Top 10 Darkest Anime
I've not watched many animes but I HAVE watched some animes which define the dark. Here's the list of animes which define the word 'Dark' itself. You can say they are manifestation of darkness themselves.
Berserk, also known as Sword-Wind Chronicle Berserk, is a Japanese anime television series that aired from 1997 to 1998. An adaptation of the manga Berserk, it comprises 25 half-hour episodes produced by Oriental Light and Magic and first aired on Nippon TV. Why is this not higher? It's very dark.
Another is an anime based upon the Novel and Manga of the same name by Yukito Ayatsuji. There also exists a live action movie based on the novel. Sad atmosphere, dead feelings, immense mid-scene horror images, and cool sound effects. This is the darkest anime I've ever watched in my whole life, and I can bet there isn't a darker anime than this one.
Almost after every episode, someone dies in a dark way.
Attack on Titan, also known as Shingeki no Kyojin in Japanese, created by Hajime Isayama, is one of the most popular Japanese anime series to be released. It was first watched in Japan during 2013 and was dubbed in English to be watched in America in 2014. It is best known for its emotional moments,... read more Not much to say about this one. Just...watch it!
Ergo Proxy is a science fiction suspense anime television series, produced by Manglobe, directed by Shukō Murase and written by Dai Satō.
Elfen Lied is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Lynn Okamoto. It was originally serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Young Jump from June 2002 to August 2005, with the 107 chapters collected into twelve tankōbon volumes. Elfen Lied was very dark but very depressing at the end. If you like dark anime that are sad, this one is probably the best. The manga goes really far into the story, and by far, the manga's ending was sadder than the anime's.
An amazing show. Dark, gory, and sad, this show doesn't leave out or hide from the dark.
Serial Experiments Lain is an anime series that was directed by Ryutaro Nakamura. The characters were designed by Yoshitoshi ABe, the script was penned by Chiaki J. Konaka, and the production was handled by Yasuyuki Ueda for Triangle Staff. The series aired on TV Tokyo from July to September in 1998... read more
Death Note is a Japanese television drama anime series based on the manga series of the same name by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata.
The show is centered around Light Yagami - a promising highschooler and aspiring detective with a strong sense of "justice". One of the best animes I've ever seen (when watched subbed...you lose so much of the raw emotion in their voices in the dubbed version, which steals a lot from the show). The emotions felt at the end are unlike anything else. Absolutely loved every second of this show.
Yeah, Death Note fans, I know it deserves a higher place, but this list is made for 'Dark' anime. No doubt, this epic anime is dark, but the others are more so. This is a must-see too.
Neon Genesis Evangelion, commonly referred to as Evangelion or Eva, is a Japanese animated television series produced by Gainax and Tatsunoko Production, and directed by Hideaki Anno. How is this not higher? The unsurprising darkness of Evangelion made me feel like I had to go to a psychiatrist after seeing its ending.
Chilling visuals demonstrate how a kid would fracture under immense responsibility.
Midori (Japanese: 地下幻燈劇画 少女椿, Hepburn: Chika Gentō Gekiga: Shōjo Tsubaki, roughly translated as "Underground Projected Dramatic Pictures: The Camellia Girl") is a 1992 Japanese independent semi-animated ero guro horror film. It was created by Hiroshi Harada and is based on Suehiro... read more
Portrays the inevitability of humans and suggests that there's no way out for humans other than their demise.
The Newcomers
This show literally has one of the most horrifying first episodes I've seen. The main character and his dog get chopped up, and it probably has one of the darkest backstories I've ever seen. Also, they kill off a lot of people in this show.
Monster (Japanese: モンスター Hepburn: Monsutā, sometimes referred to as "Naoki Urasawa's Monster") is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoki Urasawa. Monster has been critically acclaimed, with the manga having won several awards and its anime adaptation being called one of... read more Monster is really complex. There's a lot of mature content and an absolutely pitch-dark plot.
Even the name gives it away. This series is wonderfully dark and twisted. It deserves to be much higher on the list, in my opinion.
This show is pretty brutal but also creative. Only certain people can watch or handle how dark it is.
Future Diary is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Sakae Esuno. It depicts a battle royale in which each combatant has a diary with entries from the future. Ah... This pick is a perfect mixture of dark within action. It's a must-see. It defines the two-sided personality of a girl and consists of truly sad fates of the heroes.
I saw the first six episodes of this anime, and I gotta say, I never thought they would be able to make texts seem scary.
Definitely one of the darkest shows out there.
Tokyo Ghoul is a Japanese dark fantasy manga series written and illustrated by Sui Ishida. It was serialized in Shueisha's seinen manga magazine Weekly Young Jump between September 2011 and September 2014, and it has been collected in fourteen tankōbon volumes as of August 2014. This deserves to be in the top 5. The plot is so amazing that it literally questions the basic idea of what's good or evil.
The anime is mostly really edgy, but the manga is actually darker than it appears.
Insanely dark but still a bad anime in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, I actually like a lot of dark anime, but this isn't one of those I like.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica is a 2011 Japanese anime television series produced by Shaft and Aniplex, directed by Akiyuki Shinbo, written by Gen Urobuchi, music by Yuki Kajiura, opening sang by ClariS, ending by Kalafina (sometimes by the seiyuus) and original characters by Ume Aoki. Just so dark. Everything from Kyubey and the incubators to Sayaka turning into a witch is unrivaled! Plus, the scene with Mami getting her head bitten off brought chills.
It's the way the anime was executed, the series of events, that makes it so dark. People think it's a cute anime, then watch the witches' labyrinths that are drawn so darkly. This is an ingenious and dark anime filled with plot twists at every corner.
Should be in the top 3. This series gets really dark.
Not many people have actually seen this anime, which is why I think it's so low on the list. In my opinion, this is one of the darkest animes out there. After watching this, it really messed me up emotionally for a while. If you have not seen this yet, it is seriously a MUST watch.
Pokémon, abbreviated from the Japanese title of Pocket Monsters and currently advertised in English as Pokémon: The Series, is a Japanese anime television series, which has been adapted for the international television markets. It was first broadcast in Japan on April 1, 1997, in the United States... read more
Violence Jack is a Japanese manga, co-written and co-illustrated by Go Nagai since 1973, all the way to 2008. It has had several serializations and one-shot stories which have run in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Most of the stories have been compiled in around 45 tankōbon while a few of them... read more
I'm not going to spoil anything. Just watch the first episode yourself.
Boku no Pico is an anime series of three OVA episodes created by Katsuhiko Takayama. It was released to DVD on September 17, 2006. It's dark because it shows what happens when pedophiles take advantage of impressionable kids with no consequences.