Top 22 Psychological Thriller Anime on Netflix, Crunchyroll, Funimation & Hulu (2025)

Last updated on March 11th, 2025 at 12:26 pm

 The thriller genre is pretty self-explanatory. Thriller anime are filled with cutting suspense and puzzling mysteries, often with high-tension sequences and complex characters.

Psychological thriller is a subgenre that focuses on suspense that has more to do with the psychological aspects of the characters than situation-based mysteries. Here are the top 22 psychological thriller anime on Netflix, Crunchyroll, Funimation & Hulu.

Top 20 Psychological Thriller Anime on Netflix, Crunchyroll, Funimation & Hulu

Top Psychological Thriller Anime on Netflix

6) The Promised Neverland

Emma, Norman and Ray seem to have a pleasant life under the care of Mama Isabella in the Grace Field House orphanage. Things take a dark turn when the kids unwrap the dirty secrets of the orphanage. They find out that the children in the orphanage are being raised as feed for the demons.

Driven to come up with a plan to escape from the hell hole in the guise of an orphanage, the trio face dangerous challenges and obstacles. On their journey they are compelled to confront various depths of trust, betrayal and survival.

5) Alice in Borderland

High schooler Ryouhei Arisu is drifting through life bored and without ambition. One night while out with his friends, the three boys find themselves transported to another world where they are stuck in a deadly game.

In order to survive, they have to finish certain tasks like the rest of the participants. Facing death at every corner, Arisu feels alive for the first time in his life.

4) Paprika

Atsuko Chiba and Kosaku Tokita have been developing a device that allows someone to delve into another’s dreams. This device, DC Mini, is meant to help psychiatrists cure the psychological disorders of patients.

But when this device that can just as easily be used for mental terrorism is stolen, Officer Toshimi Kanokawa gets on the task of finding the thief, be it in the real or the dream world.

3) Perfect Blue

Like Paprika, Perfect Blue is also from the celebrated Satoshi Kon and is one of the best psychological thrillers of all time. It follows Mima Kirigoe, a famous idol who retires from that profession to debut in movies.

But as Mima joins a crime drama series, her life begins to turn bizarre. While being an actress takes a toll on Mima, she finds a website where someone is impersonating her. Soon enough, the distinction between reality and fantasy blurs for her.

2) Neon Genesis Evangelion

When the nefarious beings known as Angels begin to invade Tokyo-3, the responsibility of saving humanity falls on NERV, who has the only weapon to fight the Angels: the robotic weapons Evangelions.

Shinji Ikari is a traumatized teenager who is summoned to pilot Evangelion Unit-01 by his father. As Shinji fights the Angels alongside other pilots, he succumbs to depression.

1) Monster

Monster is not only a great psychological thriller but one of the most underrated masterpieces of all time.

It starts with a young and promising neurosurgeon Dr. Kenzou Tenma who chooses to save the life of a young boy over the town’s mayor.

Little did he know that boy, Johan Liebert, would grow up to be a killer whose intention was nothing but death and chaos.

Top Psychological Anime on Crunchyroll

5)  Tokyo Ghoul

This series is based in Tokyo but in an alternate reality and universe. In this setting, Tokyo is infested with flesh-eating ghouls that exist alongside the humans concealing their core nature.

Our main protagonist, Kaneki Ken’s life takes a curveball because of an almost-lethal confrontation with a ghoul thus turning Ken into a half ghoul. Fighting against his urges while living in the human world, Kaneki explores themes of self-discovery, survival and the hazy, unclear lines between being a monster and a human.

5) School-Live!

The School Living Club at Megurigaoka Private High School is all about living life to the fullest without worry. However, there’s only one rule among all the freedoms: members of the club must live their whole lives on the school premises.

Members Yuki, Miki, Kurumi, and Yuuri, as well as the presiding teacher, Megumi Sakura, and the club pet Toranosuke, try to make the best of life while withholding the rule.

4) Tomodachi Game

Tomodachi Game follows Yuuichi Katagiri and his close friends, Shiho Sawaragi, Makoto Shibe, Yutori Kokorogi, and Tenji Mikasa. When the money for the upcoming school trip is stolen, tension brews among the friends.

Soon after, they are kidnapped by an assailant and wake up to the knowledge that one of the five is behind the kidnapping. They must go through several psychological games in order to pay off their huge debt of that person.

3) Id:Invaded

Policing has found a new medium through the Mizuhanome System, which allows people to enter the human mind.

A special task force Kura uses “cognition particles” left behind by the criminal to recreate their mind and reveal their identity.

The protagonist, Akihito Narihisago, is proficient in this art but has a mysterious past that causes him to leave the police department.

2) Moriarty, the Patriot

Set in 19th century Great Britain, Moriarty the Patriot is the reimagination of James Moriarty, the criminal mastermind created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

In this story, William James Moriarty is the second son of the noble Moriarty family, who hates a society where the rich are favored over the poor and helpless. He’s hellbent on changing society, even if he needs to shed some blood for that.

1) Parasyte: The Maxim

When a parasitic alien species invades the world, humanity is suddenly thrown into chaos. The parasitic creatures invade a person’s body before taking over their brain.

Shinichi Izumi is a meek teenager who finds his right hand invaded by a parasite. Parasyte: The Maxim is a high-tension tale of sci-fi horror and is an amazing psychological thriller anime.

Top Psychological Thriller Anime on Funimation

5) Classroom of the Elite

Koudo Ikusei Senior High School might be a top school, but it sustains a discriminating environment as students are placed in four classes: A to D, based on their merit, with A having the smartest and D having the rejects.

Not only that, the students in the higher classes are favored over Class D. Kiyotaka Ayanokouji is a student of Class D who will use anything to his advantage to climb up to Class A.

4) Paranoia Agent

We already have two great Satoshi Kon anime on this list of top psychological thriller anime; now we have another: Paranoia Agent.

It starts with Tsukiko Sagi, a character designer, who is suddenly attacked by a young man on roller skates with a baseball bat. Soon more victims of the assailant appear, terrorizing Musashino City with chilling paranoia.

3) Serial Experiments Lain

Serial Experiments Lain will always be remembered for how accurately it predicted the Internet and its influence on humanity. The story follows Lain Iwakura, an introverted middle-school girl with distant parents and a bullied elder sister.

When she gets an email from a dead classmate, Lain finds herself tangled in the virtual world of Wired, eventually learning the ultimate truth about herself.

2) Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Puella Magi Madoka Magica starts as a cute magical girl anime that soon turns the expectations of the viewers upside down with a horrific event.

Madoka and Sayaka, two middle schoolers, get the opportunity to become Magical Girls and protect people from the Witches. However, darkness lies within the very fate of the Magical Girls themselves.

1) Psycho-Pass

In the future, Japan will use a highly advanced technology called the Sybil System which monitors the mental condition of the citizens to assess their criminal intent, i.e., the Psycho-Pass.

Idealistic rookie Akane Tsunemori believes in the system and justice and joins the police department as an Inspector and partners with Enforcer Shinya Kogami.

Psycho-Pass is a high-tension psychological thriller anime that will not only have you bite your nails but also give you a lot to think about.

Top Psychological Thriller Anime on Hulu

5) Future Diary

Yukiteru Amano is an introverted teenager who is suddenly caught in a battle royale with twelve other participants in the chase to become the next god of time and space.

The current god of time and space, Deus Ex Machina, gives Yukiteru and the other participants different future-based powers on their cell phones.

Frightened over his situation, he meets Yuno Gasai, another participant, and partners with her, unaware that the person he should be most wary of is Yuno herself.

4) Ergo Proxy

Ergo Proxy is a sci-fi psychological thriller featuring an Earth which has faced a tremendous catastrophe in the past, leaving the last of human civilization in the city of Romdo. The last humans operate their day-to-day lives with the help of the robotic AutoReivs. When the AutoReivs begin to gain consciousness due to a virus, Re-I Mayer is tasked to investigate it with her AutoReiv partner Iggy.

3) The Promised Neverland

In one of the most shocking first episodes ever, the Promised Neverland establishes itself as one of the best psychological thriller anime of all time. It starts with the orphans at Grace Field, cared for by their loving Mama, enjoying a peaceful and idyllic life.

That illusion shatters when Emma and Norman, two of the oldest children, discover that the orphanage is actually a livestock firm, and the children are raised to be sold as food for monster-like creatures.

2) Erased

When 29-year-old Satoru Fujinuma finds himself with the ability to go back in time, he uses his “Revival” powers to help people.

However, when accused of murdering his mother, Satoru discovers that his current situation is related to a murder in the past. He must go back 18 years in the past and save Kayo Hinazuki to protect his loved ones.

1) Death Note

Death Note is not only one of the greatest psychological thriller anime of all time, but also one of the greatest anime, period. It revolves around Light Yagami, who finds a Death Note that kills anyone whose name is written on its page.

With this mighty power, Light sets out to kill criminals all over the world. Soon, his vigilant actions get name Kira, and the world’s greatest detective, L, get on the task of finding Kira’s true identity.

And that was the top 22 psychological thriller anime on Netflix, Crunchyroll, Funimation & Hulu. All these anime are great and provide enough thrill to keep the viewers at the edges of their seats.

Check them out on your favorite platform, and when you’re done with these, visit Otakus’ Notes for some suggestions of great anime of different genres.

Do small things with great love.

Follow us on Twitter for more post updates.

Also Read:

• Top 20 Best Dark Anime on Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu & Funimation

• Top 20 Best Gundam Series Of All Time With Good Plot

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.