Every once in a while, even the most hardened battle shōnen or seinen anime fans can appreciate a nice, cute series that will cleanse their pallets from all the action. Typically belonging to the slice of life or comedy genres, shows like Nichijou and Azummanga Daioh have risen to mass popularity for their surreal comedy and overall comfortable atmosphere. Often endlessly entertaining, the best 'cute' anime series are frighteningly good at what they do.

And then there are other series that appear to be cute, but are actually just frightening. Over the years, countless different anime have marketed themselves one way, and went on to contain subject matter that is wildly different from what the audience might have been expecting. Some choose to be highly psychological or packed with dark, human drama, while others turn out to be total bloodbaths. Despite the non-threatening tone they appear to be offering, these shows are packed with substance, and are anything but cute.

7 The Promised Neverland

Animated by CloverWorks, 23 Episodes (2019 - 2021)

From the very beginning, something seems a little off about the world of The Promised Neverland. Its children are all happy, and lead good lives inside the orphanage where they live, despite the series making it known that there is danger outside the gates that enclose them. However, their tattooed necks and the intimidatingly kind 'mother' who oversees them are immediate red flags. The eventual reveal that danger is not only present outside the gates is one of the more thrilling twists in recent shōnen history.

What begins as a story that follows the cute and energetic Emma acting as a leader for the younger children in the orphanage, eventually spirals into a deadly game of cat and mouse. The anime's first season is intensely gripping, forcing the audience to care about its characters as they formulate an escape plan, all while danger looms around every corner.

Unfortunately, The Promised Neverland's second season wasn't quite able to follow up on the quality of its first. Cutting important plot threads and rushing toward an ending that wasn't entirely earned, the series is probably best experienced by simply ignoring Season Two altogether. Nevertheless, The Promised Neverland is a series that lures its audience in with the innocence of childhood, and then forces the viewer to watch as that innocence is lost.

6 Dead Dead Demon's De De De De Destruction

Animated by Production +h, 18 Episodes (2024)

Dead Dead Demon's De De De De Destruction is an interesting series for a multitude of reasons, but mostly for the fact that it actually is a story about cute girls doing normal, mundane things. The creator of the series said so himself in a 2014 interview, commenting, "reality is tough, so read this manga about cute girls and feel better." However, in Dead Dead Demon's, those cute girls are living out their everyday lives while the threat of extinction literally hangs overhead in the form of an alien spacecraft.

If the premise alone isn't telling enough that the series will not be as cute as d, the creator behind it surely should be. The anime is based on the original manga of the same name by Inio Asano, the creator of Goodnight Punpun, who is known for his highly disturbing and bleak storytelling.

Though the anime may spend a good portion of its runtime fulfilling its promise of being a quirky story about high school girls doing normal things, it wouldn't be an Asano work if it didn't get dark. As the events of the story become weirder over time, the creator's habit of pouring existential and nihilist themes into his tales makes itself known. Though undoubtedly a lighter story than many of his other works, Dead Dead Demon's still deviates from what is d.

5 Clannad

Animated by Kyoto Animation, 49 Episodes (2007 - 2009)

Clannad and its follow-up, Clannad: After Story, combine to create one of the most beloved and acclaimed anime series of the 2000s. Being mostly a slice-of-life romance drama by the illustrious Kyoto Animation, the anime is likely the last series any fan would suspect of getting dark, and for good reason. Neither the genres it belongs to nor the studio behind Clannad are exactly known for delivering disturbing content, but unsuspecting viewers should be warned that the series takes an unexpected turn in its latter half.

The original Clannad anime features a typical harem scenario, in which the main character, Tomoya, must help several girls through their personal issues. And as soon as the audience becomes comfortable with the story, Clannad: After Story arrives to deliver one of the most harrowing emotional experiences in anime history. Tragedy and death ravage the series in its later stages, as the audience is left as shocked and depressed as Clannad's protagonist.

4 Re:Zero - Starting Life in Another World

Animated by White Fox, 58 Episodes (2016 - Ongoing)

Though the Isekai genre has become somewhat overpopulated in recent years, no doubt due in part to Re:Zero and its massive success, the ongoing anime stands out among the rest for a number of reasons. One of those being how shocking and unexpected of a tone it takes after introducing its fantasy world. In a series that markets itself as another standard 'reborn in a new place' anime, Re:Zero makes the unique choice to leave its protagonist wildly underpowered in his new setting.

The one power Subaru Natsuki did happen to gain when transported to his fantasy world is not one that anyone would want, either. Each time the series protagonist dies, he wakes up at a certain time in the past in order to change whatever events led to his demise. While that may not seem like too terrible of an ability, Subaru's deaths are not painless. In fact, they are often agonizing and brutal. What seems like a typical Isekai adventure on the surface is propelled to new heights by how cold and unforgiving a world in which the protagonist must continue to die.

3 Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Animated by Shaft, 12 Episodes (2011)

Puella Magi Madoka Magica has received nothing but universal acclaim since originally airing in 2011, and at first glance, it might be the most unassuming anime series to ever subvert its audience's expectations so drastically. Everything from promotional art to the character designs themselves would lead any unsuspecting anime fan to believe the series to be little more than a run-of-the-mill magical girl show. However, not long into its very first episode, Madoka Magica reveals itself to be hiding quite a bit more beneath the surface.

After encountering a magical girl and a strange cat-like creature named Kyubey in a dream, main character Madoka Kaname attends school only to run into the strange pair again. Alongside another friend, she makes a contract with the creature to become a magical girl herself, and the aftermath is anything but typical for the genre. Delving into psychological themes while toying with experimental, often breathtaking visuals, Madoka Magica permanently altered the magical girl subgenre.

There's a reason that fans have been singing praises for the series for over a decade, as the anime continues delivering heavy emotional punches to the guts of new anime fans with each ing year.

2 Higurashi When They Cry

Animated by Studio Dean, 50 Episodes (2006 - 2007)

Due to the fact that the series has nearly two decades' worth of discussion surrounding it floating around online, most anime fans are well aware of the nature of Higurashi When They Cry long before they ever have the chance to watch an episode. Nevertheless, the anime features a central teenage boy who moves to a countryside town, surrounded by a standard group of cute anime girls who welcome him into their circle.

Comedy ensues as the group lives their almost overly cliché countryside slice-of-life lives, before the series quickly spirals into a harem from hell. Main character Keiichi Maebara and the rest of his friend group are forced to repeat brutally violent cycles that all end in tragedy, before resetting at square one to venture down a different, disturbing path. Higurashi uses all the tropes at its disposal to trick its audience into becoming comfortable, before unleashing the next tragedy upon them.

1 Made in Abyss

Animated by Kinema Citrus, 25 Episodes (2017 - Ongoing)

Made in Abyss is another series that smartly uses its marketing, promotional material, art style, and character design to lull its audience into a false sense of security, before bombarding viewers with incredibly dark and disturbing storytelling. Based on the original manga by Akihito Tsukushi, Made in Abyss revolves around an orphaned girl named Riko, whose mother was lost in the titular abyss at the center of town. Determined to find her mother, the girl and a half-robot boy named Reg venture into the ominous hole.

From the concept alone, the series s itself as a sort of coming-of-age adventure story following lovable characters down a unique setting. And for the most part, that description is accurate, until Made in Abyss goes on to feature some of the darkest content in recent anime history while peddling poignant themes of perseverance and innocence lost. Violence and disturbing imagery aren't all that uncommon in modern anime. However, watching those sorts of things happen to children most certainly is.

Despite how it may appear from the outside, anime fans deserve a hefty warning before approaching the series. It is certainly not for the faint of heart. Many anime series have marketed themselves as one thing, before airing as something entirely different, yet Made in Abyss takes the cake for the cruelest subversion of expectations.