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Action as a genre tends to be a widely appreciated category, often with favorites including the beloved fantasy-adventure One Piece or the supernatural comedy Slug. Alternatively, the genre of horror oftentimes can be mistakenly seen as its antithesis since there tend to be somewhat more subtle threats, from the unknown enemy lurking in the shadows of Perfect Blue to the more suspenseful contemplations of the oddly colorful supernatural mystery series Mononoke. But what do you get when these two genres combine?
When the exhilaration of action-packed excitement meets the wide variety of types of horrors that can plague the mind and body with strange, nightmarish threats, the combination makes for some viscerally thrilling outcomes. From combatting hellish monsters to struggling with inner demons, the fights in these series are just pure, nonstop, horrific action. And as much as the main characters and innocent bystanders alike would rather not have to face such terrors, when push comes to impalement, forceful actions speak louder than cursed words.
1) Hellsing Ultimate
Hellsing, headed by Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, is an organization that specializes in the supernatural extermination of creatures of darkness threatening humanity. However, even with a vast military armed with powerful weapons, there is one weapon that stands fathoms above any other that Integra prides herself on in wielding: the vampire Alucard. Being one of the very monsters the supernatural extermination organization intends to eliminate, Alucard presents a power that gives Hellsing the upper hand in any fight. Alongside the only vampire companion he’d ever created himself, police girl Seras Victoria, Alucard and the organization face increasingly growing threats, some coming from strangely human origins.
Vampires, Nazis, and a raging hellfire of gory battles and wars, Hellsing Ultimate definitely doesn’t disappoint when it comes to a sublime combination of supernatural action and horror, the strength of both Alucard and Seras’s abilities only become more horrendously powerful the more they fight.
Hellsing Ultimate can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
2) Akira
In 2019, years after a disaster launched World War III in the 80’s, Neo-Tokyo finds itself in constant turmoil as the streets are run amok with crime and insurrection against its oppressive government. Shoutarou Kaneda, leader of a rebellious motorcycle gang, finds himself caught in the middle of a government conspiracy when his friend, Tetsuo Shima, discovers his own psychic abilities upon encountering a government esper escapee.
With motorcycle action sequences and dangerous psychic powers as this film’s bread and butter, Akira is widely considered an absolute classic anime film. In such a dystopic setting rife with crime and government secrets, the horror only becomes more visually visceral when it digs into the sci-fi action and body horror.
Akira can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
3) Tokyo Ghoul
There’s only so much reserved bookworm college student Ken Kaneki can do to avoid the unsavory reports of flesh-eating ghouls blending into society and threatening Tokyo’s population. But when the beautiful Rize Kamishiro asks him on a date, Kaneki thinks he’s found something positive among all the morbid news. Unfortunately, she turned out to be hungry for more than just his heart. When their struggle lands him in the hospital, the late Rize’s organ transplant to Kaneki leaves his body and mind struggling to reconcile the human-ghoul hybridization. Now having to face his new reality as he clings to humanity, Kaneki is dragged into the conflict between the world of the ghouls and those who hunt them.
Although the world of ghouls looks to be one of pure horror and gore from the outside looking in, Kaneki learns that there is much more to be afraid of as ghoul than he’d previously imagined. And with plenty of fights against and within the ghoulish society, you can be sure there’s sufficient action and horror to go around.
Tokyo Ghoul can be streamed on Netflix or Hulu.
4) Berserk
Guts, a wandering mercenary brandishing an immense greatsword, typically prefers to work alone. But when he is surprisingly bested in a duel by Griffith, the beautiful, ambitious leader and founder of the mercenary group known as the Band of the Falcon, he finds himself inducted into the troop. Within three years’ time, Guts has become a commander in the group he’s grown close to. With Guts’s immense strength combined with Griffith’s leadership, the Band of the Falcon becomes renowned for dominating every battle. But with Griffith’s underlying dark, selfish goal, their successes in battle eventually come at great costs.
Berserk is a beloved classic dark fantasy series with many, old and new, flocking to the fandom. Although fans weren’t exactly thrilled about later adaptations, the series as a whole is definitely worth the watch with its nonstop hardcore action and horrific monsters, complex dark morality, and traumatic visuals.
5) Devilman: Crybaby
When Akira Fudou, an unassuming, weak, highly sympathetic crybaby, is asked to assist his childhood friend Ryou Asuka in uncovering devils, Akira surprisingly immediately accepts, and the two head for a place called Sabbath. Being an underground party filled with debauchery and degeneracy, it becomes a breeding ground for demon possession, turning the rave into a bloodbath. Akira, in his attempt to save Ryou, becomes merged with a demon himself, becoming a Devilman. With a newfound power but still a soft heart, Akira works alongside Ryou to exterminate other demons and save those they hold dear.
Devilman: Crybaby will keep you at the edge of your seat with its many demons to defeat in a morally dark yet very saturated and stylized world. Somewhat akin to the depravity shown in Berserkthis series offers even more action beyond the horror of fighting literal demons.
Devilman: Crybaby can be streamed on Netflix.
