I'm a big Junji Ito fan, but I haven't really found any good anime that come close to matching the creepiness of his manga stories, including that one Junji Ito anime series that's out there. I think the closest I've seen is Mononoke, though honestly I haven't seen a ton of anime, so maybe I'm missing something. I thought I'd ask to see what you all might suggest in terms of genuinely creepy/unsettling/dark anime movies or series, either similar to Ito's stuff or whatever else you think is good.

Any suggestions?

  • YiffingInTheNameOf [he/him,comrade/them]
    ·
    2 years ago

    I was just looking for the same thing earlier this week.

    Started Gantz after seeing it recommended a few times. Whole lotta tits, and the horror is always offset by how goofy the main characters are (at least in the first few episodes). The gore is sort of fun and the sci-fi elements are genuinely upsetting and bring up some interesting questions about identity.

    Gave Higurashi a go when I started feeling uncomfortable with the SA-positive vibes of Gantz. The horror elements are incredibly well done. There is some legitimate tension and the sound design is great. Sadly, everything not horror-related is cutesy/tweensy and that was really irritating to me as I have never been into that whole aesthetic.

    • pooh [she/her, love/loves]
      ·
      2 years ago

      The only thing I know about Gantz is that onion kid scene, but I should probably research it a bit more.

      I haven’t really looked into Higurashi at all, but I probably should.

      I was just looking for the same thing earlier this week.

      You might like Mononoke if you haven’t seen it already. It’s very different from Ito’s stuff in its style, but is pretty decent horror in its own right. It sort of blends surrealism, horror, and Japanese folklore, and is pretty unsettling at times. They were pulled off of the legit streaming sites for some reason, but I think they’re all on YouTube.