Top 10 Anime That Turned Dark Really Fast

[@Knightess]

Puella Magi Madoka Magica is my usual go-to for this type of anime, but you've given me a list of others to check out.

[@ErisianRomantic]

DAMN IT. What started as a great video turned out to be one I can't finish, but only because it did such a good job at hyping up dark af animes. I just couldn't take any more spoilers as of Gorls' Last Tour. That's one I've been meaning to watch, and I always prefer immaculate ignorance, when possible. Kudos on a damn good video, dude.

[@Peter-lj2fv]

Some more dark anime recs... -Promised Neverland -Deadman Wonderland -Tokyo Ghoul -PsychoPass -Akame Ga Kill! -Parasyte the Maxim

[@gildkikabou5784]

madoka magica higurashi elfen lied

[@drblack4487]

some of these are not dark

[@zennvirus7980]

I remember one guy once calling Akame ga Kill "Everyone BUT Akame gets Killed".

[@youthereth]

Very odd it doesn't mention Tokyo Ghoul considering it uses Tokyo Ghoul footage in the video, lol.

[@glutenfrei628]

psychopass first 2 seasons is god tier

[@john-lenin]

You’re oversimplifying School Days it’s a brilliantly realistic look at the dark side of infatuation - and the entire episode arc sets up the ending.

[@jorgelopez-xb5dv]

Higurashi when they cry should be on this list for sure

[@Renwoxing13]

*I KNOW RIGHT ‽⸘‽* *HOW IN TF ?¿? HOW IN TF WAS :* ★★★★★ 【 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗶 𝗡𝗼 𝗡𝗮𝗸𝘂 𝗡𝗼 𝗞𝗼𝗿𝗼 𝗡𝗶 】 ★★★★★ *𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭 ‽‽‽* *𝑰 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐋𝐘 !¡! ~ 𝘼𝙁𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙤𝙧 𝙈𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝘽𝙀𝙁𝙊𝙍𝙀 |§𝐂𝝜𝝝𝝫𝐋 𝐃𝐀𝐘§| , 𝑻𝑯𝑰𝑺 𝑺𝑷𝑬𝑪𝑰𝑭𝑰𝑪 𝑨𝑵𝑰𝑴𝑬 𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐎𝐃𝐈𝐄𝐒, 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐅𝐈𝐄𝐒 & 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐓𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐙𝐄𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐕𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐨𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬 !¡!|¡!¡|!¡!*

[@Hawkcam1996]

I was expecting it to be, honestly.

[@demispectra9783]

First scene gives away something is gonna happen so not really xD

[@KEnGi08]

I was here for the thumbnail

[@GilbertoAvila-d9t]

real

[@seido7586]

Fax

[@Banana_Catt]

Same

[@AlexFrosty-sc8wd]

Pov edp445

[@hxero-ob3te]

sauce is "dansai bunri no crime edge"

[@imkluu]

School Live, Made in Abyss, and Girl's Last Tour are masterpieces.

[@1spade3s]

FR ESPECIALLY GIRLS LAST TOUR

[@cmfkingmusic]

overrated more like it

[@oh3710]

​@@cmfkingmusicidk bout the other two but made in abyss is a psychotic masterpiece

[@asandax6]

Made In Abyss starts out light hearted with a nice score to set the tone of "This is gonna be the most Amazing high quality children's anime" Then the a couple of episodes and you're like "Hori shiz this is not a children's anime".

[@LinkFan109]

School live also has an interesting thing where each episode the opening changes slightly to add an extra layer of things

[@nielsjensen4185]

The original Trigun anime. Several episodes at the start were essentially gag-comedy with a goofball protagonist. Then, one shot and the show turns incredibly dark and mournful. I'll never forget the shock of how fast that anime turned serious. After that, it's just pure depression and the heroes winning yet somehow getting their teeth kicked in at the same until the last episode has one joke that saves the entire series from being super-depressing. That was an anime original arc and it was so good that it became the plot for Trigun Maximum.

[@asandax6]

Most things in Trigun could've been stopped by Vash just killing the obviously dangerous and murderous villain killing people right in front of him.

[@HeAvYRaiN12]

That thumbnail is something else

[@igortube]

The Dark Souls of Dark Turns. 💀☠💀

[@scrapdog2844]

Akame Ga Kill, Magical girl raising project, Angel beats, steinsgate, Deadman wonderland, Drifters.

[@d2k.xo5996]

True I got my feelings hurt being attached to the characters in akame ga kill

[@logikx1325]

The 3rd Made in Abyss movie is the only movie that has EVER left me speechless. It took me an hour after watching it to gather my thoughts enough to really comment on what I'd seen. Not saying it will do this for everyone, but it did it for me.

[@oh3710]

That show was amazing how it was NOOTTHHINNGG i ever expected

[@SapphirosCZ]

Clannad itself is still pretty mild, Afterstory is where it hits the fan. Also for Clannad enjoyers there is another show called Little Busters. Similar setting and artstyle, reminds of Clannad in the beginning, but has interesting twist.

[@coppercorn]

Rumbling Hearts really was brutal. Mostly because the behavior of the characters is something every day people can and would do. You could see yourself in one or all of them.

[@gamermixy.t3664]

Thumbnail ? 💀

[@invictus82]

Boku no pico Thank me later

[@ahonafshariarnihal7277]

if you find it let us know

[@NwikeNwulu]

Why did you tell him brother​@@invictus82

[@gamermixy.t3664]

@@invictus82 fck that sheet, 😐

[@yungjiechin1343]

​@@invictus82Thank you😂😂😂

[@thatrandomguycommenting1261]

MIA have you happy, mad, glad, scared ,crying, throwing up, worried, cheerful and disgusted in a 20 second segment. Also OST is on Nier Automata level of good.

[@Ez.bake_evan]

S2 of Made in Abyss is even darker, and is the most disturbingly beautiful story I’ve experienced. I will NEVER forget what happened to Irumyuui, the worst fate I’ve ever seen for a character and it was an innocent child 😢

[@glenfoxh]

S3 takes it even further, even when it not seem possible. But does.

[@aleck156]

Throw in 3rd movie. Prushka' story is literally heart-brekaing.

[@Ez.bake_evan]

@@aleck156 couldn’t agree more, I guess in my brain I group the 3rd movie with S2. One of my favorite series, but the hardest to recommend

[@MannyMopar]

“ it’ll turn you into Thorfinn Himself “ 😂😂 Aww man I couldn’t stop laughing

[@connorfitton4294]

Guilty Crown should have been on this list, now that gets dark really fast and the main character is treated like crap in that one.

[@bacs6537]

Saw the thumbnail, I clicked

[@ravenkyo]

we are simple men

[@abdinoor9371]

Yeah legit i kinda feel awful that i underwent pokemon evulation in relation to 😅porn from imagination to pornagrophy to hentai to doujin to smut novel heh im screwd😅

[@Manifesto25]

Where to watch it?

[@Hawkcam1996]

If we’re talking anime that seem like slice of life, but become very dark before the first episode even ends, Higurashi should be on the list.

[@barrettfenwick8028]

Ranking of King's belongs somewhere in this discussion. A cute art style and tame early episodes give way to some shockingly brutal and horrific moments! I'm still hoping for a true season two!

[@willpina]

You pronounced "School Live" Correctly! That deserves a sub!

[@oh3710]

U ever watch the show in dub? The actual characters claim they are part of school live not "life"

[@willpina]

@@oh3710 another reason not to watch the dub. They got the simplest concept wrong. Or more adequately, they chose to change the original material to something they deemed more fitting.

[@asandax6]

I mean they "live" in a school and at some point they have to "leave" it so the word is pretty obvious if you've watched it.

[@gregdunn401]

you know the clips you used for d-grey man were not from d-grey man they were in fact from its sequel hallow, either way both are a good watch although id recommend watching them in order

[@dracotheshadowphoenix]

now i wanna watch talentless nana again...love these kind of anime

[@bluelionsage99]

Randomly wandered into School Days some decades ago. Yeah, mind blown by the story arc changes it took.

[@belisarian6429]

For me comes to mind Cautious Hero, it had also dark sad twist at the end from initially light hearted anime.

[@krisg822]

try 'The Story of a Man Turned Into a Pig' /Buta no Liver wa Kanetsu Shiro. That series is beyond extreme, it doesn't even has that much killing or violence....but the quality of it 🔥 ofc you would need to watch the whole series,

[@LORDDANKOKO]

Made in abyss is so intense 😱

[@forkshifter]

I remember watching Clannad, Angel Beats, and Your lie in April one after another... Few episodes of one, few episodes of the other - Until I completed them all, and I never felt so suicidal afterward I feel like it was a sin to binge those without a balance...

[@darksider6113]

Made in Abyss: The word contrast is not enough contrast to describe how contrast the first and last few episode is. Yeah and the movie with season 2 break all limit

[@Kabhitman1]

I watched made in abyss at a bad time in my life and it honestly helped me let the tears out

[@jezixhylus3370]

While it's been so long since I watched it that I can't recall if it'd be considered dark, the anime that came to mind when I saw this list was Saikano. An anime that I recall there being a (maybe translator's note?) telling you that if you want a happy ending, do not watch the last two episodes. I don't remember if that was just in a fansub or not, granted. I do remember that the last episodes were super depressing.

[@TrueSighted]

I was surprised by girls last tour. But then again, I couldn't really get into it. I think I saw 3 episodes and never went back to watch the fourth. Too many other good anime's were out at the time. So, while I remember a bit of darker tones starting to be hinted at, I didn't really know it was enough to be on a list like this. The more you know. 😅

[@Apoxiosis]

heavenly delusion was like this for me. like it was pretty grim from the outset, but the last few episodes man..

[@MisterNightfish]

Girl's last tour was really good. Would recommend.

[@potionpot-hc4xp]

Clannad and Girl's last tour were wholesome, however, they're not that dark according to my experience. People are just say that they are sad and feel pain after it but that not actually the point of these anime. Recommend watch them now because they have quite fun comedy each episode.

[@imkluu]

I agree. One of my favorite Anime.

[@MisterNightfish]

@@potionpot-hc4xp It was wholesome but it was also quite depressing.

[@dattebenforcer]

@@potionpot-hc4xp Clannad the movie is darker, and if you play the VN it's even worse, the bad end is the movie plus **spoiler** they go on that trip and die.

[@dattebenforcer]

@@MisterNightfish All Key animes/vn tend to be though. Like Kanon, or Planetarian.

[@katsuyaki7605]

I resisted watching "Made in Abyss" for several years after I found out about it, but I'm glad I finally watched it. The art style is gorgeous, the animation is top-notch, and the story is f**king brutal. Despite how cute the main characters look, it is NOT for children.

[@DGneoseeker1]

Is the weird loli piss fetish content present in the anime or was that just in the manga?

[@katsuyaki7605]

@@DGneoseeker1 I haven't read the manga, and to be honest, I don't remember seeing anything about that in the anime. However, it's been about a year-and-a-half since I watched it, and I've only seen it once. There is the scene where the female MC gets pierced in the hand by a poisonous spine, and it might have been an attempt to nullify the poison the way you supposedly do with jellyfish stings, but I don't recall.

[@DJdoppIer]

Lots of notable shows you missed (only including ones I've seen personally): - Magical Girl Raising Project - Blood-C - Angel Beats - Promised Neverland

[@asandax6]

Ahh Blood C the anime about a psychopathic protagonist who watches the people around her die before doing anything even though she has the power to actually save almost everyone.

[@Spencer31494]

I also remember a lot of anime in the 90s and early 2000s that was actually pretty dark but back then people thought animation was only for children

[@BunnyNorris]

The Full Metal Panic series is one that comes to mind for me. Guy raised only in death, destruction, and military life is sent to secretly guard a high school girl who is unknowingly being targeted by a terrorist organization because she was one of several born with futuristic technological knowledge. Main character sees all social situations as if they were on the battlefield. All comedy until someone’s family member is brutally killed and their corpse marionetted like a stuffed toy to entertain a small child in front of them.

[@1spade3s]

im so glad you added girls last tour into this

[@kadajsnightqueen]

I’m surprised Shadow Star Narutaru doesn’t get a spot on this list. It goes from a cute Pokemon-like to unapologetic dark horror so abruptly. School-Live! is one of my favorite tonal shift series! It does manage to keep the cute comedy going for a surprisingly long time, but I love how the horror of the girls’ situation encroaches more and more as the episodes go on, and there are some very dark twists and bleak turns in the story. The show takes every aspect into account, from the psychological effects on the characters to the music to the camera angles to the intro sequence, and while the ending just begs for the story to continue, on the whole it is a very scary-cute anime. Of special note is the mall episode explaining how Miki and Taromaru joined the club. That one’s not only a nice reference to classic zombie horror, but such a bleak little story because you sympathize with both Miki and her friend, and why things turn out the way they do.

[@Galahaddruid]

Never expected seeing Katanagatari be mentioned. Good taste bro.

[@jaelileanadiazdelince3425]

3:34 Car-kun is doing his job 👍🏾😊

[@toxicmasculinity7870]

Made in Abyss, I have a friend that’s talked about this series before a couple times in the past.

[@OnlyVillains]

School live has I kid you not, THE MOST haunting snap back to reality transition I have ever seen in an anime. I'm shocked nobody has analyzed the masterful use of both visual and sound design that went into the reveal. Most horror anime just falls flat to me because it depends heavily on depictions of gore or violence to get a reaction, All they needed here was a class room and a record player.

[@lifegood3322]

Tokyo Ghoul really changed my anime life with its initial dark transition! I've been chasing that high ever since! When they Cry was close but you need a protractor and slide rule to keep up with it! 😂

[@SparkleSporks]

omg Rumbling Hearts... I hadn't heard of this anime in YEARS. Yeah, defo broke me when I got it on DVD back in the day thinking I was getting a cute anime LOL

[@mecha91]

Made in Abyss went from 0 to 900 on the emotional trauma scale real, real quick.

[@malikmalak4631]

I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate that you put if there's a dub or not. Really wish MyAL would add it in their description details...

[@cpuuk]

Ima, Soko ni Iru Boku (Now and Then, Here and There), starts off comedy, then goes super dark and even goes THERE.

[@Y4ngCP]

i love D. Gray-man, have 2 t-shirts of it

[@macker33]

Katanagari really is a top tier show, more people need to know about it.

[@stubby7934]

Ahh, Rumbling Hearts...probably the first anime to truly disturb me at the time. How things have changed.

[@Tyler-rn7jz]

Bro you really should of added Higurashi: When They Cry - GOU should prob be on the list. Its on Crunchyroll and it is dub. And I kid you not it gets incredibly dark within the first episode literally 5 seconds in. Definitely recommend watching.

[@alyssinwilliams4570]

Gakkougurashi is one my of fave series. I unfortunately had some idea of the twist due to spoilers, but they way it went down and how quickly was very much a jaw dropper. Made in Abyss is incredible. I need to watch season 2 still. Revue Starlight believe it or not has something of a quick dark-turn, though not as dark as most of those on this list. It still caught me offguard and surprised the hell out of me though! Anohana was mentioned, it's one of those anime that (from all I've heard) is one I cant watch. Same with Your Lie in April. I just know I will be emotionally crushed by them and I dont wanna go there ;_;

[@vanessadavis8985]

So I'm glad I wasn't the only person who was here for this thumbnail

[@axxethegreatandmighty9164]

Girls last tour is a really slept on anime. Great stuff

[@jQ_theeNHK]

Steins;Gate would be another great addition to this list. The tonal shift in that show definitely caught me off guard

[@longrider42]

Girl's Last Tour, and the anime didn't even cover the actual ending. But I will leave it at that. And yes it deserves to be on this list.

[@jetmundo]

People get tormented by shows in 2024? I thought most people were desensitized by now.

[@dattebenforcer]

Watch Saikano and tell me you're fine.

[@mackenziemontgomery9171]

8:11 looks like a marijuana leaf on the back of his neck does he smoke 😂

[@benhaylock]

I'm too old to be tormented by anime, But, I love to be surprised.

[@waystaff76]

Kinda want to bring up "Love Flops." Goes from being a dumb ecchi harem to a soul crushing hell for the MC.

[@jivepsilocybe993]

Schooldays caught us all off guard and clannad hit like a multi ton truck

[@theranger5064]

That thumbnail go crazy

[@Kojiro3210]

School Days got me liking amine that turns around at some point from what it looks like its going to be. Crazy thats the first one you start off with lol. Clannad remains my favorite. Imo thats still the best at bringing prople to tears.

[@zerotsubasa5499]

Made in abyss s1 was dark but dawn pf the deepsoul and s2 took that darkness and said "hold my beer". The Golden City of the Burning Sun is beautifully dark.

[@TheyCalledMeT]

yes, made in abyss is an absolute gem, something any anime lover must see .. if you have the stomach, the contrast of hyper cutsy and the story will be a bit too much for some people

[@trehulett4124]

Murder and emotional break downs.............what about dismemberment? 😳😳 School Days sure did go dark asf like you said. Holy crap I did not see that coming. If anyone watches make sure you watch until the end where she finally takes her man on the boat.

[@RaidenKaiser]

Made in Abyss is is so infamous it might of even topped madoka for its madness dark turns and that was already legendarily infamous

[@ppunch7050]

Idaten Deities Know Only Peace gets dark pretty fast and that's before you realize that the deities (who are your MCs) view people the same way that people view insects that are necessary to the eco system. Outside of an obligation to ensure their survival as a whole and a passing curiosity, they're really not that interested.

[@Astran0th]

Yeah, Made in Abyss definitely deserves that first place on that list. Absolute fkn psycho-horror show. I don't really like the stark contrast between the adventerous happy-go-lucky children there vs all the sick psycho-horror going on there, but in the end this probably just increases the psycho-horror even further. The world-building with it's horrific aspects is pretty damn good in that show.

[@ArneBab]

None of these seem anywhere near Naru Taru. You need a really strong stomach to watch that but the first half of the season is happy kids playing with their fun talking backpacks.

[@jorgelopez-xb5dv]

Made in Abyss is perfect at number one. It takes a couple of episodes. It gets dark and intense real fast. It's basically a horror with cute characters.

[@1989JARR]

Can we also talk about Madoka magicka for animes that go dark. I got emotional damage watching that but loved it 😂

[@scp53779-thebarber]

How is full metal alchemist not on here? That show has one of the most infamous and extreme tonal shifts in all of anime.

[@pinoyboi1]

😂😂 I presume lot people are here for thumbnail just like myself lmao 😅😅😂

[@brandon1285]

I must be getting old, because why isn't Mirai Nikki even mentioned here. That show was dark all the way through and still managed to get increasingly darker every episode.

[@DrunkenMasterStyle]

Re:zero? Evangelion? Berserk? Fate/stay night heavens feel?

[@davidalexander871]

Re:Zero becomes pretty dark pretty fast, only need a couple of episodes for that...

[@coppercorn]

I wouldn't say Berserk "turns" dark, it's there from the start.

[@jake-bg1yp]

I thought the list was anime that turned dark by........You know what I mean.Yeah the thumbnail.Nice vid.

[@AnproTheTagonist]

What about Oshi No Ko? I mean, the way the set up is is pretty dark.

[@malikmalak4631]

Ever wonder what's the worst that can happen to the tool in your highschool? Watch school days

[@AlexWasTakenAlready]

My entire watchlist RN 💀

[@LimbaZero]

Hmm. Was rumbling hearts fan translation named as "Eternity what we desire". I think it's more close to original name. Google translate says "The eternity you desire" Edit: In wikipedia it was translated "The eternity you desire". So checked google translation and it seems I remembered one vocal wrong. So I fixed google translation.

[@aspurr]

The person who chose the thumbnail 🙇‍♂️

[@Shadow_Ghost_F]

tumbnail name?

[@sonicartzldesignerclan5763]

Clannad broke me as a child the movie afterwards just reanimated me to kill me

[@OriginalSparkstar]

In School Live the Light Novel and I think the manga, it was revealed that MC can see ghosts. . . yea I don't get it either my Japanese friend explained it to me but I don't remember. Also in the anime the Teacher was a Ghost the whole time.

[@mrjamble6566]

i wish girls last tour had a season 2 it was so good

[@Kjleed13]

Goblin Slayer caught me way off guard.

[@sokkaboomerang9800]

0:03 second name of anime girl in start please name

[@MichaelJohnson-xq8tl]

Rize Kamishiro from Tokyo Ghoul

[@ThemotyLacroes]

She is from Tokyo goul watch it it’s a wholesome anime 😁

[@Ram-yx2fo]

​@@ThemotyLacroes Yeah.. wholesome indeed

[@RogueAngel97]

​@ThemotyLacroes Don't lie to him, you bastard 😂

[@ifyouknowyouknow69]

​@@RogueAngel97wtdym he's right it's a wholesome romantic anime

[@vladlangstrum197]

I was sure you'd put Saikano on that list. Guess i was wrong.

[@Jainevil]

You didn't really have to spoil the whole plot of these masterpieces

[@CringeScriptions]

How do you talk about school days without the words "nice boat" ?

[@ChillGuyHonestly]

Thumbnail is crazy

[@glenfoxh]

Yeah, Made in Abyss I felt had to be at the top of something like this set. It's as No Bones put it, - The Nightmare Fuel Disguised as a Kids Show -. I have see an lot of horror anime over the years. A Lot! O.O I basically grew up on such as Fist Of The North Star, Demon City, and Vampire Hunter D. But with those in that seemingly cute anime, having to deal with such over the top, absolute gut wrenching horror, that seemed out of place with those that all of it was happening to, seem to make it all that much more disturbing. In my opinion. And yes, I have seen S 1-3. And and to call 3 disturbing, is like calling having your body eaten away by a mass of ants, as just some pain. And I F-N loved it. ^.^ Perhaps more than I should. >.>

[@MTheadz]

I would say rising of the shield hero, the first season at least, and redo of healer should be on there, I get redo of healer kind of is always dark, but you had an anime that went dark 1st episode like redo, also berserk is a classic cause it doesn't start out gloomy but ramps up quick

[@rahmadhiis7195]

You know I wanted the ending four on talented Nana you end with her dying but the ending will have to do because the meat Rider died I was crying tears of joy

[@armondo74]

What was the show in the thumbnail

[@anthonyadams1325]

We are not idiots. We just walked into a trap. Some that can be appreciated. Others that make some want to puke

[@Fluffy-jm9mi]

Another anime that has some tonal shift is braves of the six flowers.