10 best body horror anime that you should try
Body horror anime is a subgenre of horror anime that focuses on the disturbing transformation and destruction of the human body. It taps into the primal fear of bodily violation and mutilation.
At its best, body horror anime uses grotesque visuals to explore compelling themes and narratives beyond shock value. From classic series that defined the genre to recent titles that put unique spins on it, these anime all deliver potent blends of grisly visuals and psychological gravitas. Just make sure you have a strong stomach before watching!
10 best body horror anime that will leave you shaken
1. Elfen Lied
Elfen Lied has secured its spot as one of the most iconic body horror anime series ever made. The series kicks off immediately with a shocking scene in which the Diclonius protagonist, Lucy, escapes confinement and uses invisible telekinetic hands to rip a swath of blood and gore through the facility.
Diclonius are a mutant species distinct from humans in Elfen Lied, with several key differences. Most notably, they have vectors – powerful telekinetic limbs that can grab, throw, cut, and destroy anything within several meters. These vectors can detach body parts and rend flesh with disturbing ease.
Lucy has no qualms about using her vectors to splatter the blood of anyone who stands in her way. The body horror elements turn up often in Elfen Lied. Lucy’s vectors effortlessly dismantle her foes, leaving blood and dismemberment in their wake. It's gory body horror satisfaction.
2. Tokyo Ghoul
Tokyo Ghoul delivers fascinating dark fantasy worldbuilding alongside its visceral body horror elements. The existence of ghouls – human-like creatures who can only survive by eating human flesh – opens up terrifying body horror scenarios.
Protagonist Ken Kaneki experiences some iconic body transformation sequences after encountering a ghoul, which leaves him half-ghoul himself. The urge to eat flesh and the physical changes that come with his new nature leave Kaneki desperately struggling to cling to his humanity.
Other gory scenes involving ghouls' predatory feeding habits and grotesque transformations ensure Tokyo Ghoul earns its body horror cred. This body horror anime packs enough blood, guts, and psycho-physical horror to leave an impression.
3. Parasyte: The Maxim
This sci-fi series centers around alien parasites called Parasytes that invade Earth and take over human hosts by entering their bodies and replacing their heads. Parasyte makes excellent use of this setup to drive unsettling body horror sequences.
Protagonist Shinichi Izumi becomes partially infected by a Parasyte that takes over his right hand rather than his brain. What follows is a brilliantly weird conflict between man and sentient alien hand as they're forced to cooperate to survive.
Their desire to avoid fully merging keeps the body horror tension high throughout. Visually, Parasyte gets inventive with how the Parasytes and their partially transformed hosts appear and fight. Unsettling character designs, transformations, and mutilations create memorable body horror moments.
4. Berserk
Medieval dark fantasy hit Berserk builds its gritty, violent world with a touch of disturbing body horror. While not primarily focused on transformation horror like other body horror anime entries, these elements are significant.
The Brands of Sacrifice that mark those who encounter eldritch abominations signal their fates as sacrifices. Those chosen by the Behelit undergo grotesque transformations through the God Hand's ritual, where their bodies and minds are twisted by dark magic into monstrous forms.
Seeing protagonists and antagonists transform under the influence of malevolent magic makes for some striking body horror visuals. Berserk doesn't shy away from heavy violence, gore, and body mutations in realizing its dark vision.
5. Hellsing Ultimate
Hellsing Ultimate positively revels in disturbing, visceral blood and gore. Protagonist Alucard is the show's prime source of body horror chaos. Among contemporary body horror anime, few match its sheer audacity in depicting supernatural violence.
As the strongest vampire in Hellsing's employ, Alucard wields blood and flesh as weapons in a gloriously gory fashion. His body reforms from a bloody pool when damaged. He shapeshifts into monstrous forms, including his iconic hellhound. He manifests nightmare visages and appendages to rend his enemies. And he revels in absorbing blood.
Hellsing Ultimate pulls no punches in embracing graphic violence, and body horror flourishes. Alucard's proficiency for inflicting creative transformations and mutilations on his vampire foes makes him one of anime's definitive body horror monsters.
6. Shiki
Shiki opts for an episodic format focused on developing characters…which ultimately makes the horrific fates visited on them cut deeper. While slower-paced than many body horror anime, its methodical buildup amplifies its eventual horrors.
When a strange family moves into a village, and people start dying from anemia, a doctor suspects vampirism is involved. Boy, is he right. Shiki reveals the culprits behind the plague of violent deaths to be vampiric beings (called "shiki") who possess supernatural durability and must feed on human blood.
As more villagers are turned into shiki, no one is safe from the body horror chaos of grotesque transformations into undead beings or murder by villagers they once knew. Shiki's measured build makes its eventual body horror payoffs more hard-hitting.
7. Attack on Titan
Most people don't prefer giant man-eating humanoids as a source of body positivity. However, the Titans in the mega-popular series Attack on Titan have contributed some defining body horror visuals to the anime canon. The Titans vary considerably in physical appearance for reasons explored later in the story.
They share distorted proportions, vacant stares, large teeth, and steam venting from their wounds due to abnormal physiology. The abnormal Titan variants get even more disturbing in their movements and features. Among modern body horror anime, its impact on popular culture is undeniable.
Watching the cast get chased, grabbed, squeezed, chewed on, thrown around, and devoured by Titans makes for excellent, if nightmare-inducing, body horror content. The moments of gory Titan predation and the all-around creepy Titans leave a strong body horror impression.
8. Deadman Wonderland
Death game series excel at delivering hard-hitting physical and psychological horror – and Deadman Wonderland is no exception. This underrated dark action series stands out among body horror anime for its unique blend of prison drama and supernatural abilities.
After gaining the ability to use his blood as a weapon, Ganta gets thrown into the nightmarish meatgrinder that is Deadman Wonderland – a twisted prison/amusement park hybrid. There, inmates with similar blood-based abilities battle to win rewards and avoid cruel punishment games.
The Deadmen and their opponents unleash attacks ranging from projectile blood bullets to slicing someone apart with blood blades to the iconic Branches of Sin that impale victims on massive blood spikes. The body-focused horror of dried-up, lacerated victims drives home the series' impact.
9. Devilman Crybaby
Don't let the stylized animation and emotional storytelling fool you — Devilman Crybaby brings the brutality in droves. This reimagining transformed the classic manga into a striking modern body horror anime that pushes boundaries in both style and substance.
But what ups the body horror ante is the emergence of more demons possessing and hideously transforming humans into all manner of freakish hellspawn. Avian demons, amphibious demons, grotesque demonic forms – the transformations tap into uncanny, disturbing visuals.
And that's not counting the intense levels of gore and dismemberment when demons battle demons or demons prey on hapless humans. Devilman Crybaby warrants its explicit content rating with its choices in chaotic body horror mayhem.
10. Another
Another leans into supernatural horror with moments of body horror that leave lasting impressions. While it might not be as consistently grotesque as other body horror anime on this list, its death scenes are unforgettable.
The plot follows a cursed school class in which students and those close to them experience terrible, deadly "accidents." Protagonist Kouichi investigates the curse and the role of a mysterious girl named Mei in its origin, all while his classmates get picked off in increasingly disturbing ways.
Surreal deaths, including impalement and falls as part of what became known as 'The Calamity,' are some of anime's most shudder-inducing setpieces. While not all deaths involve transformations, Another uses its graphic and gory fatalities to leave a lasting impression.
Conclusion
The intertwining of extreme violence and physical transformation makes body horror a uniquely disturbing and visceral subgenre. The body horror anime on this list showcases the storytelling potential of body horror when done right.
Beyond just gory thrills, the best body horror anime use their grotesque visuals in service of compelling themes and narratives. So, if you have the appetite for it, definitely check out these titles for some of the most intense and strikingly gruesome body horror anime out there.
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