Although horror anime is often defined by how successfully a show scares its viewers, how it chooses to do so is flexible, allowing authors and directors to approach the genre from numerous different angles to create vastly different experiences. While many fans are used to the blood, gore, and jumpscares often associated with horror, there is another sub-genre that can be just as frightening in a far more subtle way: psychological horror. Instead of relying on overt scare tactics, psychological horror aims to spook the audience by using their own mind and sanity against them. By testing the character's emotional boundaries alongside their physical ones, in moments of great distress, viewers are treated to mind-bending yet terrifying experiences that may make or break a character's entire psyche. Sometimes, the monster is merely just a monster, but occasionally, it's something far harder to comprehend, and it's that unpredictable threat that makes this genre so thrilling.
Here are 10 psychological horror anime that encapsulate what it feels like not to understand what's happening and the unsettling fear that comes with that, in random order.
1. Summertime Rendering (Ayumu Watanabe, OLM, 2022)
After returning home to attend the funeral of his childhood friend, Ushio, Shinpei finds himself beginning to suspect foul play was involved. However, the more he looks into the events of Ushio's death, the stranger things in his home time seem to become and he slowly learns the folktales about Shadows he heard growing up may not actually be tales at all. Told in a series of repeating loops, Summertime Rendering is the kind of series that will throw viewers for a loop just when they finally think they've figured out what's going to happen.
2. Made in Abyss (Masayuki Kojima, Kinema Citrus, 2022)
Part fantasy adventure and part psychological horror, Made in Abyss combines these genres perfectly to create a terrifyingly immersive experience. The story follows Riko, a young orphan preparing to embark on the journey of a lifetime inside a massive, mysterious hole known as the Abyss. Despite the potential danger of monsters and even “The Curse of the Abyss” that prevents adventurers from returning to the surface, Riko is determined to embark on the journey in hopes of finding out what happened to her mother, whom she lost to the Abyss several years earlier.
3. Promised Neverland (Mamoru Kanbe, Clover Works, 2019)
From the moment viewers finish the first episode, it's clear the Promised Neverland is not going to be anything you expect but in the best ways possible. What at first appears as a seemingly innocent family show about kids in an orphanage quickly shifts its tone, becoming one of the most brutal and terrifying anime centered around children in recent times. Just when you think the manipulative adults are the problem, you soon realize the real horror plaguing these kids is actually much worse.
4. Psycho Pass (Naoyoshi Shiotani, Production I.G., 2012)
As if starting your first real job after college isn't terrifying enough, imagine doing it with the government breathing down your neck, monitoring your every action and even thought to determine just how much of a threat to society you are. What sounds like an ideal solution quickly reveals itself as a flawed, borderline totalitarian regime meant to terrify citizens into submission rather than fix the problems. As newly appointed Inspector Akane Tsunemori seeks to uphold these laws, she soon realizes that what she's been taught versus the real-world scenarios she finds herself in aren't as black and white as she thought. One bad day doesn't make someone a bad person and one bad action shouldn't result in their death unless, of course, Japan's Sybil System tells you it should.
5. From the New World (Masashi Ishihama, A-1 Pictures, 2012)
Based on a light novel of the same name, From the New World is a psychological horror anime that invites viewers to imagine a life where psychic powers are the norm. Having already had these powers for generations, the residents of Kamui 66 have done their best to create a society where all of the potential dangers of having psychic abilities have already been accounted for and irradicated. In a world where anything from not having powers to having powers that are too strong can result in premature death, children are taught not to question authority for fear of what may happen if they were to learn the truly sinister cost of maintaining a “well-behaved” psychic society.
6. Parasyte (Kenichi Shimizu, Madhouse, 2014)
Easily one of the more well-known psychological horror animes out there, Parasyte often stands out as one of the most successful takes on the genre for good reason. While the anime is plenty scary, filled with terrifying visuals, monsters, and whatever else you may expect from a horror series, it really shines in its approach to the psychological aspects of the main character's circumstances. Throughout the series, poor, unassuming high school student Shinichi Izumi is compelled to explore what it means to be human while being forced to house a literal, man-eating alien in his body. As the two depend on one another for survival, the very ideals that used to make them different begin to blur, causing both Shinichi and his parasite to wonder if either species is wrong for merely wanting to ensure their survival.
7. Devil Man Crybaby (Go Nagai, Science Saru, 2018)
Although they are related, this is not to be confused with the popular movies and series of the previous century. The 2018 adaptation follows Akira Fudo, who has just learned about the existence of demons from his childhood friend, Ryo Asuka. After becoming part demon himself, Akira begins killing other demons, presenting himself as a hero of sorts. Like all heroes, Akira struggles with his secret identity until the existence of his kind is revealed, thrusting the world into mass chaos and all-out Holy War. The unique art style and visuals are a real selling point for this series, as they truly aid in the storytelling and unnerving feeling that permeates the anime.
8. Perfect Blue (Satoshi Kon, Madhouse, Oniro, 1998)
Mima Kuraruge leaving her pop group to become an actress shouldn't seem like that big of a deal, but it soon becomes the only thing that matters as her squeaky clean image is tainted by the more mature roles she takes on. As the majority of her fans begin to turn on her, a stalker emerges, channeling their obsession and dedication into deadly acts of revenge. The more her career suffers, the more Mima's mind begins to break, causing her to struggle to differentiate between the real her and her celebrity persona. This series offers an especially startling look at how the advancement of the internet has changed how we as a society interpret the lives and privacy of celebrities.
9. Attack on Titan (Tetsuro Araki, Wit Studio, 2013)
When it comes to psychological horror anime, Attack on Titan is easily one of the most highly recognized, if not the most recognizable, series in the genre. At first, it comes off as a monster horror, and despite already doing that exceptionally well, the anime really takes off when it begins to add more thought-provoking scenarios and psychological trauma. Full of some of the most unexpected twists you'll see in any one anime, Attack on Titan is a mind-boggling experience from the first episode to the last.
10. Death Note (Tetsuro Araki, Madhouse, 2006)
It's hard to find an anime fan who hasn't seen Death Note, and it's easy to understand why. It's often regarded as one of the easier series for beginners to hop into, as it addresses a question everyone has surely encountered in their lives: if you had the option to kill someone truly evil, would you? That's exactly the type of moral dilemma Light Yagami finds himself struggling with when he finds himself in possession of a book capable of killing anyone whose name is written in it.
