It’s that time of year again, when zombies rise from their graves, when pumpkins are carved into jack-o-lanterns, and ghosts and ghouls haunt our nightmares. Unfortunately, the anime medium is one that is lacking in the horror genre in comparison to some of the other stories that have arrived in the many series. Luckily, there are plenty of anime adaptations that have gotten plenty spooky, even with their overall stories being action-packed and/or focusing far more on humor. To celebrate the Halloween season, we curated a strong list of the scariest episodes from otherwise “not-so-scary” anime series.
7.) Cowboy Bebop: Toys In The Attic
The eleventh episode of Cowboy Bebop is a homerun entry on this list, which shouldn’t be too surprising when you look at the overall adventures of Spike Spiegel and the other members of the Bebop. Premiering in 1999, the anime episode seems ripped straight from the original Alien film, seeing Spike having to deal with a mysterious creature hiding in the shadows. Despite Cowboy Bebop spending a good deal of time in the stars, aliens aren’t quite the anime’s bread and butter, perhaps making “Toys In The Attic” that much scarier at the end of the day.
Hilariously, the monster that was stalking the Bebop’s crew wasn’t a xenomorph or a creature the crew encountered on a deadly mission; instead, said creature was born from a “Ganymede rock lobster” that Spike had forgotten about. Luckily, despite Jet, Faye, and Ein succumbing to the toxin of the creature, Spike received some back-up from Ed and was able to defeat the monster. The episode itself was quite a claustrophobic one and remains a perfect example of an action-based anime diving into more horror elements.
6.) Dragon Ball Z: “Borrowed Powers”
Villains like Frieza, King Piccolo, and Vegeta were scary enough, but when Cell first arrived in Dragon Ball Zhe was the closest thing to a horror movie villain that the Z-Fighters had ever encountered. In “Borrowed Powers,” rather than simply blowing up cities with his power level, the Dr. Gero creation begins draining the life force from the citizens of Ginger Town, one person at a time. Plunging his tail into each victim, Cell gains power from his targets and introduces himself in a way that leads to far more questions than answers.
For the most part, we don’t see Cell kill the majority of his victims, with only their clothes left behind once the Dragon Ball villain takes what he needs. Unfortunately for one businessman, we see the entire brutal affair as the shonen antagonist drains his victim dry and proves what a nightmare the villain can be. Cell was never quite as scary as he was in his earliest form in Dragon Ball Z, and this installment, Episode 142, proved it.
5.) JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Stardust Crusaders: Death Thirteen Parts 1 & 2
What would happen if Freddy Krueger and Pennywise the Clown did the fusion dance? You might get the villainous Stand that first debuted in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders. Appearing in episodes nineteen and twenty of the Stardust Crusadersthe apparition appears when Jotaro Kujo and his comrades encounter a baby on their path to eliminate Dio Brando. The pint-sized terror, known as Mannish Boy, is the wielder of the Stand known as “Death Thirteen,” who invades dreams and attempts to eliminate its targets in ways that would fit right into Elm Street.
The fact that the entirety of the fight against Death Thirteen takes place in a dream-like amusement park might make viewers feel at ease at the start, but things go from bad to worse as things move on. In one particularly horrific scene, the Stand holds open Kakyoin’s mouth as one of its eyeballs melts into the Stand user’s orifice. It’s a nightmarish affair, and considering the series has plenty of vampires in its arcs, it’s no small feat that this episode hit such spooky heights.
4.) Jujutsu Kaisen: “Right And Wrong”
When it comes to terrifying episodes of Jujutsu Kaisen to choose from, there is a fair share to pick thanks to the supernatural curses populating the shonen series. Ultimately, there was only one episode that we could think was the pick of the litter, and that was the anime’s forty-second installment, “Right And Wrong.” On top of Mahito brutally killing Nanami in a gruesome fashion, the villain’s powers employed in his fight against Yuji during this episode sent shivers down our spine.
One moment in particular sees Mahito get his hands on random civilians, transforming them into swords in such a way that the imagery still haunts us to this day. Mahito eventually gets his during the Shibuya Incident Arc, but a lot of good heroes and citizens meet the Grim Reaper before he does. Mahito, in particular, was a character who proved how far creator Gege Akutami was willing to go.
3.) Slug: “It’s a Granny vs. Granny Clash!”
Much like Jujutsu Kaisen, Slug has had its fair share of supernatural entities appearing in its first two seasons. While the spirit known as the Turbo Granny has become an ally to Momo and Okarun, living inside of a feline statue, the ghost was anything but when she first appeared. It took several episodes to keep the fast-running granny under wraps, but the third episode of season one, “It’s A Granny Vs. Granny Clash,” showed Turbo Granny at her most terrifying.
During one of the scariest scenes of the anime adaptation, Turbo Granny comes dangerously close to killing Momo’s grandmother, threatening the exorcist with a brutal demise. While Okarun would eventually come to master the power of the fast-footed granny, this early installment showed just how dangerous Turbo Granny could be if you got on her bad side.
There’s a reason why “An Alchemist’s Anguish” is routinely thought of as one of the most twisted, horrifying episodes of any anime ever created. Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood has never been shy when it comes to drifting into darker territory, but the story of Shou Tucker and his daughter Nina takes things up to a level that few other anime could ever hit. At this point, the fate of Nina has become so well known in the fan community that the horrifying event has become a recurring “meme.”
The fourth episode of Brotherhood will go down in history as one of the most uncomfortable installments of any anime, and considering Fullmetal Alchemist is an action-based anime, that makes it all the more surprising. Even as a joke online, the fate of Nina Tucket remains one of anime’s creepiest conclusions.
1.) Chainsaw Man: “The Taste of a Kiss”
Chainsaw Man has always been a series that has reveled in its carnage and bloodshed, but there’s something about the seventh episode of the anime adaptation that truly makes viewers’ skin crawl. Trapped in a hotel and besieged by the Eternity Devil, the Public Safety Commission attempts to break free of their claustrophobic new surroundings as the new threat attempts to strike a deal with the humans of the group. Offering them safe passage if they serve up Denji to him, the scenario is so scary that some of Denji’s allies begin to consider it. With Chainsaw Man The Movie: The Reze Arc arriving in theaters next month, it will be interesting to see if the Bomb Devil can be creepier than the fear of eternity.
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