Welcome to Anime Rants! If you’re looking for some spooky-themed anime shows for Halloween 2021, you’ve come to the right place. This is part 2 in my series of scary-season anime recommendations. In part 1, we covered ten series that were violent thrillers or horror genre. Some of them were popular, but not compared to the popularity of some of the items on today’s list. The ten series for today are either those that are recently widely popular or those regarded as classics for spooky anime. The actual genres vary, but mostly consist of shounen rather than horror/thriller. Nevertheless, even if not exactly “scary,” the choices in this post are spooky-themed and great for Halloween. Entries are in alphabetical order. Let’s Rant!

Related: Spooky Anime Part 1: Violent/Thriller/Horror

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Ao no Exorcist (Blue Exorcist)

First on our list is Blue Exorcist, the tale of a half-demon boy named Rin as he trains in magical combat-based exorcisms to defeat evil spirits. There are several shows with similar premises to this, but Blue Exorcist is somewhat set apart to me because I love the rebellious but secretly caring protagonist, Rin. There’s nothing horrifying in this anime, but it has a spooky sort of theme to it, what with demons and spirits. Blue Exorcist is available on Netflix, Crunchyroll, and VRV.

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Ghost Hunt

Next up is Ghost Hunt, which was quite popular in its day, and remains a classic of the genre despite it being virtually unknown by the newer generations of anime fans. It’s a fun, supernatural mystery anime wherein protagonist Mai joins the Shibuya Psychic Research Company, headed by the grumpy but attractive young man Kazuya. Along with the other quirky team members, Mai and Kazuya solve supernatural mysteries together. Ghost Hunt can be viewed on Funimation.

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Hellsing Ultimate

In ten thrilling OVA episodes, Hellsing Ultimate tells the story of Alucard van Hellsing, the vampire servant to the Hellsing family leader, Integra. For the first time in perhaps forever, Alucard takes a servant of his own: a tough girl named Seras who is turned into a vampire. Integra, Alucard, and Seras have many intense adventures fighting threats such as wicked vampires, enemy organizations, religious orders, and Nazis. The art and animation in Hellsing Ultimate are stunning. The plot is dark and thrilling, with gratuitous violence. There are also sexual themes and elements, so this anime is for people 18+. Personally, I’m not much of a Hellsing fan, as I find it edgy and lacking in any deeper elements. But there’s no doubt this series is a classic for the Halloween season. You can watch Hellsing Ultimate on Hulu or Funimation.

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Jigoku Shoujou (Hell Girl)

Have you heard the rumor about Hell Girl? If there’s someone you absolutely must curse, go to the Hell Correspondence website at midnight. You will see Hell Girl, who will send your enemy to suffer in hell immediately. But there’s a cost. If you go through with this curse, you will go to hell when you finally die. Would you do it?

This is the premise of Hell Girl, a timeless spooky-themed anime series lasting for 4 seasons. Now, this anime is a great choice for very young fans, but may bore certain audiences. It’s at most TV-PG, so if you want to see something really disturbing or horrifying, you’ll need to look elsewhere. Also be aware that Hell Girl is mostly episodic rather than serial, so there’s a new plot every episode. I watched the entirety of this series because I was bored, but you can appreciate the classic premise and style by watching just a few episodes. Only the fourth season of Hell Girl is available on the big streaming sites, but the first three seasons can be viewed on Amazon Prime Video. You can also watch it on underground streaming sites like 9anime.

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Kimetsu no Yaiba (Demon Slayer)

If you’re an anime fan, chances are high you’ve seen or heard of Demon Slayer. After all, it was immediately extremely popular worldwide, and there’s no sign of that hype dipping any time soon. Frankly, Demon Slayer is not for me, since I get easily annoyed with tropey shounen series. Still, I did promise to showcase highly popular spooky anime series, so there you go. Tanjirou is the anime’s main character, who becomes a professional demon fighter after nearly his entire family was slaughtered by demons. The only family Tanjirou has left is his sister Nezuko, who was turned into a demon. Miraculously, she is able to control herself for the most part. With Nezuko in tow, Tanjirou begins his journey. Demon Slayer is available on Crunchyroll, Hulu, and Netflix.

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Kiseiju: Sei no Kakuritsu (Parasyte: The Maxim)

Originally, I intended to include Junji Itou Collection on my list, since many fans have told me it’s good, classic horror. However, I decided I should only make recommendations for series that I’ve personally seen. After that, it took a while to pick one of the several anime shows that are reasonably popular and thriller/horror genre. There were a lot of options, but I finally settled on Parasyte: The Maxim. Maybe I just defaulted to it because it’s one of my top ten favorite anime in existence.

Parasyte is a profound psychological series that also features grotesque monsters, intense violence, and horrifying situations. That’s why it’s good for the Halloween season. The story is about a boy named Shinichi whose right hand is devoured and replaced by a strange creature called a Parasyte. These creatures normally eat and replace the human head and brain, but Shinichi got lucky. He only lost an arm. Now, however, he must live with a sentient being living off his body, as well as dealing with attacks from other Parastyes. There’s a ton of interesting themes to this story, so it’s the best choice for something that’s both a violence fix and a thought-provoking experience. Parasyte: The Maxim is available on Netflix, Hulu, and Crunchyroll.

Related Posts: Parasyte The Maxim

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Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler)

Popular across many demographics, and beloved by a passionate fanbase, Black Butler has become a classic. This may not be the perfect fit for a Halloween show, but it does have its share of demons, shinigami, and spooky mysteries. The story follows Ciel, a young boy who formed a contract with a demon named Sebastian. Ciel’s parents were slaughtered by unknown enemies. In return for Sebastian’s help in avenging his parents, Ciel must afterward surrender his soul for the demon to devour. The three seasons of this entertaining anime can be viewed on Netflix, Hulu, and Funimation.

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Soul Eater

Soul Eater is an excellent choice for a Halloween anime and is the most recommended for this across dozens of websites. It’s an entertaining and original shounen series featuring witches, ghosts, shinigami, shapeshifters, and an over-arching atmosphere of classically creepy. The plot follows Maka, a shinigami in training, and her adventures partnering with her weapon-spirit, Soul. If they can harvest ninety-nine corrupt souls and one witch’s soul, Maka and Soul will ascend to the highest ranks of this Shinigami-ruled world. Although I have issues with some of the themes and ideas presented in Soul Eater, I still think it’s a pretty good anime, and the characters are awesome. You can find Soul Eater on Netflix, Hulu, and Funimation.

Related Post: Soul Eater Episode 21 Analysis

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Vampire Knight

Cross Academy is a strange school which divides its students into the Day Class and the Night Class. When Yuuki, a Day Class student, becomes a member of the disciplinary committee, she must interact with the Night Class much more than before. Little does she know that the Night Class students are not exactly human.

Vampire Knight is another one of those series that nobody knows anymore, but which was popular back in the day. It will remain a classic of the shoujo genre. That being said, classics are not for everyone. If you do not like vampire stories with a focus on teenage romance, angst, and drama, then don’t watch this one. Released three years after Stephanie Meyer’s novel Twilight, Vampire Knight likely took a bit of inspiration from there. The overall story is quite different though. Crunchyroll, Hulu, Netflix, and VRV can all be used for watching Vampire Knight.

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Yakusoku no Neverland (The Promised Neverland)

In 2019, The Promised Neverland took the anime world by storm, surprising viewers with the twists in the story, the well-written characters, and the suspenseful situations. The first season and the ongoing manga continue to enjoy solid popularity despite a very disappointing second season. On the slim chance that you don’t know the main premise of the anime, I won’t spoil it. I’ll just say that The Promised Neverland is a great choice for a creepy and exciting anime to watch during Halloween season. This anime can be watched on Crunchyroll, Funimation, VRV, and Netflix.

Related Posts: Yakusoku no Neverland

That wraps it up for today! I really appreciate your readership. In a few days I’ll have part 3 of this series ready for you. Have fun celebrating the spooky season, and stay safe. Till next time!

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