As we all know, anime is legion and contains multitudes. One of the things it does very, very well is scare the pants off you. But when you want something scary (or at least bloody) and don't know where to start, what should you watch? Here is Needcoffee.com's list of Top 10 Horror Anime. Left off the list are things like Uzumaki that were manga and maybe even live-action, but never animated; I've also avoided things that are "horror" only because of where tentacles are put or what sadists will do to children (see the Director's Cut of Kite for what I mean here, or rather don't see it). Those aren't fun, and anime should be fun.

And so it begins….

10. Mermaid Forest.

You wouldn't think a mermaid tale would be horror, but in the hands of an anime master, it is. Rumiko Takahashi's moody and affecting series is based upon a Japanese folktale that suggests that those who eat mermaid flesh will gain eternal life. However, it seems that sometimes, the diners will instead become monsters. The main characters, Yuta and Mana, didn't intend to become immortal, and now wander the world trying to find mermaids who they think can make them normal again. The world, however, is full of nasty people and monsters, and the quest is never easy. The video excerpt we picked provides a nice sample of the show's animation and style, as well as lost souls, murder, and human sacrifice. For my reviews of the title--check those out here. (Find Mermaid Forest titles at Amazon.)

Direct link for the feedreaders.

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