Top 10 Dark Fantasy Anime List [Best Recommendations]

Meghan May Dellinger

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Final Thoughts

Author: Meghan May Dellinger

Konnichiwa! I"m a writer/daydreamer who gets a little lost along the path of life from time to time. I love watching anime and playing all kinds of video games - everything from RPGs to first-person shooters. I hope to be an author someday, but until then, I"ll share my words with the world any way I can! I love making new friends, so don"t be afraid to leave a comment!

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Conclusion:

Author: Yoko Dev

Hello, my anime peers. I’m from the states, but have taken an indefinite leave to travel while freelancing. Outside of a deep admiration for anime that started long ago, I love to read, write, and play video games. The main issue of traveling so far has been not having a console.

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Original Article Below

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Fantasy is a good genre to indulge in; we all need to escape from reality from time to time and to believe that our world is not as boring as we all think it is. However, with the evolution of storytelling, new sub genres are created to suit different people"s taste.

Dark Fantasy is a niche genre with its own specialty. It allows us to immerse ourselves into the anime while at the same time, reminding us that not everything is a walk on a flower field. Sometimes we want to deal with morbid concepts and dark humour as well, this is why dark fantasy continues to attract individuals with a penchant for the darker side of living in a fantastic world.

• Episodes: 24


• Aired: Oct 2013 - Mar 2014

Despite being very draggy and slow and sometimes the story shows no signs of progression, it still ran for two courses which showed the creator"s willingness to extend the series. Strike the Blood may be one of the underrated series in that particular season, perhaps for good reasons. The story takes some time to develop, sometimes the balance between fan-service and actual progression is broken.

All in all, however, I actually quite enjoyed this series. Strike the Blood portrays Kojou Akatsuki, the Fourth Progenitor of the vampires and his sidekick - Yukina Himeragi as they fought on to protect the peace of Itogami from demons.

As mentioned, there is a mix and match of a few different genres but the dark fantasy theme still is a main component in this show. Lust, death and loss are a few traits of this show. While the story progresses quite slowly, if you put everything together, it"s actually a decent anime and keeps you entertained.

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• Episodes: 12


• Aired: Jul 2010 - Sep 2010

Now, as otakus and sometimes gamers, most of us would really love to be placed in a zombie apocalypse. Wielding weapons, the freedom to do anything without repercussions by the law and trying to survive - be honest, we all have those fantasies before to be the last few members of the world.

High School of the Dead depicts just that, a group of high schoolers who were swamped by hordes after hordes of zombies. They realised how lucky they were to survive and not many of their friends are as lucky as them to survive, they fought on with a single intention in mind - the sole will to survive.

Granted that there are many fanservice scenes (some form of "fantasy"" for us too to lighten the mood), this show reminded me that a zombie apocalypse may not be the thing for me after all. Death, pain and suffering are few of the trials that we have to go through and this is what the anime shows best, the characters endeavours to survive while moving from Point A to Point B.

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• Episodes: 13


• Aired: Oct 2011 - Dec 2011

The prequel to the hyped Fate/Stay Night. Fate/zero is a more somewhat darker anime than its successor. It operates on the same premise. Servants are mythological figures that can be summoned for the pursuit of the Holy Grail, an artefact that grants both Servant and Master their wish.

However, during this pursuit, themes such as death and human greed are accurately portrayed which makes Fate/Zero a dark fantasy genre.

Just as Masters have their own intentions, servants too, have their own intention of what to do with the Holy Grail. Furthermore, they are placed in an elimination style battle royale to be the sole winner.

Not everyone is born a winner, even if they are folklore legends.

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• Episodes: 12


• Aired: Jan 2011 - Apr 2011

Puella Magi Madoka Magica is about Madoka Kaname journey as a magical girl and - "Why?, just oh why is a mahou shoujo anime on this list?" - is probably what many of you would be wondering. The Mahou Shoujo category has always been the quintessential genre to portray moe and sometimes (actually most of the time) loli MCs.

This is different, I promise. It is written by Gen Urobuchi. The famed creator of popular works like the Fate Series and Psycho-Pass. He is, and always will be, one of the best creators for darker settings in the market.

Imagine my surprise when I heard this is one of Urobuchi-sensei"s works. I cannot imagine him suddenly taking a break and delving into a lighter genre, much less the mahou shoujo genre.

IMAGINE my surprise, when I realised that he took the mahou shoujo category to a whole new level that is unorthodox to this specific genre and manage to turn it into his field and line of work.

You know it can be trusted if I say Urobuchi-sensei puts the "dark" in a fantasy series. He managed to turn the mahou shoujo category into something darker and that is what makes this show particular unique and one of the best ranked anime.

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• Episodes: 12


• Aired: Jul 2014 - Sep 2014

For ages now, ghouls have existed alongside humans and humans fear these creatures as they feed on them. Kaneki had a freak accident with a ghoul and he now exists as a part-ghoul part-human creature. He can"t be truly called a ghoul as he cannot tolerate the consumption of human flesh; neither can he be called a human. Tokyo Ghoul portrays a boy who was granted such said power but it is a challenge for him to exist in the society as they shun him.

As otakus, we all yearn for supernatural powers to be granted on us and live in anime-ish world. However, that would make it a fantasy anime. Being granted with a supernatural ability may not be the best thing in the world. Sometimes, you"re better off dead.

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• Episodes: 24


• Aired: Jul 2014 - Dec 2014

Ever thought what would be like to be an assassin?

The assassin archetype has long had associations to the shadows and stealth kills. It sounds very fanciful and even cool to a certain extent.

Akame Ga Kill portrays a young boy, Tatsumi who sets off on a journey to save his poor village. He set his sights on the capital city. What he will find however, is corruption of an inconceivable nature within the city.

After almost falling prey to the corruption himself, he is recruited by a band of assassins known only as Night Raid who are feared even by the ruling imperialists. Night Raid"s objective is absolute - to end the corruption as well as the lives of those that caused it.

Throughout the series, viewers will be shown what it truly means to be an assassin as it touches on morbid concepts like loss, suffering, death and despair.

Murder is the trademark of the assassin archetype and it is not an easy thing to fathom as the common fantasy setting portrays it to be. By showing the underlying values and traits of the assassin, this anime earned its dark fantasy classification.

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• Episodes: 25


• Aired: Apr 2013 - Sep 2013

Attack on Titan is set in an alternative historic time but this is not some historical tale of heroes and dragons. Attack on Titan is a tale where humans live in fear of large humanoid creatures known as Titans - so much that they built walls to surround the city and protect themselves.

This series portrays the human will to survive. This last remnant of society live in fear of the Titans as these monsters will not hesitate to consume them. After Eren Yaeger, the MC"s own mother was eaten right in front of him; he joined the iconic Survey Corps in order to discover more about the Titans and their existence. Along the way, he will find out more about the Titan"s origins as well as his father"s (who never made an appearance) connections to them.

This was a much hyped fantasy anime back in Spring 2013 and it shows that the dark fantasy trend is not dead yet.

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• Episodes: 12


• Aired: Jul 2015 - Sep 2015

When I search and source for anime, the art style and content always catches my attention first. It just so happens that one day, I was hoping to find a good simple, comedic, light hearted anime.

WELL HELLOOO! Moe high school girls, catchy opening, descriptions and trailers be like "Let"s have fun in this high school! YAYY!" I was so happy. It"s been a while since I saw a slice of life anime so I mentally prepared myself to be treated to an afternoon session light natured anime.

I cannot be more wrong... My first hint should probably be studio Nitro+. They are well-versed in the market... but for a different reason.

They lied. That"s what they did. Those liars! They"re lucky they didn"t lie to me in April, I would go on a murdering rampage.

Enough of my ranting and I apologize that you have to read through all of that. You came here to find a dark fantasy anime and I give this to you. It"s definitely a dark fantasy theme but I wouldn"t want to spoil much. This can actually be the most misleading anime after Madoka but what"s dark fantasy without a little twist?

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• Episodes: 26


• Aired: Apr 2007 - Sep 2007

Claymore is an anime set in medieval times. Raki was merely a teenager when his whole family was killed by demons. He tags along with a "Claymore" named Clare who avenged him by slaying all of the demons.

It would be a fantasy if the boy tagged with a heroic figure - but Claymores are despised by humans. Despite being despised, Claymores can blend perfectly with humans and are the ones that exterminate the demons that haunt humanity. Nevertheless, they are cast out by society and have no place amongst humans.

This is why Claymore has more of the dark fantasy theme to it with attributes such as rejection, isolation, death and independence. It is not every day that a hero can be glorified and worshipped, that is why there are still heroes known as unsung heroes. Not only are they doing the world favour, they are the outcasts of society.

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• Episodes: 25


• Aired: Oct 1997 - Mar 1998

The fantasy genre has existed for quite some time now. It is only through recent innovations that the sub genre of dark fantasy came into existence. Before then, it was deemed as a unique deconstruction of the genre and nothing more.

Berserk was an anime that aired before the 21st century, before dark fantasy came into cognizance of the anime industry. It was pretty unique for its time period but is easily classified as dark fantasy in today"s standards - and for good reasons too.

Known also as the Black Swordsman, Guts is a warrior with a desire for vengeance against his own best friend now turned rogue - Griffith. Guts is no glorified warrior of the century either. He had a terrible past and was raised to be soldier by his foster father.

Guts knows only loss and despair, till the point that he is being portrayed as the Anti-Hero archetype. He cuts down the numerous enemies he faces mercilessly, making Berserk one of the notorious gory anime.

Everything about this anime is dark and no doubt it is an aged piece, but it is still a very popular anime and manga today.

As anime traverses through time, it no longer appeals to the newer generation. Berserk however negated that component and continues to be a hot favourite even today with the manga still ongoing deserving therefore, the No.1 Spot.

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So here is my top 10 picks for the dark fantasy genre. And what about you? Do you have a particular anime that latches onto you?. What do you feel about this genre or what is it about it that appeals to you? Share your thoughts and comments below!

Author: Araragi

Writing from a little island known as Singapore. It is through my articles that I want to show that the world of anime reaches out beyond the boundaries of Japan. From different age groups to individuals coming from different walks of life, everyone and anyone can be a lover of anime. To quote from Kingdom Hearts, "There are many worlds out there, but they share the same sky."

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