Best Japanese horror series

Re:Mind (2017)

Eleven high school classmates awaken, restrained to a large dining room. While fearing for their lives, they question a motive to this bizarre act.

Red Garden (2006)

Four students of the same age have nothing in common except that they attend the same elite New York City school. Kate, Rose, Claire and Rachel all belong to different cliques and hardly notice each other's existence. Then one day they gain something in common, something very important, something mysterious. They find themselves drawn together by the death of a fellow student and the secret of their own missing memories. Suddenly they are thrown into a world of hidden warfare on the city streets and are caught up in secrets which would not be believed by others. These four all have their own problems to struggle with, things that seem more important than such strange conflicts. Can they escape from this fate? The only thing they know is that despite coming from four different worlds they now have to rely on each other or die without a hope.

Zetman (2012)

The story starts off with a face-off between two rival heroes, ZET and ALPHAS, and then traces their origins - Jin Kanzaki, a young man with the ability to transform into a superhuman being known as ZET, and Kouga Amagi, a young man with a strong sense of justice who uses technology to fight as ALPHAS.The fates of these two men and those around them intertwine as they fight to protect mankind and destroy monstrous abominations known as Players.

Blade (2011)

Legendary half-vampire, half-human vampire hunter Blade is tracking Deacon Frost, a very powerful and influential vampire who killed his mother and who heads Existence, a secretive vampire organization that operates in Southeast Asia.

Angels of Death (2018)

The Summer Hikaru Died (2025)

Two best friends living in a rural Japanese village: Yoshiki and Hikaru. Growing up together, they were inseparable... until the day Hikaru came back from the mountains, and was no longer himself. “Something” has taken over Hikaru’s body, memories, feelings... and everything they know begins to unravel.

BLOOD-C (2011)

Saya Kisaragi is an outwardly normal girl who serves as the shrine maiden to a country town; in reality, she is a skilled swordswoman charged by her father to defeat Elder Bairns, monsters who feed on human blood. As her battles grow more desperate and more people she cares for fall victim to the Elder Bairns, Saya begins finding faults in her reality, and eventually uncovers a disturbing truth about herself, the town and her surviving friends.

Sankarea: Undying Love (2012)

Zombie-obsessed Furuya is making a potion to reanimate his dead cat when he meets Rea. She’s about as miserable as a girl can get, thanks to her creepy, domineering father. When the pain becomes too much, she tries to commit suicide with a sip of Furuya’s weird elixir. The potion doesn’t kill her – but it does turn her into a zombie after she falls from a cliff.Now that Rea’s undead and ready to finally live, she hides out with Furuya, who’s always dreamed of having a zombie girlfriend. Their one-of-a-kind relationship comes with some challenges, like the fact that Rea is decomposing. Even worse, her freak-show dad is dangerously determined to get her back under his control. As Furuya fights to keep his ghoulfriend safe, Rea finds the secret to resurrecting her happiness: Live like you’re dying – even if you’re already dead.

Angels of Death (2018)

Most girls waking up without any memory and meeting a serial killer would panic, but not Rachel. In fact, far from being her biggest problem, killer Zack might just prove a convenient resource when it comes to finding a way out of the building in which they're both trapped!

Terra Formars (2014)

Twenty years ago, Shokichi Komachi was part of the Bugs 2 mission to Mars that discovered Terra Formars, human-cockroach hybrids that resulted from a terraforming accident. Shokichi was one of only two survivors. Now, the AE virus that came from Mars is raging wildly on earth. Shokichi boards the spacecraft Annex 1 to go back to Mars to find a sample in order to create a vaccine. They will face an unanticipated accident, a multinational conspiracy, and even more advanced Terra Formars.

Devilman (1972)

Devilman features Akira Fudo, a shy and timid teenager who has gone mountain climbing in the Himalayas with his father. While in the middle of the expedition, both father and son are killed in a tragic accident. Akira's body is found and possessed by the demon soldier Devilman, who uses his new human form as a disguise in order to fulfill his mission of causing chaos on Earth in order to pave the way for a demonic invasion of the planet.Before his mission can begin in earnest, Devilman meets Akira's childhood friend Miki Makimura and quickly falls in love with her. Devilman resolves to protect Miki and humanity as a whole by battling against his fellow demons. Demon Tribe leader Zennon becomes greatly angered at Devilman's betrayal and is quick to send Devilman's former comrades to destroy him. The other demons soon learn that Miki is precious to Devilman and he must now work to protect her, as well as protect himself. Will the power of love be able to overcome that of true evil?

SCHOOL-LIVE! (2015)

Yuki Takeya, Kurumi Ebisuzawa, Yuri Wakasa, and Miki Naoki decide to stay over at school. Along with the school adviser Megumi Sakura, they suddenly find themselves to be the final survivors of a zombie attack, and continue to live and survive at the school.

Mononoke (2007)

The Medicine Seller is a deadly and mysterious master of the occult who travels across feudal Japan in search of malevolent spirits called mononoke to slay. When he locates one of these spirits, he cannot simply kill it; he must first learn its Form, its Truth, and its Reason in order to wield the mighty Exorcism Sword and fight against it. He must begin his strange exorcisms with intense psychological analysis and careful investigative work—an extremely dangerous step, as he must first confront and learn about the mononoke before he even has the means to defeat it.

Supernatural: The Anime Series (2011)

The anime re-imagining of the original live-action series follows the Winchester brothers Sam and Dean as they hunt creatures and other supernatural phenomena in the American countryside. The storyline covers the first two seasons of the live-action version, as well as original episodes.

Berserk: The Golden Age Arc – Memorial Edition (2022)

A wandering warrior ends up joining a mercenary group led by a charismatic leader, in this remastered, episodic cut of the film trilogy.

Hell Girl (2005)

A supernatural system allows people to take revenge by having other people sent to Hell via the services of a mysterious entity and her assistants who implement this system. Revenge, injustice, hatred, and the nature of human emotions are common themes throughout the series.

Ninja Scroll: The Series (2003)

Fourteen years after defeating the immortal warrior Himuro Genma and thwarting the Shogun of the Dark's evil plans, Kibagami Jubei continues to roam all over Japan as a masterless swordsman. During his journey, he meets Shigure, a priestess who has never seen the world outside her village. But when a group of demons destroys the village and kills everyone, Jubei becomes a prime target after acquiring the Dragon Jewel — a stone with an unknown origin. Meanwhile, Shigure — along with the monk Dakuan and a young thief named Tsubute — travels to the village of Yagyu. And with two demon clans now hunting down Shigure, Dakuan must once again acquire the services of Jubei to protect the Priestess of Light.

Umineko: When They Cry (2009)

As customary per year, the entire family is gathering on the island for a conference that discusses the current financial situations of each respective person. Because of the family head's poor health, this year involves the topic of the head of the family's inheritance and how it will be distributed.However, the family is unaware that the distribution of his wealth is the least of Ushiromiya Kinzo's concerns for this year's family conference. After being told that his end was approaching by his longtime friend and physician, Kinzo is desperate to meet his life's true love one last time: the Golden Witch, Beatrice. Having immersed himself in black magic for many of the later years in his life, Kinzo instigates a ceremony to revive his beloved upon his family's arrival on Rokkenjima.

Mieruko-chan (2021)

She can see dead people…she just chooses to ignore them. That’s Miko’s plan, anyway, with horrifying (and sometimes hilarious) results.

Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories (2013)

Yamishibai is a picture-story style of animation whose motif is surrounded and based off the rumors, and urban legends throughout the history of Japan.

Dark Gathering (2023)

The story centers on Keitarou Gentouga, who has the ability to be a spirit medium. In junior high school, he got someone else wrapped up in a spirit possession incident, and he has been a shut-in for more than two years. As he reintroduces himself to society as a private tutor, he meets a genius girl named Yayoi Houzuki. Yayoi is instantly able to tell that Keitarou has skill as a spirit medium, and she invites him to go with her to a haunted location. The two then start their journey capturing evil spirits.

Corpse Party: Tortured Souls (2013)

One rainy night after a school festival, a group of students from Kisaragi Academy decide to perform the "Sachiko Ever After" charm, which will unite them forever as friends. Once the ritual is done, a sudden earthquake transports them to Heavenly Host, a torn down elementary school. Unbeknownst to Satoshi and his friends, however, is the horrific past behind it which culminated in its demolition. As they look for each other and try to escape from Heavenly Host, they soon find out their lives are at the mercy of those affected by that same bloodied past.

Pet Shop of Horrors (1999)

Welcome to the most magnificent pet shop in Chinatown! Operated by the shadowy Count D, the shop specializes in rare and hard to come by pets... but with each sale comes a contract. And if that contract is broken, watch out! Detective Orcott has linked many odd and unexplained deaths to Count D's shop. Will he solve the mystery or fall prey to it?

Corpse Princess (2008)

Armed with dual machine guns, an undead school girl, Makina Hoshimura, must hunt down 108 other undeads with the help of specially trained Buddhist monks in order to gain entry into Heaven. Based on manga written by Yoshiichi Akahito.

Blue Gender (1999)

In the 2030s Earth has been overrun by the Blue, which are mutated insect-like creatures that kill and harvest humans for food. Most of the surviving human race has moved to Second Earth, a huge spaceship that orbits the planet. Yuji and Marlene must work together to reach Second Earth and fight against the Blue.

Pupa (2014)

Growing up with an abusive father, Utsutsu is highly protective of his younger sister Yume. One day, she contracts the strange Pupa virus and begins to sprout grotesque wings and attack both animals and humans.

Kemonozume (2006)

Creatures known as Shokujinki have been secretly living alongside humans for hundreds of years. Though they may look like humans, Shokujinki are able to transform into uncontrollable beasts with gigantic claws and consume humans to survive. The equally secretive Kifuuken dojo specializes in killing Shokujinki by cutting off their arms, and is the only force preventing unchecked Shokujinki domination.Toshihiko Momota, the son of the leader of the Kifuuken, is instantly charmed by a mysterious woman named Yuka Kamitsuki. Their relationship is complicated, however, because unbeknownst to them both, Yuka is a Shokujinki and Toshihiko is sworn to kill her. Meanwhile, the Kifuuken is having a crisis of confidence as Toshihiko's brother Kazuma pushes against tradition and tries to modernize the Kifuuken. As emotions are strained and the secrets of both the past and present are revealed, who will live, and who will be eaten?

Karakuri Zoushi Ayatsuri Sakon (1999)

The dark-haired bishounen is Sakon Tachibana, a puppeteer, and the other is Ukon, his favorite puppet and best friend. Sakon is the (only) grandson of Saemon Tachibana, a national treasure of Japan famous for his manipulation of Bunraku puppets. Ukon is a child doll puppet made in the early Meiji era by the famous female dollmaker Unosuke. Together they run into murders and solve them.

MAKE MY DAY (2023)

On an isolated icy planet promising a bright future, prisoners are forced to excavate a rare energy source that leads to a deadly, unwelcome discovery.

Psychic Detective Yakumo (2010)

College student Haruka’s life takes a disturbing turn when a night of innocent fun turns horrific. After one friend commits suicide and another becomes possessed, Haruka reaches out to the enigmatic Yakumo Saito, a fellow student who is rumored to have psychic powers. But beneath the dubious claims surrounding Yakumo is a dark secret concerning his mysterious red eye and the souls of the dead.