The great thing about anime is that anything can happen. Even the most outlandish premises are not out of the question for any story. Sometimes, though, anime can still surprise fans. This most often occurs when a disturbing episode comes out of nowhere. Even some of the sweetest anime can be plagued by an episode that is so jarring that it practically feels out of place.

The most shocking episodes still haunt audiences long after many of these series end. The switch in tone between these episodes and the rest of their series can be so stark that it almost feels like viewers are watching a different anime entirely. These particular episodes may be disturbing, but their anime are made all the more intriguing by their inclusion.

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10

The Promised Neverland Doesn’t Shy Away From Its Premise

Season 1, Episode 1, “121045”

The Promised Neverland is billed as a horror anime. However, not even that knowledge could have prepared anime viewers for the horror of its very first episode. The children of Grace Field House all seem to live their best lives. They are happy, healthy, and well-educated. However, when one child, Connie, is about to be adopted, a few of the others discover what “being adopted” truly means.

Emma and Norman sneak out of the house to hopefully return Connie’s stuffed bunny to her, only to be met with her grotesque corpse instead. They then discover that Grace Field House is a farm where the “Mothers” raise children to be fodder for demons. The site of Connie’s body and terror on Norman and Emma’s faces solidified The Promised Neverland as one of the most horrifying shows (at least for Season 1).

9

Oshi no Ko Makes Audiences Linger On A Corpse

Season 1, Episode 1, “Mother and Children”

Oshi no Ko doesn’t let fans rest on their laurels. Two of the introduced main characters die within the first episode but are reborn as the idol Ai Hoshino’s twin children. Unfortunately, not everyone gets a second chance, as the newly born Aquamarine and Ruby Hoshino discover. After moving into a brand-new home, Ai and her children enter their flat and are greeted by a terrifying man who claims to be a fan.

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As he sees the twins, he is immediately enraged, knowing that Ai has been with “another man”. Ai deftly tries to rectify the situation and play into the terrorizer’s fantasies, but the damage is done. The assailant stabs Ai directly in front of her children. The scene then shows Ai’s lifeless body – in a shakier art style – slumped against the wall of their new home. Oshi no Ko never pretended to be anything other than a psychological horror, but there was something about seeing Ai’s corpse that still sends chills down fans’ spines.

Oshi No Ko

Release Date

April 12, 2023

Directors

Daisuke Hiramaki

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8

Attack On Titan Still Shocks Fans Despite Its Many Horrors

Seasons 1 & 3, Episodes 13 & 52, “Primal Desires – Battle for Trost (9)” & “Descent”

Attack on Titan has swept the world by storm, not the least of which because of its horrifying deaths. One of the most shocking characters who dies is a trainee named Marco Bodt. Marco is an idealistic, perpetually cheerful recruit in the Paradis military. During the attack on Trost District, Marco is part of the team to take back the supply depot, which is overrun by Titans. After Eren’s reveal as a Titan, audiences largely forgot about Marco.

That is until one of his friends, Jean Kirstein, comes upon his body, with a large bite taken out of it. Marco’s death was just one of many used by people like Jean as motivation to keep up. Later, it is revealed that Marco discovered Annie, Reiner, and Berthold’s secret of being Eldian Warriors, and they trapped him in such a way as to get eaten by Titans during the Trost attack. As Marco is being descended upon by Titans, he keeps asking those he considers friends why they were doing this, until his last breath. His cries of confusion and betrayal have affected audiences in the years since his brutal demise.

7

Sukuna’s Destruction Destroys Yuji Itadori In Jujutsu Kaisen

Season 2, Episode 41, “Thunderclap, Part 2”

Jujutsu Kaisen is a shonen horror anime that isn’t afraid to show gore. Countless fights include either a Sorcerer or a Curse dying in some horrific way. Nothing could have prepared audiences for the aftermath that the protagonist, Yuji Itadori, would face after the Shibuya Incident. After a harrowing fight with Choso, Itadori’s body is taken over by the King of Curses, Ryoumen Sukuna. Sukuna then wreaks havoc on everyone in the Shibuya District. Whether human or Curse, Sukuna does not care who or what he destroys in his time taking over Yuji’s body.

When Yuji finally wakes up again, he is met with the entirety of Shibuya leveled before him. Countless lives have been lost, and it was by his own hands. In his despair, Yuji claws helplessly at the ground and screams as the introductory song, “Specialz”, fades in. Yuji’s anguish is tangible. His realization that he handles hundreds to thousands of lives is so guttural, considering that he made it his life’s mission to save anyone he could. The Shibuya Incident Arc is altogether unpleasant, but it is made even more disturbing after listening to Yuji’s plaintive cries in the rubble.

Jujutsu Kaisen

Release Date

October 3, 2020

Directors

Sunghoo Park, Shōta Goshozono

6

The Goblin Slayer Opening Scene It Too Much For Most Viewers

Season 1, Episode 1, “The Fate of Particular Adventurers”

Goblin Slayer is a fantasy anime that stars an adventurer with the same name, as well as another character just known as Priestess. When the show first starts, we see Priestess registering at the Adventurer’s Guild and subsequently teaming up with a group of rookies. On their first quest, they choose to hunt goblins in a nearby cave.

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While making their way through, the novice adventurers chat and discuss their skills and plans for the future. This all takes a sudden turn as goblins attack them from in front and behind. What follows are some of the most gruesome deaths in anime. The characters audiences expected to become mainstays are brutally murdered or poisoned. One of the women in the party is sexually assaulted by the goblins. It is only the appearance of the Goblin Slayer, the eponymous hero, that saves the Priestess. However, seeing the other members of the party being killed in such a terrible fashion disturbed many viewers, turning them off from this show entirely.

5

Ren Amai’s Antics Don’t Fit In Komi Can’t Communicate

Season 1, Episode 4, “It’s Just A Physical. Plus More.”

Komi Can’t Communicate is a delightful anime about one girl’s goal of overcoming her crushing social anxiety. Shoko Komi is helped along the way by her (now) many friends. Yet, one friend seems much more eager to be by her side than anyone else. Although Komi is closest to Hitohito Tadano (since he was her first friend), Ren Amai seems to have different ideas. All the characters in Komi Can’t Communicate represent some sort of anime trope, and Ren’s trope is the yandere role.

Yandere characters are known for being so obsessive that they would kill for the ones they love. In Season 1, Episode 4, “It’s Just A Physical. Plus More.”, Ren attempts to do just that. She kidnaps Tadano and holds him captive in her room until Komi and their other friends come to his rescue. Despite the illegality of her actions, Komi still accepts Ren as a friend. Komi Can’t Communicate is an endearing romance anime, so this random kidnapping plot felt extremely disturbing and out of place in this sweet series.

Komi Can’t Communicate

Release Date

2021 – 2021

Directors

Kazuki Kawagoe, Ayumu Watanabe

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4

Dandadan’s The Acrobatic Silky Fights For A Reason

Season 1, Episode 7, “To A Kinder World”

On paper, anime fans know that Dandadan is a mix of romance, horror, and action. Episode 7, “To A Kinder World” hits audiences like a ton of bricks. This episode focuses on the Acrobatic Silky’s background and how she became a yokai. It also portrays why she is so taken with Aira Shiratori. The episode begins with the sweet story of the woman who would become the Acrobatic Silky playing with her young daughter. It is revealed that the woman goes to extreme measures to get enough money for her and her daughter.

However, things get out of hand, and the woman’s creditors assault her and kidnap her daughter. The woman perishes running after her daughter and takes to the streets as a spirit before she discovers Aira Shiratori, who is looking for her late mother. The entire episode is heart-shattering – especially knowing that the woman never found her child. There are other tragic moments in Dandadan before this, but this episode hits so much harder because of how desperate and personal this story is.

Dandadan

Release Date

September 13, 2024

3

Romantic Killer Details The Horrors Of A Stalker

Season 1, Episodes 11 & 12, “Just Tell Me if You Don’t Like It” & “Last Story!?”

In the last two episodes of Romantic Killer, the story takes a hard left turn from a silly Reverse-Harem anime to a terrifying horror story. Anzu Hoshino has lived her life in relative happiness, despite being reluctantly surrounded by male suitors. That all changes when she meets a woman named Yukana Kishi.

Fans soon learn that the reason Tsukasa Kazuki (one of Anzu’s suitors) is a transfer student is that Yukana Kishi was (and is) his stalker. Now, she has rediscovered him, and she will stop at nothing to get to him this time. Yukana is so fixated on Tsukasa that she becomes violent. The terror on Tsukasa’s face alone is enough to frighten any fan watching. Thankfully, Yukana is captured and faced with a bizarre fate, but the unmitigated horror of Yukana always being around – seemingly out of nowhere – is utterly terrifying.

2

Aggretsuko Isn’t All About Cute Animals In An Office

Season 3, Episode 9, “The End of the Moratorium”

Aggretsuko is a Hello Kitty-esque anime starring anthropomorphic animals in the corporate world. The show is mainly an office comedy with some more outlandish scenarios and romance thrown in between. However, after the protagonist, Retsuko becomes popular as an idol, her once mundane life suddenly takes a drastic turn.

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After information about her home and personal life is leaked online, Retsuko is then attacked on the street by a supposed “fan” with a box cutter. Thankfully, her friend Haida rescues her in time and restrains the assailant. But, after the attack, Retsuko is so terrified that she can’t even go back to her own apartment. Stalking is a reality for many celebrities and this episode takes a stark look at that truth in an otherwise adorable anime.

Aggretsuko

Release Date

2018 – 2022

Directors

Rarecho

Writers

Rarecho

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Season 1, Episode 4, “An Alchemist’s Anguish”

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is not without its harrowing moments. The Elric brothers face a number of treacherous foes clamoring for their deaths. However, the episode featuring a State Alchemist named Shou Tucker still strikes fear, horror, and anger into the hearts of anime fans. In this episode, Edward and Alphonse Elric go to find Tucker, his daughter Nia, and his dog Alexander, to see if they can get any information about restoring their bodies. As the Sewing Life Alchemist, Tucker seems uniquely qualified to answer their questions.

One night, the brothers visit him, and he claims to have created a second talking chimera in order to re-certify as a State Alchemist. Edward (and the audience) are scared, but curious at first, until the chimera begins slowly speaking Edward’s name. Everyone is then horrified to learn that Tucker spliced Nina and Alexander together to create this atrocity. The thought of a father doing this to his own daughter is too much for audiences to bear, even to this day.