Best Suspense Anime of 2017

For many generations, humanity has been pursued by enormous, enigmatic predators called the Titans. Three massive walls—Wall Maria, Rose, and Sheena—offered safety and tranquility for over a century. That calm was broken when the Colossal Titan and Armored Titan appeared and demolished the outermost wall, Wall Maria. Forced to withdraw behind Wall Rose, humanity waited anxiously for the Titans to strike again and ruin their final refuge. In Shingeki no Kyojin Season 2, Eren Yeager and his comrades from the 104th Training Corps have only recently started serving as full members of the Survey Corps. As they prepare to confront the Titans once more, their plans are interrupted by an invasion of Wall Rose—yet nothing is as straightforward as it appears, and additional enigmas come to light. While the Survey Corps races to protect the wall, they learn more about the attacking Titans and the hidden truths concerning their own ranks.

At Hyakkaou Private Academy, the curriculum goes beyond standard academics to prepare students for the real world. With many pupils hailing from the wealthiest families globally, the school operates with a unique dual nature: daytime classes cover history, languages, and other subjects, but nights transform into a gambling arena where students learn to handle money and manipulate others. Financial success determines social standing, and those who dominate the games reign at the top of the hierarchy. Enter Yumeko Jabami, a seemingly innocent and attractive transfer student eager to participate in Hyakkaou's distinctive program. Unlike others, she does not gamble to win—she seeks the sheer excitement of the bet, and her almost insane approach to gambling may introduce unpredictable elements to the school's power dynamics.

Koudo Ikusei Senior High School appears to be a perfect place on the surface. Its students enjoy remarkable freedom, and the institution holds a high reputation across Japan. But the truth is far from ideal. The school's four classes—A through D—are organized by merit, with only the highest-ranked classes receiving special privileges. Kiyotaka Ayanokouji belongs to Class D, where the school places its worst students. There he encounters the antisocial Suzune Horikita, who feels she was mistakenly placed in Class D and is determined to ascend to Class A, and the friendly class idol Kikyou Kushida, whose goal is to befriend everyone she can. Although class assignments are fixed, rankings are not; students from lower classes can improve their standing by outperforming those in higher classes. Moreover, Class D has no restrictions on the methods used to get ahead. In this ruthless school environment, can they overcome the odds and achieve the top?

Ichirou Inuyashiki, a 58-year-old man, is struggling through a difficult phase in his life. While his chronic back pain is agonizing, it pales in comparison to the cold indifference and disdain shown by his wife and children. Despite this, Ichirou finds comfort in Hanako, an abandoned Shiba Inu he takes in. His situation worsens when a routine check-up reveals he has stomach cancer with only three months left to live; though he attempts to stay strong, his family's apathy drives him to an emotional collapse. Fleeing to a nearby field, he embraces his dog and cries—until he spots a strange figure standing before him. Then, a blinding flash of light engulfs Ichirou in smoke and debris. When he regains consciousness, he realizes something has changed—he has been transformed into a mechanized weapon concealed beneath his original appearance. Though initially startled, the kind-hearted Ichirou quickly uses his new abilities to rescue someone, an act that fills him with joy and renewed purpose. Yet, the source of these powers remains a mystery. Who was the enigmatic figure at the explosion site, and do they share Ichirou's benevolent intentions when wielding this dangerous force?

Twice a decade, elite mercenaries renowned for their overwhelming strength, sharp intellect, and lethal accuracy converge for the Zodiac Tournament. Each combatant embodies the traits and name of one of the twelve Chinese zodiac signs. Fighting for both their honor and their survival, they clash in brutal combat until a single winner emerges. The twelfth tournament kicks off in an abandoned city, where no trace remains of the half million residents who once called it home. To heighten the danger, every warrior swallows a toxic gem that imposes a strict time limit on the competition and their very existence. With a single wish awaiting the champion, the Zodiac Warriors launch their ruthless fight for survival.

Adjusting to a new school can be tough, especially when you have no interest in making friends, as is the case with Nobuaki Kanazawa. The reason behind his standoffish behavior becomes apparent when his entire class receives a text from an unknown sender calling themselves "The King." The message outlines the rules of the "King's Game," which all students are forced to participate in. Anyone who refuses, drops out, or fails to complete an order within 24 hours faces a lethal consequence. Having experienced this game before and witnessed the deaths of those around him, Nobuaki tries to warn his unsuspecting classmates. However, they only take him seriously after the King's Game claims its first victims. Trapped in a nightmarish scenario with no way out, Nobuaki must decide whether to prioritize his own survival or attempt to rescue his classmates—something he failed to do in the past.

A wave of horrific killings known as the "New Generation Madness" once caused widespread panic throughout Shibuya. At the height of the chaos, as a violent riot raged, a sudden earthquake reduced the district to rubble while nearby areas remained oddly untouched. Half a dozen years later, in the newly reconstructed Shibuya, strange deaths begin resurfacing. It doesn't take long for third-year student Takuru Miyashiro to notice a pattern: the dates of these recent murders line up with those of the New Generation Madness incidents. Together with a few members of his school's newspaper club, he decides to probe the mystery further—only to end up trapped in the middle of a fresh crime scene.

A severe internet addiction epidemic is sweeping the nation's youth, leaving them overly reliant on the online world. Those beyond help are sent to Elite Reeducation Academy, a facility meant to reform them into productive adults. Hibiki is one such teenager who wakes up there with no memory of how he arrived. The head instructor explains that Hibiki was knocked unconscious and brought to the school at his mother's request, worried about her son's increasingly aggressive behavior caused by his internet addiction. Trapped in a place that feels more like a prison than an academy, with no way to escape the instructors' mistreatment, Hibiki decides to kill himself by leaping off the roof. However, fate intervenes when he encounters a mysterious man named Shin, who vows to give his life purpose.