With the release of Tomodachi Game, the genre of psychological shows in anime doesn’t seem to be disappearing anytime soon. It’s always been a much-loved genre within the anime community, mainly because of its much darker themes compared to the bright and colorful romance shows.
Psychological anime can range from shows like Tokyo Ghoul to Darwins Game, it’s anything that can include heavier subject matter. A popular theme within the psychological anime genre is that of a high-stakes game. These shows get viewers on the edge of their seats while they watch their favorite characters compete against each other to survive whatever horror lurks around the corner.
10 Death Parade
Death Parade is an example of a high-stakes game in an anime, much like Tomodachi Game. This one has a little bit of a twist though, as the players of the game are already dead. The players arrive at Quindecim, a bar that determines which one of these two people can go to either heaven or hell.
These games are fueled with tension, guaranteed to hook psychological anime fans within the first episode. You see the realization set in for each participant as they arrive, and it’s easy to empathize with their anguish.
9 Kakegurui
A high school that allows gambling on the premises sounds far-fetched, but not in the universe of anime. Kakegurui takes place in Hyakkaou Private Academy, a school for rich kids who have power. Due to the mass of money that the majority of students have, they decide to gamble said money with each other.
These aren’t just any type of gambling game though, they get extremely violent at times. Throughout the show, the viewer is introduced to a variety of students who take gambling a little bit too seriously.
8 Darwin’s Game
Kaname Sudou, the main character, is invited to play a mobile game. When a green snake breaks the fourth wall and literally comes out of his phone, it bites his neck. That experience would put most people off from opening the mobile game ever again.
In typical anime form, Kaname decides to open the game despite what previously happened. The mobile game performs like any other mobile game would, until his opponent appears in front of him with a knife. The games provided give a generous reward to those who survive, making the games incredibly competitive.
7 Psycho-Pass
While Psycho-Pass isn’t an anime about survival games, it is amongst some of the most well-known psychological anime to date. A show that blends the genres of crime, psychological and sci-fi isn’t often seen in anime, which made Psycho-Pass a hit with anime fans.
Members of the public are all monitored through the Sibyl System, which analyzes the criminal activities of individuals and determines how dangerous they are to society. This system is used to make Japan a safer place and able to filter out evil members of society. The series follows Akane Tsunemori, and her experiences working in Division 1.
6 Deadman Wonderland
Ganta has the school trip from hell when visiting an amusement park named Deadman Wonderland. Suddenly, his entire class is murdered, with only Ganta being spared. As if his day wasn’t already going terribly, Ganta is then framed for the crime and taken to jail. However, this jail isn’t the typical type.
A collar is placed on Ganta’s neck, which slowly injects poison throughout the day. The only way to slow down the effects of the poison is to consume “Candy”, a reward given to those that win the cruel games that take place within Deadman Wonderland prison. Fans are still waiting for the much-anticipated season 2.
5 Danganronpa: The Animation
While Danganronpa is mostly known for the video game series, it’s also a pretty popular anime series too. Hope’s Peak Private Academy is a famous school that accepts only the best students. Makoto and his classmates make their way to the academy for their first day.
They suddenly lose consciousness and later wake up in an abandoned school, only to find out that it’s actually Hope’s Peak. A bear called Monokuma appears and informs the students that the only way to escape the academy, is to kill a fellow classmate and not get caught.
4 Mirai Nikki
Another addition to the survival game sub-genre, Mirai Nikki has a lot of notoriety within the anime community. Each participant in the game must kill each other to win until eventually there is only one participant left. The device they must all carry is called a Future Diary, which has the universal ability to predict the user’s future.
However, each Future Diary has different powers depending on the user. This device allows the participants to plan ahead and try to survive as long as possible, but if the Future Diary is destroyed, the user ceases to exist.
3 Death Note
For those who have been in the anime community for a long time, fans will know of the iconic Death Note. While it’s not a survival game, it follows Light Yagami and his experience with the Death Note. This is a book that holds the power to write anyone’s name down, and how they die.
Light decides to use this power to rid the world of evil individuals, but the power takes hold of him. The series follows the investigation of the mysterious deaths of criminals, and Light’s journey using the Death Note.
2 Angels Of Death
Rachel Gardener wakes up in an unfamiliar building and is confused as to why she’s even there in the first place. Rachel has only one wish, she wants to die. She comes across Isaac, a mysterious, bandaged individual who wants nothing but to kill.
He gives Rachel the promise that he’ll kill her once they escape the strange building. They devise a plan to work through each floor of the building to find a way out. They soon find that each floor includes sadistic individuals who pose a serious threat.
1 When They Cry
It’s 1983 in Hinamizawa, a rural village where all residents know each other. Keiichi Maebara transfers to the local school after moving to the village and soon becomes friends with four classmates. Everything seems normal, and Keiichi begins to live a fairly usual life. This is until the mystery of several murders becomes apparent to Keiichi.
Understandably, he questions his friends about this, and to his dismay, he is met with hostility and silence. Keiichi’s suspicions rise as his friends start to act strange and secretive, thus making Keiichi try to work out what’s going on within the village. It’s important to note that this anime covers multiple arcs which can get confusing at first. Each episode is its own experience, and the characters descend into madness more and more throughout the series.
More: Best Psychological Anime
