Anime That Suddenly Turn Dark

Key Takeaways

• The Promised Neverland starts innocent, but reveals a human farm for slaughter.
• In Tokyo Ghoul, an average college student learns crush is a ghoul and becomes half-ghoul.

If you’ve watched a few anime shows, you’re likely one of us who doesn’t trust the first few episodes of a show. What may start off as a simple, cute slice of life may soon unravel itself to become a dark and insidious show that will stay with you in your nightmares.

So if you’re looking for anime that screams looks can be deceiving, you’ve come to the right place. These anime start off innocently enough, but soon take dark turns that will take you by surprise.

Spoilers for various anime below.

8

The Promised Neverland

Season 1, Episode 1: 121045

The Promised Neverland begins as a seemingly innocent show, depicting children in an orphanage as they play and go about their daily lives under the care of their loving mother, Isabella. However, when Connie, one of the kids, is adopted, Norman and Emma chase after her to return a forgotten doll.

What they discover instead is her corpse, prepared for consumption by demonic entities that have overtaken the world. Even more shocking is the realization that the orphanage isn’t truly an orphanage at all, but a human farm for slaughter. Even though Season 2 of the show didn’t do as well as the first one, the fact remains that this was one of the most chilling anime episodes of all time.

7

Tokyo Ghoul

Season 1, Episode 1: Tragedy

Tokyo Ghoul picks up with Kaneki, the protagonist, who is an average, timid college student navigating the ups and downs of life in Tokyo. One day, he meets a girl named Rize in a coffee shop and quickly develops feelings for her. They go out on a date, and everything seems fine. Until he discovers that she’s a ghoul who orchestrated their meeting with the intent of devouring him.

Things go from bad to worse when Rize and Kaneki are accidentally crushed, and doctors perform surgery on Kaneki using what remains of Rize. As a result, Kaneki becomes a half-ghoul, struggling with his past morality and his newfound need to consume human flesh. It seems this timid hero won’t be going to college anytime soon.

6

Odd Taxi

Season 1, Episode 4: Tanaka’s Revolution

Despite its quirky art style, Odd Taxi leans heavily into a thriller atmosphere. It starts on a relatively light-hearted note, following the protagonist, Odokawa, as he navigates his job as a taxi driver in the bustling streets of Tokyo. The turning point comes in Episode 4, Tanaka’s Revolution, when Odokawa’s taxi passes by Tanaka, causing him to accidentally drop his phone. Tanaka had been playing Zooden, an online game, and had finally acquired an ultra-rare dodo, but his phone slipped from his hands before he could save his progress.

In just one episode, Tanaka’s personality shifts dramatically, and the show delves deeper into its darker tones. Tanaka becomes consumed by thoughts of revenge, narrating his life in a dystopian manner with an increasingly unhinged perspective. Fans were stunned by the sudden atmospheric shift, with this episode taking the show’s tension and emotional depth to a new level. Odd Taxi has always had a darker undercurrent, but Tanaka’s Revolution took it several notches higher.

5

Steins;Gate

Season 1, Episode 13: Metaphysics Necrosis

There are shows that take a dark turn, and then there is Steins;Gate. The show starts off in a casual style, showing the life of three friends who like to spend time together, trying to take themselves seriously. Throughout, there is an unsettling feeling dating back to the first episode where a peculiar scene with a scientist, Kurisu, remains unsolved.

The true darkness unfolds when SERN, a powerful organization, targets them after they find a way to go back to the past. Forces of SERN take everyone hostage but kill Mayuri because she is worthless to them. In a desperate effort, Okabe immediately loops through time, and using Reading Steiner, a technique enabling Okabe to retain his memories across timelines, he begins altering the past to save.

4

Erased

Season 1, Episode 1: Flashing Before My Eyes

In the first episode of Erased, Satoru Fujinuma is shown to be a 29-year-old struggling mangaka who starts experiencing a phenomenon that takes him back to the past when an accident is about to take place. Satoru’s mother, Sachiko, dwells deeper into a kidnapping of a child and figures out that the killer is the same man who had committed the murders of three children 18 years ago in Hokkaido.

What’s worse is that this is the same man who Satoru had trusted as a kid. Before she can do anything, Sachiko is murdered in the apartment of her son and Satoru gets accused of it. This is the first time when Satoru’s phenomenon, Revival, activates to take him back 18 years. As if the show had not already gotten dark, the story picks up from Satoru befriending Kayo, the same kid who was murdered, and starts discovering disturbing truths about her life.

Erased is in very ways similar to Steins Gate but takes on a much more sinister and mysterious narrative.

Season 1, Episode 4: An Alchemist’s Anguish

Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood is one of a kind show that has several cases of entering a completely uncharted territory of horror. The first time it happens, however, is perhaps the most heartbreaking of them all. When the Elric Brothers meet Shou Tucker, who is a sewing life alchemist, Tucker allows the Elric Brothers to study in his library so they can research transmutations.

During this visit, the Elric brothers meet Tucker’s daughter, Nina, and their pet dog, Alexander. On their next visit to the library, they find that both Alexander and Nina are missing and Tucker has created yet another Chimera. As they stare in horror, Edward puts the pieces together to realize what has happened and what happened to Tucker’s wife two years ago. This scene is arguably one of the most evil things ever to be seen in the history of anime.

2

Vinland Saga

Season 1, Episode 4: A True Warrior

Vinland Saga has a slow pace that allows it to deeply explore its characters. But this patience is cast aside in the case of Thors’ death in A True Warrior. The series begins in an Icelandic village, centered on Thorfinn, a young, zealous boy who dreams of fighting like his father once did before Thors left his warrior life behind. However, things quickly take a dark turn when mercenaries lure Thors and his men out to sea, aiming to exact revenge for his abandonment of his comrades years before.

In a self-sacrificial act, Thors allows himself to be killed by Askeladd’s forces in exchange for the safety of his men, and his son, who had secretly stowed away on the ship. Thors’ death abruptly shifts the tone of the show, leaving an atmosphere of grief and intensity as Thorfinn embarks on a journey with Askeladd’s group, hell-bent on avenging his father through pure hatred.

1

Made In Abyss

Season 1, Episode 13: The Challengers

Made in Abyss is a beautiful anime, but it was clear that the show would turn dark when Riko and Reg entered the fourth layer. In the final episode of the first season, it’s revealed that Nanachi and Mitty were once orphans who were subjected to cruel experiments by a White Whistle named Bondrewd. Mitty is also cursed by the Abyss to stay in her grotesque condition forever.

Nanachi sees that Reg may have the power to kill Mitty and requests him to end Mitty’s suffering as a final act of love. Arguably the most heart-wrenching scene follows when Reg uses his Incinerator and succeeds, and you’re left listening to cries of Nanachi as she mourns her lost friend. Even though Made in Abyss had several layers of horror, this one by far was the worst, which ended the season final in perhaps the darkest way possible.