The 14 Best Dark Fantasy Anime of All Time

Some of these built the genre; others just made it bleed more. Every pairing forces a choice about what dark is supposed to mean.

1

Attack on Titan

Hajime Isayama's walled-city war story, where the fantasy premise is a delivery system for atrocity and consequence.

2

Berserk (1997)

The original adaptation of Kentaro Miura's mercenary epic, still the genre's reference point.

3

Hellsing Ultimate

A 2006 OVA series about a vampire employed to destroy other vampires for the British crown.

4

Made in Abyss

A deceptively cute 2017 series about children descending into a pit that maims everyone who climbs back out.

5

Devilman Crybaby

Masaaki Yuasa's 2018 reimagining of Go Nagai's demon manga, which ends the world on purpose.

6

Claymore

A 2007 series about half-demon women hired to kill the monsters they are slowly becoming.

7

Vinland Saga

A Viking revenge story that gradually argues itself out of believing in revenge.

8

Jujutsu Kaisen

Modern sorcerers fight curses born from human fear, and the body count stays high.

9

Chainsaw Man

A teenage devil hunter with a chainsaw for a head, in a world where devils are named after fears.

10

Demon Slayer

A Taisho-era swordsman hunts the demons that killed his family and turned his sister.

11

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Two brothers pay a physical price for alchemy in a story that keeps escalating what the price is.

12

Tokyo Ghoul

A student is turned half-ghoul and has to eat people to survive in modern Tokyo.

13

Dorohedoro

A grimy, funny fantasy about sorcerers, body horror and gyoza, set across two connected worlds.

14

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

A magical-girl series that reveals the contract behind the magic to be a trap.