Top 25 Best Dark Anime on Hulu In 2023 (Updated)

Last updated on September 2nd, 2023 at 11:07 pm

What do we mean when we refer to an anime series as dark anime? Is it just the absence of light (both literally and metaphorically) or something even more deep and thought provoking?

Well, typically a dark anime series refers to those that are beyond the spectrum of the excess positivity, something that is thought provoking and psychological and changes your way of looking at things. Today we’re going to talk about the top 25 best dark anime series available on Hulu. Before that, however, a friendly warning: these are not for the faint hearted.

Top 25 Best Dark Anime on Hulu

25) Platinum End

From the creators of Death Note, Platinum End is another psychological thriller with heavy philosophical tones, and is a dark anime on Hulu anime lovers should check out. It starts with Mirai Kakehashi, an orphan who’s being abused by the people who took him in. To end his miserable life, Mirai jumps off a building, but before he could fall, he’s saved by his supposed guardian angel, Nasse.

Nasse provides him with some special powers, and just like that, he’s thrust into a battle royale with 12 other individuals who have gotten similar powers from their angels. Whoever wins will be the next god.

24) Corpse Princess: Aka

The action horror anime starts with Ouri Kagami, an orphan who witnesses Keisei Tagami, the patron of their orphanage reviving the corpse of a girl. Turns out the girl is Makina Hoshimura who has been revived as the Shikabane Hime after her death. Now her duty is to kill other Shikabane before they can harm the society.

After many abnormal encounters with Makina, Ouri finds his fate intertwined with her as the two eventually discover the truth behind the Shikabane. This anime is not the best of its genre, but it’s an entertaining dark anime on Hulu.

23) Higurashi: When They Cry – Gou

In June 1983, Keiichi Maebara comes to the small mountain village of Hinamizawa and befriends a group of girls at his school. As he spends idyllic days with his new friends, he begins to notice the abnormal behaviors of the villagers, appearing as if they all are hiding something from him. Even his friends seem like they have more behind the smiles they are showing him.

With a suspenseful premise that delves with supernatural and psychological horror, Higurashi is a must-watch for every horror fan.

22) Akame ga Kill!

Village boy Tatsumi’s idealistic philosophy is ripped into pieces when he experiences unthinkable cruelty on his first trip outside his village. With his morale broken, he meets a young woman named Akame, who is a skilled assassin working against the corrupted prime minister of the country to protect ordinary citizens.

Moved by Akane’s ambition, Tatsumi joins her team of assassins, the Night Raid, and works his way to rid the world of the corrupted members of the society.

21) Claymore

In a terrifying world where shape-shifting and man-eating demons known as youma dwell, women known as Claymores are manufactured by creating a hybrid of half-youma and half-human to fight the youma. Claymores possess special physiology and powers that make them stronger.

When Raki’s village is terrorized by the youma, a Claymore called Clare arrives to save the village. Awed by her power, Raki decides to tag along with her on her journey after he’s banished by his family.

20) Tokyo Ghoul

In a future dystopian Tokyo, the flesh-eating ghouls and humans co-exist. Both groups regard each other with contempt, and the ghoul’s increasing human preying is getting out of hand. Ken Kaneki is your normal average college-going student, going to his favorite café with his book and stealing glances at the girl he crushes upon, until one day he gets the courage to ask her for a date.

The date goes as wrong as it could go, and Kaneki is ripped out of the life he knew. Turns out, the girl wasn’t what she showed everyone she was. Now in a new world with people looking at him differently, Kaneki has to balance his new life with his old one in this masterpiece of supernatural horror by Sui Ishida.

19) Id:Invaded

The mysteries of the human mind are explored in this dark anime on Hulu. The police department has upped their ante with the Mizuhanome System, an advanced technology which allows people to enter human minds. The police use this technology and the “cognition particle” left by perpetrators at crime scenes to enter the mind of the perpetrator to identify them.

However, not everyone can enter the human mind; only someone who has killed before can do so. The protagonist is Akihito Narihisago, a prisoner who used to be a police detective before a tragedy struck, leading to his current state. Narihisago helps the department with the investigation, and soon realizes there is more to what happened to him.

18) Ergo Proxy

In a world that has basically turned into a biohazard zone, the city of Romdo is one of the very few places where civilization still exists. Autoreivs are assigned to assist human beings in their day-to-day activities. So good, so far. The problem arises when these robots start getting infected by the “cogito virus” that starts granting them self-awareness.

Romdo’s ruler can’t take this lightly and assigns his own granddaughter Re-l Mayer to investigate. However, what looks like a relatively routine investigation quickly spirals into a theory, and Re-l is made to reflect back upon humanity’s darkest sins that brought it to the brink of extinction millennia ago.

17) Black Lagoon

In this heart-pumping crime thriller, we see an ordinary salaryman, Rokuro Okajime whose life turns upside down during his business trip to Thailand. During a botched business deal, he’s taken hostage by the local infamous mercenary group. To save his life, Rokuro makes the ultimate bargain with the group: he’ll join the group as a mercenary himself.

16) Black Butler: Book of Circus

How desperate does a kid have to be to sell his soul to the devil at such a tender age? Noah’s circus group has captured the children, and as usual, the queen sends her favorite guard dog, Ciel Phantomhive, to resolve it. What follows is the fun and jokes that typically project a circus in town; however, there is something sinister lurking just beyond the shadows of this surprisingly peculiar band of performers.

Armed with his greatest weapon in the form of his butler Sebastian Michaelis, Lord Phantomhive must now balance at the top of the rope (quite literally) or else risk being struck down by the vicious group of criminals posing as the circus group. Searching for the truth, Ciel will come across secrets that’ll shake the very foundations of his beliefs.

15) Death Parade

With a unique and fresh premise, Death Parade is one of the more interesting dark anime on Hulu. It’s about what happens after death. While most people are either sent to heaven or hell after their death, some select individuals are sent to an afterlife bar called Quindecim.

There they meet the bartender, Decim, who challenges the guest to different life threatening games to decide whether the soul would reincarnate or be lost to the void for eternity.

14) Fate/Zero

While Fate/Stay Night was an action filled entertainer, its prequel Fate/Zero takes a much darker tone. Chronicling the events of the Fourth Holy Grail War, the plot revolves around two parallel individuals: Kiritsugu Emiya and Kirei Kotomine. One wants to eradicate suffering from the world by using the Grail, and another just wants indiscriminate suffering to pour into the world. 

As the War starts in earnest with many Masters and their Servants, all of whom want the Grail for themselves, Kiritsugu and Kotomine would soon have to face each other.

13) Erased

With a crisp and suspenseful plot, Erased is a great dark anime to enjoy on Hulu. It starts with Satoru Fujinuma, a manga artist who finds himself with the ability of time travel, referring to it as Revival. When he’s accused of the murder of his mother, Satoru travels back 18 years in the past, and finds that his destiny is entwined with Kayo Hinazuki, his old classmate who was kidnapped and murdered 18 years ago.

11) Psycho-Pass

Have you ever gotten so angry that you felt doing something really mean to someone? If yes, well, then congratulations, you’re a criminal in the world of Psycho-Pass.

Law enforcement as we know it has changed, and the Sybil System monitors the misdeed co-efficient in all of Japan. The Inspectors work with Enforcers (past inspectors who’ve high misdeed coefficients and are considered latent criminals), and into this world steps in Inspector Akane Tsunemori, with an unwavering moral compass and a penchant for justice.

However, behind all of the façade of creating an impartial system, does the Sybil system hide its other motives, or is the system innately corrupt?

10) Parasyte: The Maxim

What do earthly parasites do? They are tiny little pests that live on the human body and feed off them and their nourishment. Now imagine that at a much grander scale. The parasites we’re talking about are aliens infiltrating the victim’s body and taking control of their mind.

Shinichi Izumi hosts one such parasite by the name Migi, with one primary difference: the parasyte, having failed to take over Shinichi’s mind, takes over his hand instead, and now these two must coexist and interdependent on each other to ensure their survival.

9) Hellsing Ultimate

Another dark anime on Hulu is Hellsing Ultimate. The strength of the demonic forces is amplified at night. Without the Hellsing Organization, the world would already have been overrun thousand times over. Fortunately, it has a vampire that crushes its own kind. And not just any Vampire, the most vicious, deadly weapon Alucard.

Armed with the support of his young apprentice Seres Victoria, Alucard sets out to battle monsters and mercenaries alike, all those who oppose the Hellsing organization. Sometimes, darkness is indeed needed to show the bright light.

8) Puella Magi Madoka Magica

The psychological thriller, Puella Magi Madoka Magica changed the magical girl genre forever with its dark premise and nail-biting plot. Best friends Madoka and Sayaka realize the existence of magical girls and witches when they are about to be attacked by a witch and are saved by a magical girl named Mami. 

Awed and inspired by Mami’s power and duty, they are thrilled when a mysterious being named Kyubey offers them the positions of magical girls, where not only would they gain power to battle witches but also have their one wish fulfilled.

But there is more to becoming a magical girl that first appears, as Madoka and Sayaka soon discover.

7) The Promised Neverland

Few anime make such a strong impression with its first episode as The Promised Neverland does. Though the second season of the anime is nothing short of abysmal, the first scene will always be considered as one of the best dark anime. The story starts with the Grace Field orphanage where young orphans lead idyllic lives under the care of their mother.

Their peaceful and innocent lives soon come crashing down when two orphans, Emma and Norman, discover that the children at the orphanage are nothing but livestock, meant to be sold to monsters to be eaten.

7) Summer Time Rendering

Shinpei Ajiro has been living with the Kofune family on Hitogashima Island after the death of his family, and is close friends with their daughters, Mio and Ushio. Shinpei leaves for Tokyo for further is education, but returns home after he learns that Ushio has drowned in the sea to save a little girl.

Back at the island, Shinpei learns from his friends that there were bruises around Ushio’s neck, which prompts him to suspect that it was a murder rather than an accident. As Shinpei tries to find the truth behind Ushio’s death, people keep disappearing from the island and other abnormal things keep happening.

Following this, he comes to know about the legend of the island which says that there are entities known as “shadows” lurking on the island. Will Shinpei find the truth? Find out in this brilliant dark anime on Hulu.

6) Attack on Titan

The global phenonmenon, Attack on Titan is the best dark anime on Hulu. Ages ago, mankind built a wall to protect itself from the monstrous titans of the outside world. The protagonist, Eren Yeagar, loses his family on a sudden attack by the Colossal Titan and swears vengeance. However, if you think the plot is relatively simple, just wait for it to get visibly crooked.

As the show progresses, it becomes more apparent that the world outside is not what was shown in the first place. Eren himself transforms into the Attack titan. Do not get attached to any characters because they might just die in the next episode.

This jaw-dropping action-packed anime teaches us about human selfishness even as the survey cops come closer to finding out the truth of all there is to know about this mysterious world.

5) Chainsaw Man

Unarguably the most hyped anime of 2022, Chainsaw Man is the one of the best dark anime on Hulu. Gritty and dark, the anime tells the story of a bleak world where people’s fears have taken the form of dangerous beings known as Devils. The protagonist, Denji, is left with nothing but a crushing debt that his father used to owe to the yakuza, and his pet Devil, Pochita.

Dreaming of a life where he and Pochita could enjoy the smallest joys of life like bread, Denji is horrifyingly sacrificed to a Devil by the yakuza. But the ever-loyal Pochita chooses to be Denji’s heart to keep him alive, giving birth to the Chainsaw Man.

4) Death Note

This is one anime I bet you’ve heard about. If you’re looking for a good dark anime and haven’t watched Death Note yet, stop right here and there. Yes, it’s that good.

What would we consider a person who decides to rid the world of all the criminals? Can we really blame the person’s intentions? Light Yagami is that one person who tries to wipe out all evildoers, hiding under the name Kira and sending the police spiraling in this psychological thriller that will keep you rooted to your spots until the very end.

3) Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion

Lelouch Lamperouge, 17th in line to the throne of the Holy Empire of Britannia, is drawn into the conflict he had chosen to avoid his entire life. He is granted a unique ability: the power to control everyone and make them do his bidding.

Armed with his new power, Lelouch sets out to end the tyrannical rule of the king, where all of Japan is subverted under the name Area-11. How long can he stand against his father and his tyrannical regime?

2) Steins;Gate

Regarded as one of the best anime of all time, Steins;Gate is a sci-fi psychological thriller about the self-proclaimed “mad scientist” Rintaro Okabe who one day witnesses the death of the prodigious young scientist Kurisu Makise.

However, the girl turns out to be alive the next day and joins as a member in his science lab after deducing that the seemingly useless microwave they invented could actually be a time machine.

As Okabe, along with his lab members, finds out how to send text messages to the past, he soon discovers that inference with time never ends well.

1) Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

After an experiment to revive their mother goes horribly wrong, brothers Edward and Alphonse lose everything that they have. Alphonse loses his body, and Edward has to sacrifice his hands to keep his brother’s soul bound to the mortal plane in a suit of armor.

Edward and Alphonse journey into this world of selfishness, which speaks length of how to gain something, one must sacrifice something equally precious. This is one anime that you should not miss and will come away with tears in your eyes and all the wiser than you went in, in the first place.

Here, we conclude the top 25 best dark anime on Hulu. All of the series mentioned above can be accessed using a VPN on Hulu. A VPN is basically a Virtual Private Network, easily found on Google, and some are even available in the form of Chrome extensions. So go ahead, and enjoy your healthy dose of the top dark anime series out there.

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Anamika Das

Anamika loves words and stories and putting them to pages. She also loves anime, manga, books, movies and everything fantasy. She has been a fan of anime since childhood and her admiration for it only grew with years. Her passion for writing is even more elevated by writing about the things she loves.