Summary
- Some isekai shows have terrifying monsters not typical of the genre.
- Examples include Orc Disaster from “That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime.”
- Others are Corpse God from “Dead Mount Dead Play” and Neuronist Painkill from “Overlord” embody true terror.
Anime is chock-full of scary monsters that serve as nightmare fuel, and this is partly why the medium is so fascinating. As a sub-genre of fantasy, which usually has a lot of mythical beasts and monsters, isekai also has a few creatures that can make the hairs on the back of the neck stand.
Isekai typically follows the natural standard in terms of beasts and monsters, but once in a while, a truly terrifying entity appears that can be categorized as scary. Here are some of them.
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Orc Disaster (That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime)
Rimuru’s First True Battle Test
Generally speaking, That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime is a pretty chill show with an OP protagonist that was almost never in any real danger of suffering defeat. However, the show did have one rather scary monster. That was Orc Disaster.
Orc Disaster is actually a Demon Lord in seed form, and is simply a step in evolution away from a true Demon Lord. This was a form that Geld the Orc assumed after killing and eating the majin Gelmud. In this evolved form, he took on Rimuru and his party and was more than a match for them until Rimuru decided to get serious. While Geld eventually became a part of Rimuru’s kingdom and was a valued member, his initial form of Orc Disaster remains in the mind as an example of a terrifying isekai monster.
5
Soul Eater (Failure Frame)
A Terrifying Monster Made Even More Fearsome With Bad Animation
Failure Frame came out in 2024 and went by without much impact. This had a lot to do with the animation, with the use of 3D models giving it a pretty janky look. While forgettable, it did have a rather fascinating monster: the Soul Eater.
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The Soul Eater was the guardian of the exit of the Disposal Ruins, and was a creature who loved torturing humans. Worst of all was its appearance: it was simply a large head with a large nose, three eyes, and paper-white skin. The animation added to its terrifying appearance as it had that look of something…unfinished. Failure Frame might not have been the greatest isekai classic of 2024, but it sure gave its viewers a good scare.
4
Corpse God (Dead Mount Dead Play)
The Name Alone Could Strike The Fear Of God In Men
Corpse God, who would become Shinoyama Polka, is the protagonist of the show Dead Mount, Dead Play. At the story’s beginning, Corpse God was on the verge of defeat before casting reincarnation magic, which then put him in the body of Polka.
While in the show he was usually in the form of Polka, his Corpse God form was something to fear. Mostly skeletal in nature with six arms, Corpse God is not fun to look at. On top of that, his powers are also quite nasty, as with any necromancer. Able to deploy the dead, including mighty creatures like dragons, the Corpse God is not a being that anyone would like to meet in a dark alley…or anywhere, for that matter.
3
Bunnies (Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World)
How Could Something So Cute Be So Terrifying?
Re:ZERO is one of the most impressive isekai to come out of Japan in the last two decades, telling a harrowing story of the protagonist, Natsuki Subaru. Re:ZERO is a dark isekai with horror elements, and the horrific ways in which Subaru has died is enough nightmare fuel.
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But perhaps his most remarkable death, and most difficult to stomach, was at the hands (or rather, paws) of the carnivorous bunnies. These little creatures look innocent enough; white fur, soft eyes, and the typical oversized front teeth. But those teeth can tear human flesh. When a mob of them converged on Subaru to devour him to death, the look in their eyes, the screams from Subaru, and the blood staining their white fur was hard to forget.
2
Neuronist Painkill (Overlord)
A Revolting Creature
Overlord is a show with many scary creatures. Ainz, as a protagonist, is very frightening, and some of the generals are also quite fear-inducing. But it’s hard to look past Neuronist Painkill. She (or he, who knows) is a special intelligence investigator and is in charge of extracting truth from people through torture.
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Neuronist Painkill is scary for many reasons. She dresses in BDSM attire and truly considers herself beautiful, even though she is anything but. She ‘teases’ her victims seductively while also torturing them. The fact that she is an NPC and was designed in this way to heighten the fear people feel when dealing with her drives home the reality of her terror.
1
No Face (Spirited Away)
A Spectacular Monster That Is Everyone
Spirited Away
- Release Date
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July 20, 2001
No Face is a monster from the Studio Ghibli movie, Spirited Away. No Face is capable of creating gold and many come to him to get their hands on the riches he can create. Simplistic in design, it can be difficult to consider No Face scary, as he is simply a black tube with a mask-like face.
But No Face can morph into something truly terrifying. Able to spout arms and legs and a mouth that can devour large groups of humans, he is very dangerous. What makes No Face so terrifying is the fact that he becomes the people he devours, at least in terms of their personalities. This means No Face’s tendencies are largely human, making him closer to the human race than is comfortable to think about.
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