Top 10 Nightmare Fuel Anime Scenes
For this list, we'll be looking at the times in anime where the content was so horrific or otherwise unsettling that it stayed with us long after we closed our eyes. Prepare for spoilers and all manner of unpleasant content ahead!
10: Jinmen’s Shell
“Devilman: The Demon Bird” (1990) While Devilman Crybaby has no shortage of scenes that will leave you hollow inside, it’s this particular incarnation that wins out over others in the nightmare fuel department; all thanks to the introduction of the infamous demon turtle Jinmen. After an ominous build-up, we see the distorted faces of Jinmen’s victims appear one by one, including Akira’s mother, until it’s revealed they’re all part of his hideous looking shell. Not only does this make for a handy shield, but also a creepy-as-hell collage.
9: Connie’s Hometown
“Attack on Titan” (2013-) The Titans have caused no small amount of devastation to humanity’s last strongholds, though the desolation of Connie Springer’s hometown took on a whole new dimension of unnerving. As a group of Survey Corp members scour the town in search of life, they discover it has become completely deserted…save for a single Titan that bears a striking resemblance to Connie’s mother. Not only does this further the mystery surrounding these humanoid monstrosities, but also paints a pretty bleak picture of what befell the civilians here. Sucks to be Connie.
8: Rena’s Rampage
“When They Cry” (2006) Word of advice lads, if you see a high school girl walking towards you with a giant cleaver and a dead look in her eyes; don’t stand around like Keiichi and instead get the hell out of there! Climbing her way up the bloody pile to become the most terrifying of the anime’s cast of killer ladies, Rena’s crowing moment of creepiness came when she decided to hunt down her crush. If the cleaver doesn’t do it for you, then the echoing sound of Rena’s laughter as she chases Keiichi down certainly will. Mess with a waifu, she’ll take your laifu.
7: Ayy LMAO
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“Serial Experiments Lain” (1998) Don’t you just hate it when aliens walk in unannounced. As if Lain didn’t have enough emotional hardships to deal with, her investigations into the online world of The Wired soon sends her down quite the rabbit hole, the highlight of which would have to be when she received a rather unexpected visitor. Seemingly alone with her thoughts, Lain suddenly finds her little sanctum intruded upon by an alien in a sweater, only for him to vanish a second later. As perplexing as it is unexpected, E.T’s smile will have you reaching for the nearest plasma rifle.
6: Identity Crisis
“Perfect Blue” (1998) Exploring the dark side of consumer and media culture, this classic anime flick wasn’t only ahead of its time in its portrayal of the horror that can come from those with warped realities, but also delivered on a nail-biting finale. Ex-idol Mima’s desperate attempts to free herself of her stalker and keep her sanity reaches boiling point when she is set upon by her manager, who has also suffered a psychotic breakdown and now believes that she is the real Mima. Thus we have our chase scene, one filled with all manner of haunting imagery as both women succumb to their delusions.
5: The Third Impact
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“The End of Evangelion” (1997) It’s the end of the world as we know it, and nobody is coming out unscathed. Prepare your soul for such wondrous sights as Asuna getting torn limb from bloody limb by EVA Units, everyone in the NERV facility get shot down like dogs, a giant version of Rei, and of course all of humanity turning into orange soda. Don’t expect any other kind of happy ending though, as the last image this film will sear into your brain is that of our lead strangling the life out of Asuna amidst an orange hellscape. Lovely.
4: Curse of the Abyss
“Made in Abyss” (2017) Nanachi and Mitty’s backstory is not for the faint of heart. Tempted with the promise of safety, these two doomed orphans were swept away by the White Whistle Bondrewd, only to find themselves used as experiments to test the effects of the Abyss’s lowest layer. Needless to say, the effects were horrific. While Nanachi ended up becoming the fluffy hollow we all know and love, Mitty was reduced to a bubbling blob of flesh in the most agonising way possible. You can kind of see why people hate Bondrewd now…
3: The Worm Room
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“Fate/Zero” (2011-12) As soon as we saw the seemingly lifeless body of Sakura Matou being ravaged by hundreds of disgusting, mana-eating worms, we knew we were not in for a light-hearted fantasy romp. While the visual alone is enough to leave you wanting to vomit, the knowledge that her demon of a grandfather has had her imprisoned in there for days on end is utterly heart-breaking, bringing a new dimension to the Fate-verse’s most tragic character. We can’t blame Kariya for wanting to take her place in order to save her, but it’s fair to say the damage had already been done. Both to Sakura and to our eyes.
2: Death of the Thieves
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“Overlord” (2015-18) Leave it to Bone Daddy Ains to do bad better than the rest of the series’ bad guys combined. After creating a tempting scenario to test the defences of Nazarick, various groups of thieves plunge themselves into the heart of the Great Tomb in search of greater riches. Not heeding Ains’ warnings proves to be their undoing, as all of them end up meeting some truly disgusting fates. Some are devoured by a tidal way of cockroaches, others are sent off to be used as experiments to further Nazarick’s power…as well as that one poor soul who became Neuronist’s plaything. We’ll take death by giant hamster over that any day…
1: The Eclipse
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“Berserk” (1997-98) Griffith’s betrayal not only broke a lot of hearts…but it also resulted in a lot of broken bodies as well. In order to achieve his dream, the White Hawk decided to accept the God Hands’ offer; sacrificing all of his allies in exchange for unlimited power. Thus began the slaughter, with the Band of the Hawk being killed left and right by hungry apostles. Of course, nothing compared the sight of Griffith violating Casca just to spite Guts. It’s hellish to behold, and we’re hoping that it will one day lead to some oh so sweet vengeance. Until then, we’ll just have to put up with the nightmares.
