Whether it be a fun slice of life for a relaxing watch or a fantasy show for a bit of escapism, there’s ananimefor everyone. However, there are thousands of great shows to choose from and although it’s not ideal, often time, a book is judged by its cover.
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When scrolling through cover art after cover art, it can be easy to pick an anime out purely for its aesthetic. However, looks can be deceiving, and sometimes, one can get more than they bargained for. Behind an adorable aesthetic or elegant art style can lie a much more sinister plot. Here are the top anime series that take viewers for anunexpectedly dark turn.
Updated on June 04, 2025 by Christine Mendoza: There willalways be a market for darker-themed animeseries that are a bit unsuspecting at the beginning; and with a few brand-new titles that have entered the scene, there are some new great shows to choose from.
In order to keep anime fans more up-to-date with this very niche genre, a few key titles (some old, some new) have been added for more variety. Along with each title, the series status, release year, and a number of current (released) episodes are listed for the convenience of the reader; with certain series being ongoing and only having their current season listed.
15School-Live!
School-Live!revolves around the daily school life of cheerful protagonist Yuki Takeya and her friends, Kurumi, Yuri, and Miki. Yuki and her friends all attend Megurigaoka Private School and are all members of the school’s Living Club.
While Yuki seems cheerful and carefree, enjoying the fun school activities, her friends are protecting her and shielding her from a dark secret she chose to turn a blind eye to. In reality, Yuki and her friends are all the solesurvivors of a zombie outbreakwithin their city. Poor Yuki suffered a mental breakdown after the outbreak and has created her own version of reality to keep herself sane; believing her friends and family all to be safe and sound. Meanwhile, Yuki’s friends are tasked with protecting her, going out on dangerous missions, and risking their lives just to live another day.
14Tokyo Revengers
At the beginning it may seem as if protagonist Takemichi is a lucky guy, being able to relive the nostalgic moments of his youth once again but asTokyo Revengersprogresses, it’s clear that there’s a very dark reason he was suddenly sent back to the past.
The series begins with a joyful (yet confused) Takemichi time traveling back to his carefree middle school days when his friend group was still together andhis first love, Hinata Tachibana, was still his sweetheart. Takemichi eventually realizes that the reason he had been sent back into time was to change the events of the past in order to prevent the murder of Hinata that would eventually happen sometime in the future. The series quickly shifts gears from a happy, nostalgic youth, to one filled with pain, loss, and dangerous gang fights.
13Happy Sugar Life
With a name likeHappy Sugar Life, the series comes off as a cheery, feel-good show to watch with the entire family; but in reality, its first impression couldn’t be farther from the truth.Happy Sugar Lifetells the story of Sato Matsuzaka, a high school student who one day befriends a young girl named Shio. Eventually, Sato becomes overly attached to the young Shio and takes her in to live with her after learning that Shio had been abandoned by her family.
The series and its cast deal with heavy subject matter as Sato’s eventualobsession with Shio becomes violentand causes her to turn to various crimes as well as commit murder just to preserve her relationship with Shio.Happy Sugar Lifedeals with deeply traumatic subject matter despite its cutesy aesthetic, making sure audiences think twice before making any hasty assumptions based on quick first impressions.
12Chainsaw Man
WhileChainsaw Mandoesn’t exactly begin with sunshine and rainbows, it somehow turns its dark story into something even more sinister. The story revolves around Denji and his little pal, Pochita,who just happens to be a chainsaw devil. Being stuck in a life of debt, Denji and Pochita have nothing but each other and work on repaying their enormous debt by hunting devils.
After one day being betrayed by those Denji once trusted, he and Pochita find themselves fused together with Pochita sacrificing himself to become Denji’s heart. After being given no choice but to join forces with the Public Safety Devil Hunters under the mysterious Makima’s command, Denji somehow finds himself surrounded by bloodshed, grief, and tyranny, as he begins missing the simplicity of his old life.
11Fruits Basket
On the surface,Fruits Basketlooks like a fun and relaxing slice-of-life anime about dating, school life, and the power of friendship, but protagonist Tohru Honda’s story deals with surprisingly deep and heavy issues of life.
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Initially, the seriesrevolves around the Sohma family cursewhich entails twelve members of the family being possessed by Chinese Zodiac spirits. These specific members of the Sohma family are burdened with suddenly transforming into their zodiac animal against their will, making for some awkward interactions. While there are more fantastical aspects in the series, eventually, Tohru is faced with very real-life problems such as grief, family trauma, controlling emotions, and the acceptance of others.
10School Days
Based on avisual novel from 2005,School Daysmay be one of the most unsuspecting series with an incredibly dark turn towards its end. Although the original game has more than one ending, the conclusion the anime decided to run with was one of the darkest of all of them.
School Daysbegins innocent enough; a typical high school drama about infatuation, desire, and unreciprocated feelings. However, as therelationships become messyand partners become unfaithful, the plot begins to take a very grim turn. Although a great deal of the series ends up exploring many heavy issues and adult content, it’s the contrast betweenSchool Days' first episodeand its big finale that highlights how easily small decisions can lead to horrific outcomes.
9Fullmetal Alchemist
A true classic,Fullmetal Alchemist,followed the Elric brothers in the whimsical world where alchemy is a very real and rather common practice. While Edward and Alphonse bring comedic relief to the plot with their loveable personalities, the dark tone slowly settles in as their journey progresses and their past is revealed. The world of alchemy isn’t all about fulfilling every wish with magic; it is all about equal exchange after all.
Diehard fans will never forget the moment they met poor littleNina and her adorable dog, Alexander. It’s no doubt that this moment set the tone for how horrific the rest of the series could be.
8Shinsekai Yori (From The New World)
The genre ofhumans developing superhuman abilitieshas been explored in many different ways through different lenses. However, many of the shows tend to romanticize the world and focus only on the good rather than the incredible amount of crime and destruction that could be committed with these newfound powers.
Shinsekai Yorimay begin ordinarily enough but as Saki Watanabe begins to notice the disappearances of her classmates, her story begins to grow dangerous. While a school full of psychic and gifted children may seem unoffending enough, the story then delves into something much darker; with mercy killings, demons, and even government and military uprisings.
7Persona 4: The Animation
AlthoughPersona 4was an incredibly successful game, many fans have yet to watch the anime that was made alongside it. Much like the game, the anime focuses on the sentimental value behind each relationship formed with those around the player; or in this case, the protagonist, Yu Narukami.
While the anime initially indulges audiences with interesting and bright characters, showcasing their loveable and unique personalities, it slowly begins to show its hand. As the series progresses,Persona 4starts to pit each character against the most uncomfortable insecurities they have about themselves; acknowledging how even the cheeriest faces have secrets they struggle to deal with on a daily basis.
6Devilman Crybaby
This Netflix anime perhaps didn’t fool viewers straight away as it presents itself as a rather dark anime right from the beginning. Although the first few episodes ofDevilman Crybabyaren’t exactly PG, they’re much more lighthearted than the last few chapters.
Akira Fudo is a young high school student that undergoes a terrifying transformation that leaves him half-man, half-demon. Around the halfway point of the series,Devilman Crybaby(somehow) becomes much, much darker;not just in terms of violence but emotional weight.
