By Lucas Kloberdanz-Dyck
Thread
Your changes have been saved
Email is sent
Email has already been sent
Please verify your email address.
You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.
Manage Your List
Follow
Followed
Follow with Notifications
Follow
Unfollow
Link copied to clipboard
While the temperature drops later in the year, everyone knows the holiday season is about to begin, from Christmas to Thanksgiving. But before that, one of the most unique holidays makes its appearance: Halloween. The spooky and scary day is full of frightful events and family-fun trick-or-treating, but one of the best Halloween pastimes is enjoying movies or TV shows. Anime might not be the first thing fans think of watching on this spooky night, but the following shows might change your mind.
✕ Remove Ads
Anime is undoubtedly home to many peculiar series, whether scary, spooky, or weird. Many anime fans might want to indulge in some shows for Halloween, and these are really the best options for them. This list will feature a variety of shows, from typical scary anime to more of a family-friendly spooky vibe to some mild horror shows that evoke the essence of Halloween.
10 'Paranoia Agent' (2004)
Studio: Madhouse
✕ Remove Ads
Most fans will know Satoshi Kon for his groundbreaking anime movies, including Perfect Blue and Paprika. But what fans might not know is that the acclaimed director also tried his hand at making a TV anime called Paranoia Agent. It follows different characters and their anxiety, which gets caught up with the local menace called Lil' Slugger, a mysterious force said to knock out random civilians.
This anime doesn't add anything that makes it particularly fit for Halloween except for its scariness. Paranoia Agent isn't even a horror show, but it is still one of the scariest anime out there. This show is perfect for any fans looking for a thrill this Halloween, bringing fans into the depths of fear as it explores a disturbingly and all-too-real plot imbued with anxiety and mass hysteria. Alongside the tension, Paranoia Agent also explores fascinating societal themes.
Paranoia Agent
TV-MA
Animation
Mystery
Thriller
- Release Date
- April 14, 2011
- Cast
- Liam O'Brien , Michelle Ruff , Michael McConnohie , William Frederick Knight , Doug Stone , Carrie Savage , Erica Shaffer , Sam Riegel
- Seasons
- 1
- Writers
- Seishi Minakami
✕ Remove Ads
9 'Blue Exorcist' (2011)
Studio: A-1 Pictures
After its immense popularity in the 2010s, Blue Exorcist faded with the wind. That was until it returned in 2023 with multiple more seasons on the way. The show follows Rin Okumura, one of Satan's sons with the power of the blue flames. However, disgraced by his heritage, he uses his flames to protect those around him from evil spirits, leading him to enroll in the True Cross Academy to become an exorcist.
With fun and exciting characters, Blue Exorcist is a treat with epic action, a captivating storyline, and unique world-building.
✕ Remove Ads
Blue Exorcist isn't a horror anime but features many supernatural elements, including spirits, demons, exorcism, and a feint Halloween aesthetic. For those wanting a Halloween anime with more action and less scares, Blue Exorcist is the show to watch. With fun and exciting characters, the entire show is a treat with epic action, a captivating storyline, and unique world-building. This popular battle shonen is a great watch for supernatural lovers.
8 'Another' (2012)
Studio: P.A. Works
While Paranoia Agent is definitely scary, Another is the first actual horror anime on this list. This disturbing show follows Kouichi, who, after returning to school from the hospital, befriends a mysterious girl the others seem to shun. Kouichi soon learns of a connection between the girl and a curse set upon the class, and the two characters investigate the mystery before it claims the lives of the entire class.
✕ Remove Ads
Although Another isn't scary in the traditional sense, the anime is extremely unsettling, brutally killing off innocent characters. The show's gory nature is its biggest appeal for a Halloween watch, making it reminiscent of a cheesy slasher flick. The gruesome and unnerving killing leads to some genuinely frightening anime episodes, making it a perfect watch for fans who can stomach blood and gore this Halloween.
7 'Jujutsu Kaisen' (2020)
Studio: MAPPA
Jujutsu Kaisen needs no introduction, considering it has become the most popular anime nowadays. This popular battle shonen follows Yuji Itadori, who becomes possessed after eating the finger of an ancient demon. However, he decides to use said power for good, eating the rest of the fingers to keep them away from dangerous threats who wish to use them for evil, resulting in an epic supernatural anime.
✕ Remove Ads
Like Blue Exorcist, Jujutsu Kaisen isn't a horror anime but features enough supernatural elements to be an excellent watch for Halloween. From ghosts, demons, exorcisms, thrilling stories, and creepy moments, Jujutsu Kaisen is as close as fans will get to horror inside a battle shōnen. With stellar fights and stunning animation, Jujutsu Kaisen is one of the best anime of the 2020s and a great watch for any season if fans don't get to it this Halloween.
Jujutsu Kaisen
6 'From the New World' (2012)
Studio: A-1 Pictures
✕ Remove Ads
Whether fans recognize this show as From the New World or its Japanese name, Shinsekai Yori, they know it is full of spine-chilling horror and a tense mystery. Living in a perfect world, a group of students encounter a species known as Monster Rats, who worship those with psychic powers. However, after they believe a string of disappearances is related to the creatures, the students begin to unravel the dark truth behind their Utopia.
For fans wishing to spice up their horror watch with mystery, From the New World is the anime they seek. The dark truth behind the creation of the world is as fascinating as it is dark, with plenty of gruesome and frightening scenes to sweeten the deal. As one of the darkest anime ever, From the New World is great to watch on Halloween, containing horrific imagery, haunting scenes, scary moments, and a captivating mystery.
From the New World
- Release Date
- September 29, 2012
- Cast
- Emily Neves , Greg Ayres , David Wald , John Swasey , Chris Ayres , Monica Rial , David Matranga
- Seasons
- 1
- Writers
- Seishi Minakami , Satoshi Kon
✕ Remove Ads
5 'Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun' (2020)
Studio: Lerche
With perhaps the weirdest name on this list, Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun is about the infamous school ghost, Hanako, and a student, Nene. Hanako haunts the school bathroom and is one of the school's seven ghosts. When Nene learns Hanako can grant wishes, she unwillingly enters the supernatural world, serving as Hanako's assistant as they manage the balance between apparitions and humans.
Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun isn't a horror anime, but it deals with heavy themes such as suicide, which lends it some eerie moments. However, it is a perfect anime to watch on Halloween because of its aesthetic and themes. The art style is unique and very spooky, which goes hand in hand with the vibe of the show as it follows the group encountering ghosts and spirits. With some of the best animation in anime this decade and a chilling story, Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun is an ideal watch on Halloween.
✕ Remove Ads
4 'Uzumaki' (2024)
Studio: Akatsuki and Fugatsu
Uzumaki is the most recent anime on this list, only finishing its short run in mid-October of 2024. This new anime is the latest adaption of the legendary Junji Ito, known as the best horror mangaka, with Uzumaki being one of his best works. It takes place in a small town overrun by an ancient curse of spirals, slowly descending its residents into unsettling chaos and gruesome torturous events.
While the quality of Uzumaki spirals out of control, the show is an easy four episodes, making it a quick binge even if the later episodes aren't the best. This anime is best to watch while the trend is still hot, with mostly modern quality and many people still talking about it. With the horrible previous adaptations of Uzumaki, this anime is the best besides the manga, excelling with its eerie black-and-white art style, terrific use of sound, and graphically disturbing moments.
✕ Remove Ads
Uzumaki: Spiral into Horror
TV-MA
Animation
Mystery
Horror
- Release Date
- September 29, 2024
- Cast
- Uki Satake , Shin-ichiro Miki , Mariya Ise , Toshio Furukawa , Mika Doi , Takashi Matsuyama , Katsutoshi Matsuzaki , Tatsumaru Tachibana , Kôichi Tôchika , Ami Fukushima , Wataru Hatano
- Main Genre
- Animation
- Seasons
- 1
3 'One Piece' (1999) - Thriller Bark
Studio: Toei Animation
Fans might be confused as to why an anime like One Piece would be perfect for Halloween. While that is valid, considering the show's nature, it has one arc with a very spooky Halloween setting. Thriller Bark is one of One Piece's best arcs and among the last pre-time-skip arcs, where the Strawhats encounter a ghost ship housing a skeleton without a shadow. The crew embarks on Thriller Bark to free the shadows of thousands of people, but this task might be more difficult as they must face Gecko Moria, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
✕ Remove Ads
Putting a single arc on this list kind of feels like cheating, but considering Thriller Bark is 58 episodes long, a full anime. While most of the arc contains epic battles against towering creatures and powerful moments, it all takes place through a very spooky lens. From ghosts to zombies to Frankenstein creations, Thriller Bark gives a very traditional, family-friendly Halloween vibe, making it perfect for fans to enjoy a comfortable Halloween viewing. Alas, fans will have to have seen the rest of the anime for this arc to make sense.
One Piece
TV-14
Action
Adventure
Comedy
Drama
Fantasy
Super Power
- Release Date
- October 20, 1999
- Cast
- Mayumi Tanaka , Kazuya Nakai , Akemi Okamura , Kappei Yamaguchi , Hiroaki Hirata , Ikue Ôtani , Yuriko Yamaguchi , Kazuki Yao , Chō
- Seasons
- 20
- Writers
- Junki Takegami , Shoji Yonemura , Hirohiko Uesaka
2 'Shiki' (2010)
Studio: Daume
✕ Remove Ads
The last horror anime on this list, Shiki is a terrifying series set in the unassuming small town of Sotoba. After the shocking death of a young girl due to disease, the residents start to notice more and more people falling victim. When the doctor begins to think something sinister is afoot, a group of friends investigate the cause, leading them to the new family in the mansion and undead vampires.
Horror movies and shows are best watched on Halloween, and Shiki is the perfect anime for that. Many fans view Shiki as one of the scariest anime, so horror fans would be amiss not to watch this haunting show. Horror in anime doesn't have the greatest track record; it never feels quite scary enough. Shiki takes time to get going, but that slow burn is exactly what makes the horror so intense, making it the best-made horror anime.
Shiki
TV-MA
Anime
Drama
Horror
- Release Date
- June 27, 2010
- Cast
- Tôru Ohkawa , Koki Uchiyama , Kazuyuki Okitsu , Wataru Takagi , Yasuaki Takumi , Izumi Sawada , Nozomi Sasaki , Haruka Nagashima
- Seasons
- 1
✕ Remove Ads
Shiki is currently not available to stream in the U.S.
1 'Soul Eater' (2008)
Studio: Bones
With Shiki taking the highest spot on this list for a horror anime, Soul Eater beats it out by delivering the best spooky experience in anime. In a world haunted by witches, ghouls, demons, and countless other creatures, students learn to be shinigami and their scythes in order to get rid of these monsters. The anime follows a group of students as they collect the souls of demons and one witch to become a fully-fledged shinigami and death scythe.
✕ Remove Ads
No anime has a spooky aesthetic like Soul Eater, making it the absolute perfect option to watch on Halloween, even if it isn't scary. It is definitively spooky, with no other anime matching its purely Halloween aesthetic. To compare it to Western media, Soul Eater is as close as fans will get to Tim Burton in anime, having the perfect Halloween vibes and a ton of action. This anime is an excellent recommendation for shōnen fans. With its spooky atmosphere, ghoulish enemies, haunting setting, and quirky characters, Soul Eater should be on every Halloween lover's watch list.
NEXT: The 10 Scariest Anime Episodes, Ranked
- Anime
- From the New World
- Uzumaki
Your changes have been saved
Email is sent
Email has already been sent
Please verify your email address.
You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.
Manage Your List
Follow
Followed
Follow with Notifications
Follow
Unfollow