Disturbing Anime's You Shouldn't Watch

Do you love horror? If yes, then we are the same, for me, horror gives me the thrills and delusions of the fantasy things you could do in a fantasy world. But some horror's especially in anime's are just too disturbing to watch for some people. Here are some disturbing anime you shouldn't watch.

1.) HIGURASHI NO NAKU KORO NI (WHEN THEY CRY)

Maebara Keiichi, an ordinary high school boy, has just transferred to the local school of Hinamizawa, a small rural village. He leads a quiet peaceful life and he becomes friends with a group of what-they-seem-to-be innocent and kind schoolgirls. Suddenly, after a series of bizarre events that happen in the mysterious city of Hinamizawa, he becomes entangled in a never-ending cycle of violence, fear, and death.

This anime is an absolute masterpiece when it comes to disturbing content. In the beginning, it might look weird and uneventful but trust me, the things that you will see later on will traumatize you forever. As someone who has seen a fair amount of anime in my life, I have never seen anything quite like the gore and violence of Higurashi. It made me cringe so much and to this day I will never forget the intensity and obscenity of some scenes. No doubt, the girls on the show will bring you nightmares.

2.) SERIAL EXPERIMENTS LAIN

Lain Iwakura, an introverted fourteen-year-old girl receives an email from her classmate Chisa, who recently committed suicide. As she opens the email, she is lead into the Wired (what we know as the internet) where she encounters a lot of cryptic mysteries and events. The line between the Wired and reality becomes more and more unclear as Lain starts questioning her identity and her own consciousness.

The ultimate mindfuck. I don’t think I can word it any differently. Serial Experiments Lain is an anime that revels in confusing the hell out of the viewer. It follows a very ‘experimental’ style that shows that anime doesn’t have to be violent in order to be creepy and disturbing. In scenes where everything seems lifeless, long periods of silence, or nothing else but noise along with tons of metaphorical dialogues, Serial Experiments Lain will definitely get to you. It is not an easy show to follow as it is quite slow-paced, and in my humble opinion, it needs to be seen more than once to fully understand and experience its beauty.

3.) ANOTHER

The year is 1998, and Kouichi Sakakibara has just transferred in Yomiyama North Middle School’s class 3-3, where twenty six years ago, something terrible happened to the talented student named Misaki and suddenly passed away. Ever since each third-year class lives in fear of the tragic event. As Kouichi tries to grasp the situation, he is drawn to the enigmatic girl named Misaki and everyone around him warns him not to get involved with her. As he starts to become closer to Misaki and to the truth behind the gruesome events that happened years ago, people start to violently die.

Clever plot and outstanding animation. Another combines both a terrifying story and violence that is once again not for those with a weak stomach. Even though I was left quite disappointed by the end of the story and sometimes thought that the mystery and puzzles didn’t really come together, I still think that Another has some of the most disturbing scenes I have seen so far. If gruesome deaths with a lot of blood scenes are your cup of tea, then Another is surely a must-watch for you.

4.) ELFEN LIED

Kouta, the main character, along with Yuka, find and save this girl, Nyu, the result of an experiment that has gone terribly wrong that has the form of an innocent young girl, naked in the beach who seems to have no memories of her past plus she can hardly speak. Little did they know that by taking her home, she would change their lives forever as it a matter of time before the murderer in her awakens once again.

Elfen Lied is uhm… is a weird experience. This anime honestly doesn’t give a shit about decency. Overly excessively gore grotesque amount of nudity, and a rather engaging plot. If you can last through the first half of the first episode, then yes, you can definitely watch this no problem. Although it is infamous for its cruelty, gore, innovative ideas, and thought-provoking themes, and it can be considered a work of art in its own way, at the end of the day it really lacks depth and meaning. The violence in this will definitely make it disturbing but other than that (except the beautiful opening of the show with recreations of Gustav Klimt’s art) its uniqueness can’t make up for the poor execution of the storyline.

5.) BABYLON

Zen, Seizaki, a public prosecutor at Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, is investigating a case of illegal clinical research related to a drug company and a university. During the investigation, he finds a file that Shin Inaba, an anesthesiologist, kept, which includes blood that is mixed with hair, skin, and a paper written with letter F. As he investigates, he realized there's a hidden plot that is connected with a huge election as well as to a certain person who is in charge of it. It's a must-watch anime, it will make you think much.

6.) PARANOIA AGENT

In the streets of Tokyo, there is a new menace that everyone is talking about. A young boy by the name of Shounen Bat wears roller skates and a baseball cap and likes to whack people on the head with a golden baseball bat. As more and more people fall victim to the notorious golden bat, the news starts to circulate around town and the police try to find out if there is a pattern to all this chaos.

Yet another mind-fucking plot that is definitely not easy or straightforward. Satoshi Kon is very well known for his weird style and unusually strange works and Paranoia Agent is a very good example of his insanity. This anime is trippy, and even though many won’t find it scary enough, it can definitely be very creepy. With an opening that will really make you feel uncomfortable, an excellent narrative, and a very ‘experimental’ vibe to it, this anime is very inspiring and presents a very alternative way of making horror.

7.) CORPSE PARTY TORTURED SOULS

One rainy night after a school festival, friends gather up to perform a charm that will unite them forever as friends. Once the ritual of the charm is performed, they are suddenly transported to Heavenly Host, an elementary school that was destroyed years ago due to a series of murders that took place. As they try to regroup and escape from the living nightmare they found themselves in, they soon find out that they are actually at the mercy of the vengeful ghosts of the past.

A very well written story with incredibly disturbing art. This show can be so grotesque that it will probably make you vomit a couple of times. I think it represents horror at its best and it highly succeeds in making you feel as trapped as the main characters. If you really like this OVA miniseries, I would suggest and highly recommend that you play the actual Corpse Party games, that are literally so creepy that you will need to take breaks before continuing to the next chapters.

8.) MONSTER

Kenzo Tenma is a Japanese renowned surgeon that works in Europe and follows a great life. Beautiful fiancée, a good job with a big promotion on its way, but everything changes as he comes to deal with a great dilemma: should he save the life of a very influential and important person or the life of an innocent child? As he chose to save the child, he, later on, realizes that his decision damages not only his prospects but unleashes a chain of horrific events, with murders pointing out to the very child he once saved.

This is an absolute masterpiece of a story. I have never seen anything quite like Monster before. The well-paced plot, realistic setting, and truly amazing characters will leave you on the edge of your seat. This horror series does not involve extreme violence or gore, it just has such an amazing storyline that will make you feel weirdly disturbed and uncomfortable. Johan Liebert, the main antagonist of the show will make you realize that there is nothing more horrific than the human mind itself.