# Is there  any decent Horror or Dark Fantasy Anime?



## warlord (Oct 7, 2007)

I can't just seem find any. I've seen most Vampire Hunter D, Hellsing's okay, Trinity Blood sucked and Blood + has the  vampire cast member ever. I tried real hard to like Bleach but the whole "I am Ichigo I can magically gain any ability I need to kick your ass." thing gets old. So I am looking in the wrong places or am I doomed to watch Vampire Hunter D and Berserker forever?


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## frankthedm (Oct 7, 2007)

Overall, horror is kinda a dry genre in anime, and what there is of it tends to have an extra helping of woman-hate.

*Bastard!* has a good but short bloody fantasy OAV series, dark, but humerous at times. Several heavy metal band names get reference if you listen to the japanese voice actors.







 Is quite good. 

Devilman:Classic horror anime

Elfen Lied has a lot of nudity, but is a good modern horror anime.

When they cry Is a good horror anime that does not look like a horror anime at first glance.

*Urotsukidōji:* Some say it is good horror if you can put up with the mysogny and rape.


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## LrdApoc (Oct 7, 2007)

Dark Fantasy - Berserk.. though the manga is better and you'll be disappointed if you like it because they only made one season. (Though it sounds like you have already seen it.)

Witchblade - a bit of eye candy but the core story is horror and it's actually part of the official canon as well.

Horror - Wicked City still resonates with me.


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## Shalimar (Oct 8, 2007)

Paranoia Agent is a fairly dark series.


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## Rackhir (Oct 8, 2007)

Did you see the original Hellsing or Hellsing Ultimate. You'll probably like Hellsing Ultimate better if it was the original you saw.


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## WayneLigon (Oct 8, 2007)

*'When They Cry' * is a pretty horrific series. It's told in a series of arcs, each (I think) four episodes long, each covering the same three days or so from a different angle. It's based off a 'dating sim' video game, so what you can see happening here are the results of various choices the main character can make: each results in a different ending but so far each of them is a different variation on 'how exactly creepy can we make this' 

Each arc starts out like a comedy anime, complete with face faults and sweety cuteness that in the first one is almost coma-inducing. Then it takes a hard left turn into paranoid screaming murderporn horror and doesn't look back. By the end, it's pretty horrific and contains some amazingly creepy scenes.

*Gantz * is a very horror-like series. The main character and his buddy die. They then wake up and find themselves players in a bizarre afterlife game, along with others who have died. Those who score enough points on missions Gantz gives get to select prizes, one of which is freedon and a return to life.


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## Samiko The Bard (Oct 8, 2007)

Have you seen Perfect Blue?  It is not a series, but it was plenty disturbing to me. . .


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## frankthedm (Oct 8, 2007)

requiem from the darkness was decent. Not the bees knees, but worth looking into.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boogiepop_Phantom

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mermaid_Saga also worth looking into.


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## ThirdWizard (Oct 8, 2007)

'This the season for horror. Good ol' October.

Magnetic Rose. I can't stress this one enough. I think this is what you want.

Other than that:

Tsukihime Lunar Legend is a vampire anime by TYPE-MOON. 

Jigoku Shoujo (Hell Girl) is all about sending people to hell.

Higurashi also has a sequel - Higurashi no Naku Koroni Kai.

Monster is more psychological thriller than horror, but I think it would work.

If you like Manga, go for Godchild.


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## D.Shaffer (Oct 8, 2007)

If it ever gets licensed, pick up 'Ghost Hunt'.

It's one of the few series that HAVE ever given me the willies, and doesnt overly rely on gore in place of horror, like a lot of horror does.


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## frankthedm (Oct 8, 2007)

D.Shaffer said:
			
		

> If it ever gets licensed, pick up 'Ghost Hunt'.
> 
> It's one of the few series that HAVE ever given me the willies, and doesnt overly rely on gore in place of horror, like a lot of horror does.



Seems decent. Found a sampling of it on you tube.


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## warlord (Oct 8, 2007)

So is Ghost Hunt a manga waiting to be turned into anime?


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## frankthedm (Oct 8, 2007)

warlord said:
			
		

> So is Ghost Hunt a manga waiting to be turned into anime?



Anime awaiting official translation and licensing to the US.


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## Ahzad (Oct 8, 2007)

i like witchhunter robin. it's more of a cop/drama show dealing w/ witches, than outright horror.


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## Shalimar (Oct 8, 2007)

Ahzad said:
			
		

> i like witchhunter robin. it's more of a cop/drama show dealing w/ witches, than outright horror.




Its pretty dark so it shoud qualify.

Bleach does get better once you get past the initial arc.  Ichigo gets beat to hell a lot after the Soul Society arc.


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## Villano (Oct 8, 2007)

I'd suggest staying away from *Devil Lady* (aka, Devilman Lady, aka, Lady Devilman).  As the name would suggest, it's more or less a female version of Devilman.  

It starts off well enough, very dark and moody, but then suddenly changes at the end.  The original characters are pushed to the side, while these cartoony-looking human/demon hybrids are introduced.  One character, who looks like the human form of the original Devilman (and really looks out of place compared to the other, more realistic designs), basically comes out of nowhere and becomes the hero.  And the ending doesn't make any sense. 

I know there are many people who like this anime, but, to me, it feels like one of those old patchjob movies, where they would take two unfinished films and edit them together.   

For recommendations:  Paranoia Agent is very good.  And don't forget there was a sequel to Vampire Hunter D.


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## The Forsaken One (Oct 9, 2007)

I personally enjoyed Witch Hunter Robin, Claymore and Ghost Hunter along with Helsing, Vampire Hunter D and berserk obviously .


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## TwinBahamut (Oct 9, 2007)

Villano said:
			
		

> And don't forget there was a sequel to Vampire Hunter D.



That's a severe understatement... Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust is an incredibly better movie than the original. The first was average, but Bloodlust is superb.

Dark fantasy, huh? Not my usual fare, but Demon City Shinjuku, maybe? A bit old, and not one of the greats, but if you want to watch a guy fight through a group of demons who destroyed Tokyo, it isn't bad.


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## Villano (Oct 9, 2007)

Oooh, what about that one with the kids playing hide & seek in an abandoned town?  They all are wearing animal masks and start to disappear one by one?  I think Cartoon Network showed it.  It was pretty good.  What was it called?


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## D.Shaffer (Oct 9, 2007)

Villano said:
			
		

> Oooh, what about that one with the kids playing hide & seek in an abandoned town?  They all are wearing animal masks and start to disappear one by one?  I think Cartoon Network showed it.  It was pretty good.  What was it called?



Kakurenbo: Hide and Seek. And yeah, it showed up on Adult Swim 



			
				Frank the DM said:
			
		

> Anime awaiting official translation and licensing to the US.



To be more technically correct...it's a light novel series that was made into a manga series, that was made into an anime series.   

The manga's being translated and put out by Del Rey, but it's a bit inferior to the anime, IMO.  It relies on a more Shojo art style then the anime series, so everyone looks a bit 'cutesey'. The anime version also cuts out a lot of the facefaults and other comedy bits out of nowhere that shows up in the manga.


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## Arnwyn (Oct 9, 2007)

Horror: I found _Vampire Princess Miyu_ TV (not the OAV) to be pretty good and reasonably disturbing.


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## Kesh (Oct 10, 2007)

Samiko The Bard said:
			
		

> Have you seen Perfect Blue?  It is not a series, but it was plenty disturbing to me. . .



 That's more of a Hitchcock-style suspense thriller than horror, but it's a _damn_ good movie. I'd highly recommend it.


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## Felon (Oct 20, 2007)

frankthedm said:
			
		

> *Bastard!* has a good but short bloody fantasy OAV series, dark, but humerous at times. Several heavy metal band names get reference if you listen to the japanese voice actors.




Geez, Frank. I just started watching this. "Dark Schneider"????


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## frankthedm (Oct 20, 2007)

Felon said:
			
		

> Geez, Frank. I just started watching this. "Dark Schneider"????



hehehe



> Dark Schneider's name is a reference to the vocalist of German metal band U.D.O., Udo Dirkschneider. The spell that releases D.S., "Accept", is a reference to Accept, Udo's former band.






> Translation
> The version of Bastard!! released in North America differs in a few ways from that released in Japan. The major differences are the changing of place names. The manga and anime both name places, spells (and some people) after various Heavy Metal bands, such as Metallica, Judas Priest (even in the name itself, in this case; sometimes in the manga, a blank page with "BASTARD!!" written after the style of the Judas Priest logo can be seen), Whitesnake, and Anthrax, and the spells Megadeth, Venom, Guns N' Roses, and Helloween. Fearing lawsuits, Pioneer took the Japanese forms of the band names and changed them somewhat when they were put back in English: Megadeth become Megadeath, Helloween became Haro-Wing, Whitesnake became Whiteos-Neiki, Guns N' Roses was shortened to Guns-N-Ro, and Anthrax became Anslasax. The main city in which the adventure takes place, Meta-Ricana, is actually Metallicana. In addition, there is little swearing in the dub translation.


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