Top 10 Animes for Halloween

Halloween specials are a rather universal so here are my picks for top animes to watch during Halloween.

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10. Grave of the Fireflies - I'll start this off by saying there are no scares here and this certainly won't fit the modern expectations of people's Halloween, but it might be the most fitting for what All Hallow's Eve was meant to be, a vigil for remember the dead, the souls of saints, martyrs, and the faithful. With a seemingly anti-war agenda based on the semi-biographical short story of the same name, it is meant to remind us the human cost of war. Set as a flashback during the final months of World War II it is truly a tale that will surely tear at your heartstrings and will undoubtedly remind you of the love ones' you might have lost in your life. The fact that this isn't the modern expectation of Halloween relegates it to number 10 on the list.

9. Ninja Scroll - I'm pushing the definition of anime with this one as this borders as it is probably the epitome of just how far you can push the genre lines before being considered a hentai thanks to some quite graphic scenes throughout including on-screen rape by a monster, but hey it's Halloween and most Halloween movies have some sex scenes in there because nothing turns on the ladies more than scaring the panties off them amirite? ...Anyway Ninja Scroll is set in feudal Japan it has all the classic makings of a horror movie, sex, gore, nudity, gore, monsters and did I mention gore? This anime is violent, it's NC-17 for a reason how it was released in Japan I do not know considering their tendencies to censor violent content that barely earns an MA rating here (U.S.), but I digress, if you want to be curled up in the fetal position hugging yourself at the end of Halloween, this anime is probably the most likely to do that to you on this list for better or worse, earning it's number 9 slot because it doesn't deal in any of the tradition cliches of a "Halloween" media as a direct focus, the elements are just kind of there for conveniences.

8. Spirited Away - In a nutshell a 10 year old girl gets sucked into the most bubblegum version of hell you can ever imagine. Her parents are turned into Pigs by a witch (yes pigs, I kid you not) and throughout the movie she is struggling to free herself and her parents from this spirit world. Pretty tame among Halloween flicks so chalk it up as one for the kiddies, but it has all the elements of a traditional Halloween pick.

7. High School of the Dead - Zombies + Japan = Scantily clad high school students fighting zombies in mini-skirts with plenty of clothing damage and fanservice, yeah that seems about right for Japan. High school of the dead is a cliche and while you have some gore and scenes that might scare the kiddies (not that they should be watching this) it's not played out like a horror series. You have a classic horror scenario acting as a driving force for the plot without truly acting directing on it. In spite of it's shallowness High School of the Dead isn't half bad and not nearly as fan-servicey as people would have you believe outside of the skimpy outfits and obligatory throw yourself at the main character episode a lot of animes have it's got action and a fair plot even if it's one giant cliche of course desperation for a fair horror series these days make the half way decent ones like this look like the Hope Diamond among a pile of coal so take it with a grain of salt.

6. Hell Girl - The premise is simple send somebody to Hell be dragged there yourself when you die, with that kind of satanic plot-line you can't possibly overlook it as a Halloween anime. There's not much to say, you have demons, you have varying sins against humanity, what you see is what you get and that's not a bad necessarily a bad thing.

5. Vampire Hunter D - As the title would suggest it's about a vampire hunter specifically the dhampir D who is suggested to be the son of Lord Dracula himself. D is a tortured soul, self loathing of the monster he is and despises the agents of darkness that are rampant through out the films. Landing at a firm 5 because while the world is dark and twisted it's not exactly a horror anime, the original film is by far darker than Bloodlust, but it is dated so you have to be the type to appreciate the classics like Nosferatu, if you aren't then Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust is truly more a romance story riddled with monsters and action than it is a true Halloween-esque horror flick, but then Nightmare Before Christmas isn't exactly a horror movie either and is well popular among Halloween movie lists. (I personally hold Nightmare before Christmas as a Christmas Story given the timetable of the movie being set around Christmas rather than Halloween.)

4. Trinity Blood - Set in a post apocalyptic world where humans and vampires are divided into their respective factions each hating the other and on the verge of war if any little thing goes off. Priests serve as your agents against the vampires and this particular story follows Abel Knightroad a seemingly bumbling priest in a chaotic and violent world, but he has a secret, Abel is actually a Cruznik a sort of artificial vampire that feeds on other vampires. The underlying story is that a plot threatens the human's existence  by creating war between the vampires and the humans to which the humans are already clinging to their limited cities and living in constant fear of the vampire menace. It has your fair share of horror elements and while Abel does tend to sparkle he wears it with an air of bad-assery  that lets you forgive him for it and is surely one sparkling vampire you don't want to get on the bad side of.

3. Boogiepop Phantom - Boogiepop, reputed to be the Angel of Death and an urban legend of the unnamed town serves as sort of a cloud throughout this series of incidents. The series is akin to pulp fiction as characters are often scene as a focus as such you re-witness the same events from different perspectives through the story. If the Grim Reaper's spirit, mysterious disappearances, and serial killings doesn't say Halloween, then there is something seriously wrong with your definition of Halloween.

2. Biohazard/Resident Evil - Technically I'm not sure if you can count this as an anime, it has had 2 film adaptations that were CGI produced by Capcom Degeneration and Damnation. If Space Pirate Harlock is considered anime then one must considered these CGI films of the classic horror games and novels anime as well. Zombies and shadowy umbrella corporations pulling strings from behind the scene complete with large mutated monsters and global panic make these films truly deserving as of your Halloween watch list and possibly the most traditional sense of a typical Halloween film you're going to find in anime, it's Resident Evil and it's Resident Evil done by Capcom so it's done right and with rather impressive CGI work that almost looks real you won't regret these films like the live action adaptations if you're a real Resident Evil fan or just a fan of a good horror showing though the latter might be a little lost without at least some back story since they follow the Resident Evil game plotlines.

Honorable Mentions
-Speed Grapher - While not related to Halloween in the sense of ghosts and monsters Speed Grapher is a testament to human depravity and the truly sadistic lengths people will go to, to achieve their desires. Considering that Halloween has been warped into a sort of occult day and with that comes sadistic imagery and symbolism, that spirit is well alive in Speed Grapher, for those looking for monsters there are a few of them thrown in among the debauchery.

-Puella Magi Madoka Magicka - An anime everybody seems to love and I truly despise, but giving the Devil his due the themes here are centered around witches. Sure they're cutesy magical girl variety witches, but witches all the same with apocalyptic overtones it features our heroines battle witches and ultimately trying to save the world from some bad mojo as a result of deals made in the past. Not a horror anime by anime means, but enough of a theme throughout to make it a lighter more child friendly choice of a Halloween pick that forgoes a lot of the blood and gore that are typical scene around that time of year. Remember scaring small children is fun, but only if you don't have to deal with their obnoxious screams and inevitable nightmares at 3 a.m, so think of the children (...and yourself) and make them cry (probably) with this melancholic tale of love, friendship, and sacrifice. *I hate this show soo much, seriously for me it is the standard at which all badness is measured, just a warning.*

-Gankutsuou: Count of Monte Cristo - Gankutsuou means King of the Cavern, which is basically the dark lord, the great opposer and epitome of evil, Satan. This is a twisted sci-fi retelling of Alexander Dumas classic novel Le Comte de Monte-Cristo or The Count of Monte-Cristo which in itself is a tale of revenge and betrayal. In both cases Edmond Dantès is betrayed and sent to jail for crimes he didn't commit, during those years in jail the formerly peaceful Edmond becomes cold plotting his revenge down to the finest of details to destroy those who betrayed him in a manner very specific and personal to them. What makes Gankutsuou fit for Halloween you ask? In Gankutsuou Edmond makes a deal with the Devil a mysterious entity that is imprisoned along with him, (how is the Devil imprisoned in a jail, I don't know, but it's not important) this entity promises him his revenge in exchange for his very soul and for his help in escaping through hitchhiking in his body, standard demon contract and whatnot. Throughout the series Edmond loses more and more of himself to this dark entity and the feel of the anime drifts away from the economic and social hardships to a more malevolent and demonic atmosphere befitting that Halloween tradition. While you're not going to get any real scares from this series except maybe from Peppo, the malevolent atmosphere makes it a perfect series for about the PG-13 range not because it is PG-13, but more that you're not going to keep the interest of anybody younger than that for very long though it does have themes throughout that might merit parental advisement, it's pretty tame in my opinion.

-xxxHolic - Think the 6th sense in anime form, Kimihiro sees dead people and doesn't want to anymore so he seeks help in ridding himself of these spirits and in doing so must pay the price and is forced to work for the person who is going to ultimately help him get rid of the spirits and this ironically sends him deeper into the world of the supernatural. Ghosts and Halloween go together like 2 cannibal midgets in a fat guy's ribcage, it just sends that warm fuzzy feeling coursing right through you. ^_^

1. Hellsing/Hellsing Ultimate - An entire world set in a satirized semi-historical world. The main focus is that of the effects after World War II and the remnants of the Hitler's Third Reich Army, the twist is that technological advancement seems to have hit a snag following the war.....and there's that pesky vampire problem. Protestant England and the Catholic Church well show that they don't agree with each other so you have the mutual dislike of each other shown fairly well in this film granted at this point they kind of would have moved a bit past it in our world, but it's not that far-fetched to think after Henry VIII declared his own church just to get a divorce that they would have serious issues with each (...and they did), but that's not the real focus here. The focus of the plot is eradicating the vampires in the world. When Integra Hellsing's life is threatened by her uncle who was jealous of Integra's lineage which would lead her into the roll as the head of the Protestant Army she runs to the dungeon where her father said she'd find salvation, what she finds was a shriveled corpse. Integra's uncle finds her and wounds her spilling a portion of her blood near the corpse, the corpse then starts moving lapping up her blood, when Richard was going to finish her off the vampire blocks the bullet and Integra takes the gun killing her uncle making her the last in line of the legendary Hellsing bloodline. The vampire that saves her life becomes a servant of sorts, this vampire is sort of vampire royalty, a count perhaps that goes by the name Alucard. The story focuses on Alucard a vampire that certainly won't let out a glitter or glint anytime this century, but a dark twisted vampire with his own (possibly sinister) agenda. Hellsing Ultimate is quite bloody and doesn't skimp on the dark nature of the world they live in making it perfect for the modern Halloween traditions of sadistic natures.

Do you agree with this list? What are your top Halloween appropriate animes?