The Problem With Horror Anime

Horror Anime can be a lot of fun. But rarely is it ever actually scary. So, what's holding the genre back? And how it can work around those shortcomings?
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In the depths of his Mother's Basement, Geoff Thew creates videos analyzing the storytelling techniques of anime and video games. He has been named the number one Worst KZbin Anime Reviewer by The Top Tens.

[@jenny9831]

Promised Neverland is really unique and good. The art style makes it look so cute then you find out the dark truth.

[@nanocado]

Jenny later on in the manga, however, i feel like it loses the same scary aspect that it has in the first 12 episodes. You dont get the same terror later in the series as when you realize that the kids literally have nowhere to hide since Isabelle will always know what theyre doing at all times.

[@charlottabeans6637]

It’s like madoka magica to me, innocent looking but has a dark twist😭😭😭 I fall for those so easily helpppp

[@chidangvan3240]

Jenny so madoka

[@byungwoouwu8292]

Jenny ikr

[@bIinger]

the manga cover especially fools you so easily, its like the ddlc of manga

[@reminichul3027]

Hard to swallow pills: Courage The Cowardly Dog is scarier than most horror anime

[@gregoryspersonalbodyguard]

*chokes*

[@elaineee1996]

It is...

[@mintpuph8288]

hated that shit

[@Uloveeverglow]

@@mintpuph8288 oof

[@Uloveeverglow]

as a kid I never thought that was scary

[@enderdragoness546]

Promise Neverland is basically that anime which went from 0 to 100 *f a s t*

[@teethbear7703]

I KNOW I WAS EXPECTING THE SCARY PARTS TO HAPPEN AT THE JAILBREAK ARC NOT THE INTRO

[@otakuweeb6604]

Yeah cause Norman turns out to be William and Norman will only be with Barbara and Emma is left out...Norman has changed so fucking much

[@xcryptixxx4842]

Spoiler much? You just ruined it. You're kidding rig4t?

[@matthew_natividad]

So was school live

[@lauvayed]

*That went from 0 to 100 real fucking quick.*

[@apodemarche6484]

The stalker in Perfect Blue is one of the scariest thing I have seen in an anime. This man gave me nightmares

[@crazy_pink_haired_bitch]

If you want a really good horror anime then you should watch "Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni" (2006)

[@RATHEHITMAKER]

Wouldn’t classify as a horror but perfect blue has the best anime art I’ve seen

[@neutral_10]

@@RATHEHITMAKER Disagree it absolutely is

[@luibohne2542]

even if it technically isn't horror, it's still one of the most horrifying anime I've seen. Some scenes are still scarred into my brain.

[@erinurbanowicz4677]

It’s definitely psychological horror - much scarier than traditional horror. Perfect Blue truly terrified me

[@kaylajove6200]

I think anime is scary when it’s psychological. It really messes with me

[@xavierx5659]

Agree

[@DilettanteThat]

Hell yeah

[@wsphh2692]

same w games tbh

[@zombiechocolate541]

Hell yeah, watching Shiki messed with my mind so much. Its a masterpiece

[@pi485]

Happy Sugar Life actually terrified and disgusted me. There was murder, but it didn’t really shake me. What shook me was the unusual things that make me hold my breath.

[@Luca-sb5ri]

The adults faces in the promised neverland scare the shit out of me

[@wiftooos]

When sister krone was running at the kids I was ready to throw my shoes at the tv lmfao

[@Luca-sb5ri]

Loki same jsmdndndmdk

[@kuraidorobo8471]

Yea, like the first scare when mother found the stuffed animal...oof

[@pretensiousgal]

Ikr like sister krone why are you looking at me like that😭

[@jassitykentaro8486]

Try deadman wonderland

[@TwofoldEthics]

That scene in Higurashi where Shion has to rip a few of her fingernails off stuck with me. As a past/sometimes current self harmer, it takes a bit to inflict pain on yourself since it goes against instinct so the fact that it's more or less by _force_ made me recoil with dread

[@user-mh6ju3pg8c]

Have you read the novel or manga?

[@hendeyjagger7489]

@@user-mh6ju3pg8c there are games

[@TwofoldEthics]

@@user-ff9yv5xv4h I don't find it scary, just discomforting. For me, it's all a control thing. Hurting myself on purpose means I have the final say and dictate how bad it is, but when I have no choice? Nah, that makes me feel ick So in this case, if I wanted to pull out my fingernails on purpose, I wouldn't be so unsettled. Having someone tell me I have to, like in Shion's case, otherwise they will do it anyway is a big ol' no from me. Never really thought anything in Higurashi is "scary" but having situations forced onto you is definitely something I find disquieting. I hope this made sense

[@OneOfTheLoveless]

IDK. I think people can relate to things like ripping off nails, pulling teeth and spine damage a lot, which makes them cringe(the verb you clowns), but great overshare.

[@cloudstrife4534]

I remember when I first watched Higurashi, and I hadn’t seen very many horror movies yet, so I wasn’t really exposed a lot of gore at the time. And I remember seeing that scene as it was happening thinking “they’re not actually going to go through with this right? This isn’t allowed, right?”. Only for it to definitely happen. I was under the misapprehension at the time that there was just some things horror didn’t show. Slashers and zombies eating people, sure. But I had never even considered this type of torture method, and was sure it was at least going to be offscreen until I was proven wrong. It really stuck out to me.

[@kennedymorgan1384]

emma messing with the kids in episode 1: "I'm gonna eat you." me after episode 1: oh fuc-

[@leoanhkhoa8323]

Those smiles in Promised neverland haunted me.

[@krystalbuten3403]

Sister Krone is her own kind of horror.

[@spacecities__]

@@krystalbuten3403 lmao her grin gives me nightmares 😂😂 especially when her iris gets smaller until it turns to a dot [spoilers ahead] but then I never really hated her. it's just her smile that makes me uncomfortable that i actually wanna hate her (lmao she's scary) but i think she was never there to get in the kids' way (okay she is, mom literally hired her to watch over them) but i was legit sad when Isabella just had interfere and let sister Krone get killed. She even said "You kids better escape" when she's dying.

[@mahira2713]

Oof

[@ainbatrisyia3693]

Sister Krone.....

[@violetevergarden7973]

It messed me up

[@muhammadyaseen8734]

Expectations :- The Promise Neverland is For Kids Reality :- ☣️

[@admiralduckshmidt2248]

Muhammad Yaseen When I bought the manga yesterday I actually taught it’s an anime Prologe to Peter Pan 😂😂

[@muhammadyaseen8734]

@@admiralduckshmidt2248 It is A Brutal Anime

[@zetroll0372]

@@muhammadyaseen8734 No it's not. It's just an anime about....animal husbandry and trying to keep the livestock inside their pen.

[@muhammadyaseen8734]

@@zetroll0372 oh Because I Haven't Watched it I Will Do Someday. In Sha Allah

[@zetroll0372]

@@muhammadyaseen8734 the fact that you didn't get the joke,proves that you haven't watch it yet.

[@Rain-pe7ql]

When characters die in Anime: hey look what happened! When characters die in game: look. You did this.

[@OneOfTheLoveless]

What brilliant observational Humor. Almost as good as: "If you're controlling something you feel like you're in control of the thing you're controlling."

[@irrelevantotaku]

Higurashi: When They Cry is an excellent horror anime, I highly recommend it. It's a psychological horror that gives you a false sense of security, and jars it incrementally until you're scared out of your mind. In my books, it's a horror anime second only to shiki.

[@arcanonn]

Agreed. Gou kinda ruined it for me for a while, though.

[@irrelevantotaku]

Yeah, gou is far slower paced.

[@MrYamiBakura]

@@arcanonn Gou and Sotsu straight up don't exist to me anymore, but at least it seems like the manga is doing a better job than the anime. Sou, Kai, Rei (from Ep. 2 onward), Kira, Kaku, all of them were pretty good.

[@maximusstorm1215]

No, no, no, no, no, noooooopeeeeeeee!!!!!!! I was so happy seeing somebody praising Higurashi but the ending sent an arrow through my head. Shiki was absolutely boring and not scary at all, got about half way through and stopped. Pacing terrible and story is uninteresting. I've seen hundreds of animes and very few I stop half way😩

[@nolansmith4233]

@@maximusstorm1215 just you

[@lordofraccoons2708]

i feel like the pov shots in the peomised neverland was super scary, gave me a super uneasy feeling like something was about to happen and yet nothing jumps out

[@lordofraccoons2708]

yo it was like 6am when i wrote that comment, excuse my wack ass typing and grammar

[@yolkgun]

Everytime they talk in secret I just feel so anxious that sister Krone or Mama might be secretly listening to them

[@oaktwiggaming6601]

tem tem I believe that some of the POV shots were perhaps phill watching them, like the scene where the trio were discussing the trackers I think, there were two pov shots in the bushes, which may of been phill and his friend. It could explain how he already knew about the house’s secret when Emma tells him.

[@oaktwiggaming6601]

eshal shoaib yup

[@Chris-tl4fm]

it was phil / mom/ sister krone & rays POV The 1st bush scene was from ray then the others are from phil.

[@catmeowi1030]

“It’s just a farm” they said *they weren’t wrong*

[@Beth4ny]

😢😭

[@rose_petals4350]

well i asked my friend what anime is good promised neverland so i watched it its not horor im 11 btw its just like IT but kid friendly

[@christa4172]

@@rose_petals4350 In the case of promised Neverland we aren’t talking about THAT kind of horror. It’s more like a “psychological” horror, the feeling of unease. Every shot where there was Isabella was horrifying. That feeling that she’ll do something. She knows it. Honestly, this is the horror type thing I like watching.

[@rose_petals4350]

@@christa4172 ISSABELLE HAS SAD BACK STORY YOU SHOULD READ THE MANGA SHE DIED TRYING TO PROTECT...oop no spoiler

[@christa4172]

@@rose_petals4350 Why are you even saying this... We were talking about the “horror” in this anime. Not about Isabella backstory

[@leonrilovic6176]

The promised neverland being good statements aged like milk

[@tentedkarma7465]

Cough session 2

[@3layerdipstack726]

@@tentedkarma7465 cough season 1

[@officerwalter8877]

@@3layerdipstack726 nah bro that’s cap

[@3layerdipstack726]

@@officerwalter8877 it wasn’t scary

[@officerwalter8877]

@@3layerdipstack726 I was talking about the quality of the show itself not the horror aspect

[@unknownariaedits4090]

I was actually thrown off The whole “adorable girl thing” in School Live because I find adorable girls in school drama boring as hell, but after hearing it’s a zombie apocalypse count me in 😃

[@SomeoneThatIsHappy]

I guess you will love Highschool of the dead

[@sherrykathman3309]

I can highly recommend the manga too. It is a totally different story from the anime. Even a lot of the characters personalities are somewhat different. Megu-nee and Kei actually had an even greater effect on me than in the anime. The whole mall section with Kei and Miki is dramatically expanded in the manga too and a lot of depth was added to pretty much everyone.

[@tayschannel2695]

@@sherrykathman3309 I read first chapters and didn’t liked how fast it’s going, plus….art-style…….btw, I’m sure Talentless Nana was little inspired by School-life. There is not zombie and it’s more political drama, but still.

[@sherrykathman3309]

@@tayschannel2695, It just feels faster cause it doesnt play up Yuki's delusions like the first episode of the anime did. It actually drastically extends the story of Miki and Kei surviving in the mall, which I feel makes up for the fast pace of the first chapter.

[@tayschannel2695]

@@sherrykathman3309 I love contrasts very much, it makes character and plot a lot more interesting in my opinion. And I liked Yuki’s Schizophrenia stuff very much. (Btw there was a character in talentless Nana called “Yuki” who isn’t what simple as you may thing lol)

[@Rodniikun]

Is no one gonna mention how almost all horrior anime is just gore fest. Gore isn't very scary on it's own, im not scared because it shows some anime girl getting her head run over by a tractor, I'm scared by atmosphere a sense of tension and a real threat.

[@PurpleMoon799]

gore isnt scary its disgusting im tired of it being used for horror..

[@TheBlazinJedi]

I agree, in my opinion Another has to be the best horror anime to use gore, because some of the deaths give you fear and anxiety, especially the umbrella death which just puts pure anxiety into you the first time you see it

[@Goqolen]

Smiles are the creepiest things ever.

[@lailah5604]

exactly

[@jaciaaron2977]

Agreed, gore is overrated.

[@hoodieninja4983]

Conclusion: How to make a good horror anime (very oversimplified)- •Make it cute •Make it seem happy •P l o t t w i s t . •It is now horrifying and your audience will be traumatised.

[@stayforever9167]

promised neverland 😔✊🏻

[@roselinaherrera6795]

Yep the promised neverland made me cry so mush

[@dweeb4043]

madoka magica in a nutshell

[@porchcollapse8612]

Hoodie Ninja Puella Magi Madoka Magica

[@vidcas1711]

Not an anime, but that's what make Doki Doki Literature Club such effective horror.

[@RandoSando.]

The best part about the promised neverland is the use of the camera. You walk through the hallways from kids point of view and its claustrophobic af, horrifying with the low lighting. More horror anime need to throw away all the bright scenes and keep everything dim

[@tayschannel2695]

Watch shadows house btw! It’s a lot sweeter and it’s not a horror (only thing similar to horror was in dont-let-me-spell-their-names scenes) but still it’s very good. Okay if you don’t like looking at cute children having cute moments together and being extremely sweet you better don’t watch it. But there is so much hidden and VERY creepy details……I mean….what creepy what terrifying. Living Dolls life is complied to slaves, but their system is so similar to school system in our world, there is so much comments about society what you can’t guess and setting is so unique what I never saw something similar. There is allusion on drugs throw coffee what living dolls drink to have energy for doing their job. There is allusion on brain washing with religion and other. And I ADORE how beautiful it is, some frames in manga are soooo realistic and beautiful (as I remember in chapter “Kate” was Sussie’s very beautiful portrait) but I talk now more about atmosphere. There is so much bright colors, but with black shades, and IT LOOKS SOOO GORGEOUS. And also, plot is happening in Victorian Era where children had absolutely no rights. Also little detail! Shadow masters are faceless, just like for common workers their owners are faceless. Also here’s little spoiler detail: shadows house picks only children what are under 13 years, before their teenager years begin, they are even ready to pick 4-6-7 years olds. It’s age when children are most easy to affect! And then they brainwash them until they loose their personality and only thing what stays is their face, and what’s why they pick inky with beautiful faces. Also I remembered one comment under Margaret and Maggie arc: “so Maggie hates her mistress and what’s why Margaret hates herself, right?”…….I f***ing love this story.

[@TheRealDrClef]

Honestly, the single most legitimately terrifying thing in fiction that I've ever seen is from a webtoon called Melvina's Therapy. Everything about it, particularly the first arc, The Hare. The image of it crawling down the cave, arms stretched above it's head, mouth unnaturally wide, just the thought of it as it slowly approaches the other character, after it's backstory is revealed, still sends shivers down my spine.

[@nightmarefanatic1819]

Melvina's therapy is great. I also really like Webtoons that take advantage of their digital format. Shriek has some stories that add to the experience, especially the last one, and Horang's Nightmares fuck with you by having stories where if you try to scroll back up during the same read-through it changes the scenes. Basically when you first go through you see things as the character perceives them, but when the story reveals to the protagonist what was actually there, if you scroll back up the scene you just saw yourself changes into the real thing the protagonist saw. Horang basically gaslights the viewer and man is it effective. I hope more Webtoons take advantage of things like that.

[@stinkynorsk5883]

I second this!!! Definitely my favourite webtoon.

[@Saphius-]

Oh yes that Webtoon is really good ! It's a shame Webtoon doesn't take care of its horror comic more

[@horrorjakei8895]

@@Saphius- considering webtoon target demographic is preteen to teen girls, i'm not surprised they pay attention to romance more

[@vuivraalbastra]

Melvina's Therapy and Stagtown are the only horror webtoons I loved and found scary all the way through out of the many I read, absolute gems! (Not saying there aren't others too, I haven't read them all)

[@Liam-ix3ui]

Ahhh yes, the greatest horror anime of all time, *JoJo's Bizarre Adventure*

[@ghostieeboi]

To be fair Phantom Blood was a gothic horror story.

[@allenharper2928]

The puns can be afair bit terrifying. I mean, Robert E O Speedwagon? *shudder*

[@antetatarovic6860]

yeah for dogs

[@yeeksart]

Sorry buddy but jojos is far from scary😂😂😂

[@ShroudedWolf51]

....ugh.

[@ahhfrick5870]

I know this is a game but doki doki literature club gave me nightmares and all i did was watch someone play it.

[@bradleymchugh6952]

Cute.

[@jhoannefrancisco490]

Naaaah.

[@spookybro1122]

It was more shocking than scary because that game crossed lines that no other game crosses. It was unpredictable

[@jimmilton8333]

@@bradleymchugh6952 are you gatekeeping what people are allowed to be afraid of

[@bradleymchugh6952]

@@jimmilton8333 Yes.

[@lucyheartfilia2015]

Higurashi When They Cry, Paranoia Agent and Perfect Blue should've been mentioned :(

[@nuttyboy915]

Akira?

[@brimward122]

Higurashi fucked me up

[@questkai4548]

Ong, Higurashi is very iconic

[@leoasylum4918]

right, why not mention Higurashi?!?! That shit is scary man! My Fave Horror Anime of all time :( !

[@sujal4078]

Higurashi is horror at it's peak. And Perfect Blue too!

[@-keiskx1774]

The dog transformation in Full metal alchemist really scared the shit out of me. Even knowing it wasn’t real

[@noodledogs]

the dog-girl hybrid still freaks me out and it’s been YEARS since i saw it. just reading your comment made chills run up my spine.

[@SageSimulant]

Glad you knew it wasn't real.

[@mikeo5759]

I'm a simple man. I see The Promised Neverland, I click

[@annikamunson7161]

I can relate

[@aiya140]

exactly becaus eI don't especially like horror anime

[@neacsuramona2894]

@@aiya140 same

[@sebastians6081]

me too

[@chromeacemyhart]

@The Saltiest Potato Chip specifically psychological horror but yes

[@xensakura595]

as for the surrealism in horror anime, two words: Madoka Magica

[@alexanbroussard]

Yeah, this one messed me up. I knew it was going to be rough, but I thought it was going to be gore. I was surprised how stylized the deaths were. I wasn't expecting existential horror.

[@ichangedmynamenowwhat3658]

I can already guess before reading your comment and looking at your profile pic it was gonna be PMMM related.

[@WHACKOTRONIX]

lmao the first anime I ever watched

[@mystii8134]

Spark Suzune when my friends told me they didn’t like it, I just stood up and walked away.

[@Yukihana-]

I didn’t find it scary, but boy did I cry

[@searchingforthestars2456]

Higurashi will always be my all time favorite horror anime, with Shiki and Madoka Magica following a close second. Higurashi requires patience, it isn’t a show about jump scares and cheap thrills. It’s a story that absolutely fucks with your mind and the characters. You develop a deep love for the characters, it’s honestly hard to hate any of them, all the while trying to figure out and make sense of what is going on. The minute you think you understand what might be happening, however, the anime mercilessly pulls the curtain over your eyes and shoulders everything you thought you knew. When you eventually find out what’s really going on, rewatching the show will never be the same (in a fantastic way). It’s like rewatching School Live’s 1st episode knowing what the big twist is. It’s unsettling and so nerve wracking. The art style is probably one of my favorite things about Higurashi. The anime’s first seasons have a kind of sloppy art style, one that doesn’t look to sleek compared to the newer animes out now. The colors are dull at times, the shadows bland and overall it’s not super quality. But for a horror anime, it’s perfect. Any budget put into the animation went straight to the facial expressions. The facial expressions and the eyes of the characters experiencing psychosis or paranoia are bone chilling. The gore in the anime doesn’t seem out of place because the anime isn’t a brightly colored detailed cartoon style. The most terrifying scene for me that haunts me to this day is the nail ripping scene in Shion’s arc. The soundtrack is gorgeous and the mystery is so fun to try to unravel. I definently recommend giving it a try. I’d recommend watching the first two seasons to get the best experience- the first season explains what’s going on and the second explains why.

[@reknee3981]

You should watch gakkou gurashi

[@m1bl4n]

Higurashi's first season managed to actually give me paranoia at times. Every arc gave you this feeling of uncertainty: who can I trust? Loved it, and the second season couldn't even be called horror! Great mystery show on its own, but gives you an uneasy feeling of dread in the first episodes.

[@giantsalamander8139]

Tbh I feel like one of the big reasons the imagery isn’t scary is because it’s too smooth. A sketchy and dry looking style has always seemed like it had more potential to be scary.

[@Gram_fell]

I agree. There's just something about "rough", sketchy and, dry looking drawings, animation, anime etc. They give more emphasize on the horror/scary factor.

[@kittenmimi5326]

Yup. I think it being in the smooth anime style and being fully animsted is what actually takes the scariness away. If in a text heavy game a horror imagery is suddenly thrown in it's scary, when it's fulky fleshed out and aninated it's not because it's not sudden and not used sparingly

[@dianalovesbagelss8029]

Higurashi has bad animation and that show is pretty damn creepy

[@endpain2474]

This could be such helpful information for all the future mangakas.🤗

[@adajahvickers8994]

Kinda like killing stalking compared to painter of the night/ware house

[@seanloveres28]

WHEN I FIRST TIME WATCHED PROMISED NEVER LAND I Thought Emma was a boy

[@yahyah5321]

OH MY GOD ME TOO- I was wondering why her name was a girls name-

[@seanloveres28]

@@yahyah5321 lol

[@KazuhaEien]

I've always thought Emma was a boy, and the moment I realized she was a girl was the moment I realized my life is a lie.

[@LOCKW1SE]

“why is he wearing a skirt?”

[@conner3626]

your not special

[@LynRaeArt]

I feel my fears are more driven by “this could happen to me or someone I care about.” Rather then then fantasy notion. Such as the ending of School Days left me with trust issues in people in general even when they start of innocent, versus Attack on Titan which left me going “wow that’s messed up.” But nothing really more.

[@updog9567]

Yeah, fiction is less scary because you can at least tell yourself "this doesn't exist".

[@haski002]

No anime has ever really managed to awaken the same type of dread in me as Mushishi did. There are very few "scary" episodes but it's got this constant edge of something operating outside of human understanding. Plus the narrator (in Japanese at least) does an excellent work of triggering a bit of existential dread pretty much every single episodes.

[@jsihavealotofplaylists]

I watch mushishi before bed because it's slow and mostly quiet

[@freshpeanut4967]

“No limits to what anime can do” *Anime can’t get me a girlfriend*

[@lylevillanueva8624]

Oh LoL.

[@9b_g13_madambajearl6]

Welp, anime got me a girlfriend

[@lylevillanueva8624]

@@9b_g13_madambajearl6 Aw. Saaame.

[@vivivalley]

It can make you a waifu 👀

[@heartofloving3216]

ask somebody, dont wait, ask, another thing woman don't like to be chained down, if your seeking love that's fine but most of them don't like that, in other words the smart ones don't, because the smart ones know life and love, that's all bye, sorry for linking this on this video, that's just weird in my opinion lol, but you know how it goes now.

[@theh20meloncoli70]

Sword art onlines second arc was the scariest anime just because how painfully bad it was

[@danielbacorn6023]

Cool another person hating on sword art online....so original.

[@theh20meloncoli70]

Another incest supporter so original. go back to alabama you lolicon

[@drgojira6044]

God I love this comoment section

[@danielbacorn6023]

TheH20melonci Incest for the wincest

[@Ylaiah]

TheH20meloncoli wait are you talking about the second season or second ark. Also just because he doesn’t like someone hating on an anime he enjoys doesn’t make him support incest. I enjoy SAO, change my mind.

[@geminiqueen1140]

The facial expressions, pov shots, the sound and the whole plot twist of The Promised Neverland scared the shi out of me rather the whole demons taking over the world concept.

[@madcat4563]

I must say Shiki had some pretty terrifying moments. And those weren't you usually anime horror, more psychological. The scenes where Megumi stalked people was probably the most terrifying. The one where Natsuno was stalked was the most unnerving, especially since it happened more than once and became more serious. I genuinely felt bad for some of the characters in the show.

[@Plop2839]

"The oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of *the unknown* " - H.P Lovecraft

[@musa8693]

I accept

[@grickinxd1727]

That’s why a lot of people is scare of dark It’s Unknown

[@Plop2839]

@@grickinxd1727 Exactly.

[@tuckinatorinator787]

@@grickinxd1727 the greatest form of horror is when a writer doesn't create disgust but paranoia, making a person's imagination run wild and create their own monster. Like a child seeing monsters in the shadows of their room or having a nightmare after a scary movie. You give them the fuel to scare themselves.

[@grickinxd1727]

@@tuckinatorinator787 bird box?

[@shayan-gg]

Don't try to add jokes in serious parts like girl's panty shots while she is dying i m looking at u Fire Force

[@13vex]

I like fire force but Christ Maki why is every scene with her fanservice. Though it was funny when she beat the bullet guy

[@Dina-kc77]

Exactly, i tried to watch it. But the fanservice is waaayyyy too much

[@simonvillarreal623]

@@13vex I'm not a fan of it either but for some reason for her it's a legit condition or whatever who knows anime logic

[@metalheadwholikesanime2387]

There's just something about Fire Force that makes it impossible to really get in to

[@laurenpinkiepie8663]

...eh WAIT THEY DID THAT!?

[@SitaraAleu]

One of my favorite horror pieces was Le Portrait de Petite Cossette. It’s the story of a young man who falls in love with the ghost of a girl he sees in the reflection of an ornate wine glass and learns that when she was killed two hundred years before, she was trapped inside it and the spirits of the precious belongings around her home grew enraged at her death. In their vengeance, they turn on Eiri, the young man, and he learns that in order to free Cossette, he needs to endure both hers and the objects’ collective vengeance. Through all of this, Eiri only continues to fall deeper in love with Cossette even as his body is completely falling apart. His love is driving him to mental and physical ruin and he’s perfectly okay with that. We get POVs of his friends worrying about him and knowing there’s nothing they can do to help him with whatever is wrong. It’s the sheer helplessness of the situation and Eiri’s complete surrender to it that sends a shiver down my spine. And you have to wonder how much is love and how much is straight up lust or even responsibility, all in the name of freeing a ghost from her torment. How far are you willing to go for the ones you love, and how far are you willing to go for what you want? Whether this statement applies to Eiri or Cossette is your call.

[@Kyokyu9]

Totally a descent into obsession, if ever I've seen one. It was one of my favourites as a teen. I still adore the animation.

[@jenstoddard6179]

It's official, I'm watching this Shiki anime.

[@lenroz]

You won't regret it! The art style can be off-putting, but the story/writing is very strong. Great psychological horror

[@checker297]

make sure to watch the bonus episodes

[@maddie4834]

Please do! It’s one of my all-time favorites!

[@anhonestarmy7350]

@@checker297where can I find them???

[@judgmentalanimal]

The Promised Neverland is more of an overall thriller instead of a straight horror, this especially later on in the manga when it turns from a horror thriller to an action thriller

[@guyroo9974]

i would barley even call it a thriller. there’s only 2 scares in the entire show that i can remember. i was expecting it to be much darker than it actually was based off all the hype, which is what ruined it for me. as a show itself, it was really good. but not horror at all.

[@judgmentalanimal]

@@guyroo9974 The horror is less jump scares and more suspense, you are on the edge of your seat wondering what’s about to happen. I’m sorry your expectations ruined your experience but hey what can you do

[@rose_petals4350]

yeah im 11 i hate HOROR and i love thrillers and promised neverland was a good one gave me chills when i saw the test i was like :O btw i hate when the tensions is so quiet and at the same time i like it?

[@rose_petals4350]

@@guyroo9974 oh....it was the test that makes me scared isnt it a kids movie i mean my friend recomended to me and i was 11 isnt jojo more thriller when i was 10 i was so scared of jojo but i dont know what is the story of jojo

[@riverrr6997]

Definitely, especially the fight with Lewis in the hunting ground, it gets into a more mystery detective thriller, as they figure out how to cross to the human world and learn more about the world their in

[@yulilisantimel2793]

Freaking Corpse Party man...The idea of the girl being hanged over an over for all eternity messed me up for a whole month

[@yavcho0511]

Corpse party gives me nightmares years later, I haven't played/watched any corpse party videos in years but I still have images burned into my brain, especially specific one, from Corpse Party: Book of shadows (Im not really sure) where you run from the mother of sachiko (the ghost with the snapped neck), one of the bad ends where you chose to hide outside the window and she finds you and for like 2 minutes she is shown on your screen, her snapped neck and hollow eyes, I pissed myself, I haven't seen it in years but i can still literally imagine it right now with no problem

[@ayyylmao101]

The corpse party scene I hate the most is when that girl was dragged by the legs across the floor by those two children spirits, collecting splinters, nails bleeding from scratching on the wood and all, then was ripped in half and thrown against the wall in a splatter of unrecognisable viscera. I was less disgusted by the gore than I was the fact the children did it to her... I couldn't believe it. That and Sachiko's motivations screwed me up, man...

[@NEETKitten]

Ayyy lmao You don't wanna know what really happened to Mayu, then. She wasn't ripped in half; when they reached the end of the hallway, the ghosts phased through the wall. She didn't.

[@lilsanteri1715]

Corpse partys charecter were just plain dumb..

[@lilsanteri1715]

The animes i mean :)

[@elstonngunn4193]

The scene in Pinocchio where the orphans get turned into donkeys to work as slaves for the rest of their lives is the most horrific scene I’ve ever seen

[@atiredlux3198]

Horror in anime is great. I think probably the thing that makes Promised Neverland that's scary is the art style. We picture the big eyes and children as cutsie, and when they use that style and just show literal children dying, it gives us at least a sense of general unease because our brains already thinks about that art style as being 'cute' and 'friendly'

[@isaacchoi5987]

the legitimately scary horror anime that I watched was Perfect Blue, a real good psychological horror film.

[@moondok]

I thought you said Grand blue and I was like _wtf?_

[@HappyBirddi]

I know right? Perfect Blue is absolutely terrifying! The 90's animation and the way it was edited, along with that sound design, legit still scares me to this day!

[@momokat4082]

Heard a lot about that movie, but I'm still scared to watch it alone lmao psychological horror is my ultimate weakness

[@misschocoholic2126]

Blood C scars me. Oh & Psycho Pass also a good psychological horror anime.

[@Gloss613]

@@momokat4082 watch it! To be honest, rather than find it scary, it's like a critical statement to Asia' society that can even stand up to this day, and it's beautiful reflecting the pain and downhill of the protagonist. Regarding the eyes you use while watching it can scare you or not

[@Anna-tk7ui]

"Uzumaki would suck as an anime" Toonami: Are you challenging me?

[@parasitophobia]

Seriously, uzumaki would be pretty great. And I’m for sure going to watch it.

[@parasitophobia]

@Squidward that’s pretty upsetting to know that happened

[@abyssalatlas]

Squidward it just made it really fucking funny lmao

[@Raptorman0205]

@@parasitophobia I'm not holding my breath. A lot Junji Ito's work (Uzumaki especially) leans heavily on body horror, and body horror is something that Anime has been seemingly ill-suited to deal with. Regardless, even a well-made anime adaptation is still going inevitably going to be an inferior version of the original.

[@joemammaobama887]

Toonami is not on tv right ?

[@abigailwimbush5557]

I'm back. The promised neverland didn't pay off unless we consider PowerPoint presentations to be horror now

[@divya3426]

s2 was so disappointing tbh

[@NikaZeWaal]

The first time I felt scared when watching an anime was during the end of Evangelion. The existential dread kept me up a great many nights

[@LCB_Meyneth]

The best horror show was Ghost Stories English dub

[@rg-wormwood]

"Touch me harder"

[@mushi3493]

"because these pajamas are gay"

[@candiroxxmusic]

RUN LIKE THERES A BIG BLACK GUY CHASING YOU

[@default6274]

"Not because you're a rabbit, but because you are black!"

[@thallan]

You wanna be an airforce ranger You wanna live a life of danger You don't wanna get raped by a stranger

[@jennys8081]

When I first watched the promised neverland, I wasn’t expecting a death so early in the show. I was already feeling suspicious about Isabella cause I had saw something on Instagram about her. It was the first anime that actually scared me cause I wasn’t expecting to see a dead body in that truck. Ok that’s all I have to say, bye

[@liteukiyo9333]

Conny is a girl

[@oaktwiggaming6601]

LiTe Ukiyo they never mentioned Conny, except the body, never mentioning gender?

[@liteukiyo9333]

OakTwig comment was deleted

[@oaktwiggaming6601]

LiTe Ukiyo ah, alright

[@rose_petals4350]

isnt it a kids movie i watched it cause it was on the friends at netflix i watch it when i was 11 and i hate horors how was it scary?

[@teierabollente3642]

Ironically horror anime made me love the horror genre. I was really scared of these kind of movies when I was a child to the point that I couldn't sleep for months if I saw anything even remotely scary. But since horror anime have that cartoonish style like you said it was a great way to overcome my fear. Now I love the horror genre in general and I'm very rarely scared.

[@levranz1192]

NGL, The Character in the Fullmetal alchemist Shou Tucker Really scared me when i was a kid, It Always gives me goosebumps That how Messed up he was in the head, And nina tucker and her dog were actually scary to look at

[@DrawinskyMoon]

The Lord of Dawn would like to know your location.

[@SILVERMUSE]

I can't believe he didn't mention Higurashi...talking about leaving a lasting impression, that anime has many terrifying scenes that I can still remember vividly even today.

[@Road_to_Dawn]

Higurashi was my first thought too. It had a lot of moments that genuinely got to me, and I’d say it’s one of my favorite anime of all time.

[@atinysoftbean1645]

Agreed, was scrolling through the comments to find someone who mentions it. Visually though, I'm pretty sure the manga tops it just because of the detail.

[@aurimartgarcia1721]

I don't know. Higurashi for me is more about the mistery than horror...

[@Jesstherkiller]

I was looking for this comment!! Higurashi is my fav horror anime

[@thursdayelenagomez8310]

Higurashi was so good! I still love it till this day, honestly.

[@TheRealGuywithoutaMustache]

The scariest anime is *Goku no Piccolo*

[@robbieisdabest8793]

Haha you changed your comment

[@berserkerlewis7089]

Alright, I'll be honest, you stepped it up for this comment XD.

[@vicentetemes5793]

goku no piccolo academia

[@pocketlint60]

Thanks doc.

[@7AM_Tzar]

Wink wonk

[@ot7biasedmashups]

The promised neverland is just insane. You're constantly on edge and they knew exactly how to mess with your feelings. For example when sister Krone is about to be killed we keep cutting to shots of the children happily eating. It's not constantly a thriller, your heart clenches when you see Phil smile and you gasp in fear when he stays behind with Isabella. It's great.

[@brynolivo2060]

I was personally scared by 2001's Ghost Hunt. Some of the reactions are over the top and often more hilarious than realistic, but the case by case storytelling allows for some really individually spooky stories. Not to mention that each case is usually prompted by some subliminal human desires that make all too much sense. The Doll House and The Bloodstained Manor cases are personal favorites of mine. And somehow I always get the urge to rewatch it around midnight.

[@brynolivo2060]

Also kinda sad no one ever talks about it when referencing horror anime, because I thought it was genuinely scary at times and could never understand why people would just say that horror anime just didn't work. Probably because they've never seen it.

[@goldchris1111]

Ghost hunt is one of my favorite feel good shows to watch, i love it and can rewatch it whenever. I really gotta get the manga and read the novels. The Doll and Manor Cases are the scariest to me and I hate that the show ended on the biggest "Thats It" just as it was ramping up. Imo its scarier than the shiki anime and i look forward to reading the rest.

[@russweed7111]

I'm a simple woman. I see The Promised Neverland. I click.

[@Malakai__WeLoveYouMafumafu]

I clicked for the same reason. The promised neverland is amazing

[@randomcatmeow1394]

I just wanna say your comment was directly under another comment that was exactly the same but with man instead and it is hilarious 😂

[@Dragonds53]

Nods

[@subifuhatedub871]

So simple woman like animes with demons and kids ??

[@syifaamuhammad2799]

me too

[@BionicSpaceAce]

I’m surprised that no one is talking about the movie Perfect Blue. I thought it was a fantastic animated horror, though an older one.

[@ohno8524]

Agreed! I thought it was amazing, especially for a psychological thriller and the fact it's message is still prominent today is a statement. there are so many scenes i still remember vividly as well haha

[@mr.compressowo6085]

Where can I watch it? I’ve been hearing about it but idk where people are watching it.

[@lar2256]

@@mr.compressowo6085 You can watch it on KZbin or on anime websites

[@arachnaesweb]

@@mr.compressowo6085 it’s on Hulu as well if you have it.

[@finilemon]

It is amazing. i have watched a lot thriller and psychological media and i'd truly recommend it.

[@sarahjacquez2904]

Yes! I was waiting for you to give Shiki it's rightful shout out and you did it so fast. Definitely have yet to find an anime that shook me like Shiki did. So good and it didn't even really rely on a lot of gore and disturbing imagery to do it. I mean it was there but not much considering how freely it is.

[@WateryAbyss7000]

Watching Geoff talk about promised neverland after that time where there was no season two, is like a time traveler watch a child run towards what they know is a cliff but cannot tell the child this.

[@evash9572]

Anime’s that are built off of suspense rather than surprise and the idea of horror tend to work better. The best example and my personal favorite is The Promised Neverland. I have never been so driven by emotions in my life!

[@productionscrub8476]

I feel like you would like made in abyss then

[@sketchyourlife8113]

Same!

[@er_cl]

i find that death note gets me on the edge of my seat and builds suspense really well like this too! i think i'll give promised neverland a watch

[@matthew_natividad]

Cute pfp

[@Chm388]

Madoka magica was slightly unnerving for me, it’s kinds similar to The Promised neverland so you might like it.

[@petraelliott5930]

someone also mentioned this, but just to reiterate: perfect blue. by stripping away the traditionally cutesy anime style and rendering its characters with a realism that i haven't seen in anime since, it's able to overcome the main problem you point out in the video about anime being too unrealistic to effectively break that barrier between the screen and the audience. also it's friggin genius and amazing and you should watch

[@emginger224]

Totally unrelevant... It weirds me out that your yt name starts with my older sister's name and the other name is mine (only mine is with one t 😂😂) o.o But like I agree on the perfect blue part. That movie had me from "when is someone dying 😒" to "dame o.o I did not see that happening"

[@mayuridreemurr3411]

420th like

[@Mr.Smiley_J]

"Another" will always get a chuckle out of me. Watched through it with my wife and we loved it. She set her phone alarm to one of the shows tense themes, i think it was track 2 of the ost. She caught a bad cold while we were on vacation. One night, she awoke in a coughing fit and coincidentally she'd set off her phone alarm at the same time triggering that theme. When she stopped crying and freaking out, she told me that she in her half-asleep state, she thought the curse had come to her, that it was her time, thst song was playing in her head and this was how she would die. Fun times.

[@TopherIsDaMan]

I really thought another was one of the best horror anime’s out there. It did rely on the gore factor but at the same time the atmosphere that was built up really kept me on edge.

[@monicaminard8870]

The Promise Neverland broke me. Just the shock of it broke me....

[@cierra3584]

Same

[@reemalfarsisaid2153]

Ikr the most unexpected things happen

[@IXINineIXI]

I binge watched all the episodes in one sitting and I never do that. It was so good

[@cierra3584]

@@IXINineIXI same

[@user-zv3kf2us5q]

the manga tho-

[@jpham1026]

I'll admit, I completely forgot that AoT was in the horror genre too.

[@user-ut7kx2jw3j]

especially with the ass pullings of the manga lately. istg it's like a different anime now

[@Rivecha]

Its not horror anymore.

[@edgarcarrillo2190]

382 283 how is it like a different anime? It’s just focusing on development and puzzling the puzzles together

[@Rivecha]

@@edgarcarrillo2190 Manga Spoilers Before the basement reveal, the series was a post-apocalyptic survival story focused on beating a supernatural threat. After the reveal, Attack on Titan became a WWI drama since we learn that most of humanity lives in the 1920s era outside the walls.

[@gunslingergirl2579]

It's action-horror. So, not real horror, just fast and flashy action with gratuitous amounts of blood.

[@ZekSkywalker]

The only thing I find horrific is the fact that the Chop Shop from Robots is literally a corpse factory and it's a *KIDS MOVIE* which is own by Disney jesus

[@zurielarts4650]

The comment section Expectations: variety of discussions on horror anime titles Reality: almost everything is about The Promised Neverland I get it, people here only know The Promised Neverland as their horror anime and talk like they've seen more 🙄

[@sebj811]

The only anime that genuinely scared me was perfect blue, such an uncomfortable watch

[@finnlaymoth2171]

Oh god youre right perfect blue was scary Shirt

[@randompromises1038]

it didn't scare me but it made me uncomfortable and i couldn't stop thinking about it for days after i had watched it

[@randompromises1038]

@SITI SAFIYYAH TAY BINTI MUHAMMAD DANIEL TAY Moe yeah i haven't read the novel, but the movie has this weird ability to get under your skin somehow and it's uncanny

[@GladToBeNatural]

My bf told me to watch it forgetting why it was so fucked up!!! Sorry but I dont agree with the uploader, It took me a month to get over Perfect Blue...so much r*** 😰

[@michael1390]

Paranoia Agent gets you super uncomfortable upon watching several episodes.

[@zephyr7342]

Me, whose read up to volume 13 of Promised Neverland: oh you have *no idea* what's coming dude

[@imblue9839]

I just finished everything that's out so far yesterday... and yeah season 1 hardly scratched the surface, but I do think it might be the most tense chunk of it, there's other parts that are just as tense, but they don't drag those sections out as much.

[@Gaarbb]

I feel like the upcoming arc will be the most tense, since its the final arc and all

[@imblue9839]

@@Gaarbb yeah, true

[@benditogames]

Netflix adaptation when

[@Gaarbb]

BENDITOGAMES BOI never please no

[@vaishnavichaubey8360]

Guys if we talk about anime movies...Perfect blue has messed with me real bad! And it is horrifying

[@BaoHadir]

Started watching this, listening to Jeff give very good arguments and examples for horror in anime. Then he mentioned The Promised Neverland, and I had a record-scratch moment. Because I remembered him doing a video about how The Promised Neverland sucks now and hearing heap praise on it had me confused. Then I saw this video was from 3 years ago, and it all made sense.

[@DerultimativeOzzy]

I think too many animes that label themselves as horror rely too much on blood and gore effects and put far too little emphasis on atmosphere , story , themes and room to the viewers imagination to reach that level of horror that a fair amount of games and novels have achieved. Sure seeing some cute anime girl get absolutly slaughtered by some monster all of a sudden could be scary for some, but you see this sort of stuff in a lot of shows that don't label themselves as horror. The overall violence is just far too common to have the effect on people that the writers hope a gory scene would bring to the viewer. In movies you got a similar issue that creators have to deal with. How can you make something scary? For me, its the mystery of the horror. Don't show the monster, don't explain the monster, don't take away anything that a viewer would otherwise think about the monster. Its like the fear of darkness. You are not afraid of the darkness itself, but of the unknown that could lurk in it. The thoughts that YOU get about that dark spot is what terrifies you. If someone tells you what is in the darkness , it becomes less terrifying. Everyone has their own fears and good horror media feeds on the personal fears of the individuals. You basicly add your own ideas and scare yourself thanks to your own imagination. That's why some of the classics just managed to scare the people back then and still do today. A lot of older horror movies don't even show the violence. They just imply it and leave the rest to the audience to imagine it. In Videogames I found some really good moments that terrified me when the evil thing was not explained and not even shown. An example is the Asylum level of the Thief reboot. That game in and off itself is not ment to be a horror game, yet it had some really good tension and unsettling feeling to it when you travelled across the hallways of an abandoned Asylum with no enemies around until the last quarter or so of it. There was a presence there that would eventually start following you and you had to hide from it and escape it. The best part? You never saw it coming and you never got it explained. It was just there all of a sudden. Without going too much into detail, the place is obviously haunted, but the presentation was done pretty well. Dead Space is an example where they show monsters and to an extent even explain things, but not until near the end. They left a lot of space to the players imagination in terms of what is going on and why. Granted they also took huge advantage of the setting, the sound design and gamplay that also added a lot the experience. Necromorphs might not be as scary anymore in the third level as they were in the first, but entering a room with little to no ammo will still make you feel very uncomfortable. There's a lot to say on horror of various media forms both good and bad. For me the bad part is the lack of mystery of the unknown. Anime horror definitly lacks that mystery.

[@kiggerst]

Shiki, ghost hunt, another, perfect blue, lain, the first boogiepop are some of the legit horror anime imo

[@ibrahimbaghdadi4995]

DerultimativeOzzy the problem with gore is if you have seen it once then you seen it all. And once is far from what the media have given ass. I misspelled us but I will keep it.

[@TheGameleader5000]

The games which scared me the most where games like Kuon and Project Zero back in the old PS2 times. Like it was said, you need to learn everything by yourself. Anime tend to show and explain too much or failing in delivering atmosphere and do far too much gore. Gore is creepy and scary if you dont know what causes this and/or if you always have the feeling that it could be come for you (the protagonist). Anime need to learn (todays horror movies need that too) that saying and showing less sometimes is more scary than otherwise. Most Anime are unsettling, which many people mistook for beeing scared. They end up like Goblin Slayer (even the manga), many scenes are unsettling and give you an unpleasent feeling in your stomach. Nothing more and nothing less. Two of the better anime in regards of being scary are Jigoku Shoujo and Higurashi. I think anime could maybe get the horror better done, if they dont use gore and psychological seperate but together. Most of the times psychological is used not for the horror aspekt but more to shock you. Nearly all psychological anime out there dont really use their potential and gore to induce fear. Creating a revulsive and shocking situation or atmosphere are not all of the horror-aspects.

[@VLAD.....]

That kinda described the horror genre in general.

[@thomasjess5029]

DerultimativeOzzy I know it is possible to scare people through animation, and what better example than Walt Disney himself! Lol, but seriously, his classic movies are a roller-coaster ride of emotions and I know it's possible to make a horror anime that's actually scary. I just think that these studios just don't have their hearts in the right place. I've found animated KZbin videos made by passionate animators that actually elicited fear from me, so I know it's possible, we just need to get the right people for the job.

[@tangerine4426]

i read th manga of the promised neverland AND HOLY the manga can give you some shivers cause the artstyle really gets through sometimes

[@elena4875]

Where did you buy it? I usually get manga from Barnes & Noble but the one near me is missing more than half the volumes :’(

[@sulaimanwaziri3116]

@@elena4875 pirate it

[@user-xd3mo6he7m]

@@milkyway6021 the queen part was gross

[@yuuyoya417]

I dont agree with you..... TPN season 1 and Golden Pond arc(and is not even about being scary) is the only one who have atleast an impact though.Explanation of demons,emma's empathy towards them and norman not dying(which i got sad about on the anime but the tragic death of one of the trio would have been GOOD?and i only realized that *when they decided to change that*)As any other anime,it goes wrong sometimes but it goes right eventually. :/ Its more on drama at that point.But again,the battle with lucas '?) the other royal demon and the other who plays with human life for fun,,with yuugo emma and ray is damn cool,like seriously.(imagine lucas in his prime,that demon is more powerful than the supposed last battle,the queen)So its drama and *action*...It was scary the first season though.

[@danjcap]

The only anime that has ever made me feel deeply unsettled was the 2003 Fullmetal Alchemist. I saw it at around 10 years old, yet I still vividly remember how I felt during any of the human transmutation scenes, especially the one with Izumi's son. Although these scenes do not unsettle me to the same degree as they once had, I have yet to see a piece of media truly replicate that same unnerving effect.

[@barsimsop73]

i love how you started with free! music and a scene from what i believe is high speed!

[@grizzy-thekiwi1144]

psychological horror is where horror anime can be amazing. but when it comes to visual horror anime doesn't really work well for me. it can still be done but i'll always prefer psychological horror anime over visual horror anime.

[@lolikumadesbear1999]

Like Higurashi? That is psychological horror in my book. The characters can't trust no one, not even their own perception. Like a "Silent Hill" anime.

[@Steph4973]

yeaaaah. Monster and Promise to Neverland are good exemples for what r u saying.

[@Michformer]

Shinsekai Yori, for all its pacing hiccups and tonal quirks (for Pete’s sake, what the hell do they grow that makes them bawl every five seconds? Habanero-infused onions?), will always come to mind when I think of superlative psychological dread. Reminds me of the likes of Lord of the Flies, Heart of Darkness and Jacob’s Ladder due to their tinkering with the human condition.

[@auntvivienne8669]

Psycho-Pass, fam. That one scene where some girl gets brutally assaulted in the middle of the street and everyone around just stands by like nothing's wrong because the sybil system doesn't flag it.

[@finnsword8286]

Perfect Blue and Paranoia Agent for me. Satoshi Kon was a genius.

[@shrubxe]

promised never land was so god damn scary not gonna lie children dying made me very uncomfortable

[@vicky5288]

Its like a farm

[@wzwzwz]

@@vicky5288 it *is* a farm

[@vicky5288]

@@wzwzwz well yea

[@catmeowi1030]

“It’s just a farm” they said *they weren’t wrong*

[@emocrybaby]

The promised neverland honestly scared me

[@TeenoGames]

At a friend's 18th birthday party he sat us down and told us we were going to watch one of his favourite horror movies. He put on Constantine, and when it finished I asked "I don't get it, where was the scary part" and he responded "well it's the concept of the afterlife it portrays that's really scary to me". This is basically what it's like to watch any horror anime. Either it's bad and it scares you or it's good and it just kinda makes you a little more worried about dying.

[@liianhaalea1088]

How about Higurashi? Absolute psychological scares that stayed with me for years like the infamous "door scene" or the "hidden needle". Not to even mention the horrifying realistic tragedy of arc 3. The show plays off from unrelenting sense of paranoia, which makes the atmosphere incredibly oppressive. Like the comment from the lips of a stanger: "Did you manage to bury the body alright?" Higurashi seemed to hit all of the right notes and I always wondered: if anime can achieve this level of horror, why no one has done it since? Needless to say, I was thrilled when "made in abyss" came out. The lovecraftian decent into the unknowable plucked my heat strings. Both of these series contain tricks that can only be done well in animation. Higurashi with it's facial expressions when something strange seems to be hiding within your friends, or made in abyss with dream-like and surreal landscapes. The potential is there. It's a question of tapping into it properly.

[@JustinY.]

You know, if JoJo followed the ova, Jotaro vs DIO could have been horrifying.

[@johnwhitters3234]

True shaggy

[@connorbenkel6150]

Yep

[@aes_lake]

But Jojo will always be good uwu

[@koen7281]

Is your icon trowing or catching the surging

[@ryancarless7921]

The World!

[@finnthefannibal]

Attack on Titan scared me in an existential kind of way. Being absolutely helpless to the destructive will of someone or something else. Shiki, not so much because I'm kind of used to the Western aspect of the monster being turned into the hunted. But I agree with all your points in the video.

[@nadamada8328]

Attack on Titan should've been credited at least a little in correct uses of fear. Scenes that scare me in that show, are the ones where a character knows they are going to die, and look into the face of the Titan. Another great scene was the one where Reiner opened a door in a castle he was hiding in, to reveal a Titan climbing the stairs.

[@icky7604]

Definitely. It's like zombies, but worse. With a zombie you can just chop off it's head and that helps you sleep at night. With AOT what the fuck are you gonna do?

[@monroe1308]

Nada Mada FR! The final moments before a character meets an unavoidable death in AOT are the scariest

[@dentred7185]

Same. The first time I watched AoT I hadn't slept well for days. I kept thinking to myself, "what would I do if these fucking titans were real?".... It's just too much to think about 😂

[@TalkingCheeseBurgerr]

Attack on Titan is a horror to me. Especially a psychological horror because you're like "Where are these giants coming from??!!"

[@thegamingstation9610]

Why is everyone only talking about promised neverland I get that the anime is great and I enjoyed it a lot but it wasn't that scary the actual monsters weren't terrifying but honestly what creeped me out was sister krone face

[@mitskifanboy15]

i think that’s the selling point of the anime!! at least in the first season. it doesn’t matter what the actual demons look like at all. they’re trying to put as in the perspective of the main three child protagonists. the real horror lays in not being able to trust any of the people who are supposed to keep you safe.

[@melo2104]

perfect blue is my favourite anime ever, it also scared the hell out of me ‼️😍

[@Sarazoul]

To me true horror isn’t shock, jump scares or gore. It’s when you propose an idea that makes you uncomfortable just thinking about it. If I take nightmare on helmstreet for example, the first movie was true horror because it proposed the concept of dying if you sleep. Alien was a great horror film because it proposed the concept of being impregnated by a creature and devoured from the inside. Good horror only succeeds if you bring in a level mysticism. I think promised neverland does this well.

[@ashchisalleh1454]

Kemurikusa anime then

[@Durpanny]

Yea i love horror concepts but i hate things like jump scares. They feel cheap and i want that feeling of dread to come from provoked thoughts, not some involuntary reaction

[@wendyberrios5957]

Durpanny I recommend a film called Hereditary that came out not too long ago. It’s a very good horror film in every regard.

[@cowgba]

@@Durpanny I'm with you on this, I hate jump scares and I think they're often a cheap and lazy approach to horror. I prefer tension, atmosphere, and more psychologically-driven horror.

[@WrongKindOfPot]

jm somville I agree, putting an idea into your head and just letting it steep is essentially the kind of horror I love. Anxiety and dread are just, to me, the most terrifying emotions.

[@hsrlns_2127]

made in abyss' elevator scene made me pause for good hours because of how disturbed i am

[@lucasmillerthelewderofloli9327]

The one with Nanachi and her friend?

[@sailorlibra4665]

I just searched up that scene thou I haven't watched the anime yet and I completely agree with you. Jesus that scene is disturbing af

[@lucasmillerthelewderofloli9327]

@@sailorlibra4665 It gets worse, trust me.

[@hsrlns_2127]

@@sailorlibra4665 the anime is really great but some scenes are really disturbing lmao whats with anime and suffering children

[@ThatOneGuy7550]

same

[@verinamusherure881]

When They Cry, Shiki, and Tokyo Ghoul seriously scared me and left a lingering fear. When they Cry was my first horror anime and I love it because the suspense was incredible. Tokyo Ghoul as a whole was more sad than scary, but it was the torture sequence that genuinely terrified me. Like damn...it filled me with a dread I have never felr before and it stuck with me. Brilliant work.

[@Hippieadjacent]

Anime like Texhnolyze and Serial Experiments Lain scare me on a psychological level. Those aren’t even necessarily trying to be scary but naturally come off eerie af, without crazy fluid animations at that! Tone, colors, and shading do a great job of creating creepy atmospheres

[@m07z]

To me The Promised Neverland was one of the greatest animes I have ever watched that builds tension right. I found myself giddy with not necessarily fear but just a large amount of tension and stress that made for such a great experience and that's why I love the show so much. Edit: I would also like to add that for those same reasons is why Attack on Titan is another one of my favorite anime.

[@HopeIsADrug11037]

**anxiety intensifies**

[@bbzbbssbb]

hii, those are my favorites!! could you recommend me some anime that are similair to tpn and aot?

[@hasanabid7724]

@@bbzbbssbb death note, tokyo ghoul, etc.

[@justaregularnoob8239]

Ikr the promised neverland is *SO FREAKING GOOD*

[@bigblackboy5692]

How about that Halloween episode of Spongebob?

[@cierra3584]

That my friend, was the scariest anime in history

[@michellebishop1946]

:) you are a man of culture

[@antipancakes4747]

When I was really young it actually horrified me and now I can barely watch it because of the memories

[@o.o9296]

What about that Halloween short of Shrek

[@JustCallMeLegion]

Finally! I was wondering when someone was going to talk about it!

[@alexisestey5226]

2 years after this video was released and there’s both disappointing and promising updates for this horror anime discussion. The promised neverland anime unfortunately was at its prime in season 1 and the thrill ended there. But on a brighter note regarding junji itos work, the disappointment of every adaptation of his work will hopefully be ending soon as there is a new Uzumaki anime adaptation in the works that looks to have Ghibli level animation production.

[@frogkabobs]

I'm genuinely excited to see your reaction to the new Uzumaki anime being released. From recent trailer, it looks pretty promising, with an art style that seems to translates Junji Ito's work identically. There are still a few things that are funny/silly, but that looks to be on purpose - to highlight the absurdity of the situation in a depressing, kafkaesque sort of way. As somebody who isn't into "horror", by which I mean I don't care for gore or people running away from monsters and axe murderers, but is VERY much into "terror", by which I mean the nerve wracking anticipation of something horrible happening , I am very excited to see how the Uzumaki anime plays out because it might be right up my alley.

[@wonton2121]

I know this is very late, but I think the issue lies within the style of anime almost solely. Other people mentioned Courage The Cowardly Dog which is a good example of a very dark animated series, but I’ve seen several different animations that really stick to you and give that sense of unease. A particularly weird example being Salad Fingers. That crap still gives me nightmares and its unrealistic dreamlike setting only makes it worse. The characters being mostly inanimate objects or speechless, misshapen humans, talking trees, family. It’s probably one of the most impactful things I’ve seen. Also the sounds... with headphones, I could get nightmares just listening to it.

[@bunnyraptor420]

I do love Salad Fingers (and David Firth), but I've only watched the full series through once because it's so unsettling, watching it makes me genuinely nauseous

[@mrberry1147]

*I like rusty spoons*

[@samg9771]

The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack is also a great one.

[@randompromises1038]

_we don't mention salad fingers_

[@LimitedInfinity9]

I agree. Another example would be episode 12 of "The Maxx" back in 1995. That episode will forever remain etched in my memory.

[@mfjrecampo9083]

I actually found Made in the Abyss pretty disturbing and it has an almost similar premise to A Promised Neverland with a Lovecraftian twist. Also, Mitty.

[@erikaoliveira6929]

Don't worry in the Manga another kid die😉

[@nadamada8328]

God, that poison scene was really hard to watch. I watched the show again with a friend who hasn't heard of it. When that moment happened, they told me before it happened, they looked at me to see me wide eyed, clutching a pillow. If I watched it a 3rd time, I'll have the same response.

[@itrasheditgood]

Yeah, totally missed opportunity.

[@derpedfox]

**catchy elevator music**

[@TheSpeep]

I've actually started to think that horror might be the one genre that animation is not inherently better at delivering than live action. With almost everything else, I feel like animation can do anything live action can at least as good or better, but horror might be the one exception.

[@Silver_Spectre]

The dub for Ghost Stories is one of my favourite “horror” anime’s of all time

[@erikarodriguez8366]

But why wasn’t “Higurashi: When They Cry” mentioned? That messed up my mind for weeks lol 😂

[@panjamysy]

Am I the only person who thought Higurashi was just kind of....dull?

[@whitemoonwolf13]

@@panjamysy there are certain moments that just stick with you tho. main dude clawing his throat out in the phone booth, tiny moe girl stabbing herself in the head, an entire town getting poison gased and then the sole survivor getting assassinated and of course, the fucking nail ripping scene. and each time it resets and is happy and normal and you just know it's not going to stay that way

[@beev4289]

@@panjamysy how... was it dull?

[@scrawny6278]

@@panjamysy Ngl I was too confused on what was going on in the anime to focus on the horror as I was trying to figure out what actually just happened and because of that it was dull well besides for the fingernail scene, that stuff disgusted me, didn't really spook me tho

[@ZeroOhClock]

@@panjamysy Me. It was horrible, boring, pointless, in every way. Just about every single character was stupid and especially the main character. The animation is horrible, cheap looking. The colour scheme for most of it was an eyesore. The fact that I had to time travel every 7 episodes or something before any character development happened? Ridiculous. I know it was part of the story but it was dumb and making me relive characters I have absolutely no care for? Ugh. I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone liked it. Genuinely thought I watched a different show become people were put here saying it's the best horror anime ever. Literally anything good it tried to do lasted for a scene and then you're back to dull. Boring. I don't care. Sorry for dumping this on you but it's so rare to find anyone who holds a negative opinion of taht show in the wild.

[@lolito_livi]

Top ten anime betrayels: School live’s first op

[@WolfSenpai38]

Lol

[@randompromises1038]

*cries*

[@panielrosebud]

Who is... Megu Nee?

[@NOTZeroBlank]

The end of the first episode, the black board in the middle of the ep, hell , even the way Mi-chan was acting, the wind, the barricade, it changed the meaning trap. We did not even wonder why the “Club” is there. until the end, we thought it was a moeblob, and only got what was really going on from the subtle hints like when she says “it tastes like *survival*!”. The anime is a trap

[@-AngeI-]

I watched school live without reading the description or genre because I like being surprised. So after the first episode, I was................... surprised. That has got to be the biggest troll and clickbait I've ever seen in an anime.

[@MrYamiBakura]

It's only in game form but Saya's Song does give me the vibe you described from Shiki, but it's a more lovecraftian type of horror. Really really good.

[@demonicgamerazazel9866]

13:10 Well, at least as far as Mother's Basement's opinion goes, this statement aged like milk