Seven Terrifying Undead Anime Series

When you think about anime, you might envision muscular Saiyans or magical lolita pre-teens who dream of saving the world. The ever-growing medium is perhaps best known for its action-packed shonen titles or cutesy shojo series – but there’s one subgenre that gets overlooked way too often.

If you guessed horror, then you called it.

Japan is no stranger to quality horror franchises. The country brought moviegoers films such as The Ring and The Grudge, two of the scariest movies around. The Japanese have also brought their classic sense of terror to dozens of anime series which will fill you with all kinds of dread.

Here at ComicBook.com, we’re getting into the Halloween season and counting down seven of the most terrifying undead anime series around. These series will surely satisfy any zombie lover who is looking for the right amount of fright and fluff.

Gungrave

Thriller enthusiasts, do we have a show for you. Gungrave is the perfect anime for fans who’ve got a thing for zombies and classical suspense tropes.

Oh, and did we mention the zombies? There’s a lot of them.

The anime follows a character named Brandon Heat more than a decade after he was murdered by his best friend. The hero was reanimated using a hi-tech procedure known as Beyond The Grave. Heat was brought back by a shadowy organization who wants him to destroy the crime syndicate he and his former best friend created, but the task is not an easy one. Heat finds himself continually interrupted by free-range zombies and bothersome criminals who want to end him for good. 

Sunday Without God

Imagine a world where death and life no longer exist. In this world, when the living pass on, their souls remain trapped their bodies and become so corrupted that they turn into prototypical zombies. If that kind of place sounds interesting to you, then it is time you checked out Sunday Without God.

The series takes place in a world where humanity has lost the ability to die or give birth, placing society is a violent stasis. According to myth, God has abandoned the world because of mankind’s sinful nature, but the creator did gift some humans with the ability to bring the undead to rest. These so-called gravekeepers are humanity’s last hope, and the show follows one such heroine named Ai she learns why the world has fallen into its current state and saves the living from the undead. 

School-Live!

When you look at the posters for School-Live!, you might think the show is another adorable shojo ready to please teens all over the world. Of course, you’d be wrong then. The show masquerades itself as an innocent anime for light-hearted audiences, but what veiwers really receive is a hoard of blood-thirty zombies.

The anime follows a young high school student named Yuki Takeya. The optimistic girl is a member of the School Living Club with a group of other girls who also reside at the high school. At first, viewers are led to believe there’s nothing wrong with the desolate locale, but fans eventually learn that Megurigaoka Private High School is anything but peaceful. In reality, the building has been invaded by aggressive zombies who are out to kill the School Living Club members.

Corpse Princess

Japan definitely has a thing for turning mythology on its head. Corpse Princess does just that as it defies traditional depictions of zombies and horror tropes with its protagonist Makina Hoshimura. Just look at the heroine; She’s way too cute to be called a zombie.

But that’s what she is. The anime tells Makina’s story once she has been turned into a living corpse after she was murdered. Reanimated as a contracted corpse, the heroine must kill 108 of her fellow living corpses before she can enter Heaven. Makina is forced to team up with a mysterious organization of anti-corpse monks then who act as her overseers during her bloody quest. And, man, it is real bloody.

Sankarea

Sankarea is not your typical zombie tale.

Rather than focusing on gore, the anime series question what it would be like to fall in love with an unusually beautiful zombie. The show follows a boy named Chihiro Furuya, a high school student who’s obsessed with anything zombie-related. The teen goes as far as to try and revive his pet cat, but his revival potion fails to resurrect the feline. However, it does work on a young girl named Rea Sanka who ingests the drink before she commits suicide. The potion turns her into a zombie, prompting the girl to seek out Chihiro once she comes back to life, and Sankarea depicts how their fumbling romance blossoms from there. 

Tokyo Ghoul

Alright, so Tokyo Ghoul doesn’t feature zombie as we know them, but the show is all about flesh-eating monsters. So, you know – it’s pretty close.

The popular series takes place in an alternate universe where creature called ghouls live in secret amongst humans. The feared monsters live by eating human flesh and seek out their prey using enhanced senses amongst other supernatural powers. Tokyo Ghoul follows the story of Ken Kaneki, a college student who is transformed into a half-ghoul after being bitten by a former love interest. With a new, uncontrollable desire for flesh, Ken struggles to fit into society as a half-ghoul while also keeping his transformation hidden from the world. 

Kanbaneri of the Iron Fortress

If you are a fan of zombies, then you need to start watching Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress ASAP.

The series debuted this year to rave reviews, and it will be easy for you to see why once you start watching. The show takes places in a dystopian future where a mysterious virus has turned humans into creatures known as Kabanes (Corpses). The undead are insanely fast and aggressive – plus they can’t be killed that easily. In fact, the only way to take them down is to stab their glowing, iron-clad hearts. The anime follows a young engineer named Ikoma as he and his comrades start battling against these monsters after they infiltrate one of humanity’s last fortress cities.