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GOod horror anime


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animonkey



Joined: 11 Oct 2005
Posts: 115
PostPosted: Mon Dec 19, 2005 6:08 pm Reply with quote
What are some good horror animes that are availalbe to purchase in the USA?
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Vash_the_Stamp3d3



Joined: 20 Jan 2005
Posts: 154
PostPosted: Wed Dec 21, 2005 12:04 am Reply with quote
Well if you didn't happen to catch it when it aired on [adult swim] Paranoia Agent is an excellent one that comes to mind. Heres the synopsis:

An elementary school kid dubbed with the title "shounen bat" or "lil slugger" has been going around attacking people with bats. Now two detectives are investigating so they can stop this kid from any more attacks... but they will find out soon enough, that this case is much more than they can handle.

Also heres the link for the ANN Encyclopedia entry.

It was the first and only "horror" anime I have seen. I guess I could say Hellsing, but thats more "action" kinda like the movie Underworld, it involves Vampires and what not, but more gun blazing than trying to scare you.
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Digital Dreamer



Joined: 21 Dec 2005
Posts: 287
Location: Sydney, Australia
PostPosted: Wed Dec 21, 2005 1:17 am Reply with quote
Better Man - It's a mecha anime. However there was allot really freaky super science in that show that just got under skin that got me scared or disturbed in parts.
My house mate was following the show too, and he was commenting that there lots of parts

Examples
spoiler[There was one part where the main characters where at a morge. Afterwards they were having a rather large lunch, and it was rather suggestive that they were really eating humans at this place. ]
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AnimeGreen0813



Joined: 16 Jan 2006
Posts: 39
PostPosted: Mon Jan 16, 2006 8:56 pm Reply with quote
A good title that comes to my mind is Devil Lady. In it, model Jun Fudo must fight off monster beast invasions as a monster babe herself(ironic, ain't it).

The first disc alone kept me cringing again and again with all its blood and gore and monster activity. It also has the best action and scariest monsters. Before I knew it, after I purchased the first two discs, I got all the others and kept myself rooting for Jun.

And dare I say, as a monster babe, Jun looks hot.What would you expect from manga madman Go Nagai.
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one3rd



Joined: 28 Jul 2003
Posts: 1818
Location: アメリカ
PostPosted: Mon Jan 16, 2006 9:23 pm Reply with quote
I would recommend Requiem From The Darkness. It's kind of based around some kind of folk tales, whether actual previously existing stories or stories made up specifically for the show. The art style is really unique and adds to the creepy feel of the show. Really dark, bold lines and shadowing. It's a short series too, so it wouldn't require much financial committment either.
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joel_s95387



Joined: 29 Jun 2005
Posts: 1804
Location: California... The Village Hidden In The Porn
PostPosted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 4:23 am Reply with quote
I hate classify-ing anime under horror because to me anime can't be scarry but if you mean dark atmosphere with super natural elements and crazy stories:

Boogiepop Phantom comes to mind. A really dark story where almost all 12 episodes are connected with crazy/trippy but great stories.

Paranoia Agent is also very good. Requiem From The Darkness is one of my favorite anime, I really love the art style and the stories are great.

If you want "hide under the covers" horror I can't recommend anything but these are really dark stories that will keep you interested and may even make you think... very scary.
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PantsGoblin
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Joined: 27 Jun 2005
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Location: L.A.
PostPosted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 4:37 am Reply with quote
Oh, I have a horror anime here... with one hell of a confusing story that is very hard to follow. It also has quite the unique style of art. Yes, I'm talking about Soul Taker. Watch the first episode, it's a guarenteed "WTF". Although if by chance you are able to understand it's story and are able put up with it's out of the ordinary art style, I think it's actually a very good anime. Getting past those two parts is pretty hard for most people though.
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miu



Joined: 12 Apr 2004
Posts: 63
Location: Denver, CO
PostPosted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 10:05 am Reply with quote
I don't know if most people would classify it as "horror anime", but I thought the horror elements of FMA were very well done, and actually a larger part of the series than I expected.

To me most anime that actually classifies itself as horror just tries too hard (just like most horror movies in the US actually). It's not scary if you have to keep reminding us how scary it is.
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birgritte



Joined: 05 Dec 2005
Posts: 20
Location: Arizona
PostPosted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 11:38 am Reply with quote
I agree with Miu completely. I generally veer away from anime and live-action that are labeled as horror, primarily because they seem to try too hard to be scary and shocking.

However, this doesn't mean that I have an aversion to all that is horror under the sun. Quite the contrary, I really enjoy when horror elements are intertwined in a drama, action and etc. anime.

Here are two that have, as Joel puts it, "dark atmospheres with super natural elements and crazy stories."

1. Fullmetal Alchemist - Incredible characterization and plot development with much fantastical and horror elements interwoven in the story. I would watch this any day of the week over something like Hellsing (unless you dig the vampire genre).

2. Elfen Lied - A very dark and gory, but exquisite short series. One of THE most intensely emotional shows that I have ever seen. It's beautifully haunting and visually magnificent with the perfect theme song that sticks with you, long after you've seen the show. Granted, the "comic relief" is a bit hokey and plain weird, but the overall characterization and plot build-up are tremendous.
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jousha



Joined: 16 Jan 2006
Posts: 205
Location: the floating world
PostPosted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 3:25 pm Reply with quote
Monster is supposed to be a horror anime, but I'm not sure if it's good or not; I'd check it out, though, since there are very few (known) horror animes in general. Not sure if it's in the US yet, though.

I guess Elfen Lied could be classified as horror (creepy aspects, scary moments, and gore), and that's a really good series.

Um, the genre seems to be very scarce in the anime department, though Japan's live-action horror flicks are abundant (The Ring, Dark Water, etc.--a lot of movies remade in the US). There was even one that dealt with snails and spirals--kinda bizarre, but supposedly creepy.
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joel_s95387



Joined: 29 Jun 2005
Posts: 1804
Location: California... The Village Hidden In The Porn
PostPosted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 2:58 am Reply with quote
birgritte wrote:
Here are two that have, as Joel puts it, "dark atmospheres with super natural elements and crazy stories."


I´m confused. Is that an insult?

But anyway I´m surprised no one has mentioned Blood The Last Vampire. Very creepy Vampire short film (It´s only 40min. so I consider it a short film). Short but really well done. The animation is really good and so is the story/adventure. I liked how the audio track is both English and Japanese because it takes place in two different continents so the languages are on one track. The vampires are scary looking too. I´ve heard that Blood+ is the TV series to this movie but I think it´s not available in the United States yet.

Lunar Legend Tsukihime is also pretty dark and creepy but more of a mystery. There are vampires and demons which is why it might be considered horror. It is slow paced with little action but I really liked the story.

Isn´t Soul Taker action? I don´t remember being scared one bit. Might as well call any anime with transforming enemies horror, Samurai Deeper Kyo. I think Elfen Lied is almost in the same category as Tsukihime but more action, gore, and nudity.
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PantsGoblin
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Joined: 27 Jun 2005
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 3:13 am Reply with quote
joel_s95387 wrote:
Isn´t Soul Taker action? I don´t remember being scared one bit.


Well, it had "dark atmospheres with super natural elements and crazy stories.". They also classify it as a horror in the encyclopedia. It seemed close enough to me. Anyway, I don't think there's any anime that really classifies as horror. Live-action is far better at horror than any animation could be IMO.
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joel_s95387



Joined: 29 Jun 2005
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Location: California... The Village Hidden In The Porn
PostPosted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 3:23 am Reply with quote
I guess your right I did overlook my own definition for horror anime thanks for pointing that out. I thought Soul Taker was a good series, and so did a couple of friends, so you might want to check it out. Don´t check the ANN review on it because they gave it a horrible score and bash on the art style which I thought was awesome. It was unique but the art style made it even darker.

I first saw the series on TechTV, before the G4 merger, and they gave it the Gungrave treatment, or I guess it would be Gungrave got the Soul Taker treatment, where widescreen was compressed to fullscreen and it was heavily edited and sometimes I couldn´t tell up from down but I still liked the series a lot. I suggest getting it on DVD though because it was a whole better, but then again so is every anime, and I don´t think the anime´s that TechTV aired back then will be aired any time soon on G4/TechTV.
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birgritte



Joined: 05 Dec 2005
Posts: 20
Location: Arizona
PostPosted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 1:10 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
Quote:
birgritte wrote:
Here are two that have, as Joel puts it, "dark atmospheres with super natural elements and crazy stories."


I´m confused. Is that an insult?


No, no. Actually, Joel, I really liked your description of horror, so I was giving you credit Anime smile I didn't intend for my remark to sound like an insult.

I think the term horror (in regards to movie genres) can be rather vague and difficult to define, so it was nice to have you articulate what actually constitutes horror.
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Azathrael



Joined: 12 Sep 2005
Posts: 745
PostPosted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 7:33 pm Reply with quote
birgritte wrote:

1. Fullmetal Alchemist - Incredible characterization and plot development with much fantastical and horror elements interwoven in the story. I would watch this any day of the week over something like Hellsing (unless you dig the vampire genre)..


I actually agree with this suggestion. Regardless of its official rating, it's amazing to see that FMA isn't categorized as "horror"... Two kids trying to revive their dead mother? Losing the younger brother's entire body and two limbs of the older brother due to their failed attempt? What the hell do you call that if it's not horror? Shrug.

I'm not really into horror anime but I heard Jigoku Shoujo is one good horror anime... It won't be out on DVD for a while though, since it's still being released in Japan.
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