Anime like ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror

Mononoke

Also known as Mononoke.

Studio: Toei Animation , Asmik Ace , Sony Music Entertainment , Dentsu , SKY Perfect Well Think , Fuji TV , Discotek
Status: Finished
Genres: Fantasy , Horror , Mystery , Psychological , Supernatural

In feudal Japan, evil spirits known as mononoke plague both households and the countryside, leaving a trail of fear in their wake. One mysterious person has the power to slay the mononoke where they stand; he is known only as the Medicine Seller, and he vanquishes the spirits using the power of his Exorcism Sword. However, in order to draw his sword he must first understand the Form, Truth and Reason of the mononoke. Armed with a sharp wit and keen intellect, the Medicine Seller wanders from place to place, striking down the evil spirits in his wake.



Tags: Youkai , Demons , Ghost , Exorcism , Historical , Detective , Ensemble Cast , Anthology , Philosophy , Body Horror , Male Protagonist , Gore , Ships , Pregnancy , Inn , Primarily Adult Cast , Cult , Mixed Media , Orphan , Samurai , Crime , Cosmic Horror , Travel , Incest , Trains , Time Skip , Oiran , LGBTQ+ Themes

Mononoke: Karakasa

Also known as Mononoke The Movie: The Phantom in the Rain.

Studio: Twin Engine , EOTA
Status: Finished
Genres: Fantasy , Horror , Mystery , Psychological , Supernatural

Asa and Kame strike up an immediate friendship when they arrive at the same time for their first day of duty at the Ooku, the splendid pleasure palace housing the harem of Lord Tenshi. The two young women are there to join the many hundreds of other maidservants—men are barred from entering, with immediate beheading the price of trespassing. It soon becomes clear that behind the luxurious lifestyle and ritualized routines of the Ooku lie sinister schemes and cynical rivalries. Meanwhile, a mysterious wandering potion-peddler known only as the Medicine Seller subtly insinuates himself into the Ooku, just as an uncanny, otherworldly menace begins to reveal itself.



Tags: Youkai , Ghost , Primarily Female Cast , Exorcism , Historical , Tragedy , Primarily Adult Cast , Bullying , Male Protagonist , Suicide , Female Protagonist , Royal Affairs , Cosmic Horror , Samurai , Matriarchy , LGBTQ+ Themes , Calligraphy , Writing

Mushishi Zoku Shou 2

Also known as MUSHI-SHI The Next Passage 2.

Studio: Artland
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Fantasy , Mystery , Psychological , Slice of Life , Supernatural

Ghostly, primordial beings known as Mushi continue to cause mysterious changes in the lives of humans. The travelling Mushishi, Ginko, persists in trying to set right the strange and unsettling situations he encounters. Time loops, living shadows, and telepathy are among the overt effects of interference from Mushi, but more subtle symptoms that take years to be noticed also rouse Ginko's concern as he passes from village to village.

Tags: Episodic , Environmental , Philosophy , Mythology , Male Protagonist , Rural , Seinen , Urban Fantasy , Youkai , Historical , Time Loop , Tragedy , Travel , Demons , Time Manipulation , Exorcism

Aoi Bungaku Series

Also known as Blue Literature Series.

Studio: MADHOUSE
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological , Romance , Thriller

Anthology series adapting six modern classics of Japanese literature:

No Longer Human (Ningen Shikkaku) by Dazai Osamu — A high school student becomes lost and alienated. Despondent and aimless, he falls into a cycle of self abuse, depression and drugs that taints his life for years. Told in three chapters, each chapter deals with a different point in his life and the final chapter leaves him standing alone — an empty and hollow caricature of his former self.

In the Forest, Under Cherries in Full Bloom (Sakura no Mori no Mankai no Shita) by Sakaguchi Ango — A love story between a 12th-century woman and a mountain bandit who abducts her.

Run, Melos! (Hashire, Melos!) by Dazai Osamu — An updated retelling of a classic Greek tale of the story of Damon and Pythias. Unwavering friendship is the most prominent theme of this retelling. Despite facing hardships, the protagonist Melos does his best to save his friend's life, and in the end his efforts are rewarded.

Hell Screen (Jigoku Hen) by Akutagawa Ryuunosuke — A famous artist is commissioned by a great lord to create a series of paintings depicting scenes of the Buddhist Hell. The artist is unable to paint scenes that he has not seen himself, prompting him to torture and torment the Lord's staff to create his imagined images of hell. His creative efforts taint the household, as the story descends into madness and destruction.

Kokoro by Natsume Souseki — A 1914 tale of a young man's life journey during the Meiji era. The work deals with the transition from the Japanese Meiji society to the modern era, by exploring the friendship between a young man and an older man he calls Sensei. It continues the theme of isolation developed in Souseki's previous works, here in the context of interwoven strands of egoism and guilt, as opposed to shame.

The Spider's Thread (Kumo no Ito) by Akutagawa Ryuunosuke — The Buddha Shakyamuni chances to notice a cold-hearted criminal suffering in Hell. But this criminal did perform one single act of kindness in not stepping on a spider in a forest. Moved by this selfless act, Shakyamuni takes the silvery thread of a spider in Paradise and lowers it down into Hell, but it falls upon the criminal to seize the opportunity and pull himself out — if he can.



Tags: Classic Literature , Tragedy , Philosophy , Anthology , Historical , Suicide , Autobiographical , Urban , Primarily Adult Cast , Drawing , War , Gore , Ojou-sama , Politics , Rural , Demons , Writing , Psychosexual , Religion , Trains , Female Harem , Fairy Tale , Afterlife , Delinquents , Mythology

Dororo to Hyakkimaru

Also known as Dororo.

Studio: Mushi Production , Tezuka Productions , Fuji TV
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Supernatural

Hyakkimaru is a young man who lacks 48 body parts because they were taken from him by demons before birth, as payment by his father, Kagemitsu Daigo, to obtain his wish to take over the country. When the baby boy was born he was missing 48 parts of his body, and thus was abandoned—thrown into a river. Hyakkimaru has grown up and now has obtained fake body parts so he can eliminate the 48 demons that were made from his body, and to retrieve his missing parts. Along for the adventure is the boy thief, Dororo, with whom he becomes friends.



Tags: Youkai , Demons , Swordplay , Anti-Hero , War , Historical , Achromatic , Tragedy , Samurai , Gore , Dystopian , Body Horror , Disability , Travel , Orphan , Time Skip , Crossdressing , Estranged Family

Mouryou no Hako

Studio: MADHOUSE
Status: Finished
Genres: Mystery , Supernatural , Thriller

Between August and October, 1952, a series of unusual crimes takes place in Musashino and Mitaka: the attempted murder of 14-year-old Kanako Yuzuki, Kanako's abduction from the strange research "hospital" where she was recovering, then abductions of other girls, followed by their severed limbs in custom-fitted boxes being placed in surrounding towns. News editor Morihiko Toriguchi and crime fiction writer Tatsumi Sekiguchi investigate with the help of onmyōji Akihiko Chūzenji. Meanwhile, Tōkyō police detective Shutaro Kiba searches for Kanako, despite Kanagawa police having jurisdiction; and the lawyer for the estate of Kanako's grandfather hires private investigator Reijiro Enokizu to find Kanako, as well. Their investigation uncovers bizarre truths and dark family secrets along the way.



Tags: Historical , Achronological Order , Ensemble Cast , Detective , Police , Primarily Adult Cast , Philosophy , Denpa , Rural , Body Horror , Youkai , Incest

Hi no Tori

Also known as Phoenix.

Studio: Touhouku Shinsha , NHK , Tezuka Productions , Media Blasters , NYAV Post
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Sci-Fi , Supernatural

Hi no Tori is a collection of stories that all have something in common. The Phoenix, whose blood is believed to give an eternal life to one who drinks it. Therefore many seek to kill it, but as the Phoenix of the tale, it's reborn from the ashes. Stories take place in future and the past, where humans fight with each other as always, and everyone is afraid to die. But still, every story teaches a lesson: Life is beginning of an eternity, an never-ending cycle.



Tags: Historical , Mythology , Anthology , Reincarnation , Philosophy

Petshop of Horrors

Also known as Petshop of Horrors.

Studio: MADHOUSE , Trans Arts , TBS , Sentai Filmworks
Status: Finished
Genres: Horror , Mystery , Psychological , Supernatural

Count D, a quite interesting pet shop owner from an area called Chinatown, sells rare and hard to come by pets to people longing for something special, but with each sale comes a contract. If the rules of the contract are followed, everything goes fine, but if someone should break the rules of the contract, the pet shop cannot be held responsible for anything unfortunate that might happen. Leon Orcot, a homicide detective, has linked many odd and unexplainable deaths together; they all were customers of Count D's pet shop, and he intends to find out why.



Tags: Detective , Urban Fantasy , Animals , Philosophy , Foreign , Josei , Episodic , Shapeshifting , Anthropomorphism , Mythology , Male Protagonist , Tragedy , Magic , Mermaid , Crime , Body Horror , Urban , Police , Monster Girl , Necromancy , Body Swapping , Nudity , Love Triangle , Gore , Idol , Heterosexual

MEMORIES

Also known as Memories.

Studio: MADHOUSE , Horipro , Studio 4°C
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Comedy , Drama , Horror , Mystery , Psychological , Sci-Fi

Memories is a compilation of three standalone short films encompassing different genres.

Magnetic Rose — a science fiction tale that tells a chilling story of love, loss, and the unwillingness to forget.
Stink Bomb — a tongue-in-cheek story of a chemical researcher who is just looking for a way to get rid of his cold... so why is everybody around him dying?
Cannon Fodder — an introspective tale about modern wars and simply following orders.

Tags: Anthology , Steampunk , Dystopian , Politics , Seinen , Space , Cyberpunk , Military , Primarily Male Cast , War , Male Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Tragedy , Episodic , Work , Guns , Mopeds , Memory Manipulation , Tanks

Shigurui

Also known as Shigurui: Death Frenzy.

Studio: MADHOUSE , WOWOW , Geneon Entertainment , Akita Shoten , Funimation
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Psychological

Two damaged warriors wear the scars of a twisted and violent past. Bitter rivals for the secrets of their master's sword and the right to his daughter, these samurai inflict wounds on each other that would destroy lesser men. The final chapter of their saga unfolds within a brutal samurai tournament, a gruesome contest arranged to satisfy the bloodlust of a cruel tyrant overlord.

The disfigured legends of the blade must summon the strength for one last battle - a final lesson in the artistry of violence where nothing is more beautiful than the kill.



Tags: Samurai , Gore , Swordplay , Tragedy , Historical , Nudity , Body Horror , Seinen , Primarily Adult Cast , Primarily Male Cast , Male Protagonist , Martial Arts , Cannibalism , Philosophy