Have you ever dreamed of man-eating demons, strange creatures, and supernatural things? Have you ever thought of the most brutal things happening in the real world? Have you ever wanted to create a beautiful world?
Boogiepop and Others is a psychological horror anime series that is blended with plenty of strangeness. It centers on high school students of Shinyo Academy as they encounter various horrible and tragic events happening around their school campus, and this triggers a creature named Boogiepop to awaken. He is, supposedly, a Shinigami who has a split personality and this time he manifested as the alter ego of a female student named Touka Miyashita. Boogiepop is set to eradicate the evilness of the world.
The anime has a dark undertone that feels so bizarre and gives you a shivering sensation. Although the anime is confusing at first with its non-linear story, many characters, and puzzling events and timeline, you will soon be surprised with its revelations.
Boogiepop and Others will offer you a peculiar experience from its ruthless and blood-soaked murders that are very disturbing. If you’re looking for some anime with this kind of fearful storytelling for your own entertainment, MANGA.TOKYO is here to meet your otaku needs. Here are anime series that will trigger your sleepless nights.
Winter 2011
24 Episodes
This detective fiction has a very fascinating setting as it utilizes the environment of old Europe, but what rather stands out in the anime is the notable mystery-filled stories and suspenseful elements that are well-executed with its dark atmosphere. The story starts with Kujo Kazuya who encounters Victorique, a mysterious girl who possesses pure brilliance as she can solve a case in just a blink of an eye. Kujo and Victorique set on a journey to discover the mysteries revolving around the country of Sauville.
Getting involved in the world of this anime is a real challenge. It will squeeze your mind as it requires deep analysis and critical thinking. After all, the protagonist is an expert detective. Although the anime is not so violent and gory, Gosick is quite similar to Boogiepop and Others in terms of dark psychological entities. While gathering all the fragments to solve a mystery, it shares the same feeling as when watching the dark adventures of young students in Boogiepop and Others. It is loaded with twists, and it complicates a lot of things as trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle to come up with a big picture. Nevertheless, it will give you a breathtaking yet enjoyable problem-solving experience.
Spring 2011
24 Episodes + 1 OVA
Based on a visual novel game, Steins;Gate follows the story of a group of people who indulge themselves into inventing future gadgets. They come up with a brilliant idea of producing a ‘Phone Microwave’ that can send text messages to the past while altering the flow of history. Despite the scientific breakthrough however, a big threat is coming along their way.
It’s no doubt that Steins;Gate shares the same dark concept with Boogiepop and Others. It’s kind of light at first, but it reaches the complexity of the story as you go deeper. It has an incredible plot that gives a lot of intriguing moments, thrilling ventures, and intense dramatic feels that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Although the anime is a science fiction and more mature than Boogiepop and Others, both anime are set in urban worlds that are pleasantly refreshing.
Fall 2005: 26 Episodes (Season 1)
Fall 2006: 26 Episodes (Season 2)
Fall 2008: 26 Episodes (Season 3)
Summer 2017: 12 Episodes (Season 4)
The ‘Hell Correspondence’ website is a medium where clients can contact a mysterious girl named Ai Enma to save them from suffering, but is the pit of hell a good thing? The anime is full of grudge and punishment in a world where miserable life exists. This creepy girl will entertain you through darkest depth of various stories.
This anime is very dark in ambiance, and it will scare you to death. Hell Girl shares the same vibe with Boogiepop and Others when it comes to supernatural thrillers and dark mystery. They both deal with the evilness of humanity that stems from vengeance, fear, anger, envy, and anxiety. Although Hell Girl has a less mature tone, both anime will make you mentally distressed with its horrifying scenes. They will give you some perspective on how humanity is greatly affected by the dark angles of a sinful world. If you enjoy watching an anime with a bizarre mood like that in Boogiepop and Others gives off, then Hell Girl is a perfect choice for you.
Fall 2008
13 Episodes
The story is set in the cities of Musashino and Mitaka in 1952. It focuses on in-depth investigations of various crime scenes and it about solving mysteries surrounding this strange society. The two main characters, Tatsumi Sekiguchi (a fiction writer), and Morihiko Toriguchi (a magazine editor), will let you experience the complexity of the investigation process.
With its deep psychological elements, Mouryou no Hako is packed with mind-blowing surprises. It is more mature and focuses on how the characters critically think and on their brilliant interactions with one another. However, when it comes to the involvement of brutal murders of students and various odd events, the anime is closer to the unusual mood that Boogiepop and Others gives off. Both series center on deep analysis to solve a particular mystery.
Fall 2012
13 Episodes
An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. The Code of Hammurabi applies to the main concept of Code: Breaker. While Sakura Sakurakouji is riding a bus one day, she is extremely shocked to witness people being burned down with blue fire. She then finds out that it was a boy named Rei Oogami who is responsible for the inhumane event. He is a Code Breaker who follows the principle that evil is for evil. Sakura confronts the cold-blooded guy to stop the brutal killings.
Code: Breaker doesn’t have a similar content with Boogiepop and Others as it focuses more on action, adventures, some comical relief, and has a typical shonen formula. Plus, it has visually pleasing animation. Although it shows great violence and immorality, the anime doesn’t have a high gore factor. However, when it comes to the supernatural element, Code: Breaker is similar to Boogiepop and Others. Both the anime series involve merciless killings of humans and different crime scenes. The horrible supernatural things will get you imagine how cruel the world could be in the distant future.
Summer 2004
13 Episodes
Elfen Lied is a dark fantasy series that centers on the existence of Diclonius, a special species with a short pair of horns and telekinetic powers. While Lucy is captured with other Diclonius for experimentation, she manages to escape, but she gets injured in the process and that causes her to develop a split personality named Nyuu. Together with her newly found friends, they set on a journey to fight their horrible world.
Both Elfen Lied and Boogiepop and Others involve shocking blood-soaked murders and nerve-stimulating mysteries. While Elfen Lied is a lot more exaggerated in its gory features, it still gives the same thrilling pleasure as when watching Boogiepop and Others. But be careful, Elfen Lied will give you a traumatic experience.
Fall 2017
12 Episodes
Kino’s Journey is a fantastic anime series that explores human nature. It revolves around the ethical and psychological perspectives of many individuals. It explores how moral values evolve through life experience and how humankind is greatly influenced by the world and its beliefs, cultures, norms, and massive impact of political standpoint.
The titular character is a traveler who is set to explore the world she lives in. Together with her talking motorbike, Hermes, they travel from one country to another while trying to understand more about humanity.
This anime doesn’t give a lively impression, but it has a lot of philosophical views that will keep you invested in. It tackles serious issues on poverty, slavery, and corruption that provide reflection to the real world. While the anime doesn’t make an exact parallel to Boogiepop and Others, Kino’s Journey will surround you with a strange ambiance like Boogiepop and Others. Both are slow and might get you bored, but they give the best realization of a distorted world.
Spring 2006
26 Episodes
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni is full of horrifying events that will give you a nerve-stimulating sensation. It centers on a young boy named Keiichi Maebara who has recently moved to the fictional village of Hinamizawa with his family. After he meets different people who seem to be kind and adorable, things get complicated and alarming.
While this anime is more on the horror side, it also focuses on young individuals with a typical teenage life as everything around them becomes strange and creepy. It involves brutal killings and sudden disappearances of people and makes you intrigued about them to death. It captures the dark ambiance of Boogiepop and Others and will absolutely give you the most fearful experience.
Winter 2012
12 Episodes
A strange phenomenon has been revolving around Yomiyama North Middle School ever since the death of a student known as Misaki in 1972. The 15-year-old transferred student, Kouichi Sakakibara, notices the dark atmosphere around the school and eventually encounters a mysterious girl named Mei Misaki. However, students and teachers don’t recognize her existence. Kouichi is set to discover the truth behind the mystery wrapping the school as he comes closer to Mei Misaki.
This anime also revolves around a school that is filled with strange vibes. The overall tone of the whole story is dark and mysterious and features tragic events like those in Boogiepop and Others. There’s also some violence, but Another is less brutal and lighter compared to Boogiepop and Others with its unforgettable disgusting scenes.
Winter 2010
24 Episodes
Durarara!! is a popular anime series that focuses on the dark adventures of Mikado Ryuugamine. In the hopes of experiencing a most exciting life, he goes to Ikebukuro where he finally sees his childhood friend, Masaomi Kida, whom he has not seen since he was young. Rumors have been spreading out about the presence of violent people, mysterious gangs, and supernatural things in the district. While things have been going strange around him, Mikado sees an urban legend known as ‘Black Rider’ who is rumored to be headless behind her helmet.
Like Boogiepop and Others, this anime involves mystery and supernatural phenomena. Both anime are ridiculously strange, but they are very effective as psychological thrillers. However, Durarara!! is a lot more dynamic and humorous. It might not be suited to many because of its typical supernatural entangles and the dull and dry artwork, but it shares the same urban setting with Boogiepop and Others that is still worth to watch.
Getting involved in these thrillers is a real challenge. If you’re a big fan of mystery, suspense, supernatural things, and extensive gore factor like the ones found in Boogiepop and Others, then the anime series on the list will surely draw you into the most terrifying worlds of endless cruelty and violence. But beware. They might give you a heart attack.
Did MANGA.TOKYO just creep you to death? Do you have other anime you’d like to add to the list? Let us know in the comments.
The summer anime season is over. We had a few refreshing titles that kept us company through the hot months, but fall is bringing so many new titles and a few sequels we’ve been waiting for a long time.
