While most people find satisfaction in action with fighting and violence, many can only be satisfied with a good Psychological Thriller. In this article, we are going to see a list of the best psychological thriller and mystery anime.
For those who don't know, a psychological thriller anime fits into the suspense category, but most of the time the action is present not only with fights but with battles of intelligence, mind, strategies, terror and various points that drive your mind crazy.
Psychological anime thrillers or suspense address the tension, excitement with climaxes created to hold from beginning to end. Others you watch totally confused, but when you get to the end it becomes your favorite anime (steins;gate).
In these stories there are always threatening, mysterious situations with escapes and complicated and impossible situations. In this article we separate a list of the best psychological anime for you to watch without fail. In my opinion this is one of the best genres of all time.
I don't like to wrap up in synopses, I'll briefly summarize a synopsis. If it's on this list it's because it's worth it! The best psychological anime are made by Mad House. Remembering that I don't rank them from best to worst, but from the comments you should know which ones are my favorites.
Table of Content
Mystery psychological anime
It's strange to separate anime into this category, as all psychological anime tend to have mysteries. So here are the anime with the best mysteries:
Boku Dake Ga Inai Machi / Eoused – A young man has the power to travel through time to avoid events. One day his mother is killed and he goes back to his childhood to try to solve a mystery that has ties to his future. (12 episodes) BEST OF 2016!
Death Note - I don't even need to talk about this anime, it's mandatory! It belongs to a boy who finds a notebook that allows him to kill whoever writes his name on it. He wants to rid the world of evil, the problem is that he is hunted by a detective. This anime is very smart and grips from beginning to end. (37 episodes) INDISPENSABLE!
Terror in Resonance – Tells the story of terrorist bombings that are happening in Japan, and they are caused by just 2 boys. (11 episodes)
Now with mystery but a little action...
Another – Unexplained deaths happening in a terrible way, a great mystery surrounds students at a school, with scenes to traumatize your mind. (12 episodes)
Monster – Because it's old (2004), I ended up getting stuck watching it. It just turned out to be one of the best anime I've ever seen in my life. It's a great mystery, suspense, horror and even action happening all the time. The anime tells the story of a doctor who ends up being accused of murdering people, only in reality the culprit is a psychopath, sociopath and serial killer he saved as a child. (74 episodes) PERFECT!
Detective Conan – An anime for all ages and with over 800 episodes. Despite sounding cliché and childish, anime is very intelligent, perhaps responsible for educating Japanese children to be so intelligent, because it addresses several complex subjects. Each episode a different criminal case, always full of suspense, mystery and intelligence.
He is so good that even my mom watches it, he is always at the top of the weekly ranking in Japan, but unfortunately, he is unknown in Brazil. Maybe the fact that it was released in 1996 has discouraged people from watching, but it's worth it. The story shows a young detective who ends up becoming a child and solving cases using a failed detective. MY FAVORITE!
There are other psychological anime with mystery that deserve your attention, but in order not to get too long, the list will only mention the name below:
- Death Parade (dark);
- Durarara!! (confused);
- Mirai Nikki (famoso);
- Hyouka;
- Baccano;
- Darker than Black
- Gosick;
- Serial Experiments Lain;
- Boogiepop Phantom;
- Shiki;
- Paprika;
Psychological Anime with Action
Kiseijuu – One night, alien creatures invade the earth and lodge in human brains. When trying to enter a young man's brain, this parasite ends up failing and takes over the young man's arm. With no desire to eat humans and dominate their minds, the 2 team up to end these murderous aliens. One of the best anime I've ever watched, with a lot of action, suspense and terror. (25 episodes) WATCH!
Psycho-Pass – The story takes place in a future where it is possible to measure people's criminal coefficient and determine whether they are needed in society or not. The anime shows a government group that fights crimes using this system to measure a person's mental state and personality. The main backstory is very good and grips you, there are two seasons and a movie. WATCH!
Hunter x Hunter – Despite not being placed most of the time in psychological anime rankings, but in action anime. This classic that has already had 2 anime adaptations and one by Mad House (2011), has several scenes that mess with our psychological with a lot of action, and is disputing my TOP 1 of favorite anime. The synopsis tells the story of a boy who will take an exam to become a Hunter (hunter), but the story goes on much longer with several arcs full of action, suspense and adventure. (148 episodes) SEE WITHOUT MISSING!!! PERFECT! THE BEST!
There are other psychological anime with action that deserve your attention, but in order not to get too long, the list will only mention the name below:
- Ergo Proxy;
- Elfen Lied (Bloody);
- Re:Zero (Worth it);
- Ajin (CG but it's great);
- Texhnolyze;
- Magical Girl Madoka★Magica (famous);
- Zetsuen no Tempest
- Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (psychopath);
- Neon Genesis Evangelion (classic);
- Ghost in the Shell (classic);
- Perfect Blue;
intelligent psychological anime
The anime below show that no action is needed to trap or mess with the mind. Of course, we've already talked about Death Note, Erased and Conan that also fit into this category.
Steins;Gate - Without a doubt the best psychological mystery and intelligent anime I've watched, but you need to make an effort to get to the halfway point of the anime, because the first half can be confusing and boring for some, since every episode is linked to each other and that is amazing. It tells the story of a group of young people who end up creating a time machine using a microwave, it seems confusing and crazy but WATCH! Mysteries surrounding the entire anime! (25 episodes + 1 movie) WITHOUT A DOUBT THE BEST STORY! THE BEST ANIME I'VE EVER WATCHED IN MY LIFE!
Kaiji - An intelligent psychological anime involving gambling. After watching the drama Liar Game I got excited about this genre of gambling games and highly recommend it. This anime has 2 seasons and tells the story of a young man who got scammed, ended up with a huge debt, and found himself in a place of games that can be deadly! Don't be fooled by the art style, the anime is great! VERY GOOD! I STRONGLY RECOMMEND!
NHK ni Youkoso! – This anime addresses social issues and problems. Tells the story of a hikikomori trying to heal, very good! This anime is proof that action is not necessary to arrest and mess with psychological and make us reflect on life. INDISPENSABLE!
We can't forget about this...
Code Geass – This anime has a lot of action, mystery and involves a lot of intelligence and strategy. Lelouch the protagonist is considered one of the smartest guys in anime, with the help of a mysterious power and his intelligence he will try to free the world from the Empire of Britannia! There are 2 seasons totaling 50 episodes that I watched in one day, because it held me from beginning to end and it became one of my favorites. WATCH WITHOUT FAILURE!
Below we will leave a list of more intelligent and psychological anime for you to watch:
- No Game, No Life;
- Akagi;
- To Aru Majutsu no Index;
- Mushishi;
- Higashi no Eden;
- Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin;
- Oreigaru;
List with TOP 100 Psychological Thriller Anime
Suspensions are characterized by tension. These anime often create a complex story with a variety of dangerous elements, plot twists, and possible outcomes, and try to solve it in a way that keeps the suspense level high, keeping you guessing at what might come next.
Responsive Table: Scroll the table to the side with your finger >>
| Nome do Anime | Type | Date |
| Steins;Gate | TV | 2011 |
| The Promised Neverland | TV | 2019 |
| ERASED | TV | 2016 |
| Steins;Gate Filme: Load Region of Deja Vu | Movie | 2013 |
| Death Note | TV | 2006 |
| Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- Season 2 | TV | 2020 |
| Monster | TV | 2004 |
| Psycho-Pass | TV | 2012 |
| When They Cry: Kai | TV | 2007 |
| Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- | TV | 2016 |
| Puella Magi Madoka Magica | TV | 2011 |
| Detective Conan Filme 20: The Darkest Nightmare | Movie | 2016 |
| Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Filme Part 2: Eternal | Movie | 2012 |
| Death Parade | TV | 2015 |
| Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Filme Part 3: Rebellion | Movie | 2013 |
| Psycho-Pass 3: First Inspector | Movie | 2020 |
| Detective Conan Filme 13: The Raven Chaser | Movie | 2009 |
| Detective Conan Filme 15: Quarter of Silence | Movie | 2011 |
| Kaiji - Against All Rules | TV | 2011 |
| Steins;Gate: Kyoukaimenjou no Missing Link - Divide By Zero | DVD Special | 2015 |
| Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Filme Part 1: Beginnings | Movie | 2012 |
| From the New World | TV | 2012 |
| Terror in Resonance | TV | 2014 |
| Tokyo Ghoul | TV | 2014 |
| Kaiji - Ultimate Survivor | TV | 2007 |
| Detective Conan Filme 10: The Private Eyes' Requiem | Movie | 2006 |
| Death Billiards | Movie | 2013 |
| When They Cry: Higurashi | TV | 2006 |
| Detective Conan Filme 16: The Eleventh Striker | Movie | 2012 |
| Psycho-Pass: The Filme | Movie | 2015 |
| Perfect Blue | Movie | 1998 |
| Detective Conan Filme 1: The Time Bombed Skyscraper | Movie | 1997 |
| Detective Conan Filme 17: Zekkai no Private Eye | Movie | 2013 |
| 91 Days | TV | 2016 |
| ID:INVADED | TV | 2020 |
| Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo | TV | 2004 |
| Psycho-Pass 3 | TV | 2019 |
| Psycho-Pass 2 | TV | 2014 |
| Akagi | TV | 2005 |
| Aoi Bungaku Series | TV | 2009 |
| Tokyo Ghoul √A | TV | 2015 |
| Ling Long: Incarnation | Web | 2019 |
| Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade | Movie | 2000 |
| Tokyo Ghoul: Pinto | OVA | 2015 |
| Paranoia Agent | TV | 2004 |
| Angels of Death (Web) | Web | 2018 |
| Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kaku Outbreak | OVA | 2013 |
| Duan Nao | Web | 2014 |
| Angels of Death | TV | 2018 |
| The Empire of Corpses | Movie | 2015 |
| The King of Pigs | Movie | 2011 |
| Yugo the Negotiator | TV | 2004 |
| The Fake | Movie | 2013 |
| Babylon | TV | 2019 |
| Japan Sinks 2020 | Web | 2020 |
| 91 Days Special | DVD Special | 2017 |
| Chaos;HEAd | TV | 2008 |
| Under the Dog | OVA | 2016 |
| Loups=Garous | Movie | 2010 |
| Okamikakushi: Masque of the Wolf | TV | 2010 |
| Sanctuary | Movie | 1996 |
| Extreme Escape Adventure: Good People Die | Web | 2011 |
| Dorei-ku The Animation | TV | 2018 |
| Baton | Movie | 2009 |
| Ling Long: Incarnation Part 2 | Web | 2020 |
| Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- Season 2: Part II | TV | 2021 |
| Talentless Nana | TV | 2020 |
| The Window (2012) | Movie | 2012 |
| Timing | Movie | 2015 |