Best Japanese horror series

Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects—and he’s bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But will Light succeed in his noble goal, or will the Death Note turn him into the very thing he fights against?

Ken Kaneki, a bookworm college student, meets Rize, a girl his own age with whom he shares many interests.

A species of parasitic aliens descends on Earth and quickly infiltrates humanity by entering the brains of vulnerable targets; insatiable beings that gain total control of their host and are capable of transforming themselves to feed on unsuspecting prey. High school student Shinichi Izumi falls victim to one of these parasites, but the creature fails to take over his brain and ends up in his right hand.

The Diclonius, a mutated homo sapien that is said to be selected by God and will eventually become the destruction of mankind, possesses two horns in their heads, and has a "sixth sense" which gives it telekinetic abilities. Due to this dangerous power, they have been captured and isolated in laboratories by the government. Lucy, a young and psychotic Diclonius, manages to break free of her confines and brutally murder most of the guards in the laboratory, only to get shot in the head as she makes her escape. She survives and manages to drift along to a beach, where two teenagers named Kouta and Yuka discovers her. Having lost her memories, she was named after the only thing that she can now say, "Nyuu," and the two allow her to stay at Kouta's home. However, it appears that the evil "Lucy" is not dead just yet...

Surrounded by a forest and a gated entrance, the Grace Field House is inhabited by orphans happily living together as one big family, looked after by their "Mama," Isabella. Although they are required to take tests daily, the children are free to spend their time as they see fit, usually playing outside, as long as they do not venture too far from the orphanage — a rule they are expected to follow no matter what. However, all good times must come to an end, as every few months, a child is adopted and sent to live with their new family... never to be heard from again. However, the three oldest siblings have their suspicions about what is actually happening at the orphanage, and they are about to discover the cruel fate that awaits the children living at Grace Field, including the twisted nature of their beloved Mama.

Follow the intergenerational feud between the Joestar Family and various forces of evil, the most prominent of which is Dio Brando and his followers.

Young Tatsumi travels to the capital of the Empire in order to earn money for his starving people and encounters a world of unimaginable depravity, dominated by the ruthless Prime Minister who controls the child Emperor. Tatsumi is recruited by Night Raid, a group of assassins dedicated to eliminating corruption by mercilessly killing officials and privileged nobles.

Akira Fudo learns from his best friend Ryo Asuka that demons will revive and reclaim the world from humans. With humans hopeless against this threat, Ryo suggests combining with a demon. With this, Akira becomes Devilman, a being with the power of demon but with a human heart.

When Kouichi arrives at his new school, he immediately senses something frightening in the atmosphere of his new class, something that no student wants to talk about and that seems to be related to a mysterious and silent girl.

Located in the center of a remote island, the Abyss is the last unexplored region, a huge and treacherous fathomless hole inhabited by strange creatures where only the bravest adventurers descend in search of ancient relics. In the upper levels of the Abyss, Riko, a girl who dreams of becoming an explorer, stumbles upon a mysterious little boy.

For over a century, the mysterious Hellsing Organization has been secretly protecting the British Empire from the undead. When Sir Integra Hellsing succeeded as the head of the organization, she also inherited the ultimate weapon against these supernatural enemies: Alucard, a rogue vampire possessing mysterious and frightening powers. Now, Hellsing must deal with a more dangerous threat than vampires.

Ganta is the only survivor after a mysterious man in red slaughters a classroom full of teenagers. He's framed for the carnage, sentenced to die, and locked away in the most twisted prison ever built: Deadman Wonderland. And then it gets worse.

Vampires exist. It is the duty of Hellsing, an organization sponsored by the British government, to hide that frightening fact and protect the blissfully unaware populace. Along with its own personal army, Hellsing also has a few secret weapons. Alucard, an incredibly powerful vampire, has been controlled by Hellsing for years. Although he dislikes being a servant to the Hellsing family, he certainly enjoys his job as Hellsing’s vampire exterminator. Seras is a fledgling vampire and a former police woman. Although reluctant to embrace her new self, she is still a valuable member of the organization. Integra Hellsing, the current leader, is usually fully capable of fulfilling her duty, but lately, vampire activity has been on the rise. Unfortunately, the cause is more alarming than anything she could have imagined...

Lain—driven by the abrupt suicide of a classmate—logs on to the Wired and promptly loses herself in a twisted mass of hallucinations, memories, and interconnected-psyches.

Amnesiac Caiman seeks to undo his lizard head curse by killing the sorcerer responsible, with his friend Nikaido's help. In the Hole, that's a threat.

17 years ago, immortals first appeared on the battlefields of Africa. Later, rare, unknown new immortal lifeforms began appearing among humans, and they became known as "Ajin" (demi-humans). Just before summer vacation, a Japanese high school student is instantly killed in a traffic accident on his way home from school. However, he is revived, and a price is placed on his head. Thus begins a boy's life on the run from all of humankind.

In the midst of an industrial revolution, the people of Hinomoto fight hordes of undead creatures, known as Kabane, using powerful armored trains.

An overworked 24-year-old finally decides to live a little and create a bucket list, when a zombie outbreak hits the country.

If you are chosen by the bizarre black sphere known as the Gantz, you are already dead—yet you might be able to reclaim your mortality. First, the Gantz demands that you undertake brutal missions of madness, killing aliens hidden among the population. It is your only chance and you have no choice. You must play this disturbing game. And if you die again—and you likely will—it’s permanent.

Spurred by the flame raging in his heart, the Black Swordsman Guts continues his seemingly endless quest for revenge. Standing in his path are heinous outlaws, delusional evil spirits, and a devout child of god. Even as it chips away at his life, Guts continues to fight his enemies, who wield repulsive and inhumane power, with nary but his body and sword—his strength as a human.

Born into a world 1000 years in our future, Saki and her friends live in utopia. Not only is their idyllic community overflowing with resources, but technology is obsolete, thanks to a magical power that grants the ability to materialize anything. However, when Saki discovers a lost artifact, the facade is shattered! Faced with a startling truth about their town, Saki and her companions face dangers they never knew existed, and their choices may change the fate of everyone.

Being just a normal student without a special talent, Makoto Naegi wins a lottery to attend the prestigious Hope's Peak Academy where only the top prodigies attend. However, instead of this being the beginning of a wonderful high school life, it's a ticket to despair, because the only way to graduate from Hope's Peak Academy is to kill one of your fellow students or be one of their victims.

After moving into the quiet town of Hinamizawa, Maebara Keiichi spends his days blissfully in school often playing games with his local friends. However, appearances can be deceiving. One fateful day, Keiichi stumbles upon news of a murder that had occurred in Hinamizawa. From this point on, horrific events unfold in front of Keiichi, as he soon learns his close friends may not be all that they seem.

High-school girl Yuri suddenly finds herself on the rooftop of a high-rise building. She's trapped in a bizarre world surrounded by skyscrapers, where a masked man cracked open a man's head with an axe before her eyes. Finding a way to survive this bizarre world, find her beloved brother, and escape becomes her top priority, but she is beset by danger not just from the mysterious Masks, which possess both inhuman strength and cruelty, but other survivors turned cruel or desparate by the insanity of the high-rise world.

Sotobamura is a small village with around 1300 residents; so small the village isn't even connected to a single highway. An isolated village in which old customs, such as the burial of the dead, are still practiced. One day, the bodies of three people are found dead. Although Ozaki Toshio, the village's lone doctor, feels uncertain, he treats the deaths as a normal occurrence. However, in the days following, the villagers start to die one after the other.

Unable to remember the past, high school senior Saya Otonashi must rediscover her destiny in order to defeat the chiropteran vampires that threaten her loved ones' existence.

From the mind of horror manga maestro Junji Ito comes a spine-tingling selection of some of his most bizarre, disturbing and terrifying tales.

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

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Shy Natsu awakens as part of a group chosen to ensure the survival of humanity. Together, they have to survive on a changed Earth.

A collection of animated horror stories based on the works of Japanese artist Junji Ito.

Rin Asōgi may look like an ordinary office lady on the outside but she is actually a private investigator taking on any jobs, from finding a stray cat to infiltrating a high-security corporate lab. What's more, she appears literally indestructible, supernaturally healing any injuries and mutilations. Together with her partner Mimi, Rin delves into the darkest secrets of the society but the ones she hides herself are by far more sinister...

When nearby construction disturbs a spiritual resting place, its disgruntled denizens do what any supernatural beings would do after a rude awakening: they terrorize the local school. And that means it’s up to a scruffy band of young ghostbusters to expel their satanic schoolmates before everyone gets sent to permanent detention! So join Satsuki, her crybaby brother, the resident class stud, the school nerd and "physical researcher," a born-again beauty, and a resentful, demon-possessed cat in the funniest, scariest school you’ve ever enrolled in.

Kimihiro Watanuki is a high school student plagued by ayakashi spirits, both of which are invisible to everyone else but him. The series begins when Watanuki stumbles, seemingly by chance, into a shop that grants wishes. The shop is owned by Yūko Ichihara, a mysterious witch of many names and esoteric renown. For a price, she offers to grant Watanuki's wish to be rid of the spirits. The price, according to Yūko, must be of equal value; so, as payment, he must become Yūko's temporary, part-time cook and housekeeper.

Tsukasa, a college student, is rescued from an attack by a devil, one of many vampires that can blend in among the human population. Anzai, her savior, is a half-devil who exploits his supernatural gifts as a member of a shadowy police task force that specializes in devil-related crime in Tokyo. As Anzai continues to keep guard over Tsukasa, the two quickly forge a tentative bond—one that Anzai fears will test his iron-clad rule of never drinking human blood...

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

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.

Telling ghost stories is a favorite past time of Mai Taniyama and her friends—that is, until she meets 17-year-old Kazuya Shibuya, the man sent by Shibuya Psychic Research Center to investigate paranormal activity at a supposedly haunted school. When Mai gets caught in a dangerous situation, she is rescued by Kazuya's assistant. Saving her lands the assistant incapacitated, and Kazuya demands that Mai become his assistant, instead...

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

Hope's Peak Academy is a special school, recognized by the government, that was established in order to gather and nurture top-class students who excel in various fields. This school has two courses: The main course, and the preparatory course. Anyone with the money can enter the preparatory course, even if they don't have any special skills. The 77th class of the main course is filled with students who not only have unique abilities, but unique personalities as well. However, the students learned that "Talent isn't the most important thing in life; it's to involve yourself with people and make yourself a better person while making memories." However, little did they know that a mysterious project and discrimination of the courses were happening right under their noses. Hajime Hinata, a boy from the preparatory class who craves for an ability. The fateful meeting he has drives the future of the school into an unimaginable direction.

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.

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.

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.

Satou Matsuzaka, a girl who has never loved anyone before, falls in love with a girl named Shio Koube. The two girls are drawn to each other, and begin a happy life together. Satou won't let anyone endanger their new life, and would do anything for love, even if it means threatening, confining, or killing someone.

Inspired by the classic Brothers Grimm stories, this anthology features six fairy tales with a dark twist, exposing the shadowy side of human desire.

Five years ago, a string of grisly murders shook the city to its core and now the rumors have begun once more. Boogiepop... Everyone knows about Boogiepop: meet her one dark night and you are taken. People tell each other the stories and laugh: no one believes that she can possibly exist in this day and age. Still, strange things appear to be going on and the darkness is taking on many forms. Something is out there.

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.

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.

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.

New kid Keiichi Maebara is settling into his new home of peaceful Hinamizawa village. Making quick friends with the girls from his school, he's arrived in time for the big festival of the year. But something about this isolated town seems "off," and his feelings of dread continue to grow. With a gnawing fear that he's right, what dark secrets could this small community be hiding?

A shady bus tour of young men and women are headed to an elusive village called Nanakimura. A destination where people can partake in an utopian existence, free of the world's obstacles... or so goes the rumor. Heading deep into the mountains, the bus is carrying 30 different individuals, each harboring their own expectations and troubled hearts... What they had arrived to was an uninhabited village with lingering, faint scents of life and it was falling apart. Just what is the secret of Nanakimura?

Shiki Tohno sustained a life threatening injury as a child, and due to that incident he was sent away from the Tohno household and was given to a relative to be raised. Years later, when Shiki is in high school, the head of the Tohno household—his father—dies, and he is ordered to move back in by his sister Akiha, who is the new head of the household. However, Shiki holds a huge secret. Ever since that injury, he has been seeing lines on objects, and only with a special pair of glasses is he able to stop seeing them. Also he is unable to remember anything well from the time before his accident. The day he moves back to the Tohno household is the day he stumbles upon a woman named Arcueid Brunestud and decapitates her with one stab of his knife in a temporary fit of insanity. When she suddenly showed up beside him later alive and well, and ask him to be her bodyguard, Shiki's journey to unravel the mysteries of his past begins.

In an isolated region of Kyushu lies the town of Suiten. Though seeming small and modest, Suiten is not a picturesque place for a vacation, unless it is from the “Unseen World”. Taro, Makoto and Masayuki, three boys with traumatic pasts, learn to let their souls cross between the two parallel worlds. However, the Unseen World is no mere copy of the real Apparent World. The Unseen World is the home of ghosts, but changes are now allowing the souls of the dead to pass over into the Apparent World, with unpredictable effects. Follow the journey of Taro, Makoto and Masayuki, as they cross between the two worlds, trying to unravel a great mystery.

There is an urban legend that tells of a shinigami that can release people from the pain they are suffering. This "Angel of Death" has a name—Boogiepop. And the legends are true. Boogiepop is real. When a rash of disappearances involving female students breaks out at Shinyo Academy, the police and faculty assume they just have a bunch of runaways on their hands. Yet some students know better. Something mysterious and foul is afoot. Is it Boogiepop or something even more sinister...?

Aya Asagiri is a middle school girl who has problems both at school with bullying and at home from physical abuse by her brother. While browsing online, a website pops up on her computer featuring a creepy looking person. This person appears to take pity on her, and announces that she has granted Asagiri magical powers.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.