Anime Like Kakurenbo: Hide & Seek

Devils require a living host to manifest. However, if a person's will is sufficiently strong, they can overcome the demon and claim its power for themselves, becoming a Devilman. Akira Fudou is a timid and gentle soul with an overly compassionate nature. When his childhood friend Ryou Asuka asks for assistance in hunting devils, Akira agrees without a second thought. But to Akira's shock, their destination is Sabbath, a hedonistic gathering of depravity and excess. As bloodshed erupts, demons possess the revelers, transforming them into grotesque monsters and causing chaos. In a desperate bid to save his friend, Akira inadvertently fuses with the demon Amon, transforming into a Devilman and gaining the strength to defeat the remaining demons. This new union grants him immense power, but it also awakens a primal, uncontrollable side of Akira. Now bearing a devil's body while retaining his compassionate heart, Akira joins forces with Ryou, destroying those who threaten humanity and those he holds dear.

Creatures of darkness and evil roam the night, devouring any humans unfortunate enough to fall into their grasp. Standing against these supernatural threats to humanity is Hellsing, an organization dedicated to their destruction. The group is led by Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, who commands a formidable military force and dedicates her life to combating the undead. Yet, Integra’s vast army is overshadowed by her ultimate weapon: the vampire Alucard, who serves as an exterminator for Hellsing against his own kind. Alongside his new vampire servant, Seras Victoria, Alucard must fight not only monsters but anyone who opposes Hellsing, regardless of whether they appear good or evil. In the struggle for humanity’s survival, Hellsing Ultimate demonstrates that appearances can be deceiving, and the greatest weapon may take the form of one’s worst nightmare.

The Hellsing organization, which specializes in handling supernatural threats, is summoned to Cheddar where a vampire has been turning villagers into ghouls. To stop this, the organization's head, Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, deploys her most powerful weapon: a mighty vampire named Alucard. With nothing more than a single handgun, Alucard unleashes destruction upon the monsters terrorizing Cheddar. But a young policewoman, Seras Victoria, gets drawn into the conflict and ends up fatally injured. Feeling sympathy for her, Alucard offers Seras an ultimatum: perish as a human or continue existing as a vampire. She chooses the latter and starts a new chapter as part of Hellsing. Even though it was her own choice, Seras finds it hard to accept that she is no longer human. However, she must quickly come to terms with her new nature if she intends to endure on the battlefield of the war between mankind and the supernatural.

Since childhood, Chihiro Furuya has been obsessed with zombies, dreaming of having an undead partner. His fascination becomes practical when his cat, Baabu, is hit by a car, prompting Chihiro to create a resurrection elixir in hopes of reviving the pet. While experimenting, he meets Rea Sanka, a wealthy girl who releases her frustrations about her oppressive home life by shouting into an abandoned well. After bonding with her, Rea encourages Chihiro to continue his work, and he eventually succeeds using poisonous hydrangeas from her family’s garden. Unaware that the potion works, Rea drinks it hoping to end her suffering, believing it will kill her. Instead, the potion’s magic interacts with a fatal accident, causing her to rise as a zombie. With Chihiro’s help, she tries to navigate her new existence. Though this might seem perfect for a boy seeking a zombie girlfriend, life in Sankarea becomes increasingly strange as Chihiro must manage Rea’s unusual new appetites and the unexpected consequences of her transformation.

In the quiet village of Sotoba, life is peaceful and everyone knows each other. However, things take a dark turn when Megumi Shimizu, an ambitious young girl, dies suddenly from a mysterious illness. As the hot summer progresses and more unexplained fatalities occur, local physician Toshio Ozaki starts to believe there is a more malevolent force behind the deaths. Toshio joins forces with detached teenager Natsuno Yuuki and siblings Kaori and Akira Tanaka—friends of Megumi—to uncover the truth about the town's deaths. Their collaborative investigation steers them toward a disturbing secret connected to the newly arrived family residing in the Kanemasa mansion.

The mysterious immortal entities known as Ajin first appeared in Africa seventeen years ago. Because their indestructible bodies pose a threat to humanity and they could be exploited for malicious purposes, they are immediately detained upon discovery. Kei Nagai, a hardworking high school student with aspirations of becoming a doctor, largely ignores the school curriculum concerning these beings, having only seen them occasionally in the news. Although he is taught that Ajin are not human, his ignorance proves irrelevant when he survives a fatal accident that triggers his transformation into an Ajin, plunging him into intense suffering. As he flees alone from a world that hunts him, Kei learns that other members of his kind might be hiding in plain sight.

Seikyou Private Academy, a school steeped in the allure of traditional occult legends, conceals a grim history—for six decades, it has been stalked by a ghost named Yuuko, a girl who met an unexplained death in the basement of the old school building. Unable to recall either her life or her passing, Yuuko secretly establishes and leads the Paranormal Investigations Club in her quest for answers. When she encounters the bright freshman Teiichi Niiya, who can see the peculiar specter, Yuuko latches onto him. The two quickly bond, and Teiichi resolves to assist her. Together with Kirie Kanoe, a relative of Yuuko, and the unaware second-year student Momoe Okonogi, they plunge into the notorious Seven Mysteries that haunt the storied campus.

During the day, Saya Kisaragi lives as a quiet high school student, but at night, she becomes a fearsome hunter of monstrous beings. Wielding a sacred blade given to her by her father for ceremonial duties, she destroys any creature that endangers her tranquil village. Yet her understanding of reality is shattered when she hears the monsters speak of a broken pact, a secret she was never told about. Soon after, a mysterious dog appears and challenges her regarding her vow to safeguard the village, questioning what might happen if she were to break it. Haunted by strange visions as her world unravels, Saya sets out to find the truth in a village where nothing is as it seems.

Saya Otonashi leads an ordinary life with her adopted family in Okinawa City, appearing to be a typical high school girl. Her only unusual traits are a tendency toward anemia and a complete lack of memories from before the past year. But Saya's forgotten history resurfaces when she is attacked at school by a blood-drinking creature. A mysterious man named Haji intervenes to drive the monster away. When he forces her to drink his blood, Saya enters a trance and uses her own blood as a weapon to easily kill the beast. Saya discovers the existence of Red Shield, an organization created specifically to combat these monstrous beings. Together with Haji, she must join forces with Red Shield to battle the terrifying creatures and uncover the truth behind her lost memories.

The saying goes that one who seeks revenge must dig two graves—and this holds especially true for visitors of the Hell Correspondence website. At midnight, this eerie web domain becomes active, and anyone who types the name of a person they resent will receive a visit from Ai Enma, the Hell Girl. Ai explains that she will condemn the target’s soul to hell, but the requester will also be sent to hell after death. For some, this cost is far too great; for others, the fate of their afterlife matters little compared to the torment they endure in their daily lives. But one thing remains certain: the Hell Girl will always be available to those in need of vengeance, as she stoically carries out her duty of transporting souls into the abyss.

The "Medicine Seller" is a deadly and mysterious master of the occult who travels across feudal Japan in search of malevolent spirits called "mononoke" to slay. When he locates one of these spirits, he cannot simply kill it; he must first learn its Form, its Truth, and its Reason in order to wield the mighty Exorcism Sword and fight against it. He must begin his strange exorcisms with intense psychological analysis and careful investigative work—an extremely dangerous step, as he must first confront and learn about the mononoke before he even has the means to defeat it. The Medicine Seller's journey leads him to an old-fashioned inn where Shino, a pregnant woman, has finally found a place to rest. The owner has reluctantly placed her in the last vacant room; however, as she settles in, it quickly becomes clear that the room is infested by a lethal band of mononoke, the Zashiki Warashi. With his hunter's intuition, the Medicine Seller begins his investigation to discover the Form, the Truth, and the Reason before the Zashiki Warashi can kill again.

Having survived their narrow escape from death, Kei Nagai and his new ally Kou Nakano scheme to take vengeance on Satou, a fellow Ajin obsessed with ruling the world. While Satou carries out a series of public executions, humanity scrambles to find a way to halt the immortal threat. Kei finds unexpected support from former enemies: Yuu Tosaki, a high-ranking government official whose deep knowledge of Ajin provides a strategic edge against Satou, and Tosaki’s Ajin subordinate, Izumi Shimomura. As Kei’s group expands, he must act quickly to halt Satou’s campaign before it destroys civilization.

Six months have passed since Yoshiki Tsujinaka’s best friend, Hikaru Indou, vanished into the mountains and returned a week later with no memory of the event. Sensing that the returning Hikaru is not the person he knows, Yoshiki confronts him, prompting the entity to reveal its true monstrous form and plead for silence to avoid killing Yoshiki. Despite being paranormal, the imposter displays a childlike innocence and eagerness to experience human sensations, such as the summer heat and rural life. For Yoshiki, whose grief drives him to cling desperately to his friend, it hardly matters if this Hikaru is a fake built on stolen memories, provided he never leaves again. As their bond deepens, it becomes increasingly evident that a dangerous supernatural force has descended from the mountains into their village.

Years ago, a student managed to drive all the ghosts out of a haunted schoolhouse. Now, those spirits have returned—and they're out for payback. Siblings Satsuki and Keiichirou Miyanoshita are still grieving the death of their mother. When they move to her old hometown, they find out that the school they've enrolled in is an ancient building rumored to be full of ghosts. At first, they dismiss the stories as nonsense, but they soon realize the spirits are real—and they have a personal grudge against them. Gakkou no Kaidan follows the terrifying ordeal of the brother and sister, along with their new friends, as they struggle to survive the school's vengeful apparitions—with some help from their pet cat.

Quiet rumors circulate among the female students at Shinyo Academy about a mysterious supernatural being. This being is Boogiepop, a shinigami said to kill people at the peak of their beauty before their charm fades. Few know his true identity: a protector who, after periods of inactivity, emerges as the alternate personality of high school girl Touka Miyashita to battle "the enemies of the world." Now, a series of unexplained disappearances—dismissed by the school as mere runaways—has roused Boogiepop. But somewhere on the campus, a dangerous creature lurks, waiting for the right moment to strike. Boogiepop wa Warawanai gently examines the deep connections between human beings and their experience of time, while exploring the intricate relationships, emotions, memories, and pasts of its characters.

At school, Mai Taniyama and her friends enjoy sharing ghost stories, with many revolving around an abandoned school building on campus. Their storytelling is interrupted by a mysterious young man, later revealed to be Kazuya Shibuya, the 17-year-old president of the Shibuya Psychic Research Company. He has been summoned by the principal to investigate the rumors about the abandoned building. The next day, on her way to school, Mai passes the building. While examining an unusual camera she spots inside, she is startled by Kazuya's assistant, inadvertently interfering with the investigation. Mai breaks the camera, and Kazuya's assistant gets injured. Kazuya forcefully hires Mai to cover the cost of the camera and replace his injured assistant. From then on, Mai begins to learn about the paranormal world and the ghost hunting profession.

The third entry in 07th Expansion's popular When They Cry series, Umineko no Naku Koro ni is set on Rokkenjima, the private island of the immensely wealthy Ushiromiya family. As has been tradition for years, the whole family gathers there for a meeting to discuss each member's current financial standing. With the family head's health declining, this year's conference also covers the topic of his inheritance and how it will be divided. The family does not realize, however, that the distribution of the old man's fortune is far from Ushiromiya Kinzou's main concern for this gathering. After his longtime friend and doctor warns him that his end is near, Kinzou becomes desperate to see the true love of his life one more time: the Golden Witch, Beatrice. Having devoted much of his later years to studying black magic, Kinzou sets in motion a ritual to resurrect his beloved as soon as his family arrives on Rokkenjima. Not long after, a powerful typhoon maroons everyone on the island, and a series of inexplicable murders begin. The eighteen people trapped there must fight for their lives in a deadly conflict between fantasy and reality.

Both day and night, unexplainable horrors lurk in the darkest corners, waiting to strike. They cannot be escaped or defeated—only endured. Prepare yourself, or you might be their next victim. Settle in for a collection of chilling tales that will leave you horrified: a cursed jade figurine that bores holes into its victims' bodies; a nightmare that stretches across decades; a beautiful spirit at a foggy crossroads who offers cursed advice; and a slug that grows inside a girl's mouth. Tread with caution, for the supernatural terrors of the Junji Ito Collection are not meant for the faint-hearted.

Immortality is something many people might wish for. But would they still desire it if they knew it would subject them to endless attacks? That is the reality for Rin Asougi, an immortal private investigator—there is no shortage of individuals who want her dead. Over the centuries, she has met countless gruesome ends, only to return to life each time as if nothing happened. In 1990, while searching for a lost cat, Rin encounters Kouki Maeno, a man who believes his memories are faulty. Agreeing to assist him, Rin soon discovers that Kouki is not what he appears to be, all while moving closer to her true enemy. This foe knows Rin and her kind all too well, and if she dies by his hand, she may stay dead forever.

Spirits have always been drawn to Keitarou Gentouga because of his powerful spiritual aura. A traumatic incident left his right hand cursed, requiring him to keep it covered with a glove at all times. Now a first-year college student, Keitarou aims to lead an ordinary life. With support from his childhood friend Eiko Houzuki, he takes on work as a private tutor. Because he ranks at the top of his class, his first student is the tutoring agency's most exceptional pupil, Yayoi Houzuki. To Keitarou's astonishment, Yayoi is Eiko's relative, and she has two pupils in each eye—enabling her to perceive the spirit realm and deliberately hunt malevolent spirits to exorcise. Ever since a car crash claimed both her parents, Yayoi has been hunting for the powerful entity that stole her mother's departing soul. Noticing how strongly spirits are attracted to Keitarou, she convinces him to assist her in gathering other evil spirits that will aid her in a future confrontation. Though her mission is perilous, Keitarou reluctantly agrees to join her, even as every new spirit they encounter makes him doubt his commitment more and more.

Shiki Toono awakens in a hospital room possessing the ability to perceive invisible lines. These delicate threads, which compose all matter in Shingetsutan, cause an object to be instantly destroyed when cut. Shiki realizes that tracing the lines of anything leads to its imminent destruction. Keeping his supernatural sight a secret, Shiki attempts to live his second year of high school in tranquility. However, this calm is shattered when Shiki encounters a mysterious woman with striking red eyes on his way home from school. After a sudden mental breakdown, he seemingly kills the woman and then loses consciousness. As if matters couldn't worsen, Shiki is attacked the following day by a pair of demonic hounds—facing certain death, he is rescued by the timely arrival of the same woman from the previous day. She identifies herself as Arcueid Brunestud, a vampire princess. Deciding to join forces, Shiki and Arcueid set out to discover the truth about their heritage and the recent series of murders occurring in the town.

Ai Enma and her associates continue their grim work, offering a means of vengeance to those who have been wronged—but the cost remains severe: in condemning the offender to eternal torment, the one who seeks retribution is also consigned to the abyss. As they send soul after soul into the darkness, a new malevolent presence observes them: a young girl named Kikuri. While carrying out her duties, Ai encounters a boy named Takuma Kurebayashi, known as the "Devil's Child" because of the dreadful incidents that seem to follow him. Unfortunately, this reputation leads the townspeople to blame Takuma for those who have been dispatched to hell. As events rapidly spiral out of control, Ai must find a way to halt this senseless violence—for it threatens her very existence.

Boogiepop is a rumored shinigami said to hide where no one can see them. Five years ago, a series of brutal murders terrified the public, and students blamed some of those deaths on this so-called death god. Now, as strange events once again disrupt the lives of students at Hijiridani High School and Shinyo Academy, rumors of the mysterious Boogiepop are revived. The tales being shared might hold fragments of truth, or perhaps the world humans think they know is far more perilous than they ever imagined.

Michiru Kita has a unique ability: she can see a "ring of death" around people's necks, and the darker the ring, the closer they are to dying. One day, she notices that two classmates, Chika Akatsuki and Shito Tachibana, have rings that are completely black. When she tries to warn them, she discovers their secret—they are already dead, but they remain alive thanks to a contract with Zombie-Loan, a mysterious loan agency. However, nothing is free: the boys must hunt and eliminate zombies to repay their debt. Once they learn about Michiru's "Shinigami Eyes," they pull her into their dangerous world.