Good day everyone! How’s your Halloween so far? Well, as we all know, Halloween is a time to remember all our deceased loved ones and also a time for some spooky things, stories and the kids’ favorite—trick or treat. Aside from what I have mentioned, there are still tons of activities we can do.
However, people who choose to stay indoors are most probably to settle in watching horror-themed shows. Horror stories whether true to life or just for the sake of Halloween are almost everywhere in television too, or perhaps your mom’s sermon is a lot more horrifying than all the scary shows out there. Just kidding!
Anime for Halloween?
(image source: Giphy.com)
From the anime series Another.
Moving on to my topic for today, did you know that anime can also cater your Halloween feels? Yes, if you are just new to this kind of shows then I tell you now to rejoice! Anime is as vast as the ocean and as deep as the Mariana Trench where still tons of anime shows are yet to be discovered by us simple humans. Anime doesn’t just revolve around action, romance and cutesy stories. Doesn’t that sound overwhelmingly scary and deeply exciting?
Honestly, I am most likely to spend the long weekend at home aside from visiting the cemetery on November 1st. Well, I always did. And for me, my other Halloween activities includes watching shows, some room cleaning, and a lot of eating.(Hehe!) This year, I’m adding a new activity on my list and that is staying online in bitlanders! Yay!
Now that you already know my plans for Halloween, let’s return to our main purpose of this blog. Actually, there are a lot of horror/gore/monster-themed anime shows out there which are mostly good. For this blog post, I made a list of eight anime shows that I had already seen. And I guess it’s time to share them with you guys. I hope you can find at least one that suits your taste.
Katsanslimites Recommends!
#8 Parasyte -The Maxim-
(image source: Google.com)
Shinichi with Migi.
Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu or Parasyte -The Maxim- in English, began its story when parasites suddenly appeared on earth to take humans as its hosts in order to survive. They take over their host's brain to gain a complete control of the body and devour other humans to live. One night, a parasite pierced through the body of a high school student named Izumi Shinichi but failed to go up to his brain ending up in his right hand instead. Since the parasite failed to take over Shinichi's brain, Shinichi was still in control of his body and mind. When they were being attacked by humans possessed by parasites, both agreed to work together in order to live. They learned to trust each other and Shinichi named his parasite, Migi. ("Migi" means "right" in Japanese.) Although being a vessel for Migi shunned him away from feeling his emotions.
Parasyte was written by Hitoshi Iwaaki and the anime was aired from October 09, 2014 to March 26, 2015 with a total of 24 episodes.
(This show is nice with lots of bloody action. You'll be surprised at how intelligent and wise during combat Migi is! Although he easily gets exhausted and often leaves the rest to Shinichi in the middle of a fight. Plus, Migi's voice is cute. Well, I find it cute. Hehe!)
#7 Tokyo Ghoul
(image source: Google.com)
Ken Kaneki.
Tokyo Ghoul takes place in the city of Tokyo wherein human-eating beasts called ghouls lurk around the city. Meanwhile, the story focuses on a male college student, Ken Kaneki, after he found out that his date Kamishiro Rize was a ghoul and attempted to devour him. The wounded Kaneki was brought to the hospital and had some of Rize's organs transplanted to him to overcome death. He may had survived the incident but unfortunately, his second life with Rize's organs within him had turned him into a ghoul. Battling his desire for human flesh he found Anteiku, a coffee shop ran by ghouls, and sought assistance to control his urge to eat a human. Ghouls are considered very dangerous and a serious threat to human kind as these ghouls can disguise themselves into humans and go with crowd unnoticed.
(video source: Youtube.com)
Tokyo Ghoul promotional video.
The anime presently have two seasons with twelve episodes each; the first aired last July 04, 2014 to September 19, 2014; the second last January 09, 2015 until March 27, 2015. The story was originally written by Ishida Sui.
(Well, I'd say Tokyo Ghoul is awesome. The second season where Kaneki was held captive and tortured was horrifying I almost wanted to skip that scene. Lol. But I survived! Here's a trivia, ghouls can't eat foods for humans as they hate the taste of it but there's one thing that will keep them at least alive even without eating humans, and that is coffee. The reason for some good ghouls running a coffee shop.)
#6 Another
(image source: Google.com)
Misaki Mei and Sakakibara Kouichi.
The story of Another revolves around a student named Sakakibara Kouichi who transferred in Yomiyama North Middle School and was put to the cursed Class 3-3. In this class is where he found the timid girl named Misaki Mei whom he had seen at a hospital before. Mei wears an eyepatch to cover her left eye which is a doll's eye that has a special ability. In class, she was treated like she doesn't exist and always avoided by her classmates. After Sakakibara befriended her, they took the courage to investigate and conclude the unexplainable curse going on in their class way back 1972 after the death of a student named Misaki. Since the death of Misaki, the next generation of students who were placed in Class 3-3 were experiencing unpleasant incidents and were bound to an inevitable fate—and that is death. Their relatives aren't even safe from it.
The anime Another has twelve episodes which was aired from January 10, 2012 to March 27, 2012. The story was written by Ayatsuji Yukito.
(I was convinced to watch this show after seeing the scene where a female student holding an umbrella was running down the stairs. It sounds like a typical scene but I'd say expect the unexpected. It was just one among the gruesome deaths in the story. The story of this series has a lot of mystery that would leave anyone guessing who is keeping the curse running to this day. Plus, the mannequins in Mei's house has an eerie vibe. Glad I didn't develop a phobia to dolls after seeing this show.)
#5 Akame ga Kill!
(image source: Google.com)
Akame from the group Night Raid.
Akame ga Kill! follows the story of Tatsumi's journey on seeking a better life to alleviate his village from poverty. He traveled together with two friends but got separated with them. Tatsumi later found himself taken by an elite family to serve them not knowing that he was bound for death just like the fate of his friends. One night, a group of skilled assassins called Night Raid attacked the elite family's home to save Tatsumi. Upon knowing the death of his friends, he decided to join Night Raid to oppose against the unjust way of their society. Their goal is to eradicate Prime Minister Honest who is blinded by greed and power, even going as far as manipulating the young emperor by taking advantage of his gullibility just so everything goes according to his plans.
The anime has a total of 24 episodes which ran from July 07, 2014 to December 15, 2014. Akame ga Kill! is a story written by Takahiro and illustrated by Tashiro Tetsuya.
(This show does not have a horror story or out of this world monsters but the reason I'm adding Akame ga Kill! on the list is due to the tragic deaths the characters fall into. I'm sure you're going to love the members of Night Raid because of their personality and uniquely cool weapons but seeing them lose one member each time will leave you broken for sure, not to mention their gruesome deaths.)
#4 Death Parade
(image source: Google.com)
Decim welcomes his guests.
Death Parade occurs in a bar called Quindecim which is ran by a bartender named Decim who serves as a judge for souls. People who died are sent to Quindecim, usually by pair, and are put under series of tests by Decim which is through a game. This series of games that put one's destiny at stake will provoke the participants to reveal their true personality while playing under the rules. At the end of the game, Decim will lead the two players in front of two elevator doors, one of which would lead to reincarnation while the other to an abyss of nothingness. Whoever passes Decim's judgment will be luckily reincarnated while those who failed will face an unfortunate fate as they will be sent to an eternal void.
Death Parade is an original story by Tachikawa Yuzuru who also directed the anime. The series has 12 episodes which ran from January 09, 2015 to March 27, 2015.
(The title itself draws me in to watch this series and I wasn't wrong because it was good. There are new characters almost every episode too. And the thought of purgatory sends chills to my soul. Somehow, I believe this show would really help its viewers to reflect on their actions on their daily lives and their relationship with people because death is just around the corner and that everything we do while we're still alive will be put under judgment when we die.)
#3 Death Note
(image source: Google.com)
Light Yagami obtains the death note.
Death Note's story centers on a genius high school student Light Yagami after obtaining the death note dropped by the death god Ryuk out of boredom and curiosity on how this powerful notebook will be handled by a mere human. Upon reading the rules and learning how the simple black notebook could give him so much capability and authority, Yagami decided to use it to eradicate criminals and build a new world in the future free from felons. Anyone whose name is written on the death note with his face known to the wielder of the notebook will certainly die. When authorities noticed the sudden unexplainable deaths, they got alarmed and terrified of this God-like punisher, and so they decided to seek for help from the top detective named "L" to catch Light Yagami who conceals his identity under the name "Kira"(which translates to "Killer").
The anime has a total of 37 episodes running from October 03, 2006 to June 26, 2007. The story was originally written by Ohba Tsugumi and illustrated by Obata Takeshi.
(This series is the first anime I had seen among my list on this post. Death Note is widely popular, if you would ask anyone who's into anime would surely tell you they know about this show. At first, I thought I wouldn't have any interest on Death Note but then the story was unexpectedly excellent. You will most likely be torn between who to root for—Kira or L. Kira's wise tactics in killing and escaping the authorities, and the suspense of L constantly pushing Kira to the corner will leave everyone hanging each episode which makes you very eager to see the next.)
#2 Corpse Party: Tortured Souls - The Curse of Tortured Souls -
(image source: Google.com)
The students performing a spell.
Corpse Party: Tortured Souls centers around a group of students of Kisaragi Academy who were accidentally transported into the dimension of the feared Heavenly Host Elementary School after one of them brought out a paper doll and chanted some spell whom she thought was something that would strengthen their bond and friendship. The Heavenly Host which once stood at the location where Kisaragi Academy was built had a very awful past where its students were mercilessly murdered. Trapped, helpless and terrified inside the old school was a complete nightmare for the students who didn't mean to trespass the terrored dimension. They have to search for an escape while fighting for their lives against the vindictive dead students to survive the hell they all had fallen into.
(video source: Youtube.com)
Corpse Party: Tortured Souls promotional video.
Corpse Party: Tortured Souls was written by Sato Shoichi and directed by Iwanaga Akira and only has 4 episodes which aired last July 24, 2013. The anime was based on the game Corpse Party.
(The story was short but good. If you are into a much more horror and gore theme then give this show a try, you won't be disappointed. The title itself screams blood and a lot of dead bodies. The feelings of suspense were effective and will most probably leave a petrifying memory to the young audiences—like me. Hehe!)
#1 Elfen Lied
(image source: Google.com)
The feared girl, Lucy.
Elfen Lied is about a girl named Lucy, a human with special abilities or what they referred as Diclonius. A Diclonius' special ability are its invisible arms termed as Vectors. Tortured and experimented in an isolated place, she eventually was able to escape the highly-secured building and murdered everyone who got in her way. Later on, she experiences a deep pain in her head which caused her to have two personalities—the murderous and the innocent. While on her innocent and vulnerable state, she was found by Kouta who decided to bring her home and take care of her. Little did he know that the innocent girl he just opened doors to his home can decapitate him any second her memory returns.
The story was written by Okamoto Lynn while the anime ran from July 25, 2004 to October 17, 2004 with a total of 13 episodes.
(Well, honestly, I do not like the show very much but it has the right to be included in my Halloween list because the show was totally packed with gore and gallons of blood bath. My mind was screaming every time Lucy would go ravaging against her pursuers. I wonder how many had she killed within the 13 episodes.)
Happy Halloween!
(image source: Giphy.com)
From the anime Another. Blood sprinklers? Lol.
I guess the words "blood", "horror", and "gore" were overused in this blog post.(Haha!) I am coward when it comes to 3D horror movies or those with real human cast so I'd rather settle with anime. Well, for the cowards like me, we can still enjoy without experiencing major trauma and sleepless nights! Before I forget, you might also consider the show School-Live! for Halloween!
Just a reminder though, these shows are not for kids. They may be anime but are still not suitable for them as it might influence them to do harm and other things. Again, if you are at the right age and planning to stay in your home this holiday just like me, then give one of these shows a try. Happy Halloween everyone!
Thanks for reading!
✧ Katsanslimites
