Isekai as a genre started perhaps with stories that were a bit more straightforward and even fantastical with the likes of The 12 Kingdoms and even Inuyasha taking center stage. Modern isekai is a little different as there are more comedic elements that go with the action.
Therefore, one would normally never pair isekai and horror together as a reasonable match. Now, admittedly there is currently no horror show that one could say is an isekai, but there are a handful of isekai shows that have horror elements. This could be their setting, design, or the way the story goes.
5 Corpse Party
Gore, Gore, And Gore
To be honest, Corpse Party is a horror anime with very little isekai in it. It started life as a video game that came out in 2008 and gained a dedicated following. A single-episode OVA followed in 2012 called Corpse Party: Missing Footage and was then followed by Corpse Party: Tortured Souls in 2013 which simply carried on from where the first OVA stopped. Some students end up trapped in an alternate dimension which could perhaps count as another world in some way. But that is about as much isekai as a person will find in this show.
However, on the horror front, Corpse Party delivers the terror and gore. Now for some Corpse Party finds itself lacking in the story department and with only five episodes in total, it is almost impossible to know or really root for any of the characters, but then the people who want to see individuals killed in the most grotesque ways will not be disappointed.
4 Grimgar of Fantasy And Ash
A Depressing Look Into The Reality Of Isekai
What is horror? It is a feeling that makes a person bristle, to feel some sort of fear or dread. So, while Grimgar of Fantasy And Ash might not be the first name that will come to the mind when considering horror in isekai, it is firmly placed within that genre. It is a story that looks at the reality of isekai. Instead of a thrilling adventure where everyone gets cool powers, it can be a terrifying experience about fighting to survive.
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Aside from transporting viewers to new worlds, these series transmit a deeper style of storytelling that may cause tears.
The horror of Grimgar is how relatable it is. If any average Joe actually got sucked into another world where they have to fend for themselves, fight monsters that they have only read about in books and struggle to find companions as they make their way through the world, it can be pretty scary indeed.
3 Failure Frame
The Visuals Can Serve As Nightmare Fuel
Failure Frame is an isekai anime that is still currently running for the Summer 2024 anime lineup. It follows Touka Mimori, a loner who finds himself along with all his classmates transported to another world. He finds that he has the least attractive ability, everyone discards him and he is sent to his death, but somehow the power turns out to be OP and he is strong enough to clear any content in his path.
Failure Frame is a generic show, with some animation that watchers found less than impressive. But, it also comes with some horrific visuals that give it the horror elements necessary. The world is depressing and some of the monsters are fear inducing. In episode 2, the protagonist comes up against a monster known as the Soul Eater while he won the fight, many will walk away from that fight with the grotesque design of the monster stuck in their heads.
2 Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World
Subaru’s Sad Loop Is Scary To Think About
When Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World was first released in 2016, it was hailed for doing some things that other isekai at the time just didn’t have. It followed Natsuki Subaru, a everyday boy who is then taken to as fantasy world. While figuring his way about and helping out a young lady, he is killed, but then finds himself alive again in a familiar situation before the events that led to his death occured.
Re:Zero featured several elements that differentiated it from other shows at the time including a less-than-ideal protagonist who was not OP in any way, but finds himself in a world he doesn’t understand. The horror elements show themselves in the ways Subaru dies. He feels each death which makes it pretty terrifying. Also, with Subaru mostly powerless, going up against some entities who are so much more powerful than he brings its own sense of fear.
1 Overlord
Horror For Everyone Allied Against Ainz
Overlord is a very popular isekai that was adapted from a light novel. The world of YGGDRASIL is a very interesting one with various factions and kingdoms looking out for their self interest while Ainz also is in it for the best interest of his race.
Rather fascinating is the fact that a lot of Overlord’s horror elements comes from the protagonist and his faction. When all is said and done, Ainz is the master over some very nauseating subjects, who have desires that will make the hair on anyone stand up. When viewing scenes where Ainz dispatches people he considers enemies, it can be hard to watch. Examples include Ainz’s annihilation of an entire army with some pretty scary monsters, the torture of the workers who faced the most horrible fate, the death of Clementine in Season 1…all these show off that Overlord is not a show for the weak.
