With a rich cultural history spanning centuries of supernatural lore, it is no surprise that several anime draw on this deep well of inspiration in their creation. From super spooky, downright horror to bittersweet love stories, there’s a ghost anime out there for everyone.
10. Natsuyuki Rendezvous
Here’s the deal. You’ve found your dream girl. She’s absolutely perfect. You get a job at her shop, you’re getting closer to her and learning more about her, even though you’re painfully shy and sure you don’t stand a chance. Everything is going perfectly except for one teeny, tiny little roadblock in the form of the love of your life’s dead husband’s ghost watching your every move.
Natsuyuki Rendezvous is an adorable anime about a woman trying to move on, a shy man in love with her, and her dead husband who just wants what is best for his wife. If you’re interested in dabbling in the supernatural, but aren’t quite sure the horror nitty-gritty is for you, Natsuyuki Rendezvous is an excellent way to foray into the genre.
9. Ghost Hound
In a small town, the lines between reality and the supernatural start to blur. As ghosts roam the streets, three boys with traumatic pasts bring it upon themselves to enter the spirit realm and investigate the cause of this rift in the fabric of reality. As they get deeper into the mystery of whatever is plaguing their small town, they simultaneously delve into their own paths to unearth the truth of their childhoods.
Ghost Hound is a classic ghost story. It’s spooky, a little creepy, and above all, it’s thought-provoking. Ghost Hound delves into the spirit of why ghost stories are told in the first place and takes the watcher on a journey into the unknown.
8. Ghost Stories
Ghost Stories follows Satsuki Miyanoshita as her family moves to the hometown of her deceased mother. Together with her younger brother and an assortment of classmates and neighbors, Satsuki goes to investigate an abandoned school building that is rumored to be haunted. Upon encountering the supernatural up close and personal, Satsuki discovers that her mother had been responsible for sealing up hundreds of ghosts that were threatening the town. Now, due to urbanization and the destruction of buildings across town, the ghosts are being released once more and it’s up to Satsuki to protect the town.
Ghost Stories is lauded as a cult classic, one of the quintessential ghost animes on the market today. Not only did the original Japanese books and movies the anime was based on win awards, but the English dubbed version of the anime quickly became a fan favorite due to the dark humor and pop culture references within.
7. Mononoke
Set between the Edo Period and the Meiji Era, Mononoke follows a nameless wandering Medicine Seller as he travels across Japan exorcising mononoke, unnatural spirits that linger in the human world by latching onto negative emotions. The Medicine Seller, in classic ghost exorcism lore, must discover the spirit’s Form, Truth, and Reason before sending the spirit onwards to the next realm.
Mononoke is a unique anime that follows a classic episode-by-episode format. Watchers get hooked on the individual stories of each episode as the Medicine Seller encounters different characters and slowly unravels the mystery of the mononoke.
6. Anohana (The Flower We Saw That Day)
Anohana is a bittersweet anime for the ages. Six middle school kids begin to drift apart after one of their friends dies in an accident. Five years later, the ghost of Menma appears to the “leader” of the group, Jinta Yadomi. After the accident, Jinta became a recluse, withdrawing from society and refusing to attend high school. As Menma requests help from Jinta in fulfilling a wish she can’t quite remember, he slowly and reluctantly brings together their old friends in order to help Menma move on.
This is a sweet ghost story about learning how to accept loss and grief and figure out how to keep living after tragedy. The characters are sweet and flawed, creating a realistic journey to acceptance that resonates with the watchers.
5. Angel Beats
Angel Beats is less about ghosts in the traditional sense. Yuzuru Otonashi, the main character, has recently died. Suffering from memory loss, he’s thrown into a high school for the recently deceased, and right into the middle of a war between the attendees of the school and a mysterious student “Angel” who attempts to help them move on.
While not necessarily a ghost story, Angel Beats deals with the same themes of loss, grief, and life after death as the rest of the anime on this list. Angel Beats has one of the most heart-wrenching plots with a bittersweet ending that truly has the watcher feeling catharsis after finishing. With dark discussions about death, the afterlife, and everything the characters left behind while in the backdrop of a high school, Angel Beats is a unique watch and a definite must-watch from this list.
4. Death Parade
Death Parade follows Decim, the bartender of a very unique bar. In a universe where the recently deceased are sent to a bar inside a tower to the afterlife, Decim serves as an arbiter in the “Death Games”. As the recently departed find themselves in these death bars, they must partake in the Death Games to determine if they shall be reincarnated or banished into the void.
Another unique take on life after death, Death Parade follows lost souls as they fight for their right to reincarnation. With a dark storyline, an emotionless arbiter of the afterlife with a strange interest in human emotion, and quirky side characters, Death Parade is a must-watch for any ghost fans out there.
3. Bleach
Ichigo Kurosaki is a normal high school boy. Well, he’s a normal high school boy who can see ghosts. But besides that, he’s perfectly normal. One day Ichigo’s normal life is disturbed as he encounters a Hollow, a spirit that was overtaken by negative emotions and transformed into a monster, fighting a Soul Reaper named Rukia. In the heat of battle, Rukia transfers some of her soul powers to Ichigo. Until Rukia recovers enough to return to the Soul Society, Ichigo must take on her duties of helping ghosts move on to the next world before they turn into Hollows.
Considered one of the “Big 3” anime for a reason, Bleach is an absolute classic that merges ghost lore with all the hallmarks of a shounen anime (big fight scenes, a questionably smart main character, and a whole host of side characters with enough personality to power a city). Honestly, if you haven’t watched Bleach yet, what have you been doing?
2. Another
Transfer student Kouichi Sakakibara joins class 3-3 after missing a month of school due to illness. Upon his arrival, something seems … not quite right. Kouichi finds himself drawn to Mei Misaki, a girl with an eyepatch he’d met at the hospital, despite the rest of his classmates pretending she doesn’t exist. As Kouichi decides to befriend Mei despite the numerous warnings given to him, mysterious and deadly events begin to befall the students of class 3-3. It’s up to Kouichi and Mei to unravel the mystery of what happened in the classroom decades ago in order to stop tragedy from yet again befalling the classroom.
Another is a classic horror anime based around a mysterious ghost story that will have you shaking in your boots. Another is truly not one for the faint of heart, between gory deaths and spooky dollhouses, it’s certain to have your blood pumping as you race alongside Kouichi to discover how to lift the curse of Class 3-3.
1. Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun
Amidst the mysteries of Kamome Academy, occult-lover Nene Yashiro sets out to summon Hanako-kun, a ghost that is rumored to haunt the bathroom and grant wishes. Upon summoning Hanako, however, Nene is in for a shock that not only is Hanako, not a girl, but also cannot grant the wish she asks for. Instead, Nene ends up tied to Hanako and becomes his assistant in maintaining balance between the spirit and the human world.
Watchers get attached to the characters quickly, rooting for their success from episode to episode. With an incredibly cute animation style, quirky characters, and fairly hilarious plotlines, Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun is a light-hearted ghost anime with all the draws of the supernatural to still draw in any paranormal fan.
