7 Best Psychological Thriller Anime Series Like Death Note

Tap to Read ➤ Sai Kardile

With winding twists and turns, strong psychological build-up, and gripping characters, Death Note begins to seem so real that you actually wish that you don't cross Light, for he may just put down your name in the ominous book and the next moment you will have kicked the bucket. Find out such psychological thriller Anime series in this story.

Did you know? China put ban on viewing Death Note in 2005 as many school students purchased notebooks that looked like Death Note and wrote down names of people they wanted to see dead.

Those of you who held the belief that Anime was just about a bunch of aspiring Ninjas or oriental kin of American slasher movies, then dear ones, you have been cradling serious incorrect notion in your mental processor. Anime ain't just cake, and even if it is, L, the detective will grab it and snack on it even before you know it.

Those who haven't watched Death Note, may actually think we are messing with their mental make-up already but we aren't even close to doing that. So without much ado, we will orient you with the basic premise of this psychological thriller Anime.

So, you have this bored Light Yagami who alights on a notebook, with the words 'Death Note' written in an ominous font. Light soon discovers the dire powers of the book (one gets killed if one's name is written in the book, so it is pretty serious), and decides to blow away all the baddies of the world.

But, his moral compass gets screwed up (after all, he is just a high schooler), and begins grand-scale eviction. These mass-killings bamboozle the Interpol, who seek help from a weird but likable detective L to get hold of Light. This pursuit is accompanied by interesting developments, mysterious undertones with wit thrown in for good measure.

Given below are some of the best psychological thriller Anime series like Death Note.

1. Code Geass Code Geass is based on alternative history timeline phenomenon with three super powers, which are Britannia, the Chinese Federation, and the European Union, vying for control. The plot is set in motion, when Japan is taken apart by Britannia.

Lelouch Lamperouge is our protagonist who is an ostracized prince of Britannia with amplified feelings of avenging. But it seemed that some divine power wanted to aid Lelouch in his quest to find his mother's assassin and build a better place for his sister.

Lelouch is granted the power of Geass, which allows him to implant commands in other's minds and make them do whatever he wants them to. Whoa, that's quite a psychological thing with the Geass power, you know.

2. Monster Dr. Kenzo Tenma had the perfect life-promising career, hot girlfriend, and a good standing as a neurosurgeon but life isn't all about beer and skittles, and Dr. Tenma learns this the hard way.

His life takes an ugly turn when he sprouts a conscience and decides to operate the life of a young boy over the life of the mayor, an event that gains him notoriety and causes him to lose his girlfriend (real sad thing).

The plot thickens, when after some years, he finds himself in the eye of suspicion over a similar event, however, all this is linked to the young boy, Dr. Tenma saved some years ago. Boy! There is some seriously sinister element at play.

3. Ergo Proxy Romdeau is a domed city which shelters the leftovers of humanity. Humans in Romdeau are assisted by robotic domestic helps called AutoReiv. Humans and AutoReiv, together were living a peaceful life until some strain of virus botched up with the AutoReivs and they started going bonkers.

Inspector Re-L Mayer, the protagonist is a hope to the surviving humanity. Re-L probes into the matter and soon unravels the mystery of Proxies (robot bonkers) and sets out on a journey to understand more about these havocking Proxies.

4. Spiral: The Bonds of Reasoning Spiral: The Bonds of Reasoning offers a riveting plot which will get you addicted right from the beginning. The story runs around Ayumu Narumi, whose older brother, Kiyotaka disappears without leaving any hide nor hair.

The only perceptible clue that Ayumu is left with after Kiyotaka's final call is 'Blade Children', which he is obviously gagging to know about. Around the same time, Ayumu is drawn into serial killings and finds out that they all share a connection with his brother's disappearance.

He teams up with his school's journalist, Hiyono Yuizaki, and together they try to solve the mysterious jigsaw puzzle.

5. Umineko no Naku Koro ni On a sequestered island, an affluent man called Ushiromiya Kinzo lives all by himself. However, he is a perfect candidate for wings as his health is fast failing him. In order to discuss how his property would be doled out after he is dead, a yearly family gathering is convened.

But, Kinzo wants to meet his love of life, Beatrice, for one last time. And to do so he invokes her using black magic, an art to which he dedicated later years of his life. However, things get totally banjaxed after the island is hit by a fierce typhoon, entrapping them on the island.

Soon after this devastation, the family members are struck down one by one, leaving the rest feared for their lives. And then... to know more, please watch it.

6. Shiki Shiki follows story of a lonely village which is plagued with mysterious deaths. The villages's only hospital doctor, Toshio Ozaki slogs his guts out to save the lives of people, but all his efforts are proven futile. Unable to find the cause of the death, he is led to believe that the deaths are a result of an epidemic.

He then ascertains the real cause of the death- 'shiki', which are vampire-inspired corpses who have risen from their graves with a certain affinity toward human blood. Shiki, like Death Note is high on mystery and dark atmosphere, which are potent elements for any psychological genre.

7. Zombie-Loan Michiru Kita is one blessed girl, for she can see the person's proximate end using her Shinigami Eyes when the person has a ring around his/her neck. When the ring turns gray, it portends a person's imminent death and when it completely turns dark, the person dies.

However, Michiru is astonished to meet two boys, who despite having ominous death rings around their necks are alive. It is then unveiled that the two boys were certain to die but they got into an agreement with a loan office called, Zombie-Loan, which requires them to chase zombies in order to remain alive.

When the boys learn about Michiru's ability, they seek her help to find out zombies. But, Michiru soon realizes that she has got herself into a big quagmire. Oh boy.

Ever imagined how it would be when you are seated on a chair which is placed at the precipice of a rock, where even with the lightest of someone's blow you will be likely to topple over? No? Then we think you will be able to when you watch the above selection of psychological thriller series.