named Light, who obtains a book dropped by a god of death that allows him to kill anybody in the world in any way simply by writing down their name. Naturally, he uses this power to rid the world of anyone he deems unworthy, and things only get worse for everybody involved from there.
2. Ajin: Demi-Human
Ajin: Demi-Human focuses on a student named Kei Nagai, who gets hit by a truck early on. However, he doesn’t die, as it turns out he’s actually an immortal being known as an “Ajin.” The bad news is that the government is imprisoning Ajin and subjecting them to horrible experiments. When a group escapes, Kei must decide if he will participate in their violent quest for revenge.
3. Blame!
If you’ve ever seen The Animatrix, Blame! might be your cup of tea. The main character, Killy, explores an endlessly replicating techno-labyrinth that extends in all directions known as “The City” in a desperate attempt to stop a long-since rogue A.I.
4. Attack on Titan
It’s somewhat surprising that an anime this gory, disturbing, and generally fucked-up is so popular. And, yet, Attack on Titan is a smash hit. The series is set in a world where giant, nude, humanoid creatures known as Titans have eaten most of humanity, and the survivors all live behind giant walls. When Titans attack, humans swing about on elaborate, trapeze-like systems to attempt to kill them, but it seems like half of the time characters you’ve grown to care about get bitten in half instead.
5. Castlevania
Adi Shankar did the impossible: He made a good video game adaptation. The series adapts Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse, but greatly expands on the plot. There are some gorgeously animated fight scenes, but there’s also a horrific amount of gore and pathos, as Dracula’s minions tear hapless (but complicit) townspeople limb from limb.
6. Gantz:O
This CGI movie follows Kei Kurono and Masaru Kato, two people who die in a train accident. But, as you might imagine, that’s now where things end of them. They’re brought back to semi-life and forced to hunt down aliens with other recently deceased people. Doesn’t sound like a great afterlife.
*See Also: [Inverse*’s Fall 2017 TV Guide](https://www.inverse.com/article/36708-fall-tv-2017-best-shows-to-watch)
