T5W#271-Top 5 Action/Horror Anime

 

Ah October.  When we’re not dressing up as our favorite characters or monsters of all time, we’re telling stories about them to anyone who doesn’t mind a good scary story.  Recently, I’ve been diving back into Resident Evil over on my Twitch channel and enjoying some classic survival horror and action packed moments.  Which brought to mind, last week I did a pretty somber list of the Top 5 Scariest Moments in Anime (you can check it out here if you missed it: http://gundamanimeblog.blogspot.com/2020/10/t5w270-top-5-scariest-scenes-in-anime.html).  But while horror should be scary, it shouldn’t have to be just that.  Sometimes, it’s cool to faces the forces of darkness with a good blaster at your side.  Hence today’s Top 5 Wednesday.  Today we look at horror with the added bonus of having awesome weaponry, magic and good friend to watch your back.  Filled with bullets, blood and the occasional gorgeous femme fatale, these are my Top 5 Action/Horror Anime.

#5-Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba

Demon Slayer might’ve only debuted last year but it’s making some serious waves and continues to be one of the most popular Shonen Anime of the decade.  The story of Tanjiro setting out to kill the demon who changed his sister into the most adorable mini demon of all time has a lot of heart and emotional resonance.  But Demon Slayer still delivers some truly terrifying characters with Muzan being one of the coldest and most ruthless monsters in all of Anime.  His underlings and the various creatures Tanjiro and company encounter are no slouches either.  But thanks to Studio Ufotable brining their visual magic, every showdown with every enemy feels different and unique and amazing.  Sometimes fights against the scariest monsters can look so damn pretty.

 

#4-Berserk

Even in the fantasy realm, the forces of darkness can run rampant.  And we’re not talking Dragons.  We’re talking monsters from the pits of hell itself and backstabbing A-Holes who sell their soul and their army for absolute power.  Berserk isn’t an Anime for the feint of heart and doesn’t hold back on the carnage, especially in that infamous Series Finale I talked about in last weeks list (link above).  This is still an Anime about a titular Berserker who will go nuts and rage at any enemy dumb enough to get between him and his revenge.  This means heavy swords cleaving helpless monsters and hapless human in half or worse at the drop of a dime.  Do yourself a favor though and just stick with the original Anime series from the 90s.  That 2010’s sequel…well it deserves a Berserk slaying all its own.

 

#3-High School of the Dead

A Zombie outbreak rips its way through Japan without warning, leaving only a small group of high school students from all walks of life to find a way to safety  High School of the Dead .  is everyones ultimate nightmare…or everyones favorite fantasy.  You’ve got a bad ass leader protagonist and basically a crew of increasingly scantily clad classmates getting into danger and ripping through the Zombie apocalypse with whatever they can get their hands on.  From Bats, to Guns to Samurai swords, if it’s close by you will use it.  It’s a shame this series never got a proper finale. For what it is through, High School of the Dead is a pretty fun ride.  Special shoutout to Saeko Busujima, who makes Zombie Slaying with a Samurai Swords one of the hottest pastimes ever.

 

#2-Blood: The Last Vampire

While clocking in at a little under an hour, Blood: The Last Vampire does so much right with so little time.  The atmosphere is brimming with tension and suspense.  The build up to the big showdown between Saya and her Vampiric target is expertly done.  The action itself: the stuff of legends.  The opening subway scene is textbook perfection with pacing and style to spare.  Oh and this Anime looks gorgeous, one of Production I.G.’s best works.  Sure, the characters and concepts seen in this short got expanded in two other Blood titles: Blood + and Blood-C.  But neither hold a candle to the original, especially when it comes to the incredibly efficient sword swinging Goddess that is Saya.  Look for a review of this, and Blood-C, coming in 2021 to the Gundam Anime Corner.

 

#1-Hellsing Ultimate

I finally got to review this one last year and it was worth the wait (mostly).  Unlike the 2000 Gonzo TV Series, Hellsing Ultimate is an OVA that covers the entirety of Kouta Hirano’s 10 volume Manga and does so right down the smallest detail.  This is the Hellsing we’ve all wanted to see and there are no TV restrictions holding back the carnage that Alucard and the Hellsing Organization both unleash and battle against. The animation is hell brought to life with London literally drowning in a sea of bodies.  The elite warriors of Millenium bring their own level of twisted psychological into the mix and the cast is put through so much turmoil, it’s hard to watch sometimes.  But then Alucard shows up with his two pistols, his red coat and that sinister grin…and you know the real party is about to being and it does deliver some of the best fight scenes in Anime, particularly the climactic showdown between Alucard and Alexander Anderson.  The finale might leave a lot to be desired but if you’re gonna check out any version of Hellsing…watch this one (and also the Team Four Star Hellsing Abridged series, I did a Top 5 on that too a ways back, man I’m plugging a ton of old projects today aren’t I?)