The international community loves horror anime, but the industry tends to shy away from the genre due to broadcast regulations.
It’s a sad struggle, but luckily there are plenty of horror manga!
So….if you are someone who loves horror manga and wants to read that thriller in a night alone at home but I want to warn you to read them at your own risk because after reading one of these manga I don’t even go in a restroom.
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Updated May 26, 2024, by Shagun Singh: The horror genre continues to be highly sought after in the manga medium, and every month, we are treated to a plethora of exceptional series. Although numerous manga receive immediate anime adaptations, some hidden gems remain undiscovered for years, depriving fans who prefer watching rather than reading their favorite horror titles.
Here Are Some of The Most Terrifying Horror Manga
11. Hideout (2010)
Mangaka: Masasumi Kakizaki
Chapters: 9 (Finished)
Quick Pitch: A young couple takes a trip to an idyllic vacation island in hopes of overcoming the death of their only son. However, Seichi plans to kill his wife deep in the forest. When his wife manages to escape, Seichi follows her into a dark cave and finds himself hunted by a creature that feeds on human flesh.
Why it Needs an Adaptation: Hideout is a short, but intense psychological story about a man trying to murder his wife. Seichi’s decent into madness is as terrifying as the monster that’s hunting him.
10. High-rise Invasion (Tenkuu Shinpan) (2013)
Mangaka: Tsuina Miura (Art) / Takahiro Oba (Story)
Chapters: 217 (Ongoing)
Quick Pitch: High school girl Yuri suddenly finds herself trapped on a rooftop of a high-rise building in a strange world. Yuri is tasked with finding her lost brother and escaping this world, but deadly people with masks are pursuing her. These mask-wearers are cruel, but Yuri learns that the other “normal” survivors are just as deadly.
Why it Needs an Adaptation: High-rise Invasion is a high-octane survival story that eschews towards action, but there is a constant atmosphere of dread since Yuri doesn’t know who to trust.
9. As the God’s Will (Kamisama No Lutoori) (2014)
Mangaka: Muneyuki Kaneshiro (Writer) / Akeji Fujimura (Artist)
Chapters: 207 (Finished)
Quick Pitch: Shun Takahata usually has boring days at school, but everything changes at his teacher’s head explodes. Now, he and his classmates are forced to play children’s games, but with deadly consequences for losing.
Why it Needs an Adaptation: As the God’s Will takes harmless children’s games and turns them deadly in an interesting twist on the school survival genre.
8. Magical Girl Apocalypse (Mahou Shoujo of the End) (2012)
Mangaka: Kentarou Satou
Chapters: 64 (Finished)
Quick Pitch: Kii Kogami hates his normal life and wishes for some excitement. One school day, he looks out the window and witnesses a teacher’s head explode when a little girl hits it.
He goes to the bathroom to calm down but returns to see his classmates getting slaughtered by a “magical girl.” Kogami and his childhood friend Tsukune struggle to survive the deadly events that are happening around them.
Why it Needs an Adaptation: Dark magical girls are a rising trend, and Magical Girl Apocalypse appears to be the subgenre’s final form. It’s twisted, depraved, and filled with “magical” scares.
7. Doubt (2007)
Mangaka: Yoshiki Tonogai
Chapters: 21 (Finished)
Quick pitch: Yuu Aikawa spends his free time playing a cellphone game called “Rabbit Doubt” with his friends. In the game, players are a group of rabbits, but there is a wolf among them. The group must discover the wolf before it kills them one-by-one.
One day, Yuu is attacked by a man wearing a rabbit mask. Yuu wakes up to discover that he and his friends are trapped in an abandoned psychiatric hospital and are being forced to play a real-life version of “Rabbit Doubt.”
Why it Needs an Adaptation: Doubt is a tense “locked room” story that features a group of friends trapped with a killer. The goal is to discover the killer before everyone dies, which could lead to fun speculations if this horror manga were turned into an anime.
6. Franken Fran (2006)
Mangaka: Katsuhisa Kigitsu
Chapters: 71
Quick Pitch: Fran was created by Dr. Naomitsu Madaraki and has taken over the lab while he is away. Fran must take care of the various work that crosses her path, which includes resurrecting the dead or performing “cosmetic” surgery.
This body-gore manga will mess with your mind by sometimes being light-hearted and sometimes happily mutilating people.
Why it Needs an Adaptation: Franken Fran is a fun and macabre story about Fran trying her best to solve problems. Too bad Fran only knows how to perform twisted cosmetic surgery and creates abominations in this horror manga.
5. Homunculus (2003)
Mangaka: Hideo Yamamoto
Chapters: 166 (Finished)
Quick Pitch: Trepanation is the procedure of drilling a hole in the skull as a way to improve blood circulation and to improve skull pressure. It’s also said to bring out a person’s sixth sense. Susumu Nakoshi is a homeless man and agrees to let a medical student perform the procedure in exchange for 700,000 yen.
Why it Needs an Adaptation: Homunculus is a thought-provoking look at the extremes people will go to achieve happiness – and it’s effectively shown through nightmare-inducing images.
4. Dorohedoro (2000)
Mangaka: Q Hayashida
Chapters: 162(Ongoing)
Quick Pitch: Due to a magic attack, Kaiman has a lizard-head and no memory. With the help of a friend, he embarks on a quest of biting the heads of magic-users to find the one responsible for his disturbing new life.
Why it Needs an Adaptation: Dorohedoro juggles gore, humor, and world-building that is unrivaled in the horror genre. The only trouble is that the manga might be too graphic to receive an anime.
3. The Promised Neverland (2016)
Mangaka: Kaiu Shirai
Chapters: 85 (Ongoing)
Quick Pitch: Emma, Norman, and Ray are orphans that live at the Grace Field House with other foster siblings and are allowed to do pretty much anything. However, they are forbidden to leave the compound or go to the gate. The children think nothing of this simple rule until they discover the fate of one of their recently adopted sibling.
Why it Needs an Adaptation: The Promised Neverland is currently Shueisha’s critical darling and it ranks as a high as My Hero Academia and Black Clover among their readers. The thrilling series takes a mystery-horror approach that slowly unveils the sinister world that Emma must face. There is currently a rumor that The Promised Neverland will get an anime soon.
2. I Am A Hero (2009)
Mangaka: Kengo Hanazawa
Chapters: 264 (Finished)
Quick pitch: 35-year-old Hideo Suzuki works as a manga assistant after his own series fails to meet sales goals. His mundane life is filled with frustration due to unfulfilled goals, failed relationships, and hallucinations. However, Hideo’s life changes after learning about a disease that turns people into homicidal maniacs.
Why it Needs an Adaptation: I Am a Hero is considered a modern masterpiece for examining how society would fall apart during a zombie apocalypse. Suzuki’s thrilling quest for survival has been adapted into a critically-acclaimed live-action movie, and there’s no reason an anime could be just as good.
1. Uzumaki (1998)
Mangaka: Junji Ito
Chapters: 19 (Finished)
Quick Pitch: Kurozuchou is a cursed coastal town. According to Shuichi Saito, the town is haunted by the spiral. The hypnotic shape manifests in different ways and spreads inescapable madness.
Why it Needs an Adaptation: Uzumaki is widely considered Junji Ito’s best and scariest story. The story of madness could be adapted into a great anime, but perhaps the pressure is too great.
