If you’re a horror fan, then Halloween is likely a time for you to rant about your favourite slashers, gorefests and creep-tacular hobbies without fear of being on the receiving end of an uncomfortable side-eye.
Here are five spooky horror anime that you’ll want to take a peek at, if you haven’t already!
Attack on Titan
Imagine you’re a child, wiling away the time on a lazy sunny day with your best friends, nestled in the sheltered, walled confines of the town you call home. Suddenly, a horde of giant humanoid monsters—called Titans—crumble the walls that kept you safe from the outside world and begin eating almost everybody you’ve ever known.
You rush home to check on your family, only to find your mother crushed beneath the debris of your demolished house. A grotesque, smiling female Titan pops her head around the corner and spots you, advancing mercilessly as you try in vain to pull your mother to safety. Suddenly, you’re swept into the arms of a soldier, who whisks you away, and as you helplessly dangle over his shoulder, you witness your mother being torn apart by the grinning maws of the beast.
Terrifying enough for you? This iconic and emotional series is the pinnacle of horror in its psychological and visceral brutality, compelling lore, and deep character development. To top it all off, the namesakes of Attack on Titan are eerie, clumsy and at times, downright agile – creating an anime viewing experience that you’ll never forget…
Mieruko-chan
Can you see them?
Miko lives in a world where she can see hideous ghouls that might as well belong in a Junji Ito tale. Her defence? She stares right through the ghostly abominations, pretending they’re not there… much like our attempts to ignore the screaming inside us all as we pretend not to be deeply traumatised by these rotting spectres. But it’s no use. We totally see them.
The light-hearted soundtrack exudes some serious Nintendo Wii Mii Plaza soundtrack vibes, which is both nostalgic and unsettling, and there’s a dollop of fan service in there, to get the heart racing… you know, in case the creepy AF spirits aren’t spine-chilling enough for you.
Mieruko-chan is cheeky and self-aware, poking fun at common horror tropes while executing them with perfect timing. Wholesome moments abound, and there’ll emerge some tearjerkers to kick you in the guts when you least expect it… you’ve been warned.
Kemono Jihen
If you’re craving some spooky anime, you’ll find a supernatural smorgasbord here, literally: vampires, ghouls, tanuki, kitsune, sewer frogs, and even decapitated tween heads (which is actually more kawaii than it sounds.)
Kabane and his supernatural entourage form an unlikely and often heart-warming troupe that you’ll just want to protect at all costs (see Akira, that precious yukionoko).
There are more monster incidents than you can poke a disembodied limb at in Kemono Jihen, so please put it in your Halloween viewing queue—you’ll be glad you did!
Junji Ito Collection
You can’t create a Halloween list without the inclusion of the masterful storyteller, Junji Ito—and a spine-chilling selection of twisted tales are animated right here on Funimation in Junji Ito Collection!
Planning on scoffing down some pizza or burgers this Halloween? Think again! If you’re an oily food aficionado, “Greased” will sort you out – the mere sight of the protagonist’s festering domestic world will be sure to have you reaching for a (dressing-free) salad STAT. On second thoughts, your appetite will likely elude you for days…
There are 26 glorious horror stories to entice those seeking something spooky this Halloween – bite-sized and stuffed with unsettling imagery, this is a shocking anthology that will surely creep into your mind forevermore, just as you’re drifting into blissful sleep…
Life Lessons with Uramichi Oniisan
Bear with us – we know what you’re puzzled about this comedy anime lurking at the tail-end of this list.
At first glance, the candy-stripe aesthetic and joyous wonder illuminating the kids’ faces on the children’s show Together with Mama paints the visage of a wholesome anime about the innocence of childhood. And it is, but this isn’t your regular episode of The Wiggles.
Life Lessons with Uramichi Oniisan finds itself in our horror list for a different reason than you’d expect… unless you’re a sufferer of masklophobia, leporiphobia or arkoudaphobia—in which case, you’ll definitely find yourself some exposure therapy here.
The jovial children’s TV host couldn’t be anything further from his on-screen persona IRL. When the cameras stop rolling, Uramichi treats the bright-eyed youngsters to a sobering reality check about the mundaneness of adult life.
At the heart of it, he’s not wrong! Adulting is gruelling, and one day you’ll get to an age where no-one will play peek-a-boo with you anymore. And that, folks, is the true horror that lurks in our souls.
