I’m a big Junji Ito fan, but I haven’t really found any good anime that come close to matching the creepiness of his manga stories, including that one Junji Ito anime series that’s out there. I think the closest I’ve seen is Mononoke, though honestly I haven’t seen a ton of anime, so maybe I’m missing something. I thought I’d ask to see what you all might suggest in terms of genuinely creepy/unsettling/dark anime movies or series, either similar to Ito’s stuff or whatever else you think is good.
Any suggestions?
Someone else mentioned Perfect Blue and that looks like something I’d like. I’ll definitely look into the other recommendations as well.
Requiem for the Darkness was pretty good on the episodic stories though I didn’t really like how it shifted into a “grand supernatural conspiracy” in the later half of the series.
Well, if you like Junji Ito, you could check out the people he named as his inspiration.
Kazuo Umezu, for example, has a very similar style. Here’s an example, ~30 years old.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TWqwKQngyI
Other prolific horror manga artists include Hideshi Hino, who does a bit more horror/comedy, and feels a bit more western in his style, and Kanako Inuki, a female horror artist.
Just type their names into Google pictures and see for yourself.
Kazuo Umezu, for example, has a very similar style. Here’s an example, ~30 years old.
This is exactly the sort of thing I’m looking for. It also opened up a bit of a rabbit hole which led me to other interesting stuff like The Death Lullaby. I’ll definitely be watching The Curse of Kazuo Umezu and will also check out those manga recommendations.
Anime isn’t really the best medium for horror since the cartoony designs make it hard to take seriously, but there’s a few standouts out there.
If you can get past the pretty wacky character designs, Shiki is very good. But I’m really not joking about the character designs, at one point it cuts from a pretty serious scene to a guy with blue hair and cat ears strolling down the street dressed like a disco star with a v-neck extending all the way down to his dick and I lost my shit lmao. But other than that, it’s probably the closest anime to actual horror with some pretty fucked up scenes and unsettling atmosphere throughout.
Devilman Crybaby is not that creepy per se, at the start it’s basically like some superhero series but with a lot of sex and gore, but Devilman is pretty famous for it’s incredibly upsetting and dark latter part. The manga even warns the reader not to read any further at one point lmao. But it’s a pretty divisive show, either you enjoy the fun gorefest and fucked up ending or you think it’s trash, either way it’s worth giving a try.
Paranoia Agent is also not exactly horror, it’s pretty much a bit of every genre out there, but the horror parts of it do manage to convey genuine dread and panic. It’s Satoshi Kon’s last completed project before his unfortunate death, and it’s very very good.
And speaking of Satoshi Kon, of course, there’s Perfect Blue, which is not just the perfect horror anime but maybe one of the most unsettling movies out there. There’s few movies that manage to be this creepy and fuck with the viewer to this extent.
I will unironically recommend Mayoiga even though most post consider it a train wreck. It was not that bad, or maybe it is so bad it is good. I remember the online debates with hot takes like “this is a comedy actually and that’s why its good.”
Of course there are other better recommendations though.
