This is Scary? Horror Anime That Fails to Scare

The horror medium has it rough if you really think about it. Horror—like comedy—is subjective and while some might be insanely afraid of a creepy ghost girl, others will laugh at the sheer thought a ghost can scare anyone. However, some horror just fails to deliver to all audiences due to maybe lackluster animation or a ho-hum story that just screams missed shot. Here at Honey’s Anime, we have seen many horror anime that do just that, miss the mark; so we decided to share a few that are considered the worst of the worst.


Mayoiga (The Lost Village)

  • Episodes: 12
  • Aired: April 2016 – June 2016

The Lost Village had the chance to be a truly creepy story. The concept of a group of strangers being trapped in a strange village and forced to survive otherworldly entities from the mind that just screams good horror. Unfortunately, The Lost Village failed to deliver thanks to some silly looking monsters and a cast of characters that scream idiotic. The Lost Village ends up being so not scary that it lasted 12-episodes and wasted our time. Even those who aren’t critical of the flaws found in The Lost Village can agree that the series could have been done better had the story made more sense and the monsters weren’t giant oppai beings or a strange bus that looked made from human parts.


Sekai no Yami Zuka (The World of YAMIZUKAN)

  • Episodes: 13
  • Aired: April 2017 – June 2017

Who doesn’t love short horror stories that feel semi-realistic? This is why series like The Twilight Zone and Outer Limits send shivers in the spines of American audiences. The World of YAMIZUKAN seemed to be the answer to these similar series but in anime form and we were excited to see the stories within. Unfortunately, The World of YAMIZUKAN rarely ever gave us a slight chill as the stories were often predictable and pretty lackluster. Add to that pain, every episode was only 4 minutes and all done in still images—with the exception of a still image live-action episode—that ranged from beautiful to child-like. The World of YAMIZUKAN could have been a truly strong anthology-like series but in the end, it can’t even scare a child.


Gyo (GYO: Tokyo Fish Attack!)

  • Episodes: 1
  • Aired: July 2018 February 2012

Famed horror mangaka Junji Ito is easily the face of the manga horror genre. Ito’s works are famous for being downright creepy to truly nightmare-inducing but Gyo: Tokyo Fish Attack! wasn’t one of them. Gyo is a story focused on strange fish-like abominations rising out of the ocean and onto land killing/infecting anything they cross paths with. The idea is a bit intriguing when you realize how the fish were mutated but the acting and silly nature of the overall plot tend to undermine the actual horror elements. Gyo, in the end, feels like a Western B horror flick that while not horrible to watch—it can be enjoyable with friends or family—isn’t horrific despite trying to be.



Hametsu no Mars (Mars of Destruction)

  • Episodes: 1
  • Aired: July 2005

If you scour the internet looking for lists of the worst anime movie of all time there’s one series you’ll probably come across, Mars of Destruction. This horrendous anime movie released in the early 2000s and looks as if it was created before the 1980s. Bad animation, bad storytelling, unlikable heroes/heroines, and terrible voice work are just a few elements to why Mars of Destruction earns its 2.25 rating on MAL. The saddest part of Mars of Destruction is the idea should be horrifying. Alien invasions are a fear shared by many people and the concept should be perfect for a horror-themed anime movie. Sadly, Mars of Destruction is just bad and the fear you’ll get watching it is that it doesn’t end fast enough.


Final Thoughts

Horror anime is a hard medium to create if we’re being honest. Most horror ideas have been ad nauseam. Still, when a horror anime releases we hope to get one moment of genuine fear or scare and the list above doesn’t deliver at all.

If you want to scare someone this Halloween make them avoid the shows above at all costs! Have you readers seen these series mentioned above? Comment below with your thoughts and for more horror related articles this Halloween, be sure to keep stuck to our hive here at Honey’s Anime!

mayoiga-wallpaper-Wallpaper-500x283 This is Scary? Horror Anime That Fails to Scare

Writer

Author: Aaron

Hey everyone I’m Aaron Curbelo or Blade as I’m called by my YouTube Subscribers. I’ve been an anime/manga fan since I was a young kid. In terms of anime I have watched nearly a thousand shows and have read hundreds of manga series. I love writing and honestly was so happy to join Honey’s Anime to get a shot to write articles for such a wonderful site. I’m a firm believer in respect in the anime community being the most important embodiment we should all have. We all love anime and we have varying opinions of series but we should respect one another for those differences! Life is too precious to spend it making needless arguments in a community that should be the shining example of loving an amazing medium. I hope as a writer for Honey’s Anime I can bring you folks some amazing articles to read and enjoy!

Previous Articles

Top 5 Anime by Aaron



Recommended Post

DEVILMAN crybaby dvd