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Nov 28, 10:16 AM
#1

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Aug 2021
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A anime that is very different and not your usual cutesy and funny type and explores more depressing or hard to take in topics.

my favourite''s would be
Scum's WIsh



and AOT
Stawberry Milk Supremacy
Nov 28, 10:16 AM
#2
๐Ÿ… Tomato ๐Ÿ…

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Feb 2020
100397
"Whats the DArkest anime you have watched?"

Maybe Tokyo Ghoul and Higurashi.
Nov 28, 10:18 AM
#3

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Sep 2016
10487
Maybe https://myanimelist.net/anime/16201/Flowers_of_Evil
No, this isn't my signature~desu.
Nov 28, 10:19 AM
#4

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Aug 2021
1821
i havent seen higurashi, will check it out
Stawberry Milk Supremacy
Nov 28, 10:19 AM
#5

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Sep 2024
63
"Whats the DArkest anime you have watched?"

It's an anime called Midori.
Just An Average Shoujo Fan.



Nov 28, 10:20 AM
#6

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Aug 2021
1821
@Zarutaku i loved it too.. but i felt like it was a little rushed at the end or something was missing, gotta rewatch it especially for the classroom scene
Stawberry Milk Supremacy
Nov 28, 10:20 AM
#7

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Nov 2019
150
Bokurano absolutely fucked up. I don't even like many mecha anime, but this shit gets real.
Nov 28, 10:24 AM
#8

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May 2019
7829
Berserk, Elfen Lied, Monster, Evangelion, Death Note.
Nov 28, 10:31 AM
#9

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Sep 2016
10487
Reply to DarkGamerA
@Zarutaku i loved it too.. but i felt like it was a little rushed at the end or something was missing, gotta rewatch it especially for the classroom scene
@DarkGamerA It's just the 1st season and hasn't been continued so far, the source manga has been finished however.
No, this isn't my signature~desu.
Nov 28, 10:35 AM

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Nov 2024
165
I try to forget such negative experiences, but 2 anime are still in my mind: "Elfen Lied" and "Made in Abyss" (although it's drawn cutely, it's a great deception).
I apologize for my mistakes, because it's not my native language.
Nov 28, 11:11 AM
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Feb 2014
4245
I don't usually watch that many dark anime, but perhaps Jigoku Shoujo? I still remember the episodes from it that impacted me a lot. (notably the ones involving animals....)


My Shoujo, Josei and Female targeted anime adaptations starting from 2017+ stacks:

Part 1: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/9181
Part 2: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/9195
Part 3: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/9225
Part 4: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/9280
Nov 28, 12:56 PM

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Mar 2023
67
Utsu Musume Sayuri... genuinely so deep... i cry everyime i think about Utsu Musume Sayuri...
Nov 28, 1:01 PM

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Mar 2016
225
Berserk, Ninja Scroll, Monster, Angel Cop.
Nov 28, 1:54 PM

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Jul 2021
8361
Ergo Proxy, I could barely tell sometimes what's on the screen it's so dark.
Cucumber ice cream is the best!
Nov 28, 1:56 PM

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Jul 2021
1524
probably K-ON, that scene where Mugi steals Mio's cake was just vile, I dont think they should air something like that. Pure evil
Nov 28, 6:09 PM

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Dec 2012
9625
Well that comes in two distinct flavors, Dark (Bad):

Akame ga Kill
Basilisk
Blassreiter
Blood-C
Gilgamesh
Jin Roh
Texhnolyze

...where the outcome is terrible and the title wasn't worth watching, then there's...

Dark (Good)
Berserk
Death Parade
Elfen Lied
Gunslinger Girl
Monster
Shiki
Sola

...where everything was completely depressing and a whole bunch of characters died but everything still turned out kind of okay somehow.
KruszerNov 28, 6:19 PM
"The name's Gambit. Remember it."
-Gambit "X-Men '97"

Nov 28, 6:51 PM
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Dec 2023
48
Reply to DarkGamerA
@Zarutaku i loved it too.. but i felt like it was a little rushed at the end or something was missing, gotta rewatch it especially for the classroom scene
@DarkGamerA
As far as I know there’s a life adaptation of flowers of evil too, never watched it but maybe you’ll like it.

It takes a lot of inspiration from Les Fleurs du Mal a french book, giving the anime the name but also featuring a lot of the themes.
Nov 28, 8:30 PM
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May 2012
1021
Darkest:
Barefoot Gen
Grave of the Fireflies
No Longer Human
Texhnolyze
Now and Then, Here and There

Mixed feelings (including depression):
Byousoku 5 Centimeter
Welcome to the NHK
Elfen Lied
Hotarubi no Mori e
Tokyo Magnitude 8.0
Violet Evergarden
Ride your wave
Sangatsu no Lion
Vinland saga (second serie)
Gunslinger Girl
Erased
Nov 28, 8:55 PM
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Apr 2024
1386
There is a big competition and it might not be the most overall dark, but it's hard to not say girls last tour, maybe the fact that due to my ancestry the name produces a very certain image helps for the dark feeling, but it's the most hopeless manga I've read
Nov 28, 9:24 PM

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Jan 2021
19
Devilman: Crybaby, Monster, Neon Genesis Evangelion

Serious levels of fucked up.
Nov 28, 9:42 PM

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Feb 2014
1530
Reply to Autumni
"Whats the DArkest anime you have watched?"

It's an anime called Midori.
@Autumni
Honestly, people exaggerate about Midori way too much.
But every time someone mentions it, I remember that around the same time I saw an argument on Twitter where some guy just straight-up uploaded an one-hour hentai to prove his argument, and that one was miles more disgusting than anything I've seen in Midori.
Nov 28, 9:48 PM

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Feb 2014
1530
>this entire thread in a nutshell

..
Nov 28, 9:54 PM

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Oct 2024
7
Happy sugar life, thought I'd see some cute anime waifus and panty shots, but well, well, well...
Nov 28, 9:57 PM

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Feb 2014
1530
BTW, here are my picks:
Boogiepop wa Warawanai
MaliceDoll
Tenshi no Tamago
Kaiba
Ima Soko ni Iru Boku (Haven't watched this one yet, but it would probably get into the list)
There are some anime I consider to have pretty dark SCENES/PARTS, but I wouldn't say that the entire thing was dark (e.g. Shigofumi, Alien 9, Higurashi Kai, Shinsekai Yori, etc)
Edit:
DarkGamerA said:
explores more depressing or hard to take in topics.

Using this more general definition, those are ones that I wouldn't consider "the darkest", but that I like a lot due to dealing with such themes, while my earlier list dealt more with "vibes" and "tone".
Shinsekai yori
Black%E2%98%85Rock Shooter TV
Mahou Shoujo Madoka%E2%98%85Magica
Bokura no
Perfect Blue
Gleipnir
Shigofumi
Alien 9
Selector Infected WIXOSS
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai
Made in Abyss
Id Invaded
Wonder Egg Priority
Sonny Boy
I had to limit myself to listing only what I gave 8/10 or higher, since I quite like this type of anime.
thewiruNov 28, 10:05 PM
Nov 28, 10:28 PM

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Sep 2024
63
Reply to thewiru
@Autumni
Honestly, people exaggerate about Midori way too much.
But every time someone mentions it, I remember that around the same time I saw an argument on Twitter where some guy just straight-up uploaded an one-hour hentai to prove his argument, and that one was miles more disgusting than anything I've seen in Midori.
@thewiru Midori is probably the only dark anime I've watched... wait... nvm
Just An Average Shoujo Fan.



Nov 28, 11:19 PM
แ•™(โ‡€โ€ธโ†ผโ€ถ)แ•—

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Aug 2014
6237
Penis by Isamu Hirabayashi:
Nov 28, 11:28 PM

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May 2021
156
The darkest anime I’ve watched are Midori: Shoujo Tsubaki, Berserk (1997), Neon Genesis Evangelion, Attack on Titan, and Perfect Blue.


  • Midori: Shoujo Tsubaki is dark in the sense that it’s filled with graphic abuse, suffering, and cruelty, with no hope or relief. The protagonist’s journey is tragic, and the way it portrays pain and exploitation is overwhelming.

  • Berserk (1997) is dark in a deeper way. The Eclipse arc, with its brutal betrayal and violence, is one of the most devastating moments I’ve seen in anime. The show explores deep themes of survival, revenge, suffering, and human nature, and it’s also deeply heartbreaking.

  • Neon Genesis Evangelion is dark on a psychological level. It delves into loneliness, trauma, and the fear of connecting with others. The characters' internal struggles are intense, and the ending (End of Evangelion) leaves you feeling unsettled, questioning everything.

  • Attack on Titan is dark in how it psychologically oppresses you. It forces you to face the harsh realities of war, survival, oppression, and human nature without offering clear answers. There’s very little hope, and even when characters give their all, the consequences are still devastating and often feel futile.

  • Perfect Blue is dark in how it explores the psychological toll of fame. The tense, claustrophobic atmosphere mirrors the protagonist’s descent into paranoia and confusion. As she loses touch with reality, the line between what’s real and imagined becomes blurred, creating a constant sense of dread and unease.


Each of these anime is dark in its own way, so it’s hard for me to pick just one.
Nov 28, 11:46 PM

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Mar 2013
3349
Reply to thewiru
@Autumni
Honestly, people exaggerate about Midori way too much.
But every time someone mentions it, I remember that around the same time I saw an argument on Twitter where some guy just straight-up uploaded an one-hour hentai to prove his argument, and that one was miles more disgusting than anything I've seen in Midori.
@thewiru

Going to be honest, but hentai is in my opinion is outright cheating. I do not think most people would include hentai for consideration for this anymore than they would consider snuff films into a discussion on the most disturbing film scenes. The hottest sex scenes in film history and then they upload a porno film.

I should not have to clarify why I am not including ClockUP visual novels in a discussion on the scariest horror visual novels. Should it not be obvious where the line is regarding these sorts of discussions? You can’t videotape a car accident and call it horror.

As someone who has delve into the absolute most depraved shit on VNDB, I do agree hentai and the like are easily the most disturbing visual media I have ever seen. That being said, I do agree that Midori is pretty dark. I will add Shadowstar Narutaru and Genocyber here as well. Also Blood-C was a fucking gore fest that disturbed me with its carnage.
PeripheralVisionNov 28, 11:53 PM
Auroraloose's Aurorasimp
Nov 29, 12:01 AM

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Apr 2012
3342
Now and Then, Here and There is the first thing to come to mind. Though I guess Grave of the Fireflies, End of Evangelion, Made in Abyss, Corpse Party or Narutaru would be just as good answers.
Nov 29, 12:19 AM

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Feb 2014
1530
Reply to PeripheralVision
@thewiru

Going to be honest, but hentai is in my opinion is outright cheating. I do not think most people would include hentai for consideration for this anymore than they would consider snuff films into a discussion on the most disturbing film scenes. The hottest sex scenes in film history and then they upload a porno film.

I should not have to clarify why I am not including ClockUP visual novels in a discussion on the scariest horror visual novels. Should it not be obvious where the line is regarding these sorts of discussions? You can’t videotape a car accident and call it horror.

As someone who has delve into the absolute most depraved shit on VNDB, I do agree hentai and the like are easily the most disturbing visual media I have ever seen. That being said, I do agree that Midori is pretty dark. I will add Shadowstar Narutaru and Genocyber here as well. Also Blood-C was a fucking gore fest that disturbed me with its carnage.
PeripheralVision said:
ClockUP visual novels

I've been playing Euphoria, and I'm currently on Nemu's route.
So far nothing was really scary, but I assume other ClockUp VNs such as "Maggot Baits" might be.
Nov 29, 12:35 AM

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Mar 2013
3349
Reply to thewiru
PeripheralVision said:
ClockUP visual novels

I've been playing Euphoria, and I'm currently on Nemu's route.
So far nothing was really scary, but I assume other ClockUp VNs such as "Maggot Baits" might be.
@thewiru

I was referring to that followed by Euphoria, to be honest. There are others that I will not mention here because I thought about it, and concluded that there was a difference between dark and disturbing. I do not find Kyouchuu Retto dark because it is a rather simple story dealing with more fantastical elements, but I do find it disturbing given how it seems to be the author’s barely disguised fetish. Dark and disturbing an coexist, but they are not the same.

But yeah I do find Midori dark for the same reason I found Metamorphoses dark; it is a story of the slow degradation an innocent character continually victimized by the world. It is dark because it is real. The story is more than plausible but it is reality for some of the most forgotten people in our society. Likewise, one can consider Barefoot Gen and Graveyard of the Fireflies disturbing due to their connections to real world tragedies.

I cannot fathom anything darker in anime (At least without splitting hairs), and so it seems disingenuous to say “it is not all that dark” without coming across as an edgelord. I do not think it is a fair comparison to bring up works like Euphoria into these conversations because Euphoria is porn. Part of the disturbing nature is due to the fact that there are people out there who are turned on by this stuff and it was created to pander to these people. This is something I do not think could be said for things like Corpse Party which is a horror game through and through.

The guy who uploaded the one hour of porn on Twitter was being a fucking “win at all cost” moron.
PeripheralVisionNov 29, 12:41 AM
Auroraloose's Aurorasimp
Nov 29, 1:12 AM

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Sep 2023
119
Lain, neon genesis evangelion, tokyo ghoul, devilman crybaby...
Nov 29, 1:19 AM

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Jul 2024
1796
Higurashi, Shiki and I wonder if the upcoming anime the summer Hikaru died will top them.

Shounen no Abyss don't have an anime but the manga and live action drama was very dark
Nov 29, 1:34 AM
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Oct 2024
2
Black Lagoon, especially Roberta's blood trail. Was so bleak that I have stopped caring at some point and only watched through because I am a completist.
Nov 29, 2:52 AM

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Jul 2024
217
Texhnolyze would be at the top of my list,although most of the ones I watch are dark so )
Can I Still Go To Heaven If I Kill Myself?
Nov 29, 3:03 AM

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Jul 2021
8361


Shiki was a totally wholesome show of a village coming together to solve a problem!
The author just had to make some people really dumb, otherwise it's be too clear cut that the villagers are in the right.
Cucumber ice cream is the best!
Nov 29, 3:55 AM
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Apr 2019
200
«Alps Stories: My Annette» (1983)

The story of a 12-year-old girl who continues to hold a grudge and blame her childhood friend boy harsh for accidentally injuring her 5-year-old brother so badly that he could no longer walk.

There are 48 episodes, lasted for one year. The incident in question is in episode #14. This is the successor to «The World Masterpiece Theater,» famous for «Heidi, Girl of the Alps» and «A Dog of Flanders.»
It is a controversial work that put all the children in Japan, who began to view the beautiful scenery of Switzerland without knowing anything about it, in such an irredeemable mood week by week, every Sunday evening, the whole year.
The original work has a strong trait of Christian literature with the theme of sin and forgiveness, but none of the children were looking for such a horrible sermon.
Nov 29, 7:10 AM

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May 2012
19604
Elfen Lied
Steins;Gate
ChäoS;HEAd
Fate/Zero
Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel (Movie trilogy)
Kara no Kyoukai movies
Death Note
Angel Beats (One particular character's flashback *sobs*)
Rewrite season 1 (A villain's flashback. The anime itself sucks)
Hoshi no Koe
Koe no Katachi

Nov 29, 7:23 AM

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Jun 2022
436
Texhnolyze, not only is the story hopeless, bleak, and depressing, but the color pallet is so dark I could barely see what was going on.
Nov 29, 4:42 PM

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Jul 2021
8361
Reply to Forain
I try to forget such negative experiences, but 2 anime are still in my mind: "Elfen Lied" and "Made in Abyss" (although it's drawn cutely, it's a great deception).
Forain said:
I try to forget such negative experiences

I have the opposite issue, I love dark shows.
Cucumber ice cream is the best!
Nov 29, 5:08 PM

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Aug 2010
2400
Far from favorite, but I'm sure it is the darkest I watched so far: Grisaia no Kajitsu.
Nov 29, 5:16 PM
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May 2024
20
"An anime that is very different and not your usual cutesy and funny type and explores more depressing or hard to take in topics."

1) Ao Haru Ride: It doesn't get more depressing than a show in which the male lead literally has depression. ^^
On a more serious note, the show is about two middle-schoolers (who have a crush on each other) reuniting after a few years apart. During that time the boy has become depressed and the girl has surrounded herself with fake friends out of fear of being alone. After reuniting they help each other to overcome their issues and fall in love.
I really liked it.

2) Kimi no Suizou wo Tabetai and Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso: Both of these shows deal with the inevitability of death and how unfair it can be sometimes.

3) Shiki: A show about how people who are too different from each other will inevitably end up going to war against each other even if they try their best to coexist.
Nov 29, 5:18 PM
โ™ก( โ€ขเฅขโ—ก-เฅข)โœงห–ยฐ โ™ก

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Dec 2014
20549
Berserk with all that violence of war, rape, human insanity, gore etc etc.




(ใฃโ—”โ—กโ—”)ใฃ ๐“˜ ๐”€๐“ฒ๐“ผ๐“ฑ ๐”‚๐“ธ๐“พ ๐“ช๐“ต๐“ต ๐“ฑ๐“ช๐“ฟ๐“ฎ ๐“ช ๐”€๐“ธ๐“ท๐“ญ๐“ฎ๐“ป๐“ฏ๐“พ๐“ต ๐“ญ๐“ช๐”‚ ♥
Nov 29, 5:25 PM
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Dec 2023
48
Well hope übelblatt will be the next dark one on all your lists๐Ÿ˜…
Nov 30, 5:24 PM
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Jul 2024
1381
Not too hard for me: Gantz. And Evangelion's End. Both are really dark & depressing. Ultra-violent too.
Also, a certain show that seemed like it would be another "kids getting to heroes in a Giant Robot, fighting to save the World." It gave the last two a run for their money in the eventual body count. Even winning was not safe here. I'll let you guess the title of this one. ( It's actually pretty good, despite all of this.)
I like horror so I have dipped my nose & eyes into some pretty dark shows, in all honesty.
Nov 30, 5:34 PM
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Jul 2024
1381
Reply to Dauphine
I don't usually watch that many dark anime, but perhaps Jigoku Shoujo? I still remember the episodes from it that impacted me a lot. (notably the ones involving animals....)
@Dauphine Ahhh, Hell Girl. Yeah. That show is dark, dark, DARK. LOL Stll SEason 1 is one of my favorites. Horror that sometimes works.
Also, Requiem from the Darkness.
Nov 30, 5:43 PM
Jolly Fat Man

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Oct 2018
1844
Probably Made in Abyss. I still respect season 1, but the 3rd movie & season 2 kinda soured me on the series overall.

Darkest on my favorites is probably Shiki. The only horror anime I find genuinely scary, probably because it reminded me of the original Salems Lot miniseries (1979) that gave me nightmares as a kid.
OhayotakuNov 30, 5:48 PM
Dec 1, 6:27 PM
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Jul 2024
1381
Ok, that Mecha Series I mentioned is actually named. Bokurano. Darn, that show is DARK.
Dec 1, 10:43 PM

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Aug 2019
1722
"Chika Gentou Gekiga: Shoujo Tsubaki" is the first thing that jumped to mind, but I bet there's an anime short by Studio 4°C or something that's darker/more depressing.

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