Tokyo has become a dangerous and divided city with the existence of ghouls, beings that must eat humans to live. Even though humans have found ways to fight against the ghouls, a violent revolutionary group of ghouls threaten to overthrow everything. In the midst of these changing times, a college boy, Ken Kaneki, finds himself thrown fully into the war as he’s turned into an artificial half-ghoul. Like most thrillers, there’s fear of the unknown, uncertain livelihoods, precarious relationships, and epic battles. However, what Tokyo Ghoul does best is portray both sides to the story with characters of various levels understanding and tolerance. On the ghouls side, we have characters like Hinami who has never eaten a living human, and yet must live knowing that she’s considered a monster. There’s Kureo Mado on the human side who’s very inhumane is his relentless and disturbed pursuit to kill ghouls. Thus, personalities intermix and histories are revealed in a seamless, yet shocking fashion.

Polygon Pictures’s winter thriller, Ajin, takes us into a world where supernatural beings, said to be immortal, exist. For a long time, these supposed immortals have lived in relative peace with humanity with a few documented interactions. However, this all changes in Japan, when one Ajin, Satou, begins to terrorize the nation. No longer are Ajin some mysterious force for scholars to theorize about, but a daily terror. It’s when this fear is growing that Kei Nagai discovers in a terrible bus accident that he is one of these supernatural beings. If you’re not into CG, this might be a tough one to swallow. However, it’s definitely worth a shot. Ajin provides a very detailed portrait of a society and its dependence on information. Between students gossiping about a viral video in which an Ajin is murdered multiple times to news reports with the names of suspected Ajin an innate sense of fear and paranoia is built throughout the world. Heightening the fear and causing mass discrimination towards the Ajin are the extreme, gritty terrorist actions of Satou. Overall, this anime not only sets up intensive questions of morality and truth, but feels extremely relevant to many contemporary dilemmas.

Otherwise known as Attack on Titan season two, Koutetsujou no Kabaneri is the best thriller this season. Created by Wit Studio, this anime follows the main character, Ikoma, in a steam punk, apocalyptic world that is overrun by zombie-like monsters, the Kabane. A perfect mix of the graphic novel Snowpiercer and the series Attack on Titan, Koutetsujou no Kabaneri pushes and pulls viewers between a desire to find out the historic events that triggered such a world calamity and the fear of what further discoveries the future will hold. Though many might see it as a rip off of AoT, the creators have clearly developed a more concise narrative. You won’t find yourself pointlessly watching an episode of training that was difficult due to a technicality. From the first episode, there’s a train attack, a city overran, and a hero who wants to haunt the memories of those who left him to die by sacrificing himself for them.

Mirai Nikki sends Yukiteru Amano down one terrifying journey as he finds himself in a rat race to become the new god of time and space. With 11 other contestants, each holding a future diary with an incredible power, Yuki must meticulously maneuver himself through increasingly dangerous situations in order to survive. Episode by episode, Miraii Nikki proves itself to be a thriller of outstanding proportions. Paranoia, fear, and excitement mix together into a compelling narrative is Yuki propelled through a world where he can’t trust anyone. Furthermore, the one person he relies on frequently, Yuno Gasai, is an insane stalker. The best part of this is show is that you always feel a cold sweat, as if someone’s watching you. However, instead of being able to turn around, you’re shot forward, as Yuno decidedly blows up entire classrooms of students or axes someone in the face to protect Yuki.

Normal life is challenging enough, but apparently to Madhouse it’s not hard enough. Apparently, Earth needs to be invaded by aliens who are able to burrow into brains and take full control of their hosts. From there they basically normal, but are able to morph into insane forms in order to kill and eat their prey, more humans. That’s the setting that Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu throws you into. Now, our protagonist in this world, Shinichi Izumi is one such human who has had an alien species invade his body. However, it wasn’t able to get to this brain and thus it simply resides in Izumi’s right hand. Essentially he has become a hybrid of sorts that threatens the parasitic invaders and so has a hit on his head. This circumstance forces a tenuous collaboration between Izumi and his right hand, Migi, who together must carefully navigate this dangerous environment. Keeping us strapped in each and every episode is this thriller’s extraordinary synthesis between brutal fights and murders to the personal drama of Izumi as he tries to side step the attention of friends and family in order to protect them.

Death Note’s narrative follows the events after the Shinigami Ryuk drops his Death Note into the human world. By chance, it falls into the hands of the idealistic and slightly bored high school senior Light Yagami. From there, Light begins to use the Death Note, which has the power to kill anyone whose name is written within its covers, in order to create a utopia. However, his version of justice is questionable to say the least and catches the attention of the world-renowned detective known as ‘L’. It’s hard to believe that almost a decade ago Death Note had us chasing after Light Yagami as he made himself into a literal god. This anime is considered a classic for a reason. Government officials, secret societies, gods of death all come together in glorious battles of the mind. However, the main two in the ring, consistently challenging each other more, is Light and L. Whether it’s admitting to Light he’s “L”, challenging him to a tennis match, or handcuffing himself to Light; L constantly throws down the gauntlet. From there, we get the joy of watching Light finesse his way out after some intense reasoning.

You find yourself in a bar-like setting, with a person you may or may not know. There’s also a bartender with great hair who goes by the name Decim. He says it’s time to play a game to decide whether or not you’ll be reincarnated or sent to a void. This is Death Parade. Death Parade demands your attention from start to finish as it presents an extremely unique thriller. With its singular environment, our attention focuses in on the characters as they play rather ordinary games to decide their fate. However, each game has a twist, and so every single character quirk or twitch becomes heavily pronounced and holds levels of meaning. Emotional and psychological warfare are a constant in this thriller, and you won’t be able to look away as you consistently wonder what death really means in this world.

Zankyou no Terror follows the activities of the two-member terrorist organization, Sphinx, and the desperate attempts of the government to solve each of their riddles. Now, Nine and Twelve, two high-school aged boys, are the ones leading the attacks in order to enact revenge against the experimental and cruel government program that they were brought up in. As they, push forward though, they recruit a quiet and reserved girl into their schemes as well as earn the attention of some incredible detectives. Zankyou no Terror is the modern portrait of the police procedural/psychological thriller that shows like Monster and Death Note popularized years ago. It shares their twisting plot, dynamic characters, and unflinching look at the darker depths of human nature. However, it’s more concise in its narrative, driving each episode home with one battle in this war having been won or lost. Thus, there is never a wasted moment as we are pulled into a terrorized world where stuffed animals are the make up for bombs and Greek riddles must be analyzed and situated in context of modern infrastructure. Really pushing this show forward is the intelligence of the characters and their ability to test one another to greater degrees. It’s a constant chess match, with explosions for every pawn or rook taken. Everyone has something invested in the plot and everyone, whether or not they care to admit, have something to lose.

Steins; Gate shoves us through the maddening consequences of time travel as we follow the adventures of Okabe Rintarou, a self-proclaimed “Mad Scientist” and head of the Future Gadget Research Laboratory. Alongside two other members of the Future Gadget Research Laboratory, Okabe happens to invent a phone microwave capable of sending messages to the past and thus changing their lives. In the words of the main character, “No one knows what the future holds. That’s why its potential is infinite.” This quote is the show’s inherent strength. Anything is possible and as his crew’s antics with time travel unravels into a universe ripe with tragedy, Okabe finds himself frantically sending messages to the past and getting into insane situations in order to get a happier outcome. Nailing this show so high up on the list is the fact that it is successfully able to incorporate so many different aspects into its narrative with ease. Okabe’s Dr. Pepper jokes, the perverse nature of Daru, and the swift tongue of Kurisu play out humorously, adding an extra layer to the show overall as well as enhancing the darker aspects of the show.

Boku dake ga Inai Machi blew the anime community away this this January. Without trepidation, it sends Satoru Fujinuma into the past, and, in doing so, throws viewers into an emotionally charged, dramatic thriller. You see, Satoru has this strange ability, which he calls ‘Revival,’ that activates when a tragedy occurs. Basically, said tragedy occurs, his ability activates, and then the he is sent back generally several minutes just before the incident. For the most part, he uses this ability to constantly save the lives of others. However, when his mother is killed and he’s framed for the murder, his ability goes into overdrive sending him 18 years in the past, to when he was only 11. This happens, as Satoru soon figures out for himself, because his mother’s death might have something to do with the abduction and murder of his quiet classmate, Kayo Hinazuki. So not only can he possibly save his mother, but also a child whose memory has haunted him. Well, rather than turn this show into a simple murder mystery, which could have been solved in about half the episodes, the creators at A-1 Pictures focus on the complex ways that human interactions can play out and how intensely certain relationships can define our personalities and actions. Parental abuse and bullying play a heavy part in this anime, but so does friendship and a mother’s uncompromising love. In many ways, Boku dake ga Inai Machi really portrays the range of humanity and the importance of connecting with one another. However, to make such ideals shine as brightly as possible, an extremely dark shadow must be cast over the entirety of the show. Be prepared to be glued to your screen for this one as you explore just how impressionistic human nature is.