The popular manga series Chainsaw Man has certainly made an impression on the manga world. It looks terrifying yet wonderful, with its character designs and a story that matches them perfectly. Fans are eagerly waiting for the anime adaptation to come out, after the trailer for it was released.
With the anime still only in its first season, there are plenty of other anime shows that fans can watch to tide them over. Some might be a little light on the horror elements, but these shows still deliver excellent characters and plots that are worth watching.
Updated October 25, 2022, by Sarah Prado:With the Chainsaw Man anime finally here, fans now have a new dark fantasy show to look forward to. If fans are looking for something else to watch though, these shows are similar to it. There are some great horror, sci-fi, and dark comedy shows that fans can choose from. While they are similar to Chainsaw Man in certain ways, they remain unique in their own right and manage to be original.Some of them are even known to be among the best anime shows of all time in their respective genres.
20 Berserk
One of the best dark fantasy anime and manga of all time, Berserk follows Guts, a man who works as a mercenary after his adoptive father tried to kill him when he was a child. He’s recruited into the Band of the Hawk led by Griffith, a man with some ambitious plans. Together, they fight in many battles and help end a war, but Guts leaves the group not long after. He returns after hearing that Griffith has been taken prisoner and helps save him.
However, Griffith sacrifices the group for power in the worst way possible and this marks the beginning of Guts’ journey to get revenge. Berserk has something for just about everyone wanting to see a fantasy show that has the perfect blend of horror and psychological thriller. It might not be the most graphic out there, but the violence and storyline are not for the faint of heart. For anyone wanting to start this, the 1997 series and the Golden Age Arc trilogy movies are the best to watch.
19 Gantz
Gantz is an anime that shows that the afterlife might not be the peaceful utopia one would hope for. After friends Kei Kurono and Masaru Kato are hit and killed by a train, they find themselves in a mysterious apartment with other people and a large black sphere known as Gantz.
It is revealed that their lives now belong to Gantz and that they must participate in a survival game in which they must fight alien creatures. Gritty and gruesome, Gantz is a great sci-fi horror show that’s hard to look away from once it starts. There are plenty of bloody and gory action sequences that might make those with weak stomachs feel a little squeamish.
18 Attack On Titan
One anime that’s remained consistently good since its debut, Attack on Titan started off as a show in which humanity has lived within large walled cities to protect themselves against the man-eating Titans. Eren Yeager and his friends joined the Survey Corps to try and help take back some of the land. The battle has now gone far beyond the walls of the city, however, and Eren has seen both sides of the war, the only thing he can focus on is his goal: ending all Titans.
Not only is there a great story, but also very good character development. It’s pretty dark and starts off very strong while also being suspenseful and leaving viewers wondering what will happen next. Fair warning though: viewers should avoid getting too attached to the characters. Just about everyone, main and supporting, is fair game.
17 Pupa
One anime that viewers will need a strong stomach for is Pupa. This anime follows siblings Utsutsu and Yume Hasegawa, who were abandoned by their abusive parents. When mysterious red butterflies appear, a virus known as Pupa is released. Yume is infected and undergoes a transformation that makes her crave human flesh.
Utsutsu is partially infected, leaving with him superhuman powers, which he then uses to protect people from Yume while also trying to save her. While not as graphic and more censored than the manga, Pupa is still a pretty dark show to watch. Seeing the mental deterioration of the characters and disturbing imagery is enough to entertain viewers.
16 Devilman
One manga that has plenty of anime adaptations, Devilman follows Akira Fudo, who becomes possessed by the demon Amon. Though Amon is known as one of the strongest demons in existence, Akira is able to control him thanks to his pure soul.
Together they become the Devilman and strive to stop demons from terrorizing humanity. Whether viewers watch the 1972 series, Amon: The Apocalypse of Devilman, or Devilman Crybaby, all the anime works are great watches. Full of violence, blood, and deaths of beloved characters, the series has a lot of good things going for it that’ll keep viewers glued to the screen.
15 Another
One of the most popular horror anime shows, Another is about a high school student named Kouichi Sakakibara who transfers to a new school. He notices that something is off about his class, specifically his classmate, Mei Misaki. He later learns about a curse put on his class and tries to find out more about it. Students and even people around such as family members or school staff are at a high risk of being killed by the curse for just being associated with Kouichi and his class.
For anyone that’s looking for a murder mystery with horror elements, this anime is the one to watch. The story has plenty of plots and twists that keep viewers watching to see what happens next. Plus, the wonder of who might be next to get taken out by the curse.
14 Junji Ito Collection
When some think of Junji Ito’s work, horror is definitely one of the first things to come to mind. This anime is an anthology of Junji Ito’s work brought to life. Each episode is different from the previous and there’s no storyline to follow.
Some scenes will leave viewers cringing and wanting to look away from the screen. Other scenes might make viewers laugh at how over-the-top the horror is. Either way, it’ll be a great introduction to Junji’s Ito works, which are some of the best horror material to read.
13 Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-Chan
This anime might look cute, but there’s a lot more to it. Dokuro is an angel sent back in time to assassinate Sakura Kusakabe, a middle school student. This is to prevent him from making an invention that inadvertently makes all humans immortal, but also for less-than-noble reasons. Dokuro doesn’t kill him and decides she will distract him so he will never invent it. However, it seems like Dokuro might actually be a bigger threat to Sakura than anything else.
With her volatile nature, Dokuro kills Sakura over and over again but is able to bring him back to life. This is a little more on the comedy side, but it can be a little unnerving to see Sakura get his head bashed in. Dokuro has very itchy fingers when it comes to using her weapon on him. Sakura could be talking one second then his head might be gone the next.
12 Sankarea: Undying Love
It might look like a romantic anime, but this takes true love on a horror ride. Chihiro Furuya is a high school student with an obsession with zombies that might make some uncomfortable. After his cat dies, Chihiro decides to try and bring it back to life as a zombie. Rea Sanka, a high school girl, steals the potion Chihiro made to revive his cat and drinks it in hopes that she would die. Rea becomes a zombie, but appears and still functions normally. She is able to stave off her hunger for living beings by eating hydrangea leaves to survive.
This anime is great for anyone wanting to add a little horror to a romantic story. It’s not as graphic or violent as some other horror shows, but it has a good story and characters. It even has some humorous moments, but the darker elements still shine through.
11 Kabaneri Of The Iron Fortress
This is a post-apocalyptic anime with fantasy and steampunk elements. During the Industrial Revolution, a mysterious virus infected humanity, turning most of them into zombie-like creatures called kabane. The kabane are protected by a layer of iron and most weapons aren’t effective against them. Ikoma, an engineer, has invented a weapon that’s able to piece their skin but is bitten in the process.
He is able to keep himself from being fully infected and becomes a human-kabane hybrid. He and a group of survivors travel to find a safe place, fighting hordes of kabane throughout their journey. If viewers are finding themselves wanting to watch a show that’s more zombie-survival-esque, this show is worth the watch. Featuring a great story, strong characters, and great animation, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress is an excellent treat.
10 Blood+
The predecessor of the popular horror anime Blood-C, Blood+ was one of the darkest anime shows of its time. Saya Otonashi is a high school girl that has no memory of her past but seems normal overall. She is attacked by a mysterious creature that feeds on human blood and learns that she is the only one capable of defeating it and others like it. Saya embarks on a journey to defeat these mysterious creatures and find out more about her past, which might be a lot darker than she’s anticipating.
While Blood+ and Blood-C are a part of the Blood series, they are different shows that share a few similarities. Even now, Blood+ still holds up against more modern works.Both series have plenty of action and amazing stories that are worth watching.
9 Dorohedoro
A post-apocalyptic anime about a man named Caiman, who has the head of a lizard and no memory of his past life after being transformed by a sorcerer. Caiman and his friend Nikaido set out to find the sorcerer responsible for this. They draw attention due to the fact that their violent attacks on sorcerers. It also doesn’t help that Caiman is immune to the magical effects of most sorcerer attacks.
The animation and design of the background and characters are unique compared to most anime. All of the characters have some cool designs that are just as unique and are almost similar to Chainsaw Man characters and give the series some light-hearted moments in between the dark ones.
8 Witch Hunter Robin
An anime that might not be as horrific and bloody as most horror anime, but this one still packs a punch. Robin is a 15-year-old girl who works for a secret organization that hunts down witches. She also happens to be a witch as well and uses her powers to do her job.
Throughout the series, Robin begins to question if what she’s doing is right and if one day the organization she works for will hunt her down. There’s no over-the-top violence, but the story is a pretty good psychological thriller. An anime that is a must-watch for anyone who loves action with supernatural elements.
7 Claymore
This fantasy anime is about a young woman named Clare, who is a Claymore. Claymore are warrior women that are half-human and half-Yoma. Yoma are shape-shifters that feed on humans and Claymores protect humanity from them. At the beginning of the series, Clare travels with Teresa, a Claymore that serves as her mother figure.
Teresa is killed in front of her after another Claymore gives into their Yoma side. After this, Clare swears revenge on the one responsible and voluntarily became a Claymore herself. It’s a great anime for anyone wanting to watch a good ol’ revenge story. It’s a little reminiscent of Berserk but nowhere near as violent.
6 Jujutsu Kaisen
One of the most popular anime and manga right now, this anime is about a high school named Yuji Itadori. His school is attacked by creatures known as Curses. To save his friends, he swallows a cursed charm that looks like a rotting finger. He becomes possessed by a Curse known and helps defeat the Curses but at the cost of losing control.
For the short time that it’s been around, Jujutsu Kaisen has cemented itself as being one of the best shonen anime. The characters have great development and have become pretty iconic with some of the supporting characters being just as good. The story has the perfect blend of supernatural, suspense, and some tragic moments that’ll make viewers go from enjoying the action to being sad real quick.
5 Parasyte -The Maxim-
One of the few anime shows that made body horror more mainstream, Parasyte is about high school student Shinichi Izumi who is living his life peacefully until an alien-like creature invades his body. The parasite settles into his right arm and Shinichi names it Migi. The two of them develop an unlikely partnership and Shinichi finds himself having to fight for his life against other parasites like Migi.
The anime is full of action, a great storyline, and character development that’ll keep viewers entertained. It even has some philosophical discussions mixed in as Shinichi and Migi have conversations about human nature and survival, which are interesting to watch. While they are great discussions and can get pretty deep, the conversations aren’t boring and let viewers see from both points of view.
4 Dororo
A fantasy anime that starts pretty dark for the character Hyakkimaru, a ronin in the Sengoku period. Hyakkimaru was born without limbs, internal organs, and facial features, which were taken by demons that his father made a pact with. He was abandoned as a baby and a man named Jukai found him and made him prosthetic limbs by using healing magic and alchemy. The show follows him along with Dororo, a young thieving boy, as Hyakkimaru travels to find and defeat the demons that have his body parts.
Though not as violent as some shows,Dororo has its dark and disturbing moments. Learning about and seeing Hyakkimaru’s past before he was found can be disturbing and bleak, but it’s a great show for anyone wanting to be introduced to the dark fantasy genre.
3 Tokyo Ghoul
Tokyo Ghoul is an anime that’s definitely not for the faint of heart. After his date tries to eat him, Ken Kaneki’s life is turned upside down after he is turned into a Ghoul, a being that needs to consume human flesh to live. Though he’s technically half-Ghoul, he joins a group of Ghouls who teach him how to blend in and about Ghoul society.
This is considered one of the darkest anime shows to come out in the 2010s. It can be pretty graphic at times which can make some viewers a little squeamish and want to look away. If viewers can power through it, a show with an amazing story and great characters awaits them.
2 Elfen Lied
Elfen Lied is one of the most violent anime shows to come out in the early 2000s and helped pave the way for dark fantasy and horror anime shows to become more mainstream. This anime is about Lucy, a young woman who is a Diclonius: a creature that looks human but with horn-like protrusions and powers that take the form of invisible arms called vectors. After she escapes from the lab in which she was being held captive, she loses her memory and is taken in by a young man named Kouta and his cousin Yuka. From here, they unwittingly put targets on their backs as the lab tries to recapture Lucy.
Elfen Lied was one of the darkest anime shows of its time and remains one of the best horror anime of all time. If viewers are wanting to see if the horror genre is for them, this show is a pretty good starter to see if the violence will be too much or not.
1 No Guns Life
A show that already looks visually similar to Chainsaw Man, No Guns Life shows a world where many humans become cyborgs known as “Extended”. Many of the Extended, who were soldiers in a great war that recently ended, have resorted to crime to survive. The show follows Juzo Inui, an Extended with no memory of his past, and works as a mercenary to solve problems caused by these Extended. One day, a renegade Extended that he was looking into, breaks into his office and asks him to protect the young boy he kidnaped.
This show is more on the sci-fi and cyberpunk side instead of horror, but the action is still eye-catching. If viewers are looking for a good sci-fi show with some unique visuals, this show is worth watching.
