Shiki is a peculiar and fascinating anime, with a constant air of mystery and an excellent setting with horror scenes that will give you chills.
And so trust us when we say that we understand you 100% if after watching it you want more, and are looking for similar anime to watch.
But we have obviously already thought about it, and we have collected for you the list of the best anime like Shiki to absolutely watch if you are a fan of the series.
Table of Contents
10. The Future Diary
The Future Diary has no supernatural creatures, nor the philosophical discourse related to them, but we still recommend it because it offers a great horror atmosphere, with lots of gore and thriller.
The story follows Yukiteru Amano, an antisocial and depressed boy who records daily events on his cell phone as if talking to an imaginary friend named Deus Ex Machina, the lord of time.
But one day Deus suddenly becomes sentient and starts predicting future events.
This leads to a deadly survival game where participants must kill each other and destroy their opponents’ future diaries to become the new god of time and space.
The Future Diary is good advice when compared to Shiki. Both share a dark, suffocating atmosphere with lots of gore and splatter scenes, but they also have some big differences, mainly from a plot perspective.
Shiki is mainly a mystery and thriller anime that develops slowly, while Future Diary relies on its survival game mechanics, with action and plot twists.
9. Another
The story begins with the city boy moving to the country, and from there, mysterious disturbing events begin to unfold, as well as terrible deaths. All this in a creepy and oppressive atmosphere. Sound familiar?
Another tells the adventures of Mei and Koichi, two students at Japan’s Yomiyama North High School, who investigate to end a curse that has plagued their school for 26 years.
This curse will lead the two protagonists to encounter paranormal phenomena and to discover, as the solution to the mystery approaches, disturbing secrets that will change their lives forever.
You will feel the chills on your back from beginning to end, just as in Shiki. The difference? Another doesn’t have monsters or supernatural creatures.
8. Blood-C
Blood-C like Shiki maintains the theme of humans-killers terrifying monsters, all set in a remote village, so we are sure you’ll feel familiar with it.
The plot follows the events of Saya Kisaragi, who lives a split life being a regular schoolgirl, and also a monster slayer equipped with a ceremonial sword given to her by her father.
During the events of the show, we witness a varied collection of terrifying monsters as the plot unravels, just like in Shiki.
Another similarity, more abstract but absolutely not to be underestimated lies in the pacing of the shows.
Both Shiki and Blood-C start slow, and then become as the episodes go up more and more heated, dynamic, and disturbing.
7. Shinsekai Yori
Shinsekai Yori is different from Shiki, both in atmosphere and plot. But we still feel confident to recommend it and read on to find out why.
Set in a dystopian future, Shinsekai Yori is the story of five young boys as they progressively discover the dark side of the society they live in.
In a world where people are born with telekinesis abilities, Saki and his friends must come to terms with a harsh reality.
The reason we recommend it’s the pacing and the way the events of the story are told, which is extremely similar between the two anime.
Both start in a slow way, to then gradually reveal more and more secrets and dynamics that will leave you speechless. If you have watched Shiki you surely know what we are talking about.
6. Tokyo Ghoul
Tokyo Ghoul focuses much more on action and fighting than Shiki, but let us get to the point of the discussion and we’ll make you realize many similarities between them.
The story focuses on Ken Kaneki, an ordinary college student who lives in a town plagued by strange and violent murders.
The agents suspect that the deaths are caused by Ghouls, mysterious creatures that feed on the bodies of their victims, but nobody has seen them yet.
Both series deal with a conflict between humans and other mysterious beings.
But most important both show us the perspective of both sides, inevitably making us empathize with both factions, making us ponder the question: who is the real monster?
5. When They Cry
If you have to recommend an anime similar to Shiki, the creepy, oppressive, dark atmospheres are the bare minimum, as are the great visual violence and lots of gory deaths.
And that’s why we can’t fail to recommend When They Cry.
The plot follows Keiichi Maebara and his friends who live in Hinamizawa, a small village plagued by a macabre curse linked to the worship of a local god, Oyashiro.
But as the protagonists begin to investigate the town’s mysteries, the situation escalates, and various characters commit terrible acts as the truth is revealed.
The resemblance between Shiki and When They Cry is enormous, and we’re confident that if you enjoyed Shiki, you won’t be disappointed with When They Cry.
Gore, mystery, and an oppressive horror setting are just a few of the similarities between these two shows.
4. Ajin
Ajin is a highly underrated anime that explores the moral and philosophical coexistence between humans and unknown creatures, just like Shiki.
The story is set in a world where mysterious immortal humans known as Ajin are viewed as a threat to society and hunted down by authorities worldwide.
The protagonist is high school student Kei Nagai, who survives a near-death experience and discovers that he himself is an Ajin.
Forced to radically change his life and evade capture by the entire world, Kei’s story is one of survival against all odds.
While Shiki tells its story through a more mysterious lens, Ajin is more action-packed and less horror-focused. However, if you enjoyed Shiki, you will undoubtedly appreciate Ajin as well, trust us.
3. Elfen Lied
Dark and disturbing atmospheres, gore, and philosophical discourse unite Elfen Lied and Shiki as two compelling examples of the horror genre.
Elfen Lied’s story begins in a base where Diclonius, beings with the ability to create vectors, powerful arms capable of destroying a human being’s body from the inside, are subjected to terrible experiments.
But one day, Lucy, one of them, manages to escape, but just as she is about to leave the base, she is struck with a violent blow to the head and falls from a cliff into the sea.
Both Elfen Lied and Shiki explores how humans view and hunt mysterious creatures due to fear and ignorance.
While Elfen Lied is more science-fiction-based and less centered on mystery and horror than Shiki, both shows share similar themes that make them worth watching
2. Parasyte
Parasyte has an extremely different setting and atmosphere from Shiki, but it’s again based on the fundamental question that unites all the series in this article: what is the subtle difference between a monster and a human?
The story stars Shinichi Izumi, an ordinary student whose right hand is infested by a mysterious alien parasite interested in taking over his body. Migi, a nickname given to the parasite, is just one of a race of parasites intent on taking over human bodies to conquer Earth.
The forced coexistence between the two leads them to clash with other malicious parasites in an ongoing struggle for their survival and that of humankind.
Parasyte tells the events in a huge Sci-Fi key and with a lot of action, while Shiki, as you know, does so with dark, horror, and oppressive ones.
1. Devilman Crybaby
Once again, the reason for the recommendation is the man vs. monster argument, which makes us think about who is the real villain between the two races in the story.
But it must be said, Devilman Crybaby is probably the best violent anime ever to address this aspect, and that’s why it deserves the number 1 spot.
The protagonist, Akira, is too good of a boy, always reasoning things out, which leads to him receiving the nickname Crybaby.
Not so with Ryo, his best friend who is more fearless and arrogant, and by whom he gets carried away. One day, Akira is persuaded to go on a Sabbath, which turns out to be a full-blown satanic ritual to attract demons.
Everyone is possessed, including Akira, who nevertheless manages to control the beast through his gentle spirit. The result is Devilman, a man-devil with supernatural powers dedicated to the protection of humanity.
Devilman has much, much more action than Shiki, but both have the inevitable oppressive horror atmosphere and gore. This time we have no doubt that you will enjoy it.
Related Posts:
