Halloween, with all its scary tricks and treats, isn’t for everyone. Some of us like to walk on the edge of darkness without fulling diving into the gore and horror of October’s scariest holiday. Luckily, there are anime shows that will appeal to those too timid to join this month’s haunted festivities. Here are five Halloween-themed anime scaredy cats will have no trouble watching on Crunchyroll.
GeGeGe no Kitarō
Kick off your Halloween watch party with the comedy supernatural series GeGeGe no Kitarō. The anime follows a society whose technological advancements has caused its people to forget the myths and folklore of the past — especially those about yōkai (supernatural monsters, spirits, and demons). This all changes when adults around the world start to exhibit some weird behaviors. Hoping to resolve this issue, 13-year-old Mana Inuyama writes a letter to the Yōkai Post seeking a solution. But instead of answers, she’s greeted by a yōkai boy named Kitarō.
If you’re looking for spooky children’s stories that won’t give you nightmares, then check out GeGeGe no Kitarō this Halloween. The series’ vibrant colors and deep contrasts give off a kid-friendly eerie atmosphere that isn’t at all frightening. Plus, on top of its delightfully spooky mystery, we get to see the main characters face off against supernatural beings in epic battles.
Interviews With Monster Girls
What would you do if you had the opportunity to meet and interview an actual monster? First, we would run away. But once we saw how much cuter and friendlier the creatures on Interviews With Monster Girls are than your regular monsters, we’d hurry back. The series follows high school biology teacher Tetsuo Takahashi and his fascination with “Demi,” half-human, half-monster beings. Although these creatures have become part of society, there’s still much that he doesn’t know about them. So, he decides to interact with them firsthand.
Takahashi starts with his Demi students — the lively vampire, Hikari Takanashi; Kyouko Machi, a kind-hearted Dullahan; and Yuki Kusakabe, the shy snow woman. He also meets fellow teacher Sakie Satou, a succubus who dislikes men. To learn more about the Demi, Takahashi conducts interviews with the girls to learn more about their abilities, psyche, and how they fit in human society. It seems that these monsters are not as unusual as people believe.
Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs
Having the ability to see ghosts can be frightening. Fortunately, Fuyuzora Kogarashi has a plan to fight back against the evil spirits. First, he needs to deals with his real-life problems: being penniless, homeless, and on the verge of beginning high school. While searching for a place to live, he comes across a cheap boarding house, which was formerly a famous hot springs inn. But there’s a reason it’s so cheap — the spirit of a high school girl roams the property.
Of course, Kogarashi is unbothered by this — he’s got a foolproof plan, after all. So, one day, while relaxing in the hot springs, he meets the boarding house’s ghost, 16-year-old girl Yuuna, face to face. Surprisingly, he can’t bring himself to hurt her and ultimately agrees to help her discover why she’s stuck in the human realm. But once it’s clear that Kogarashi is fine with Yuuna, the other tenants reveal their own supernatural secrets.
Kakuriyo -Bed & Breakfast for Spirits-
When college student Aoi inherited her grandfather’s power to see ayakashi (supernatural creatures), she never thought she would come to regret it. While feeding some ayakashi, the ogre Ōdanna, who also happens to run Tenjin-ya (the Heavenly Inn), appears and takes Aoi to the Hidden Realm, the world where all the ayakashi live. He demands that Aoi pay off her grandfather’s debt by marrying him.
The young woman refuses the abrupt proposal; she would rather pay off the debt by working. However, finding a job in the spirit realm proves much more difficult than Aoi initially thought. Even worse, the inn’s employees reject Aoi, thinking a human is a poor choice for Ōdanna’s wife. Luckily, she meets a sweet fox spirit named Ginji who, after tasting Aoi’s omurice, asks her to work at a restaurant near Tenjin-ya. But paying her grandfather’s debt, a whopping 100 million yen, will take some time.
Muhyo & Roji’s Bureau of Supernatural Investigation
Who are you going to call when you have a supernatural mystery or unwanted possession on your hands? (No, not the Ghostbusters). None other than the team of Muhyo and Jiro, experts in supernatural law who serve justice to spirits that run amok. Based on the manga of the same name, the dark fantasy series follows the young, genius Magic Law Executor, Toru Muhyo, and his assistant, Jiro Kusano (aka “Roji”), as they track down ghosts. Once, they find them, the duo either send the spirits to heaven or banish them to hell with the help of Muhyo’s spiritual powers.
Muhyo & Roji’s Bureau of Supernatural Investigation is an anthology series, with each episode featuring a “monster of the week.” In each installment, we see Muhyo play judge, jury, and executioner to spirits who break supernatural law. But viewers will also get to see Muhyo’s past and why evil spirits around the world cause chaos just to get rid of the young genius.
