Top 10 Suspense/Thriller Anime
Keep looking over your shoulder and trust no one. Join http://www.WatchMojo.com as we count down our picks for the Top 10 Suspense/Thriller Anime. For this list, we are looking at anime whose thrills and chills keep you on the edge of your seat. While most horror series have suspense, not all suspense is horror and we will only be looking at anime outside the horror genres. We will also exclude anime films, as that is a list for another day.
Special thanks to our users Scott Faust and MeowLover for submitting this idea on our Interactive Suggestion Tool at http://www.WatchMojo.comsuggest!
#10: “Future Diary” (2011-12)
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Grab your diaries and enter the battle royal. We’re kicking our list off by diving head first into a diary death game between twelve different individuals. Each character holds a diary that can predict the future in one way or another. What follows is a tale of intrigue and shocking discovery that lead protagonist Yuki to question his own morality. While the series is mainly focused on psychological torture, it definitely doesn’t shy away from violence and is not for the faint of heart.
#9: “Steins;Gate” (2011)
Is it possible to send messages into the past? In our next entry, a self-aware mad scientist attempts the impossible with disastrous results. Initially the series presents itself as your average sci-fi affair, underneath it lays an emotionally engaging story that makes it’s audience sympathize with the characters as much as they care for each other. While the time-altering plot and ludicrous paradoxes may go over some people’s heads, anyone who gives the series half a chance will nonetheless enjoy the ride. No series deals with time travel and alternate realties as deeply, or as interestingly as “Steins;Gate”.
#8: “Death Parade” (2015)
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Welcome to the Quindecim (qween-deck-eem), please have a seat. The newest series on our list, Death Parade follows two people who enter the Quindecim bar and play variations on common bar games. The steaks? Only their lives ‘duh duh duh!’. Unbeknownst to them, they have already died and are actually being pitted against each other and judged for reincarnation. Unlike many of our other entries, “Death Parade” focuses more on the grey areas of what defines us as humans and what it means to have a soul. Suspenseful, emotional, and rather humours, here’s to “Death Parade”! *cheers soundbite
#7: “Ergo Proxy” (2006)
What happens when science clashes with philosophy? You get our next entry. Set in a far off Utopian future, we explore where humanity lives in perfect balance with a collection of androids known as “AutoRevs”. When a virus is created that causes the “AutoRevs” to become self aware and commit murder, it is up to the audience to unravel the mystery. An gripping story that may cause you to question your own ideals; “Ergo Proxy” is as beautiful as it is intriguing, blending 3D CG modeling with 2D cell animation.
#6: “Tokyo Ghoul” (2014-15)
Ever been torn apart by a monster on a first date by your first date? In Tokyo Ghoul, man eating monsters live among us in secret, and college student Ken Kaneki (can-eck-ee) gets transformed into a half-ghoul half-human after his date tries to eat him. As Kaneki struggles with his new life as a monster, he discoveres that not all ghouls are evil, and many, like him, are just trying to get by. We soon discover that humans can be just as blood thirsty and monstrous as actual monsters, and Tokyo Ghoul may actually make you root for the ghouls.
#5: “Paranoia Agent” (2004)
What anime suspense/thriller list would be complete without at least one entry by anime legend Satoshi Kon. Most well known for his animated features like Perfect Blue and Paprika, his anime directorial debut Paranoia Agent does not disappoint. Following the mass paranoia of a group of people following the seemingly random assaults by an assailent known as Lil’ Slugger, Paranoia agent succeeds in blurring the line between reality and hysteria. The flexibility and pace of an series over that of a film allowed Kon to explore many new ideas, creating an almost sociological study of guilt and fear.
#4: “Psycho Pass” (2012-14)
Grab your badge and join and join the Public Security Bureau as they eliminate threats to society. Using a gun called The Dominator, officers have the power to kill or simply incapacitate potential threats depending on the targets threat quotient. The catch? The dominator uses a built in algorithm to decide who lives and who dies, taking context, emotion and the human element out of the equation. Borrowing many of its ideas and themes from popular Western films such as “Blade Runner” and “Minority Report”, this series will feel familiar to many anime fans. Psycho Pass explores a future where judgement is done by the numbers and how much we would stand to gain, and lose when human error and insight is taken out of the equation.
#3: “Elfen Lied” (2004)
From the sights and sounds of it’s opening theme to the horrific scenes of blood and gore, Elfen lies uses imagery above all else to create suspense and detestation. Like Tokyo Ghoul, Elfen Lied makes us question who are the real monsters are when Lucy, a powerful Diclonius escapes her captivity in a bloody naked rampage. We soon learn that her violent and murderous outbursts are a result of a lifetime of physical and mental torture by, you guessed it, regular humans. What type of person would Lucy have been if she had been accepted and loved rather than tormented? (soundbite of ‘Nyu’) Elfen Lied is unique because it deals with some uncomfortable themes and goes to some very dark and mentally punishing places.
#2: “Monster” (2004-05)
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This thriller analyzes the mind of a sociopath. In this dark and twisted series audiences watch as renowned brain surgeon Dr. Kenzo Tenma’s life falls apart after saving the life of a young child over that of a political figure. While the anime series is rather slow to get going, its intelligent and twisted storyline is what sets it apart from the other entries on this list. Interesting characters drive this story, especially the interactions with Dr. Tenma and his former patient Johan Liebert. Regardless, lets stay away from the psychopaths for now. Before we thrill ourselves with our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. “Deadman Wonderland” (2011) “Darker Than Black” (2007-09) “Terror in Resonance” (2014) “Pandora Hearts” (2009)
#1: “Death Note” (2006-07)
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If we didn’t put Death Note as the number one suspense/thriller anime, we’re pretty sure our names would end up in a notebook somewhere. Death Note follows high school student Light Yagami (yah-gah-me) who discovers a notebook that allow him to kill anyone, needing only his or her name and face. Light decided to use the power of the notebook to reshape the world in his image, a goal that puts him up against the brilliant investigator L in the most intense game of cat and mouse ever put in animated form. What price would you willingly pay for peace on Earth and are the sacrifices worth it? Death Note asks these questions, and the answers are far more complex than meets the eye. Do you agree with our list? What is your favorite suspense or thriller anime? For more suspenseful top tens published every day, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.
