So you wish to commune with the spirits, do you?
Yes, yes! I can see it written all over your face! Just as clearly as I see the little imp sitting on your shoulder! Oop! She’s gone! You turned your head too quickly so you missed her, but my third eye never lies!
Yes, I can see all manner of spirits! Ghoulies and goblins! Faeries and sprites! Grunkles and snarks! Those weird little guys that hang out in the corners of your vision but when you turn, they’re gone! I see what creaks beneath the floorboards of your house at night! What hides in the reflection of your bathroom mirror!
You wish to see them too, do you? Well, my child. It is possible, but it will take training. Before you see real spirits, you must become accustomed to seeing animated ones! It will help open your third eye! Lucky for you, I have just the anime to do the job for us! Behold, the best supernatural anime.
10. Dororo
Dororo is about a young swordsman whose body parts were all stolen by demons! Well, almost all of them. I don’t think any demon was pervy enough to make off with that one, but I have been wrong about such spiritual matters before! The swordsman must travel across a war-torn feudal Japan in order to recover his stolen body parts. How does he fight the demons? With awesome prosthetic limbs, that’s how!
9. Elfen Lied
Oh my, the spirits tell me that this anime is quite disturbing. It is about a young girl who is not a girl at all! She is a diclonius—a species of sentient, horned humanoids that look like regular girls, but are actually psychic murderers! Diclonii are able to summon invisible psychic limbs called “vectors,” which are strong enough to cut people in half! One of their favorite pastimes. In Elfen Lied, a particular diclonius named Lucy escapes from a government facility and takes shelter in the home of a young boy who has no idea what she is! But he’ll find out!
8. Jujutsu Kaisen
Spirits abound in this smash hit anime! Cursed spirits, that is! Yes my pet, in Jujutsu Kaisen the world is crawling with nasty little cursed spirits that prey on humans, often with fatal consequences! A talented few are able to see these cursed spirits, and they utilize a mysterious force known as “cursed energy” in order to do battle with them! It’s like a spooky version of Naruto!
7. Natsume’s Book of Friends
Natsume’s Book of Friends is an adorable little slice-of-life anime about a young boy named Natsume who has “the gift.” He is able to see all manner of “yōkai,” which are the legendary spirits of Japanese folklore. He inherited this gift from his grandfather, who bound spirits into servitude using a special book called the “Book of Friends.” Natsume, guided by a cute little kitty cat spirit, goes on a quest to release the spirits once bound by his grandfather. Now that good deed is indeed one way to make friends with things from beyond!
6. Another
Unlike Natsume’s Book of Friends, this series is about a supernatural force that does not want to pal around with human beings. It wants to kill them horribly! Another is about a transfer student who becomes mysteriously attracted to a classmate ignored by everyone else. It might be because she’s weird, but it might also be because she isn’t really there! She gives a warning about a mysterious curse that has afflicted the school, and students begin to die off one by one! We in the spiritual community have a name for the feeling that watching this series induces: the heebie jeebies!
5. Mushishi
Watching Mushishi is like listening to a spooky-sweet song played on a ghostly little victrola in a cozy but creepy country house! It’s about a “mushi master” named Ginko who travels the Japanese countryside in search of mushi! What are mushi, you ask? No one really knows! They are neither plant, nor animal, nor mineral, but rather a collection of spiritual beings that are as close as one can get to the primordial source of life! Some are harmless, and some cause trouble. Mr. Ginko tends to deal with the latter!
4. Mononoke
Mononoke is one of the most beautiful anime ever drawn, and the only true “avant-garde” anime that I can think of! It’s about a mysterious man known as the Medicine Seller, who goes around exorcising spirits that are plaguing the populace. Before he can exorcise them, he must determine what kind of spirit they are, where they came from, and what they want. It’s part psychological horror series and part detective story! I have a premonition that you’ll be a big fan.
3. Death Note
This is perhaps the most famous anime series on this list! Death Note is the ultimate emo kid of the anime universe, and is beloved by goth, alt kid, and normie alike. It’s about a gifted but bored young man who finds a mysterious notebook, and the god of death who owns it! The death god tells him that anyone whose name is written in this book will die, so the boy decides to use the book to become god of a new world. He’s got some issues, poor lad. But they make for great drama!
2. Fate/Zero
This anime is a thrill ride like Game of Thrones, in the sense that you don’t want anyone to die but they definitely will! Fate/Zero is about a group of seven mages who summon seven legendary warriors from throughout history in order to fight to the death and win the Holy Grail. Yes, that Holy Grail. The one Jesus drank from! They want more than just his backwash, though. The grail contains unimaginable power, I swear!
1. Mob Psycho 100
This anime is by far the most fun-to-watch thing on this list. Mob Psycho 100 is about a young boy named Mob who just so happens to be the world’s most powerful psychic. The only problem is, he doesn’t know it! He’s told by his master Reigen (who was no psychic powers whatsoever) that he must always use his psychic abilities for good, and never evil. This gets a little tricky, though, as other malcontent psychics are always challenging the poor boy to psychic battles that they cannot win. The boy is simply too strong. He just lacks confidence! Like you! Keep hanging with me, and you’ll be able to convince people—I mean, actually see ghosts yourself!
(featured image: MAPPA)
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