Want to immerse yourself into the mysterious and somewhat creepy world of the supernatural? Look no further.
While realistic mystery anime about detectives dealing with crimes are cool, sometimes, we want something a bit less grounded. When you’re watching a supernatural series, the atmosphere is incredibly important, doubly so if it’s also a mystery. Thankfully, we have these series which are great at setting it up.
Mushishi combines slice of life with supernatural mystery. Following Ginko, a man who interacts with “mushi” — spirits, the series is largely episodic, but that doesn’t make it worse.
The slow-paced nature and a lot of traveling made some people compare the series to the currently airing Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (Sousou no Frieren). The protagonists are somewhat similar as well, both learning new things about people during their travels. The tone of Mushishi, however, is more somber and melancholic.
Adapted from a visual novel, Higurashi: When They Cry (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni) used to be very popular in the 00s. Nowadays, it’s not watched by many people — it doesn’t look like classic horror stories attract many people anymore.
Higurashi is a very complicated mystery, told in multiple arcs. It takes two seasons, two cours each, to explain most plot points — and it’s absolutely worth watching to the very end.
Shiki used to be a staple recommendation for vampire anime. It isn’t very popular nowadays — perhaps the odd character designs scare people off, and the series lacks a dedicated fandom.
The anime is incredibly worthwhile: it explores the darkest parts of human nature, all while concocting a mystery in a rural setting that only unravels itself near the very end.
The Garden of Sinners
Before the Fate series even existed, its author, Kinoko Nasu, wrote a series of light novels called The Garden of Sinners (Kara no Kyoukai). Later, ufotable adapted it into a series of movies, which boast an unparalleled atmosphere of dark urban fantasy.
The movies are ordered non-chronologically, and that’s intentional — to keep the mystery slowly unraveling without making the viewer lose interest. Despite that, all of them have at least one gorgeously animated action scene for people who crave those.
Mononoke
Mononoke is a very unique anime series from 2007. It is an anthology, consisting of several loosely connected stories, and deals with “mononoke” — malevolent spirits from Japanese mythology.
The anime is interesting by itself, and, despite it being a sequel to an earlier series, Ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror, it doesn’t actually require watching it first. Mononoke is mostly famous for its incredibly unique direction and art style — they might alienate you at first, but they are absolutely amazing once you get used to them.
Want to immerse yourself into the mysterious and somewhat creepy world of the supernatural? Look no further.
While realistic mystery anime about detectives dealing with crimes are cool, sometimes, we want something a bit less grounded. When you’re watching a supernatural series, the atmosphere is incredibly important, doubly so if it’s also a mystery. Thankfully, we have these series which are great at setting it up.
Mushishi combines slice of life with supernatural mystery. Following Ginko, a man who interacts with “mushi” — spirits, the series is largely episodic, but that doesn’t make it worse.
The slow-paced nature and a lot of traveling made some people compare the series to the currently airing Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (Sousou no Frieren). The protagonists are somewhat similar as well, both learning new things about people during their travels. The tone of Mushishi, however, is more somber and melancholic.
Adapted from a visual novel, Higurashi: When They Cry (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni) used to be very popular in the 00s. Nowadays, it’s not watched by many people — it doesn’t look like classic horror stories attract many people anymore.
Higurashi is a very complicated mystery, told in multiple arcs. It takes two seasons, two cours each, to explain most plot points — and it’s absolutely worth watching to the very end.
Shiki used to be a staple recommendation for vampire anime. It isn’t very popular nowadays — perhaps the odd character designs scare people off, and the series lacks a dedicated fandom.
The anime is incredibly worthwhile: it explores the darkest parts of human nature, all while concocting a mystery in a rural setting that only unravels itself near the very end.
The Garden of Sinners
Before the Fate series even existed, its author, Kinoko Nasu, wrote a series of light novels called The Garden of Sinners (Kara no Kyoukai). Later, ufotable adapted it into a series of movies, which boast an unparalleled atmosphere of dark urban fantasy.
The movies are ordered non-chronologically, and that’s intentional — to keep the mystery slowly unraveling without making the viewer lose interest. Despite that, all of them have at least one gorgeously animated action scene for people who crave those.
Mononoke
Mononoke is a very unique anime series from 2007. It is an anthology, consisting of several loosely connected stories, and deals with “mononoke” — malevolent spirits from Japanese mythology.
The anime is interesting by itself, and, despite it being a sequel to an earlier series, Ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror, it doesn’t actually require watching it first. Mononoke is mostly famous for its incredibly unique direction and art style — they might alienate you at first, but they are absolutely amazing once you get used to them.
