15 Goriest Anime Series of All Time

Any anime fan who either discovered anime during its OVA heyday in the '80s-'90s decades knows how gory the medium can get. After all, it's widely understood at this point to embody a scope far beyond cartoons for kids, occupying some pretty incredible niches for all audiences.

The goriest anime worth considering are often discovered once fans step out of their regular comfort zones. There are some truly harrowing stories with profound amounts of shock value and violence, lingering both for their unflinching visuals and unique viewing experiences. While not for the faint of heart, these 15 gory anime are solid recommendations across an impressive genre variety.

Elfen Lied

Anime Series By Arms,& Studio Guts; Based On The Manga by Lynn Okamoto

Elfen Lied is a classic anime that mixes horror with science fiction. The anime revolves around Lucy, who has a somewhat peculiar personality and supernatural powers after she escapes from a high-security facility and is helped by Kouta.

However, as the plot progresses, more details of Lucy's past are discovered, in addition to presenting characters with tragic pasts, bringing out the drama of the series amid the violence.

Elfen Lied's story is raw and dark and doesn’t hold back when it comes to brutal scenes full of blood, amputations, and visceras mixed with touches of ecchi. This violence only accentuates the vengeful nature of the Diclonius species and those behind the research facility and engages the viewers to find out what will happen to Lucy next.

Anime Series By Liden Films; Based On The Manga By Kazushi Hagiwara

Liden Films' Bastard!! Heavy Metal, Dark Fantasy takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where the villainous Dark Rebel Army is making plans to revive the demon Anthrasax and destroy the world.

To counter the threat, the high priest of the kingdom of Metallicana revives Dark Schneider, the world’s most powerful dark wizard sealed inside an unassuming child, to stop them, but Dark Schneider’s violent tendencies and womanizing ways make that easier said than done.

As the title would imply, Bastard!! Heavy Metal, Dark Fantasy fully embraces the typical standards of dark fantasy to be as bloody and raunchy as possible, something further emphasized by its constant references to heavy metal bands of the 1980s. It's a series that perfectly embodies the style of the 1980s, and any fans of gore are sure to get a lot out of it.

Parasyte -The Maxim-

Anime Series By Madhouse; Based On The Manga By Hitoshi Iwaaki

In 2014's Parasyte -the maxim- an alien race of parasitic beings invades Earth, overtaking countless people's bodies, and through pure chance, Shinichi gets away with a parasite only invading his right arm. Now, Shinichi and the parasite dubbed "Migi" form an unlikely alliance as they battle aggressive parasites feeding on humans and Shinichi begins to question his humanity.

Parasyte -the maxim- was the long-awaited adaptation of the classic manga, and it did a great job of bringing it to life for modern audiences. Parasyte -the maxim-'s art and animation both did a great job of capturing the gruesome combat and body horror of the original manga.

With the stellar writing and cosmetic changes to the setting to be more modern, Parasyte -the maxim- is an incredible series to watch from start to finish. It's always hard for stories to balance story and gore, but Parasyte more than succeeds in that regard.

Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku

Anime Series By MAPPA; Based On The Manga By Yuji Kaku

Another Studio MAPPA anime with plenty of gore is 2023's Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku. To earn his freedom and return home to his wife, ninja master Gabimaru joins a platoon of death row criminals on an expedition to an island said to hold the elixir of life that can grant someone immortality.

What awaits Gabimaru, however, is an island filled with all manner of monsters trying to kill them on sight, with some being shockingly more human than others.

In addition to having great action and writing, Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku features lots of horrific monster designs and grotesque imagery from start to finish, and the stellar direction and execution of it all does a lot to keep it from being pure schlock. There are few modern anime that handle gore as well as it does, and the upcoming Hell's Paradise season 2 is bound to take that even further.

Deadman Wonderland

Anime Series By Manglobe; Based On The Manga By Jinsei Kataoka & Kazuma Kondou

An innocent high-schooler is imprisoned for mass-murdering his entire classroom. But this isn't even the worst part as he must now participate in a deadly prison tournament to stay alive. Chopped up by knives is just the tip of the iceberg as all sorts of weapons are used in Deadman Wonderland ranging from swords and guns to flamethrowers and bombs.

The fighting even involves fantasy elements with some characters can use their own blood as weapons or armor. However, this comes with the downside of Deadman Wonderland's characters needing to maim themselves first to release that blood, a practice that is followed by zoom-in shots of the graphic acts.

Hellsing Ultimate

Anime Series By Graphinica; Based On The Manga By Kouta Hirano

Set in the aftermath of the Second World War, Hellsing Ultimate deals with vampire Nazis wreaking havoc in Britain while the anti-vampire organization Hellsing seeks to bring an end to this orgy of blood. The adrenaline-heavy series Hellsing Ultimate is filled with bodies being dismembered, impaled, and blasted in full glory.

One of the highest-rated horror anime, the antagonism of the blood-suckers in Hellsing Ultimate knows no bounds as they not only bite their victims, they often end up burning them, gunning them down in collective slaughters.

As expected, the violent revenge against the miscreants is also expectedly bloody. The ultimate conclusion is that no matter which side gets more gory in their methods, peace is to come to none.

Blood-C

Anime Series By Production I.G; Created By CLAMP

Blood-C deals with the everyday life of a seemingly ordinary girl called Saya who leads the life of a student by day and a monster-hunter by night. Much like other supernatural monster anime series, gruesome deaths obviously serve as recurring themes.

Heads and limbs being torn apart is quite a normal occurrence in Blood-C. The goriest scenes though are of monsters feasting on their victims, each killing accompanied by its own unique method.

Terror is aroused not just by the splatter of blood and crushing of bones but by the fact that nobody in Blood-C dies a quick and easy death. Everyone has to go through agonizing acts of sadism before they finally take their last breath with their deaths lasting for a good deal of seconds (sometimes up to a minute).

As the screaming victims get ripped apart, viewers are bound to remember the feeding scenes in Attack on Titan but Blood-C follows a way more brutal approach.

Dorohedoro

Anime Series By MAPPA; Based On The Manga by Q Hayashida

While Dorohedoro is the first anime from the MAPPA studio whose animation focuses on CGI, it brilliantly conveys the aesthetic and explicit content of its source material.

Even though it still pales before the graphic violence of its manga, Dorohedoro is one of the best gore animes whose brutal moments cover the vast majority of the series, and yet this isn't used as a shock element as it naturally blends in the atmosphere of the dark and messy world that the story takes place.

The anime follows Kaiman, a man who doesn't remember his life before waking up with a lizard's head who is in search of his identity. With dismemberments, brutal beatings, explosions, and blood in industrial quantities, Dorohedoro has a lot of action and isn't suitable for the sensitive public but knows how to perfectly balance it with wholesome and comedic scenes.

Chainsaw Man

Anime Series By MAPPA; Based On The Manga By Tatsuki Fujimoto

Much like the Chainsaw Man manga, the anime is bloody in all creative ways. After all, viewers are bound to expect tons of blood splashing all over the skin given the lead character is a devil-human hybrid with chainsaws literally popping out of his head and arms.

The evolution of the main character into a chainsaw-wielding monster comes with a painful evolution process as the chainsaws cut through his own body. Even the death scenes in Chainsaw Man are intentionally prolonged, and it takes time for the titular protagonist to make a kill given how the chainsaws take time to grind through human flesh.

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

Anime Series By Studio Trigger; Based On The Video Game By CD Projekt Red

Studio Trigger’s Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is a spinoff prequel of Cyberpunk 2077 starring David Martinez, a young boy who’s grown up in poverty within the dystopian Night City. After the death of his mother, David decides to take his life into his own hands with a powerful cybernetic implant, and that leads to him finding a new life for himself within a gang of criminals called edgerunners.

Cyberpunk 2077 is a game that doesn't shy away from violence, and going right along with that, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is filled with some of the bloodiest violence of any Studio Trigger project, with nearly every episode having characters killed and ripped apart in gruesome detail.

The series does a great job of bringing the world of the original game to life, and even people who aren't normally into gore are sure to get a lot out of it.