Okay, so Pokémon isn’t particularly scary, but the titular creatures are monsters nonetheless—“Pocket Monsters” is literally their full name! The first season, which many of us are familiar with from growing up watching it on TV, stars an adventurous kid named Ash and his Pokémon pal Pikachu as they explore the Kanto region and strive to become the very best like no one ever was. For some Halloween-tinged episodes, check out “Tower of Terror” (where Ash turns into a ghost and befriends a Haunter in an abandoned house) or “The Ghost of Maiden’s Peak” (a traditional ghost story with a mischievous Ghastly throwing a wrench into the works). It’s wholesome fun for everyone!

For a set of beautifully designed monsters inspired by Shinto and Buddhist traditions, look no further than Demon Slayer. Tanjiro joins the Demon Slayer Corps so he can find a way to turn his sister, Nezuko, back into a human after a powerful demon slaughtered his whole family and imbued the poor girl with demonic essence against her will. Throughout Tanjiro and Nezuko’s journey across Taisho-era Japan, they cross paths with a rogue’s gallery of creatures. Some of our favorites include the drum demon Kyogai, who can rotate the rooms in his mansion by striking the drums embedded in his body, as well as the spider demons, who have a unique family structure and all use spider webs for completely different sets of powers. We can’t wait to see what new monsters will show up in the future!

An excitable necromancer/idol group manager named Koutarou revives seven of the best female singers and actors from Japan’s past as zombies so he can make the greatest idol group to ever exist – all for the sole purpose of renewing interest in Kyushu’s Saga prefecture. What could possibly go wrong?

Despite its off-the-wall premise, Zombieland Saga is a legitimately good anime with a creative spin on the traditional zombie narrative. The girls from older eras struggle to adjust to modern life, while the ones who died more recently have to contend with still-living family members who may recognize them. Overall, it’s a lighthearted show with a nice balance of slapstick comedy and realistic drama that you can easily binge with friends. It can even serve as a gateway for non-idol fans to start appreciating the genre!

Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress has been called many things, most being some variation of “Attack on Titan clone”. And while the two shows share many similarities, we appreciate the careful design work that went into the zombie-like entities known as the “Kabane”. Cages surround their hearts, which glow like molten metal and illuminate the veins that wind underneath their ashen skin. Some of them can fight with human weapons, and a large group can fuse together to form towering monstrosities called “Black Smoke” that overwhelm human settlements instantly.

This anime may not have the most amazing storyline, but it’s just plain fun to watch steampunk warriors struggle against hordes of Kabane to protect the armored trains that allow them to move between safe zones. The very sight of a wave of glowing zombies lurching towards the screen is enough to freak us out all on its own!

The beings that inhabit the Abyss are technically natural animals rather than monsters, but they’re certainly dangerous and terrifying enough to serve the same purpose for our two young heroes. As Riko and Reg descend further and further into the Abyss, they encounter monsters like the Corpse-Weeper (a giant bird that can imitate the voice of its prey calling for help, in order to draw more victims toward it) and the Orb Piercer (which poisons Riko so badly that she almost needs an amputation).

However, they do come across two “monsters” who used to be human before a cruel scientist named Bondrewd experimented on them. Nanachi is an intelligent rabbit-like humanoid who survived Bondrewd’s torture relatively intact, but their friend Mitty has been reduced to a deformed mess who lives in constant pain without ever being able to die. Can Riko and Reg help bring Nanachi and Mitty some much-needed peace while still keeping themselves safe from the ferocious fauna that pursue them at every turn?

If you’re on the prowl for the ultimate vampire anime, Hellsing is sure to satisfy. Our main protagonist Alucard is a centuries-old creature of the night who has used his years to master gunplay, physical combat, shapeshifting, and every single function of his immortal body. He works for the Hellsing Organization, tasked with a holy mission to hunt down and exterminate wayward vampires (and also Nazis, occasionally). When he teams up with his partner Seras Victoria, a former police officer turned vampire who can carry massive anti-tank weapons with her bare hands, Alucard is nigh-unstoppable!

Isekai anime are everywhere these days, but That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime is one of the few that fully fleshes out its world with creative twists on traditional fantasy monsters and makes the whole environment seem vibrantly real. We’ve got crotchety old goblins who can evolve into muscular hobgolbins, tsundere dragons, demon lords competing to be their boss’ number one assistant, and even the lowly slime monster Rimuru has a wide variety of powers and can mimic the shape of an adorable anime girl to better work with the people of his kingdom. One of this anime’s main themes is that people must constantly evolve and change to realize their true potential, so there’s always something new to look forward to!

Right in the middle of New York City, the barrier between the human world and the barely understood Alter World has broken down. It’s up to Libra, a secret organization of humans with enhanced powers tied to their blood, to keep the peace in this town where monsters and magic have become the new normal. Beings from the Alter World can take any shape, from human-like forms to abominations that look like something out of the world’s most cursed Dr. Seuss book, but the most dangerous are the Thirteen Kings who claim to rule the whole city. Their leader, the mad scientist Femt, can create countless disturbing homunculus creatures with the capsules he keeps on his person. Can the members of Libra ever hope to defeat him?

For a more lighthearted take on classic monsters, check out the slice-of-life series Interviews with Monster Girls. “Demi-humans” have become commonplace in everyday life, but are still struggling to be understood by the rest of the world. High school biology teacher Tetsuo Takahashi wants to learn more about demi-humans so he can help bridge the gap between their species, and luckily, he meets four lovely monster girls at his school who are happy to help him out!

These girls don’t want to hurt anybody – they just have different needs when it comes to living in human society. The dullahan wishes she could use her arms to hug others instead of holding her head all the time, the succubus math teacher is embarrassed by her unconscious seductive effect on men, the vampire sucks on government-issue blood packs and tomato juice to curb her biting instincts, and the snow woman is a shy manga nerd who feels guilty about making other people cold all the time. We love learning every little detail about these sweet girls!

This OVA adaptation of the Darkstalkers fighting game series isn’t quite as cheesy as the short-lived American cartoon series that preceded it by a few years, but it’s still just as bombastic and flamboyant as its source material. It’s got a busty succubus, a catgirl singer who wears no clothing other than her fur, a vampire lord who has to defend his castle against Mayan robots, and overblown versions of just about every other monster you can think of. To top it all off, the animation is actually very well done for its time and the ‘80s-style synth soundtrack fits the campy tone perfectly. Night Warriors: Darkstalker’s Revenge is our favorite monster anime because it’s a classic shlocky monster story, but with an added touch of Japanese oddness that gives it a special place in our hearts.

Kurusu Kimihito lived a quiet life alone, at least until his life was wrought with monster girls. Japan is the first country in this world to promote the integration of sentient non-human species into society. An interspecies exchange coordinator named Agent Smith leaves a lamia named Miia in Kimihito’s care, the first of many girls of various species coming into his life! Sexual interactions between species is forbidden by the Interspecies Exchange Act and so the various ladies cannot act upon their attraction; however, an experimental marriage provision in the law leaves Kimihito experiencing a slew of romantic advances from women of an ever-increasing number of species. Who will he choose?

Monster Musume no Iru Nichijou is an ecchi harem anime based in a world where various demi-human monster species exist and wish to integrate and interact with human society. Kimihito’s predicament with regards to the various women he meets is the sheer difference in culture between himself and each species, not to mention the law itself making such connection difficult. The anime is fairly light-hearted and has some comedic elements coupled with the romance and regular fan-service, so if you’re a fan of these elements and monsters, you have yourself a winning combination here.

Kisaragi Saya lives a double life as a schoolgirl and a katana-wielding monster slayer, defending her home village. However, everything she’s ever stood for is shaken when she hears monsters speaking of a forgotten contract, of which she has no knowledge. Then a dog appears, asking her out of curiosity who she promised that she would protect the village, as well as what would happen if that promise were broken. Soon after that encounter, Saya’s world is thrust into a darkness like none she has known before.

Notorious for the intense gore and blatant disregard for any conception of human life in the series, Blood-C is a revival of the popular Blood franchise which saw success with Blood: The Last Vampire. Blood-C is an out and out horror show complete with terrifying monsters of many types simply tearing into scores of people and mercilessly feasting on high schoolers. This isn’t for the faint-hearted, believe us.

2071. Humanity is on the brink of extinction after man-eating monsters known as the Aragami appeared. Immune to all conventional weaponry, humanity found itself at the mercy of the Aragami, which ravaged the land and destroyed everything in their wake. An organisation called Fenrir was established in order to save what remains of the human race. Using “God Eaters”, human beings infused with “Oracle Cells”, Fenrir was able to create a type of soldier able to wield the only weapons capable of killing Aragami: the God Arc. Utsugi Lenka is one such God Eater, and he must learn to master his weapon in order to realise his desire to exterminate the Aragami once and for all.

God Eater is a CGI animated survival anime not unlike Shingeki no Kyojin and Koutetsujou no Kabaneri in terms of setting: humanity in this world are holed off behind large walls intended to keep the Aragami out. These monsters are incredibly powerful and through sheer destruction, the anime presents to us a situation that is in many ways a worst-case scenario of what could happen if monsters truly existed.

In 2021, the Gastrea Virus infected human beings, turning them into hideous monsters. The pandemic spread, leaving the remnants of humanity to find refuge behind the Monolith Walls made of Varanium, the only material capable of hurting the Gastrea. In order to stand a fighting chance, children infected with trace amounts of the Gastrea Virus and hence possess superhuman abilities are given partners known as Promoters, who guide and protect them. These duos are sent out on missions to curb the Gastrea threat and one such Promoter/Initiator duo is that of Satomi Rentarou and Aihara Enju, who protect their hometown of Tokyo from the monstrous threat.

The Gastrea of Black Bullet are terrifying partly due to the fact that they were once human beings. The world of Black Bullet is hence a harsh world where loved ones succumb to a vicious disease which erodes their humanity and makes them crave human flesh and destruction. In addition to the main threat, there’s the added social aspect they explore in Black Bullet through the Cursed Children, or Initiators, who face intense social alienation and systematic oppression from those uninfected by the Gastrea Virus.

Humans and demons are like heads and tails – much like the realms of Assiah and Gehenna, their respective realms of residence. Demonic possession is the only way in which demons can escape Gehenna, a fact which leaves Satan, the ruler of Gehenna, trapped in his own world since no suitable hosts exist in Assiah. Desperate to conquer the human world, Satan sends his son, hoping that he will grow in evil and become a vessel fitting for the demon king. Okumura Rin is a normal teenager until he is attacked by demons one day and finds out that he is the son of Satan. With Satan wishing to conquer Assiah together with his son, the good-natured Rin decides to become an exorcist alongside his brother Yukio in order to protect Assiah from the rule of the demon king.

Ao no Exorcist follows the journey of the son of Satan as he navigates being the son of Satan, the pressure of learning to become a proper exorcist and the weight of the death of his foster parent on his conscience. Throughout the anime, Rin and his classmates combat scores of demons boasting varied monstrous forms and agendas in preparation for an eventual confrontation with Satan himself. Rin must also learn to control his inherited demon powers if he is to protect anyone.

Mikado City falls into incredible danger when a gate to another world opens up, allowing strange creatures known as Neighbours to arrive on planet Earth. The Neighbours are unaffected by traditional weaponry, eliciting the establishment of the Border Defense Agency, which combats the Neighbours threat through the deployment of special weapons known as “Triggers”. Despite the delicate situation, members in training are not allowed to deploy their Triggers outside of training, but when the mysterious transfer student is dragged into a forbidden area by bullies and they are attacked by Neighbours, Mikumo Osamu decides to act upon his sense of justice. However, it turns out that the transfer student, Kuga Yuuma, is a Neighbour in disguise.

World Trigger is an anime more in line with a science fiction-esque plot and execution; however, it differs from most of the other titles on this list due to the way in which the monsters concerned are combatted using other monsters. Neighbours vs Neighbours is how humanity holds its own in this universe. World Trigger boasts interesting lore and characters as well as an art style that deviates from the norm, albeit slightly, it still is an interesting anime to watch from an art perspective.

The Crimson Denizens are beings from another world who feed on the life energy of human beings. All that remains after they feed is the faint remainder of a soul known as a “Torch”, the soon-to-be gone residue of one’s existence. In order to put an end to it, warriors known as Flame Hazes are deployed to fight the monsters. Sakai Yuuji is a regular high schooler who is suddenly attacked by a Crimson Denizen and saved in the nick of time by a nameless Flame Haze who looks like a regular girl except for her burning hair and eyes. Before Yuuji can learn about what he’d just witnessed, he is shocked to discover that he has already been reduced to a Torch – Sakai Yuuji was already dead.

Shakugan no Shana follows Yuuji and his new companion who he then names “Shana” as they combat more Crimson Denizens. The Crimson Denizens are monsters varied in form and intention, but their ravenous appetite for human existence is fairly similar across the board. This anime boasts an interesting escalation as the series progresses and by the third and final season, the complexion of the story has changed entirely, revealing the development of both Yuuji and Shana.

The land of Mistarcia has seen chaos of unfathomable levels. Thousands of years ago, the dragon Bahamut caused great destruction in this world of gods and demons living amongst mankind. The gods and demons put their differences aside in order to seal away the evil beast for all eternity. Favaro Leone is a bounty hunter living in this peaceful Mistarcia; however, his peaceful life comes to an end when he meets a girl named Amira, who wields one part of the key holding together the peace that they’re currently enjoying. Having to fulfil the role of a hero, Favaro must find a way to navigate the imminent clash between gods, demons and humans that is brewing.

With the awakening of an ancient dragon looming over the heads of the characters in Shingeki no Bahamut, the stakes are monstrously high for Favaro and his cohort. The anime’s use of supernatural components like gods and demons, as well as figures from history makes for an interesting mix. The animation is also top-notch and this hails true for fight scenes and periods of inactivity and the art itself is beautiful. Beautiful.

Magano is a realm teeming with monsters called Kegare. Exorcists use this realm in order to deal with these beasts. Adashino Benio is a promising exorcist sent to Tokyo; however, on her way there she collapses into Enmadou Rokuro’s arms. Rokuro is a troubled exorcist much like herself and when they witness children being kidnapped by Kegare, Benio rushes in, dragging Rokuro along with her. The battle proves to be too difficult for Benio, but luckily Rokuro was there to save her. The two are destined to become the fabled “Twin Star Exorcists”, fulfilling an age-old prophesy that describes the cleansing of the world of all impurities.

The Kegare of Sousei no Onmyouji are incredibly powerful forces of destruction and Rokuro’s past is tainted by terrible experiences he has had with them. The Kegare have various forms but they generally have black skin and kuji-kiri marks on their torsos. They are apparently borne of people’s negative karma. Sousei no Onmyouji’s overarching plotline concerning the Twin Star Exorcist prophesy greatly informs the trajectory of the events in the story.

15-year-old Aotsuki Ushio is the energetic and stubborn son of an eccentric temple priest. His father had often told him stories about the monsters known as youkai, but Ushio took them to be mere fable. However, when Ushio’s father is away on work, Ushio discovers a terrifying youkai impaled by the legendary Beast Spear, pinned to the wall in their basement for the past five centuries. The beast tries to coax Ushio into setting him free and a reluctant Ushio grants that wish but a sudden youkai outbreak threatens the lives of Ushio’s friends. With no one else to rely on for help, Ushio elicits the help of the basement youkai, Tora, with the Beast Spear as his only insurance that Tora won’t get out of hand. Thus begins the journey of an unlikely duo through the scary supernatural world.

Ushio to Tora is an exemplary shounen title that is highly entertaining and promises a fairly decent magnitude of lore for a show as short as this. Ushio is a quintessential shounen protagonist, making the anime incredibly easy to warm up to especially if shounen is your preferred genre. The youkai are plentiful and many based on Japanese folklore which is incredibly interesting and the anime boasts an awesome plotline to boot!

After being in a state of suspended animation for 12 years, Kaido, Yuji woke up only to find out that blues are inhibiting the Earth while humans live on a space station known as the “second earth”. With his awakening, he discovered that he has the power to kill the blues and regain their lost home.

Blues are originally made for the sole purpose of becoming a bioweapon. As observations have been done, humans noticed that this large bugs not only eat organic matter but also inorganic matter as well. The blues must have realized that places with heavy population were a great nesting place as humans are good for their nutritional needs. Humans tried to eliminate the blues, but like some viruses that mutate to be immune to some medicines, the blues also found a way to alter themselves to take the blows of humanity has to offer. Not before long, humans were forced to live outer space with the blues still constantly reproducing to dominate the planet earth. This time, humans are considered insects by the blues and this brute creature will not stop until they annihilate humanity entirely.

Once you bypass the CGI aspects of the anime, you will see the great story that Ajin has to offer. Ajin were first momentary discovered in Africa that was followed by some reported sightings of it in parts of the world. Since Ajin are quite rare, humans of today's time regard them as nothing but superstitions. That is what our hero Nagai, Kei thinks until an accident proved to him that Ajin do exist and that is he is one of them.

Ajin prominent trait would be their immorality. This is why the government are out to get them for they a good test subject for certain cruel experiments. Since Ajin are being treated this way, they are wrecking havoc all over the place in revenge for what the government has done to them. To make matter worse, Ajin have screams that can paralyze any humans and uses their Black Ghost to fight. They are mostly deadly with some Ajin having even no regard for human life.

Tokyo Ghoul is one of those animes that will make you question yourself of who is on the right side or who is on the wrong side. Is it the humans? Or is it the ghouls? Tokyo not only inhibits humans but there are also ghouls who lurk around, perfectly blended with mortals who they see as food. As fearsome creatures are only inches away, our protagonist Kaneki, Ken, is supposedly leading a normal life as normal people should. Until an incident occurred where he wakes up one morning, only to discover that he was turned into a half-ghoul. Now trapped in his new distorted world, Kaneki sees first hand the contrast between humans and ghouls.

In the world of Tokyo ghoul, humans are not considered at the top of the food chain anymore as there are already ghouls who can only eat humans and their own kind. Ghouls are highly dangerous when they choose to be. They have monstrous strength and can easily kill humans with their Kagune which they use as their primary weapon for hunting and for killing.

Based on the 1989 manga by Iwaaki, Hitoshi, Parasyte pulls us from its world where parasitic aliens attach themselves to humans and lay prey who falls victim to them. Unique circumstances lead Izumi, Shinichi to be infected by a parasite through his right hand instead of the normal way where parasites infect the brain. After some unfortunate happenings, Shinichi decided to take down all parasites together with his right-hand man or in this case alien Migi. (Pun intended)

In their original form, parasites are creatures that really aren’t imposing at all. But once these creatures successfully attach itself to its host, they are scary and fatal. When they finally have full control of their host’s body, they proceed to go out in search for more humans to eat as that is what their instinct tell them too. At times, when faced with dangerous situations, they can alter their host’s body to harden up and create sharp weapons all over the body for combat.

Claymore is a dark fantasy that is set during the medieval times where Yoma feast on human flesh and can blend in with human society. It is now up to the Claymores, who are half human and half Yoma hybrids, to stop these demons from terrorizing humans. The story starts with Raki who was saved by Clair, a Claymore that is normally rejected by society.

Just like our selection above, a normal Yoma is a parasitical creature that also invades the brain to gain access to a human body. The only difference is that Yoma, whether they eat a lot of humans or not, must find another host after some time to continue living. Yoma are often sadistic, enjoying how they kill and eat their prey. However, beings much more powerful than these normal demons started to pop out of nowhere that even Claymores are having a hard time to kill it. They are called the awaken beings who were former Claymores turned Yoma due to them losing control of their demonic energy. Awaken beings are beastly in appearance and more threatening than a normal Yoma.

What comes after death? Do we go to heaven or to hell? Or maybe we wake up suddenly to a place where we are forced to play a game for our survival. For Gantz through, that is the case. Kurono, Kei, and Katou, Masaru died after trying to save a homeless man. They didn’t expect that afterlife would force them in a twisted mission to fight monstrous aliens and robots in order to live.

Gantz has a lot of monsters revolving around its world. With each new targets presented to the participants, its either do or die depending on how they smartly defeat their targets. The aliens that are asked to eliminate ranges from docile ones (which are rare) to unpleasant vicious beings. Gantz definitely shouts savagely, women almost getting raped, children being beaten up to a bloody plump, torturing men endlessly until they die and the remaining will either be dismembered or squished down by the said target. This show is gory that can make us cringe with the way they show brutality towards the aliens or especially the humans.

Just like Ajin, who uses CGI as a means to show its marvel, Knights of Sidonia is set in the futuristic dystopian world where the remaining humans are constantly on the run in fear of being extinct. With earth long gone, humans rely on “seed ships” to be their new home and uses high-end technology to multiply and to answer their basic needs. Meet Tanikaze, Nagate who lives on the one of the known “seed ships” that is Sidonia. Follow him as he embarks on a journey to protect Sidonia as a “Garde” pilot.

Gauna, are aliens that destroyed the earth that still continuously hunt humans down to extinction. Gauna has two main parts, the true body, and its placenta. With its placenta, they are able to morph their body to their bidding. While the true body, in turn, can absorb a whole lot of things including humans. They are also extremely hard to kill, as the only way for a Gauna to die is for them to be pierced in their true body by a Kabizashi, which is a large spear-like weapon.

From the famous Blood franchise comes with Blood-C. Kisaragi, Saya is an upbeat school girl by day and a fierce monster slayer by night. She has learned the ways of the sword through her father and inherited her ceremonial sword through her mother. With this by her side, she has fully devoted herself to protect her once peaceful village only for her beliefs to be tested as she uncovers truth after truths.

The old ones or also called elder bairns are the primary antagonist of the show. They are in huge numbers and with different traits and abilities depending on their kind. Like most of our selections, their instinct is to kill and feed on humans. Though, the monsters of Blood-C are more, let's say, creative when they slaughter their poor victims. It's precisely evident that they do not only murder the humans out of hunger, but they also do so to enjoy and relish the terror that is painted in their prey’s face. Humans have tried to reach out to them and beg for them to stop, but this vile creature sees humans for what they are to them: food.

Before the start of the series, scientists sent out cockroaches in the planet mars as an experiment to see if it deemed habitable by earth creatures. It was a success only show its problems in the distant future. At present, humans are plagued by a martian virus where the only cure for it can be found in mars. Expeditions are made by genetically modified humans to get samples of mutated cockroaches and exterminate them to get a hold of the martian planet once more.

Cockroaches are mostly hated by anyone. They are dirty and they look disgusting. After watching Terra Formars, surely your hate towards these insects will double up a notch. And we can’t help it as the anime depicts them in a much more gruesome way possible. These evolved humanoid cockroaches are called Terraformars. They are the one who currently lives in the planet mars and has a distinctive hatred for humans. Terraformars are quite intelligent and adaptable, relying on their fellow brethren to eliminate humans.

They still retain their cockroach traits even after evolving thus humans must have special ways to wipe them out by first modifying their bodies coupled up with a well-planned attack. Even with this, Terraformars are still hard to dispose of as they still continue to improve fast with each ability being stolen from their victimized modified humans.

Berserk is an anime that is known as one of the true classics and is loved by many. A man who grew up from the harsh realities of battles, Guts story began when he was recruited by Griffith in his group of mercenaries that is the “Band of the Hawk”. However, as the series progress, we see Guts’ glorious mercenary days to his current demon slaying ways due to his friend’s lust for more power.

Being a dark fantasy anime, Berserk’s world is abundant when it comes to races. Just to mention a few, there are dragons, elves, golems, trolls and the Apostles. Apostles are once human beings who threw their humanity away to be a demonic monster because of their despair. Although formerly a human, Apostles doesn’t have any trace of humanity left in them after their transformation. They adhere hedonism and only listen to their rulers known as the God Hand. Overall Apostles, along with their leaders, practically do anything inhumane to remaining mortals. Their evil deeds are so repulsive that it left us fathomable unsettling feelings.