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Is anime too cute and clean to be genuinely scary ?

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Today, 1:14 AM
#1

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May 2019
7515
Do you think that anime can never have an intimidating horror factor due to its signature pristine and clean visual style compared to live action realism ?


tchitchouanToday, 1:20 AM
Today, 1:15 AM
#2
Tomato

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Feb 2020
96440
Yeah, horror anime aren't very scary. They can be a bit disgusting at times, but not scary.
Today, 1:29 AM
#3
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Apr 2024
1208
Anime just needs to either rely on other ways of horror like psychological horror or have high enough budget to allow itself to not be clean
12 hours ago
#4

Online
Jun 2024
1370
I think horror can work in anime, but so far, I've never felt truly scared.

The medium just doesn’t work for me in the horror department.

But... I've watched some thriller anime that are scarier than horror anime themselves.

11 hours ago
#5

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Feb 2020
6956
I think art style is part of it, but I think the length of episodes don't help either, as it can't deliver as much scares in that time.
An actual horror anime movie could do that better perhaps, but even some longer ones I've seen didn't give me any scares.
But it could just me, I love found footage movies the most if I want to be scared. Their so absorbing, sometimes I even have to watch them with a light on lol.
11 hours ago
#6

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Jul 2021
8159
The best anime can do is be rather uncanny, not genuinely scary. That's said, most horror movies are quite bad too...
This dance is the pinnacle of human achievement.
10 hours ago
#7

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Jan 2022
1192
>Is anime too cute and clean to be genuinely scary ?
No, I don't think so.
10 hours ago
#8

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Jul 2013
5710
There is plenty of scary anime. Like Attack on Titan and Death Note.
10 hours ago
#9
Walpurgis

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May 2023
446
Higurashi exists, so no. but if you're only scared by cheap visual tricks, then I guess that horror anime won't scare you.
9 hours ago
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May 2021
143
I don’t think anime is too 'cute or clean' to be scary, but for the most part, it struggles to deliver horror as effectively as live-action. I believe that in animation, art style alone isn’t enough to create fear, it’s the storytelling through structure, pacing, and character focus that truly drives horror, with the art serving to amplify those elements. Without powerful storytelling, the horror in animation often falls flat, as the art's role is primarily supportive. While I recognize that shows like Perfect Blue, Higurashi When They Cry, and Paranoia Agent can be tense and unsettling, they still don’t quite measure up to the impact of live-action in terms of horror.
8 hours ago

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Jan 2021
5455
There are some good horror anime though and a lot of good psychological anime.
If you enjoyed the time you wasted, then its not a waste of time.

8 hours ago

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Sep 2016
9328
Perhaps that's why Flowers of Evil felt kinda creepy, because the rotoscoping made it appear more real.
8 hours ago

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Apr 2024
387
Media can't be scary. It's not real. Once you are old enough to distinguish between fiction and reality it is impossible to be scared by things that are not real.
7 hours ago
white angel

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Feb 2024
1825
Reply to Zarutaku
Perhaps that's why Flowers of Evil felt kinda creepy, because the rotoscoping made it appear more real.
@Zarutaku And soundtrack. Thanks for the rec btw.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
7 hours ago

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Sep 2016
9328
Reply to LoveYourSmile
@Zarutaku And soundtrack. Thanks for the rec btw.
@LoveYourSmile Maybe you also like the movie https://myanimelist.net/anime/27969/Hana_to_Alice for the rotoscoping and the female duo.
7 hours ago

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Jul 2013
5710
Anime is hardly clean and cute. It is certainly degenerate.
7 hours ago

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May 2019
7515
Reply to DesuMaiden
Anime is hardly clean and cute. It is certainly degenerate.
@DesuMaiden No i don't mean clean in terms of content, by clean i mean the visual style, even berserk is very clean in its aesthetic and presentation.
Also attack on titan & death note are not scary, they certainly are intriguing and thrilling but absolutely not scary, not even the titans or shinigami are scary.



@FZREMAKE It's not about whether they're good or bad, it's about whether they are genuinely fear inducing or not.

@velveteenvamp Higurashi & Umineko are not scary at all, not one bit. In fact they can be quite goofy & silly with all that excessive blood like elfen lied.

@luffysenchou @AryaVai @JaniSIr I fully agree with all your statements.


@velveteenvamp No, scream isn't very scary either, tons of live action horror films aren't really scary, mainly the slashers and grindhouse cinema.
Truly scary films are like the shining, alien, m3gan, ringu, funny games, the thing, nosferatu, silence of the lambs, the exorcist, etc...
Although some slasher film can be scary like Texas Chain Saw Massacre and the Halloween series, Jason Voorhees and Freddy Kruger aren't as scary.
tchitchouan6 hours ago
6 hours ago

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Dec 2014
22
Reply to TransferUser
Media can't be scary. It's not real. Once you are old enough to distinguish between fiction and reality it is impossible to be scared by things that are not real.
@TransferUser You just sound like a highfalutin asshole.
5 hours ago

Offline
Aug 2019
1625
Nowadays? Especially yeah when it comes to the clean look. Overall? It depends. Anime from the early 2000s and backwards would've stood a better chance. When I watched "Boogiepop Phantom," it had an atmosphere to it that was nonexistent in the 2019 version. "Boogiepop Phantom" actually felt eerie at times and had this very gray/drab look to it. I think darkness was also heavily emphasized. The 2019 just looked like any other anime, horror or not.

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