Anime Anime Global

July 26th is “Ghost Day”.

It is the anniversary of the premiere of the Kabuki play “The Ghost of Yotsuya” at Nakamuraza in Edo on the same day in 1825.

Ghost stories and scary stories are a summer tradition. Among Anime!Anime! readers, there are probably many people who enjoy horror anime to cool themselves off. There are a big variety of types of it, ones with ghosts appearing in the world, or about being involved in mysterious incidents, being attacked by unknown creatures and many others, etc.

Therefore, this time, we conducted an annual reader survey entitled “Speaking about “horror” anime, which one comes to your mind?” We received responses from 96 people during the survey period from July 8 to July 15.
The male-female ratio is about 30% for males and about 70% for females. About 50% of the age group were teens and about 30% were in their 20s.

■ “The Higurashi: When They Cry” series, the last work of which is currently on air, is topping the list!

1st place

1st place goes to “The Higurashi: When They Cry” with an approval rating of about 20%, again following the last year.
This work is based on the sound novel game created by the doujin circle “07th Expansion”. Maebara Keiichi, a transfer student who has moved to Hinamizawa Village, is involved in various incidents, and from July 2021, the latest work “The Higurashi: When They Cry – Sotsu” is being broadcast.

Many readers experienced double fear for the unpredictable development, “At first, it seems very peaceful, but then the scary side of the village starts gradually showing off. Cicadas voices make it even scarier.”, and “The shiver runs over my spine when everyday life becomes horror. Watching what would happen next horrified me to the depth of my heart.”

2nd place

2nd place goes to “GeGeGe no Kitaro” with an approval rating of about 10%, up from 3rd place last year.

This is a national anime based on Shigeru Mizuki’s manga. The title boasts outstanding popularity, “It’s a classic horror anime, and everyone from children to adults knows it.”
Readers pointed out various things of interest in this anime, “Every story has an important message, and I enjoyed it even though I’m not good with horror. I think it’s a work that you can enjoy regardless of age.”, and “It is impressive that not only youkais but also human beings and the darkness of modern society are horrifying. It is also great because there are some inspiring episodes.”

3rd place

3rd place goes to “Another”, which dropped from last year’s second place, but maintained the top-3.
This work is based on a novel by the detectives’ writer Ayatsuji Yukito. A suspense horror featuring Sakakibara Koichi, who transferred to a junior high school in Yomiyama City.
The shocking visual and story where mysteries appear one after another are gaining popularity, “It is scary when the number of victims is increasing and you have no idea what is happening! When I watched it for the first time, I was slightly traumatized.”, and “The depiction of the characters’ deaths is so real that I couldn’t watch it alone at night.”

■ Let’s introduce other comments!

For “Mononoke”, “The world view and color usage are unique and poisonous, and I was drawn in, and the main character, the drug dealer, is also cool. The main story is about youkais, but what really scares me is the story that makes me think that the scariest existence would be humans.”
For “The Laughing Salesman”, “It’s a horror about how Moguro Fukuzo, who looks scary , ruins customers’ happiness. I realized once again that the weakness of giving in to desire causes misery.”

About “School-Live!”, “The OP and the seriousness of the content were not balanced and had a lot of impact. The manga is also interesting until the end, and I definitely want to watch season 2.”
For “Happy Sugar Life”, “I’ve always liked horror that is more about people’s relationships than ghosts. ‘Happy Sugar’ is a very interesting title in which each character has a dark side.”

In this survey, multiple titles set in schools were ranked in. The mysterious events that occur in familiar places seem to enhance the fear.

■ Top 10 rankings

“Speaking about “horror” anime, which one comes to your mind? 2021 Edition”
1st place “The Higurashi: When They Cry”
2nd place “GeGeGe no Kitaro”
3rd place “Another”
4th place “Jigoku Sensei Nube”
5th place “Gakko no Kaidan”
5th place “Hell Girl”
5th place “Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun”
5th place “Corpse Party”
9th place “Kaidan Restaurant”
9th place “School-Live!”
9th place “Natsume’s Book of Friends”
9th place “Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories”
(Response period: July 8 to July 15, 2021)

■ Overall ranking

“Speaking about “horror” anime, which one comes to your mind? 2021 Edition”
1st place “The Higurashi: When They Cry”
2nd place “GeGeGe no Kitaro”
3rd place “Another”
4th place “Jigoku Sensei Nube”
5th place “Gakko no Kaidan”
5th place “Hell Girl”
5th place “Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun”
5th place “Corpse Party”
9th place “Kaidan Restaurant”
9th place “School-Live!”
9th place “Natsume’s Book of Friends”
9th place “Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories”
13th place “Rinne of the boundary”
13th place “Ghost Hunt”
13th place “Mo Dao Zu Shi”
13th place “Mononoke”

(Response period: July 8 to July 15, 2021)