Zombies are widely known as undead creatures. It’s a famous mythical creature with several games and movies based on zombies and the zombie apocalypse. Anime in Japan is no exception in making zombie anime series and movies. The zombie genre has generated various fans across the globe in terms of video games, television series, and films.
Some popular zombie anime series that you might have heard of and probably have already watched are Soul Eater, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress, and Tokyo Ghoul, which have gained massive popularity among fantasy and horror fans worldwide. We’ve compiled a great list of other fantastic zombie anime series which you should give a try!
Mo Dao Zu Shi
Commonly known as The Founder of Diabolism, the anime series talk about a really sweet story of a young Wei Wuxian and his struggles as he is looked down upon by many in his realm. He is a good boy at heart and a sweet guy, but because of the several times he has messed up, he gets hated and prejudiced.
Because of huge misunderstandings and miscommunications, he was assassinated, but luckily, he got reincarnated into a mere cultivator who has nothing left with him and nothing to lose. In desperate times, he was helped by Lan Wengji, who is, in fact, Wei Wuxian’s archnemesis back when he was still in his original body.
The two go on an endless journey of solving mysteries and finding dead-end clues, but their journey itself is an amazing and hilarious one. The pair often seems to have quarrels, but no one knows why they quarrel.
They often bicker about each other and their ways of living and solving riddles. Most of their missions involve fighting ghosts, demons, and living corpses, which could mean that these creatures are what we call zombies.
The series starts with a lot of horror and mystery elements, and since it is based on Chinese fantasy lore, it has managed to generate quite a huge fan base in China, Japan, and other parts of the world. The main characters do not have a coerced friendship between them, and it is, indeed, an enjoyable watch for exploring themes like fantasy adventure and friendship.
The storyline itself is a bit complex and oftentimes hard to understand. It will take time for viewers to understand the concept of “cultivators” and also the friendship between Wei Wuxian and Lan Wengji.
You should watch this not only for the plot but also for the amazing beautiful visuals and character designs. Besides these, there is a plethora of scenes with excellent sword fighting, which makes it a bit adventurous and action-packed series to watch.
- Directed by: Xiong Ke, Ma Chendi
- Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Horror, Mystery, Chinese Mythology
- IMDb Rating: 8.5/10
- Studio: B.C.May Pictures
- Release Date: July 9, 2018
- Where to watch: N/A
Also Read: Mo Dao Zu Shi Season 4: Renewed or Cancelled?
Ajin
Kei Nagai is a young high school student who seems to be diligent and quite hard-working. He seems to be working towards his goal as an aspiring medical student to eventually become a doctor. But these plans seem to be miles away from him as he soon discovers that he is an Ajin.
The word itself strikes fear and threat to the security and life of any other individual. Ajins are deadly creatures who have exceptional regenerative abilities and could as well be termed zombie-like.
The world of zombies is an interesting concept for many aspiring writers and illustrators. Mature themes like gore, violence, and horror are often explored in zombie anime series and movies. One of the most astonishing features of the Ajin series is the theme of adulthood.
The main protagonist Kei Nagai is a young high school student who gets caught up in the Ajin/zombie chase and is a completely innocent child but has to hide and become a threat only because of his identity.
The mature themes have been dwelled upon extremely well, and hats off to the creator Gamon Sakurai, who has done a perfect job of giving us the thriller and the horror through such a young character’s story.
The supporting characters in the story, such as Yuu Tosaki, Satou, and Kaito, are also incredible characters with good in-depth backstories, as shown in the series.
The young students have to run away from the police and the other authorities and hide from basically everyone else to protect themselves from brutal torture and death. All the Ajins seem to think similarly, and besides knowing that they won’t harm others, they can’t seem to convince the others.
The series is unique in its plot and execution. The visuals and character designs are also amazingly illustrated and unique. It has a very out-of-the-box approach to almost everything. One of the other unique features of the series is that the main character is nothing like what you might have anticipated.
Kei Nagai is selfish and a coward at most times. But then again, after analyzing the situation, Kei becomes a relatable character for most.
- Directed by: Hiroyuki Seshita, Hiroaki Ando
- Genre: Action, Mystery, Horror, Supernatural, Zombie
- IMDb Rating: 7.6/10
- Studio: Polygon Pictures
- Release Date: January 16, 2016
- Where to watch: Netflix
Also Read: How To Watch Zombieverse Episodes? Streaming Guide & Schedule
Alice in Deadly School
The series is a fantastic comedy piece based on a zombie outbreak in school. Mostly set in a school, the anime has done a superb job of adding horror as much as comedy throughout the series.
The series follows a simple plot: two young high school girls are on their struggling to defend themselves from the zombie outbreak. They have to defend and fight the zombies, all while being stuck on their school’s rooftop. It might sound easy, but sadly, it’s not.
Our main characters, Yuu Sumio, and Nobuko Momomura, are no geniuses, but they work well together as a team. They manage to find food and fend for themselves. They go through a lot of menial struggles.
They try their best not to hurt the zombies, but they end up brutally hurting them. They even try to help their zombie classmates, but their mission fails as they are too clumsy.
The series also focuses on the activities of the zombie classmates as well as the other classmates who are survivors of the outbreak. There are occasional jump scares throughout the series, which adds to the horror elements of the series. It is set in the same universe as another popular anime series called Gekidol, which is another superb fantasy horror anime you must try out.
Another great reason to watch the series is its appealing character designs. As mentioned before, there is not much gore involved throughout the series except for the irregular blood splatters and drooling of the zombies. Another reason you might enjoy watching the series is because of the several bizarre scenes that make it a pleasant light-hearted anime to watch.
- Directed by: Shigeru Ueda
- Genre: Comedy, Adventure, School, Zombie
- IMDb Rating: 5.0/10
- Studio: Hoods Entertainment
- Release Date: March 3, 2021
- Where to watch: N/A
Also Read: Best TV Shows Like Alice in Borderland
The Duke of Death and His Maid
The series is based on zombies like the previously mentioned series. Similarly, the main character is a formidable overpowered character with zombie-like powers.
The protagonist, named, Bocchan, is often referred to as the Duke of Death because of his supernatural power and ability to kill anything and anyone that he touches. This power may be seen as strength and may serve as disadvantageous to his foes. But poor Bocchan is cursed with this power.
Bocchan is sent to a far-off place. Besides being isolated from the world that he used to know, he is left alone in a huge mansion with few others, such as his maid Alice and his butler Rob.
As the series progresses, we sense some sort of brotherly feelings between Bocchan and his butler Rob. They plan on having fun while also being careful of their surroundings.
Bocchan also seems to develop some sort of feelings for his maid Alice, and eventually, he realizes that these are not platonic feelings but, indeed, romantic ones.
Alice also reciprocates these feelings, and the pair goes on to have silly romantic adventures throughout the series. Bocchan loves Alice so dearly that he aims to overthrow the curse that has been bestowed upon him.
Throughout the series, there is an element of horror or gore, but there is an eerie vibe when Bocchan uses his supernatural powers. Besides this, the series is a fun rom-com to watch. Overall speaking, the storyline is amazing, and it’s precise and not complex.
The chemistry between the main characters is wholesome. Their romance is something you would find adorably cute, and the two are absolute green flags. In this world full of red flags, we sure hope to find a Bocchan and/or Alice for ourselves, don’t we?
- Directed by: Yoshinobu Yamakawa
- Genre: Comedy, Supernatural, Rom-com
- IMDb Rating: 7.2/10
- Studio: J.C.Staff
- Release Date: July 4, 2021
- Where to watch: Funimation, Crunchyroll
Also Read: 8 Anime Like Shinigami Bocchan to Kuro Maid
Calamity of a Zombie Girl
The anime series follows quite an odd gory storyline: a group of young university students are as notorious and spontaneous as their high school counterparts. This group pranks to take away some ancient treasures from two mummies that they found in the library.
The treasure they stole is called the Stone of Life. Since the stone of life is gone, the mummies of the two bodies are resurrected back to life. This creates fear and terror among the university students.
The group of students run for their lives as these mummies are super strong and super fast. These zombie-like mummies are beautiful creatures who have unfortunately been resurrected, and to get their peace back, they must locate the stone of life. The two zombies, named Euphrosyne Studion and Alma V, are seen brutally devouring body parts and terrorizing the young students.
The stronger zombie Euphrosyne Studion looks big, but despite the said features, she is mostly shown as a clumsy and timid girl.
The other zombie Alma V is a ferocious young girl who seems to blindly obey Euphrosyne’s orders. The two are violent but also soft-hearted individuals who do not like what they are doing, but they are doing it for their own sake.
Throughout the series, there is a whole lot of blood and gore visuals. The series might be a bit too disturbing to watch for beginners, while there is also quite a bit of fan service depicting semi-nudity in a few scenes.
Overall speaking, the series delves into mature themes like violence and has done a fantastic job of creating horror and terror among the characters as well as the viewers. The visuals are disturbing enough, and the storyline also takes odd turns here and there, making it an interesting and mysterious series for viewers.
- Directed by: Hideaki Iwami
- Genre: Horror, Gore, Violence, Supernatural, Zombie
- IMDb Rating: 5.4/10
- Studio: Gonzo, Stingray
- Release Date: July 4, 2018
- Where to watch: Crunchyroll
Also Read: 100 Best Old Cartoons To Watch in 2022
Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead
The latest on the list, Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead, is a great zombie anime to start your day with. Although it is based on zombies, the series focuses more on the struggles and activities of 24-year-old Akira Tendou and his surroundings.
Akira is a young lad with not much ambitions in life. The life out of him has been sucked by extensive and exploitative Japanese hustle life. He does not even look forward to eating meals or waking up in the morning. He is seen as a person who is fed up with life and does not enjoy mundane activities.
The series has a great plot surrounding zombies. Akira, as you know, is tired of his mundane life. But as soon as the zombie outbreak spread, Akira has never felt more alive than this ever before.
Akira is a giant and energetic young lad who seems to enjoy the zombie outbreak. He seems to regain his sense of purpose in life and isn’t much concerned for his life or the zombies.
But the biggest plot twist is that Akira is a clever young lad. He has prepared and strategized a list of 100 things to do to not become a zombie like the rest of the world.
Quite an erratic and bizarre main character, Akira meets Shizuka Mikazuki, and the two of them are a funny pair to watch as they battle through zombies and tackle everyday problems.
The pair also shows some romance but not much, although they have such good chemistry going on. It is indeed lovely and wholesome to watch their interaction.
The story delves into the horror and survival genre, leaving few traces of comedy throughout the series. The series has done a fantastic job of portraying the characters in a very erratic and bizarre way.
The underlying themes explored are the hectic corporate life and struggles of office workers in Japan. The way Akira is shown lifeless yet rejuvenated over a few minutes as the zombie apocalypse has been declared shows a lot about the dichotomy and juxtaposition of Japan and its work culture.
- Directed by: Kazuki Kawagoe
- Genre: Horror, Comedy, Zombie, Supernatural, Survival, Seinen, Action
- IMDb Rating: 8.5/10
- Studio: BUG FILMS
- Release Date: July 9, 2023
- Where to watch: N/A
Also Read: 12 Anime Like Zom 100: Zombie Ni Naru Made Ni Shitai 100 No Koto
Hitori no Shita- The Outcast
The series that started in the year 2016 is still a fan’s favorite amidst the zombie outbreak anime series. Based in China and Japan, the series Hitori no Shita explores the story of Chou Soran and his mysterious connections to the zombie creatures of the world.
The plot starts with a normal-looking young lad named Chou Soran, who is off to visit his grandfather’s graveyard. Luck has fallen out against Chou Soran as he meets with a dozen of zombies on his way, and the zombies seem to assault our main protagonist on the streets. Soran cannot seem to overpower them until a mysterious young girl helps him out.
Chou Soran is again met by another strange person who goes by the name of Fu Houhou. He begins to wonder what this fuss is about or if there’s some sort of misunderstanding. Soran and Houhou keep meeting by chance which makes Soran uneasy, and he begins to dig up a bit on her past.
It seems like Soran might have some ancient hidden connections with the mysterious girl. Soran then begins to search for her desperately, and ultimately, he finds her and makes friends with her to uncover several truths and secrets surrounding him and, perhaps, his family.
Soran also learns to fight the zombies with the martial arts that he had learned and practiced with his grandfather. As the series progresses and sequels get added, the story becomes even more interesting. But something doesn’t seem to add up.
Soran is left to wonder if his grandfather is the reason why he has been meeting with such bizarre and dangerous incidents lately. He is set on a mission to find out answers for himself and for his grandfather’s sake.
The story, although unique and rarely experimented upon, has some major plotholes which might affect certain details throughout the series but don’t affect the overall continuity of the series.
The characters Chou Soran and Fu Houhou are extremely mysterious and superstrong on their own, and they also make a great fighter duo. There are excellent fighting scenes which makes it a great action-packed anime series to watch, which one could have also mistaken for Jujutsu Kaisen.
- Directed by: Xin Wang
- Genre: Superpower, Supernatural, Action
- IMDb Rating: 7.0/10
- Studio: Pandanium, NAMU Animation
- Release Date: July 9, 2016
- Where to watch: Crunchyroll
Also Read: 30 Anime Like Parallel World Pharmacy That You Should Watch
Black Butler
The series was an awesome hit among fans worldwide because of its darker approach and mature themes. One of the older anime series on the post, Black Butler Fans, is still growing, and we don’t think it will ever die out.
The series brought out a lot of new concepts back then during the late 2010s. Based on ancient lore and aesthetics, the series serves as one of the few series that does justice to Victorian-era-based narratives. This has been added to the list for the sole reason that its antagonists, as well as protagonists, have similar characteristics to a zombie.
Black Butler has the amazing, cunning, and hilarious pair of Ciel and Sebastian. A royal young lad, Ciel Phantomhive, is left in charge of various unusual activities in Victorian England. He is young, and although quite smart for his age, he needs a little bit of help here and there.
A demon butler named Sebastian Michaelis helps him out as a loyal servant. The two are a great pair as Ciel has a vision, and Sebastian does all he can in his capacity to make that vision a reality.
Ciel had Sebastian behind him as he had signed a fatal and dangerous contract with a demon. He did this in order to take revenge against all those who had wronged and mocked him and especially those who had tortured Ciel.
The unwavering dedication that Sebastian shows could be a little exaggerated, but he is the purest definition of a green flag. The series also explores mature themes like violence and trauma. Ciel has undergone a severe childhood of trauma and pain that he cannot seem to let go of, which is why he aims to take revenge.
The themes of revenge and redemption are extremely prominent throughout the series. The whole approach is quite dark and fearsome, but of course, there’s a bit of typical Japanese slapstick comedy added to the series to make it a bit more appealing in the market.
Some of the supporting characters were incredibly written and added to the depth of the whole plot to a large extent, unlike in other anime series. Characters like Grell, Mey-Rin, and Lizzy were extensively well-received among fans as these characters not only added to the elements of the show but also to the depth of the whole plot by laying out intricated and interesting backstories.
- Directed by: Toshiya Shinohara (S1), Hirofumi Ogura (S2)
- Genre: Historical, Mythology, Action, Comedy, Mystery, Supernatural
- IMDb Rating: 7.7/10
- Studio: A-1 Pictures
- Release Date: October 3, 2008
- Where to watch: Netflix
Also Read: 26 Best Black Butler Facts You Might Not Know
GYO: Tokyo Fish Attack (OVA)
GYO: Tokyo Fish Attack ran for 75 minutes is based on the horror manga that goes by the same title. It has been penned down and illustrated by the popular horror mangaka Junji Ito. As the title indicates, we have Tokyo under attack. And instead of zombies, the human corpses, we have some of the stinky undead fish that are infected by a disease that can even be contracted by humans. In the middle of such issues, a girl named Kaori sets on a journey to find her boyfriend, who is now missing. The thing that makes this anime even weirder is that we have all these undead fish have actually metal legs that enable them to walk on land.
Zombie-Loan
If a person watches this anime, you know that Japan really has a thing for undead characters. We have Chika as well as Shito, who are the two main characters and are zombies. They keep on living in exchange for hunting down all the other zombies. Later in the scenes, they get joined by a girl whose name is Michiru, and she even has the ability to see a ring around the neck of a person when they are about to die. Chika and Shito thus employ Michiru’s powers to find out about the undead to pay off their debt to Zombie-Loan. It is the company that has brought them back to life.
The Empire of Corpses: Shisha No Teikoku
In this series, we witness an alternate to the England of the 18th century. We have the scientist Victor Frankenstein who discovers a method of reanimating a corpse. Well, at the time when his creation gets destroyed, he discovers another method of reanimating corpses. This actually paves the way for employing corpses in manual labor who exist in the 19th century. However, unlike the method of Victor, this new method is not able to return the soul of the dead bodies back. All this while, we have John Watson, who is a medical student.
He is given the task of obtaining the notes of Frankenstein on reanimating the corpse with a soul. The British Government gives him this order. The show has employed a plot that is unique as well as interesting. All the characters in this show are based on historical as well as popular figures in literature. This is what makes The Empire of Corpses a fun content watch.
Corpse Princess: Shikabane Hime
The titular character of Corpse Princess is Makina Yoshimura. She is one of the people who got converted into zombies. While she does not have the looks that are shared by a variety of zombies and obviously do not eat the brain, she is definitely of those undead people. She gets awoken after getting killed along with her family. Right now, she has to kill the other 108 revived corpses to be able to join her family in heaven. Her ultimate goal in life is to avenge the death of her family. She wants to do so by defeating the undead group of people known as Seven Stars. This show employs a powerful female lead who has physical skills that she uses to destroy her enemies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8Pu1L5M_lA
Tokyo Ghoul
Well, if you are the type of person who is not quite strict about what makes up a zombie, then you all should definitely go on to watch Tokyo Ghoul. The show throws the entire spotlight on a normal but shy college student whose name is Ken Kaneki. His life takes a complete 180-degree angle after she happens to be in a near-death accident, from which he is later saved by receiving an organ transplant. However, a ghoul gives away this organ.
This event transforms Ken into a hybrid of humans and Ghoul, who now needs to eat human beings to stay alive. He is now constantly torn between hiding the fact that he has become a Ghoul and preserving humanity. Unlike all the regular zombies who consume the flesh, we have ghouls who try to lead a normal life in society, and thus, it makes the audience generate some sympathy for them and even takes their side.
Gungrave
This anime series has derived its inspiration from a famous third-person shooting game. Gungrave can be considered something of a serious anime that throws the entire spotlight on our main character’s journey towards revenge. The main character is known as Beyond The Grave or maybe even Grave for short. He actually was a human whose name was Brandon Heat. He was then betrayed by his friend, who also murders him. This friend was also his mafia syndicate partner. He is now an almost undefeatable creature, just like a zombie. The man now lives to get back at the person who has betrayed and the syndicate that he used to be a part of while also killing some of the fellow undead mates on the side.
Seoul Station
If you are the kind of person who has enjoyed the South Korean zombie film Train to Busan, then a person should definitely check out Seoul Station, a South Korean animated film. It is actually a prequel to the hit 2016 zombie film. You guys should also know that this film currently ranks up at 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and throws the light on the adventures of a young woman who tries to survive after downtown Seoul gets overrun by zombies. There happen to be just three characters in the show. This is why Seoul Station is much of an easy film to follow. All this while, this tale does not include much of the difference from other zombie films as well as films that we have seen so far. The twists employed in this tale can be very inspiring.
Highschool of the Dead
This anime series can be considered as the best zombie movie to date even though MyAnimeList says otherwise. The show has employed a grave plot and even has an exciting turn of events with similarities to Western zombie TV series and pretty popular films these days. As per the title, the story is all about five students from high school as they are working in unison to get to safety after their high school gets overrun by zombies.
Also read: List of Upcoming Content To Release on HBO Max in January 2021
