With the Chainsaw Man anime being revealed to be coming to Crunchyroll's roster in the Fall 2022 anime season, as well as its manga making a highly anticipated return, horror is slated to have an excellent year in 2022.
While many horror anime don't live up to the expectation of anime fans, such as the adaptation of Junji Ito's Tomie in 2018, these particular anime are the highest rated adaptations and original horror series according to MyAnimeList that prove how much potential horror really has in the arena of anime.
Paprika
Researchers Atsuko Chiba and Kosaku Tokita worked tirelessly to develop the "DC Mini," a device that can be used to delve into the subconscious and dreams of their patients. In doing so, they wished to learn and potentially cure the mental ailments of their patients, however, the technology is eventually stolen and used to harm people instead of its original, good intention.
Paprika's use of psychological horror by showing the mental degradation of the characters around Atsuko and Kosaku, as well as its use of dreams, makes the ideas in Paprika seem all too plausible. While it does have a fantasy element to it, ever-growing technological advancements makes our world grow ever closer to Paprika's, which is a truly terrifying thought and why Paprika is popular years later.
Dorohedoro
After being cursed by a seemingly random stranger for something he has no memory of, Dorohedoro's Caiman searches daily for any information he can find on the one who cursed him to learn why he was cursed, remove the curse, and more than likely kill the curser for subjecting him to such a fate.
While Dorohedoro has been criticized for its less-than-stellar use of 3-D animated characters rather than using far more cohesive 2-D animation, the rough, unsettling movements adds to the sense of disturbance in this series which makes it one of the scariest body horror anime ever made. Dorohedoro has become well known for its character's colorful personalities and willingness to depict gory fights to the death.
Akira
Akira, created in 1988, is set in a futuristic Tokyo, Japan that had previously been devastated by WWIII but over the years had been restored. Now in the year 2019, Neo-Tokyo's streets are filled with violent fights between the world government and oppressed citizens. After a particularly dangerous chase, main characters Shoutaro Kaneda and Tetsuo Shima uncover the government's dark secret and change the fate of the entire city.
The masterful handling of 2-D animation and excellent writing pushed the psychological horror aspect of Akira to never-before-seen heights. Its city-destroying violence, graphic bloody fights between the gangs and government, and exquisitely detailed body horror has made Akira a staple of anime and one of the best horror anime ever created.
Berserk: Ougon Jidai-Hen III - Kourin
The third installment in the anime movie adaptation of Berserk's Golden Age arc, Berserk: Kourin finalizes the arc and serves as a prequel to Berserk (2016). As the original anime adaptation of Berserk was made 15 years prior, Berserk: Kourin acts as a 3-D animation test and advertisement for the upcoming animated series.
While Berserk: Kourin was hampered by its less than ideal 3-D animation, the fact that it covered the climax of the Golden Age arc, which is one of the darkest and most devastating moments in all of manga and anime history, redeemed it. Even with a major handicap, Berserk: Kourin is a testament to the absolute genius of Kentarou Miura.
Shinsekai Yori
Shinsekai Yori is the coming-of-age story of Saki Watanabe, who recently awakened her supernatural powers and was granted permission to join her friends at Sage Academy, a school that helps nurture the talents and abilities of young psychics. While initially relieved to join her friends, Saki soon finds herself embroiled in the dark secrets of the academy and her hometown.
Shinsekai Yori has become well known for its surprisingly dark plot and the suspense it generates as Saki and her friends probe deeper into the darkness of their society. The surmounting dread every episode brings as the picturesque world around Saki crumbles with each new discovery has led this series to become a staple in the supernatural and coming-of-age genres alike.
Parasyte
Shinichi Izumi is the poster child for average, with an average life and no particularly good or bad characteristics. However, after Izumi was attacked by a strange "parasite," his life quickly becomes more complicated and dangerous, as the more he learns of these creatures, the more he realizes the random gruesome deaths around Tokyo are not as mysterious as they originally seemed.
Hitoshi Iwaaki's excellent artistic abilities used to create the Parasytes, some of the scariest monsters in horror anime, fill this series with chilling depictions of grotesque monsters usually accompanied by large areas drenched in blood reminiscent of Junji Ito. Along with its gut-churning horror, the gradual and then all of a sudden shift in Shinichi's character portrays a realistic if not brutal idea of what someone in a similar situation would experience.
Hellsing Ultimate
In a world overrun with evil immortal vampires, the extermination group Hellsing and its fearless leader Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing make it their ultimate mission to destroy all the vampires that plague the world. While the vampires possess much greater strength than humans, Hellsing has its ultimate trump card, the vampire Alucard.
Hellsing Ultimate is a remake of the original Hellsing anime made in 2001. Hellsing's dark storyline, gory battles, and the utter wildness of the main character Alucard have made it a spectacle of both horror and vampire anime. With the addition of Victoria Seras, Hellsing Ultimate is distinguished as a brutal and blood-pumping anime full of gore and hails of bullets.
Mononoke
Mononoke follows the exploits of "The Medicine Seller," a man who travels around Feudal Japan in his search for "Mononoke," dangerous spirits who have been responsible for the deaths of scores of people. When his travels find him arriving at a particular inn, the "Medicine Seller" is tasked with defeating a particularly vicious Mononoke before it can kill again.
For the "Medicine Seller" to exterminate the Mononoke, he must first do extensive and exhausting research on each Mononoke he faces to learn what they are and how to defeat them. The tension of watching the "Medicine Seller" be so vulnerable against the terrifying, supernatural monsters before he is able to even attempt to fight them fills this supernatural horror with extensive tension.
Perfect Blue
Mima Kirigoe, a famous J-pop idol from the group CHAM!, decided that it was time for her to move on from being an idol to pursue her career as a professional actor. However, upon leaving the group, Mima is beset with a string of bad fortune, from a stalker who tracks her moves to learning that her former idol group's popularity has risen with her departure, leading to Mima's growing apprehension.
Seeing Mima's gradual transformation from hopeful rookie actor to an increasingly paranoid and frightened young woman as life continues to batter her has made Perfect Blue one of the most notable displays of psychological trauma in anime. The mounting tension of not knowing what will happen next to Mima or what she herself may do has solidified Perfect Blue as potentially the great horror-drama anime in existence.
Kenpuu Denki Berserk
After being forced to live a cruel life as a child soldier where he faced death every single day of his life, Guts, the main character of Berserk, sets out on a journey of revenge. Kenpuu Denki Berserk is the anime adaptation of Berserk which follows the plot and story of the manga, though it does leave out certain minor details to manage its time.
Kenpuu Denki Berserk, while it unfortunately wasn't able to catch the beauty of the original manga's breathtaking artwork, is the only proper adaptation of Berserk available. The roughness of the animation syncs perfectly with the dark tone of the story and captures the manga's greatest moments perfectly. It is the best adaptation of the most popular and highest rated manga series to have ever been created.