10 Darkest Anime I Watched

About 70%-85% of the anime I watch are bright and colorful. They’re all about love and peace, and they celebrate cuteness like it’s the greatest treasure on Earth! However, I have watched anime that are the opposite of that. In this list, I’ll go over the 10 darkest anime I watched. I will include anime I dropped since I haven’t watched a lot of really dark anime. I will sort this list based on how dark the anime is.

10. Baccano!

Starting off this list is Baccano! When I think of dark anime, Baccano is not one of the first anime that comes to mind. But, there’s lots of guns and lots of blood and lots of crazy stuff going on. Compared to the other anime on this list, Baccano! feels more light-hearted. I’ve only watched half of season 1 excluding the specials, but let’s assume the second half’s tone is the same as the first half’s.

9. Welcome to the NHK!

Like Baccano!, Welcome to the NHK has some comedy. Unlike Baccano!, which focuses on many characters, Welcome to the NHK mainly focuses on one character: A school dropout with social anxiety and paranoia. The psychological and mature themes are enough to make Welcome to the NHK one of the darkest anime I’ve watched. In fact, I planned to make Welcome to the NHK to be my last anime, but I just wanted more because of its fantastic story.

8. Shadows House

Not all dark anime have to have extreme violence or mature themes. In fact, Shadows House is easily the cleanest anime on this list. The reason why Shadows House feels the way it does is because of how threatening and authoritarian the Shadows House is. Think the prestigious Eden Academy from Spy x Family, but with harsher punishments and some dark secrets. The Promised Neverland gets compared with Shadows House a lot due to their similar themes, even though I haven’t watched The Promised Neverland yet.

7. Serial Experiments Lain

Serial Experiments Lain is truly one of the most unique anime I’ve ever watched. It is an unnerving cyberpunk virtual reality anime with a message that has become way more relevant today. There is a lot to uncover about Serial Experiments Lain, but I’ve already mentioned it numerous times in previous blog posts. Let’s just say I appreciate it, but I didn’t necessarily enjoy it.

6. Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-

I recently mentioned how Re:Zero is the most popular dark isekai anime. This anime is dark because there are a lot of deaths. It’s not action-packed like Baccano!, but our main character dies so many times. Every time he dies, he goes back to a previous point in the timeline. The deaths can be quite brutal, but the most brutal deaths by far happen in Episode 15. If I had to describe this episode in two words, it would be “Twisted Love”. Re:Zero only gets #6 since not all of Re:Zero is dark.

Aside from all the dark parts, Re:Zero is a fantastic anime! In fact, I own two pieces of Re:Zero merchandise: Subaru’s jacket, and a Rem figure. Rem is one of my favorite anime girls. She’s a cute maid, I love her voice, I love her personality, and she gets lots and lots of fan art and anime figures. Beatrice is my second favorite Re:Zero character, I suppose, and she’s also getting lots of fan art. But most importantly, the story of Re:Zero is amazing!

5. Death Note

Death Note is an anime about the Death Note, a notebook where you can write down the name of a person, and they die. This anime is one of the most popular anime of all time. It seems that the darker or more shouneney an anime is, the more popular it’s going to be in the United States. If an anime is going to be really dark, then death has to be a theme. And I don’t mean asdfmovie-style deaths. What makes Death Note worth watching is the intense cat-and-mouse game between two characters: Light Yagami, the holder of the Death Note, and L, a genius detective who is trying to identify who is responsible for mysteriously killing off criminals. We all know it’s Light Yagami who is doing it for the sake of “justice”. It is very different from the type of anime I watch.

4. The Fruit of Grisaia

Most visual novel anime adaptations are known for showing the sad backstories of cute girl protagonists, but The Fruit of Grisaia takes this concept and makes it darker. The first three episodes don’t have much in common with the rest of the anime. In fact, there was one moment that disturbed me so much, that I had to tell my family about what I watched just to get it off of my system. Not only that, but this anime was featured on a YouTube channel known for documenting anime kill counts. The Labyrinth of Grisaia is arguably more disturbing.

3. Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Oh boy. This anime again. I used to think that Puella Magi Madoka Magica was my favorite anime, but now I have mixed feelings about it just because I find Homura to be the second most overrated anime character and don’t watch anime to see a potential romantic relationship between two anime girls come to fruition. It even feels like I’m not allowed to like Madoka Magica anymore because of these opinions I hold.

Rant over. We all know that Puella Magi Madoka Magica has made a planet-sized impact on magical girl anime for being dark. Sure, dark magical girl anime existed before this anime, but this one was exceptionally dark and has become incredibly popular as a result. The third episode was the turning point of this anime, and more dark secrets and shocking moments happen. All this makes Puella Magi Madoka Magica not only the most intense anime I ever watched, but also the anime with the best story. Every anime fan must watch this anime at least once in their lifetime.

2. Neon Genesis Evangelion

Neon Genesis Evangelion is one of the most important anime ever made. It’s also one of the most disturbing anime ever made. The first several episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion aren’t that disturbing, but around Episode 16 is when this anime suddenly takes a dark and psychological turn. The End of Evangelion is the most disturbing movie I have ever watched. I only watched it because of its importance on anime, and it was a decision I kind of regret. Honorable Mentions

• Gosick: While it does have intense violence, it is infrequent.
• Mushoku Tensei: The second darkest isekai anime I watched. Its violence is tame compared to Re:Zero, but it has more mature themes.
• Wandering Witch, Kino’s Journey, and Bakemonogatari: All these anime can get dark, but the majority of these anime have a neutral or somewhat bright tone.
• Gakkougurashi!: Remember this gem from 2015? It can get really moe at times.
• Rewrite: Another dark visual novel anime adaptation, though this one falls short.

1. Magical Girl Raising Project 

The impact Puella Magi Madoka Magica had on magical girl anime was so big, that it inspired lots and lots of dark magical girl anime. Magical Girl Raising Project is one of those anime. It is a magical girl battle royale. It starts off slow, but then things get dark really quickly. In fact, things got so dark, that I had to drop the anime on Episode 6. As a result, this anime stands as the worst full-length anime I ever watched. I might continue to watch this anime if I ever hit a very low point in my life. If that happens, then I would imagine horrible things like magical girls getting brutally murdered or cities getting obliterated, not things that bring joy.

Conclusion

Dark anime don’t appeal to me, but there are some dark anime that appeal to me, whether they have amazing character designs, intriguing premises, or great settings.