Top 10 Most Terrifying Scenes in Anime

“Wicked City” (1987)
Fellas, you may want to look away now. In a world where demonic creatures from the Black World live in secret among humans, it’s not uncommon for some accidental interspecies intercourse to take place once in a while. Unfortunately, one gentleman finds himself in said situation when a night of hanky panky goes horribly awry and his lady friend reveals herself to be part spider. Well, that’s certainly one way to kill the mood.

“Elfen Lied” (2004)
Lucy hasn’t had the easiest life. With a traumatic childhood filled with experimentation and imprisonment, you’d expect her to be a little angry. After escaping from her captivity, she’s torn apart guards, scientists and anyone else who gets in her way. One person who gets a particularly tough break from her is the special force soldier, Bando. With her numerous vectors allowing her slice apart through literally anything, you can expect the worst here.

“Psycho Pass” (2012-13)
The terror in this particular scene has a duality to it that will not only spook you, but also leave you feeling unnerved. In a dystopian future where every state of mind is monitored, much of the populace’s humanity has been lost with it, evident when a masked killer beats a woman to death in the street in plain view of a large crowd. And they do nothing but watch. The brutality of the attack itself mixed with the shocking nonchalant attitude of passers-by creates something truly harrowing to behold.

“The End of Evangelion” (1997)
It’s fair to say that the ending to the original Neon Genesis Evangelion series was not to everyone’s taste, which was why fans had such high hopes for this cinematic retelling to the conclusion of Shinji, Asuka and Rei’s story. The result is certainly fitting of the Evangelion mythos, in that its shocking, slightly confusing and utterly apocalyptic. The most terrifying part of all? When all the characters you’ve grown to love get turned into orange goop.

“Parasyte” (2014-15)
Alien infestations in anime can be hit or miss in terms of the scare factor. The parasites, however, more than earn their place as one of creepiest and deadliest extra-terrestrials to ever grace the small screen. Not only do they bring paranoia to the forefront by taking over the bodies of friends and family members, but they also have the nasty tendency of turning their hosts into living weapons. Shinichi discovers both of these aspects first hand when he’s confronted by his potentially-infected mother.

“Re:Zero” (2016)
Despite managing to bring himself back from the dead on multiple occasions, our unlucky protagonist Subaru cannot help but retain the mental scars he suffers from his various demises. One of the worst comes when he encounters the Witch’s Cult, who not only brutalised and imprisoned him, but tortured the adorable maid Rem to death as well. Seeing her die in a contorted state right before his eyes breaks what’s left of Subaru’s mind.

“Berserk” (1997)
In a single, haunting moment, the character of Griffith went from being a graceful and slightly dubious man of honour to one of the most heartless villains in all of anime. In exchange for being granted the chance to become one of the God Hand, Griffith chooses to sacrifice the entire Band of the Hawk, where they are then systematically torn apart and devoured by an army of Apostles. If the massacre of several hundred soldiers isn’t enough to make you shudder, then what follows brings a whole different kind of horror.

“Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor” (2007-11)
As is always the case with gambling, you win or you lose, plain and simple. Except in the case of Kaiji Ito, losing sometimes equates to giving up an appendage or two. To clear his debts, Kaiji agrees to enter a series of lethal games where he has the chance to win big. As you might expect, the tension in these scenarios is palpable, with Kaiji always just a slip away from losing everything. In this particular case…he does, along with the majority of his fingers. Everyone’s luck runs out eventually.

“Higurashi When They Cry” (2006)
While on the surface this looks like your average anime about a group of innocent-looking girls and their everyday antics, it soon becomes very apparent that it’s actually downright disturbing. From the murders to the various rewinding timelines, Shion, Rika, Rena and the others go from adorable to monstrous in the blink of an eye. One particularly disturbing time was when Rika took her own life in the most unorthodox of manners.

Before we reveal our number one pick, here are a few honrouble mentions.

Yuno Snaps
“Future Diary” (2011-12)

Acid Spray
“Deadman Wonderland” (2011)

Kaneki’s Torture
“Tokyo Ghoul” (2014-15)

“Barefoot Gen” (1983)
This film chronicles the life of a Japanese family following the unspeakable events of Hiroshima during the Second World War, and while their hardships truly break your heart, what leaves you breathless is watching the bomb drop on the city. Hiroshima and its people melt before our very eyes in excruciating detail, all the while the sense of panic and hopelessness rages on. What’s most frightening about this scene is not only its grizzly visuals, but knowing that it was an actual part of human history.