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The one genre that Anime lacks

iruuliruul
edited December 2007 in Anime
Maybe its just my limited knowledge in the animes out there but anime seems to be lacking in the genre of horror. I'm not talking about eerie suspense-type like Higurashi no Naku Koro ni or the ones that just deal with ghosts like Ghost Stories, but animes where the main focus is horror. Why are there no anime equivalents of a typical slasher or of the popular J-Horror movies that japan has been known for? If there are, please tell me so I can look into them.
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Comments

  • kage_rodkage_rod
    I tend to avoid them, but I remember there is clips of a horror in the AMV Hells.. plus, Petshop of Horrors is a horror genre - though, a very light one.
  • SailSail
    Supposedly Boogie Pop Phantom is horror.
  • ZeehatZeehat
    edited December 2007
    Hentai can be pretty scary. Check that out. ^_~
    Post edited by Zeehat on
  • kage_rodkage_rod
    XDD Check out 4chan for that, for sure.
  • One SinOne Sin
    Good god, /d/ alone could probably scare the shit out of you for the rest of your life.
  • iruuliruul
    Lol, hentai doesnt really count for anything when I'm looking for a story, even if it is "scary." Petshop of Horrors is manga only and anything that deals with horror has a greater effect, imo, when in an anime format. And of course there are graphical images of horror, but where are the animes for them?
  • ZeehatZeehat
    The amount of scary shit on 4chan, even if it's mostly images, could be put together to make a fricken anime.
  • RailithRailith
    We are seriously lacking in Western Fantasy and Horror in cartoons nowadays.
  • MitchyDMitchyD
    You know what "horror" is lacking?

    Anything remotely resembling quality.
  • AprecheApreche
    There are plenty of horror animes and such. The problem is that Japanese horror is quite different from what we consider horror in the US. Go watch Satoshi Kon's Perfect Blue. That's considered horror there, but for us it is more of a psychological thriller. Go read the Bug Boy, it's labeled as horror, but much of it warmed my icy heart with its cool island song. Generally I've found Asian horror to be completely not scary at all. As of late I've found US horror to only be scary in that jump out and say "boo!" kind of way.
  • ......
    Petshop of Horrors is manga only
    Eh, wasn't there an animated TV series of that? The TV series was mostly just comedy though...
  • RymRym
    edited December 2007
    There are plenty of horror animes and such
    I think you miss the point. The genre we in the West know as "horror" barely exists in Japan, and as such there is no "horror" anime. That's what they're talking about.

    Saying "Oh, horror exists in Japan, it's just completely different from what you call horror!" is a bit silly. "Yeah, they had cars in the 1400s! They were just slow one horsepower. " Really, Western Horror and Japanese Horror are just two separate genres. By our standards, there are practically zero horror anime.

    More to the point, I wonder what the Japanese consider our "horror" to be.
    Post edited by Rym on
  • Li_AkahiLi_Akahi
    Most of the stuff that we would consider to be horror is mostly made into hentai. Hentai companies are the only ones who will sponsor the creaters to make the super bloody American-style horror series.
  • HungryJoeHungryJoe
    You know what "horror" is lacking?

    Anything remotely resembling quality.
    You're right, and it really makes me sad because I really enjoy a good scary movie. The problem is that there are so few of them.

    There were three good ones in 1999: Blair Witch, Sleepy Hollow, and The Sixth Sense. Since then, nothing has been that good. The Grudge was alright, I guess. The Messengers was completely composed of suck.

    Even horror novels and stories are hit-and-miss. I think it's just a difficult genre.
  • ReimuReimu
    Good god, /d/ alone could probably scare the shit out of you for the rest of your life.
    /d/ is everyday shit for me, homie. I love that place.
  • DaveDave
    There were three good ones in 1999:Blair Witch,Sleepy Hollow, andThe Sixth Sense. Since then, nothing has been that good.The Grudgewas alright, I guess.The Messengerswas completely composed of suck.
    "I kicked the map in the goddamn river" passes for good horror? Even when I was sixteen I knew that movie was bullshit.
  • HungryJoeHungryJoe
    "I kicked the map in the goddamn river" passes for good horror?
    As I said, those were the good ones in 1999. They were better than many, if not most horror movies. That's not a high bar.

    Hate on Blair Witch all you want, but it's one of the better movies of the genre. Read it again: " . . . of the genre . . . ". The work of the genre is bad in general. Yes, kicking the map in the river compares favorably to and even surpasses a fat redneck mutilating empty headed sorority cheerleaders and their jock boyfriends with a chainsaw.
    Even when I was sixteen I knew that movie was bullshit.
    As ever, I am not as hip as you. You are so tragically hip and supernaturally cool that I am honored that you would respond to me and yet dismayed that you would have to read my unworthy comment. I hang my head in shame knowing that you were so sophisticated at sixteen and that I was such a dunce.
  • DaveDave
    I think you misread my tone. I'm not acting holier than thou, but that movie was seriously garbage. Better than Jason-Freddy-Michael Myers slasher flicks? Okay, sure. But there's way more good stuff in horror than you boil it down to. What about Vincent Price flicks like The Last Man on Earth or The House on Haunted Hill? Psycho. The Shining. The Thing. Night Of/Dawn Of the Dead. Alien. Heck, if you want to be generous what about stuff like Shaun of the Dead? My point was that there's no shortage of good horror movies. There's so many that The Blair Witch Project shouldn't even enter into the top 50.
  • HungryJoeHungryJoe
    I was trying to say that those I mentioned from 1999 were the best ones I remember recently, and nothing I've seen since has been as good. The movies you mention are all pretty old. The most recent one (besides Shaun and the Dawn remake) is The Shining. There's a big gap in time between those and the 1999 movies. It further demonstrates my point that there aren't that many good movies in the genre, even if you (1) agree that those old Vincent Price movies were any good and (2) if you agree that Psycho is even a horror movie.
  • iruuliruul
    edited December 2007
    There does seem to be a difference between J-horror and western horrors, but there still seems to be a lack of horror-animes even by the Japanese sense. There are plenty of popular J-horror movies that make it to us, such as The Ring and The Grudge, yet few anime that can be compared genre-wise with these movies. I guess HnNKn was the closest they got to horror.

    Also, hentai does indeed have its share of "horror." But I'm not talking about tentacles and demons: that's kiddy stuff. If you want to test the strength of your stomach, as well as your level of acceptance in public, go pick up an ero guro hentai manga.
    Post edited by Rym on
  • AmettoAmetto
    Here some manga titles that I consider horror.

    Wandering Classroom- horror or not, I think this is a great story.
    Gyo
    Mantis Woman

    There are more but I haven't read them yet.
  • Li_AkahiLi_Akahi
    edited December 2007
    I want to see Sleepy Hollow mostly due to the fact that it is a Tim Burton film. Was it any good? Would someone like me who normally gets the crap scared out of him (the scariest movie I have seen that I can remember was The Sixth Sense) be able to finish the movie?
    Post edited by Li_Akahi on
  • VigaViga
    edited December 2007
    Good god, /d/ alone could probably scare the shit out of you for the rest of your life.
    /d/ is everyday shit for me, homie. I love that place.
    I wanted to see what was scary about /d/. WTF!? That was scary and ew.

    Hate onBlair Witchall you want, but it's one of the better movies of the genre.
    I never heard anyone praise Blair Witch before. I think it was the most over hyped horrors but not really good.
    I want to seeSleepy Hollowmostly due to the fact that it is a Tim Burton film. Was it any good?
    I thought it was a great movie but not really scary. Entertaining is a yes.

    Anyway, can't Paranoia Agent be considered anime horror even though to an American audience it's more of a psychological thriller? Same thing with Boogiepop Phantom. Both of which is awesome in my eyes horror or not.
    Post edited by Viga on
  • kage_rodkage_rod
    Good god, /d/ alone could probably scare the shit out of you for the rest of your life.
    /d/ is everyday shit for me, homie. I love that place.
    I wanted to see what was scary about /d/. WTF!? That was scary and ew.
    *Tilts head* That scared you? Only thing on 4chan that really scared me is the random bloody/torture stuff on /b/... Like, the other day, they killed a kitten... *shudder*
  • HungryJoeHungryJoe
    edited December 2007

    Hate onBlair Witchall you want, but it's one of the better movies of the genre.
    I never heard anyone praise Blair Witch before. I think it was the most over hyped horrors but not really good.
    Just a shot in the dark: You were too youg to see it in theaters, weren't you?

    I don't usually subscribe to the idea of a movie being "spoiled", but this one can be. Especially if you see it after you've heard everyone talk about it and say how cool it is to dislike it.

    Now, before anyone tries to claim they knew what was going on and that it was predictable, I want to say that I knew all this as well as I was watching it. However, I was able to put that aside, enjoy the story, and even feel a little frightened.

    And another thing - I've found that, if you can suspend your disbelief, allow yourself to be entertained, and not worry so much about being cool and hip, you can often enjoy movies that have a bad popular reputation. For instance, The Last Action Hero actually has some pretty cool moments. I thought the Hamlet reference was very cool and very well done. Even Hudson Hawk is okay if you watch it expecting it to be goofy and silly.

    Admittedly, there are some movies with bad reputations that even I can't enjoy. The Phantom Menace, Heaven Can Wait, and Ishtar are examples of these abominations.

    I don't know why Blair Witch has such a bad reputation. If you simply watch it, forget that it's not cool to like it, and try to engage with it, you might actually enjoy it. Even I'll admit that Blair Witch II is bad though, so don't judge the Witch by that monstrosity.
    Post edited by HungryJoe on
  • PagePage
    edited December 2007
    Why are there no anime equivalents of a typical slasher or of the popular J-Horror movies that japan has been known for?
    Lol, hentai doesnt really count for anything when I'm looking for a story, even if it is "scary." Petshop of Horrors is manga only and anything that deals with horror has a greater effect, imo, when in an anime format. And of course there are graphical images of horror, but where are the animes for them?
    Since when do slashers contain a story line?
    Post edited by Page on
  • iruuliruul
    Slashers plots may be trite and shallow but its still there. Most hentais, on the other hand, dont really have stories. Instead, they have series of implausible events that give a "reason" for sexual intercourse. Thus, though some hentai may be considered "horror," I do not include it in the genre that I am inquiring about since horror is not their focus. Furthermore, sexual intercourse takes away from any horror-suspense elements it could possibly generate. (slashers movies kill off the victims right before intercourse for a reason - sex is not scary)
  • ReimuReimu
    You dare impugn the artistic integrity of Bible Black?
  • iruuliruul
    Bible Black had an interesting story but in the end the events were just excuses to rape highschool students. I laugh every time I see the two gratuitous buttons conveniently placed on the female uniforms. Also, Bible Black used some kind of odd computer CG and the bodies all look unnatural, not the greatest technique, imo. Also, there is the other spectrum of hentai where theres a solid plot with sex scenes thrown in just because it would sell. Dragon knight and Kite are good examples.
  • Li_AkahiLi_Akahi
    Because of the two comments above, I now doubt your characters completely.
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