The 15 Best Supernatural Anime to Watch
Some anime end when the credits roll, but a great supernatural anime follows you home, flicks the lights off, and whispers that the thing under your bed finally learned your name. That creeping, delicious dread is exactly why we cannot stop watching! We are talking wandering spirits, hungry curses, sword-swinging exorcists, and psychic kids who can flatten a city block just by getting a little annoyed. If you love ghosts, gods, yokai, and things that go bump in the night, you found your people. We rounded up the 15 best supernatural anime to watch, and trust us, this list has something for every single mood.
Some of these shows are cozy and quiet. Some will scare the pants clean off you. A few are pure chaotic fun. Let’s get ranking and find your next obsession!
What Makes a Great Supernatural Anime
Before we start ranking, let’s talk about what actually counts here. A supernatural anime is any show where the paranormal is baked right into the bones of the story. That means spirits, demons, gods, ghosts, psychic powers, curses, and creatures pulled straight out of Japanese folklore. The genre bleeds into horror, action, and slice of life all at once, which is exactly why it never gets old.
The best supernatural anime all nail one big thing. They make the unseen world feel real. A lonely spirit begging to move on, or a curse quietly eating a town alive, the payoff is that same shiver crawling up your spine. Some shows go full action mode with flashy fights and screaming power-ups. Others stay slow, sad, and haunting. We packed this list with both so you can pick your poison and match your energy.
The Best Supernatural Anime for Action and Powers
If you want big fights and even bigger powers, park it right here. These are the loud, flashy, adrenaline-soaked heavy hitters of the genre.
Here is the official Shibuya Incident arc trailer that wrecked the fandom:
Jujutsu Kaisen Shibuya Incident official trailer, via the Crunchyroll YouTube channel.
Jujutsu Kaisen sits near the top for a reason. Yuji Itadori swallows a cursed finger belonging to Ryomen Sukuna, the legendary King of Curses, and suddenly he is enrolled at Jujutsu High learning to fight Curses, nasty spirits born from human fear and hate. MAPPA’s animation is stupidly good, the Shibuya Incident arc left fans emotionally destroyed, and Gojo Satoru is one of the most worshipped characters in all of modern anime. This is peak supernatural action, no notes.
Bleach is the granddaddy of soul-slaying shonen. Ichigo Kurosaki becomes a Soul Reaper and gets yanked into the Soul Society, hunting Hollows and swinging his ridiculous oversized zanpakuto. With the Thousand-Year Blood War arc getting a jaw-dropping new adaptation from Studio Pierrot, Bleach is more popular now than it has been in a decade. If you want ghosts, swords, and sky-high stakes, this absolutely delivers.
Yu Yu Hakusho is the retro classic that still slaps harder than shows made twenty years later. Yusuke Urameshi dies saving a kid, comes back as a Spirit Detective, and spends the series brawling demons and ghosts with his ragtag crew. Created by Yoshihiro Togashi, the mind behind Hunter x Hunter, its Dark Tournament arc is a blueprint that half of shonen still shamelessly copies today.
Blue Exorcist follows Rin Okumura, who finds out he is literally the son of Satan and enrolls at True Cross Academy to become an exorcist anyway. Flaming blue sword, cursed demon heritage, exorcist school drama with his twin brother Yukio. It is a fantastic gateway into occult anime for newer fans who want stakes without a hundred episodes of homework.
Supernatural Anime Series About Spirits and Yokai
Not every supernatural anime series is about punching demons in the face. Some of the finest entries in the genre are gentle, mournful, and quietly gorgeous. These lean hard into Japanese folklore and the spirits living just out of sight.
Mushishi is the gold standard for atmospheric yokai storytelling. Ginko wanders the countryside studying Mushi, primitive life forms that sit somewhere between spirit and raw nature. Each episode is its own quiet folktale about ordinary people whose lives get tangled with these ethereal creatures. It is slow, hypnotic, and honestly one of the most atmospheric supernatural anime ever made. Perfect for a rainy night when you want to feel things.
Natsume’s Book of Friends is the gentle masterpiece of the genre, and it will absolutely wreck you in the best possible way. Takashi Natsume can see spirits, a gift he inherited from his grandmother Reiko along with a book that binds yokai to their true names. As he returns those names one by one, he learns about kindness, loneliness, and found family. Bring a whole box of tissues. His bodyguard cat spirit Nyanko-sensei is also the single greatest good boy in anime, and yes, we will die on that hill.
Noragami blends Shinto mythology with sharp comedy and slick action. Yato is a broke minor god with no shrine and enormous dreams, doing odd jobs for five yen a pop. When a girl named Hiyori gets tangled up in his world, everything gets real fast. Ayakashi monsters, divine weapons, and a shockingly emotional arc for Yato and his partner Yukine make this one a forever fan favorite.
xxxHolic is CLAMP at their weird, dreamy, gorgeous best. Watanuki can see spirits and strikes a deal with the mysterious witch Yuko Ichihara to finally rid himself of them. What follows is a string of hauntingly beautiful stories about wishes, prices paid, and the paper-thin wall between our world and the next.
Ghost Stories Anime That Will Haunt You
Ready to actually be scared? These ghost stories anime picks run the gauntlet from campy fun to full nightmare fuel. Turn off the lights if you dare, but do not say we did not warn you.
Ghost Stories is the legendary one, though not for the reason you would guess. The original Japanese show about kids fighting spirits in a haunted school was fine on its own, but the English dub went completely off the rails with improvised, unhinged, absolutely feral comedy that turned it into a cult classic. Watch the dub. It runs 20 episodes of pure chaos, and you will not regret a second.
Ghost Hunt is the slept-on gem this whole list needed. Mai joins the Shibuya Psychic Research team and investigates hauntings, possessions, and curses using real paranormal research methods. It builds genuine, skin-crawling dread arc by arc, and the case-based structure keeps you hitting next episode at 2 a.m. This is prime spooky ghost stories anime for anyone who loves a slow-burn mystery with real teeth.
Hell Girl is dark and delicious. There is a website you can only reach at the stroke of midnight, and if you type in the name of someone you hate, Ai Enma will ferry them straight to hell. The catch is brutal: your own soul goes down there too the moment you die. Every episode is a bleak little morality tale, and Ai is one of the coldest, most iconic figures the genre has ever produced.
Mononoke is a full-blown visual fever dream. A wandering Medicine Seller hunts vengeful spirits, and to slay one he must first uncover its Form, its Truth, and its Reason. The art style looks like moving woodblock prints soaked in color, and across all 12 of its episodes, no other supernatural anime looks even remotely like it.
Occult Anime Full of Curses and Dark Magic
For fans who like their occult anime steeped in curses, forbidden knowledge, and powers humanity was never meant to touch, these picks crawl deep into the dark stuff.
Death Note is the mind-games titan of the whole medium. Light Yagami finds a notebook dropped by a Shinigami named Ryuk, and anyone whose name he writes inside it dies. Watching Light spiral into a full god complex while the genius detective L hunts him is one of the greatest cat and mouse stories anime has ever told. You will pick a side, then question yourself constantly.
The Ancient Magus’ Bride is stunning occult romance with real bite. Chise, a girl who can see spirits and has given up on life entirely, gets bought at auction by Elias, a mysterious mage with the bleached skull of a beast for a head. He names her his apprentice and his bride. The world is stuffed with fae, alchemy, and ancient magic, and every frame is drop-dead gorgeous.
Demon Slayer fuses occult horror with some of the most jaw-dropping animation ever put on screen. Tanjiro becomes a demon-hunting swordsman after a demon slaughters his family and turns his little sister Nezuko. The Breathing Style techniques, the gut-punch demon backstories, and Ufotable’s absurd animation budget make this a modern must-watch that pulled in millions of new fans overnight.
Modern Supernatural Anime Blowing Up Right Now
The genre is having an absolutely massive moment, and these newer supernatural anime are dominating timelines everywhere you look.
Watch the official trailer and see why everyone is losing it:
Dandadan official trailer 1, via the Crunchyroll YouTube channel.
Dandadan is the current king of unhinged supernatural chaos. Momo Ayase believes in ghosts, Okarun believes in aliens, and a bet to prove each other wrong ends with both of them cursed and superpowered. Momo awakens raw psychokinetic abilities while Okarun gets cursed by the Turbo Granny. Science Saru slams together yokai, aliens, horror, romance, and comedy into something totally ridiculous, and the animation is genuinely off the charts. It landed as one of the biggest anime of 2024 for very good reason.
Mob Psycho 100 follows Shigeo Kageyama, a shy middle schooler with earth-shattering psychic powers who really just wants to be normal and get the girl. When his emotions hit 100 percent, everything explodes. Under the goofy art style from Studio Bones sits one of the most heartfelt stories about growing up you will ever watch, straight from ONE, the same creator behind One Punch Man. The action is electric and the emotional payoffs hit like a truck.
Both of these come from creators who understand that the best supernatural anime balance the scary and the silly with a huge, beating heart. If you only add two brand new shows to your watchlist this week, make it these two.
Where to Start With Supernatural Anime
Feeling a little overwhelmed by the pile? Here is the cheat sheet. If you want nonstop action, jump into Jujutsu Kaisen or Demon Slayer. If you want something cozy that will make you ugly cry, go straight for Natsume’s Book of Friends or Mushishi. If you want to be genuinely scared, Hell Girl and Ghost Hunt have you completely covered. And if you want to laugh while stuff violently explodes, Dandadan and Mob Psycho 100 are calling your name loudly.
The best part about supernatural anime is that the genre is enormous, so you can always find something that fits your exact vibe on any given night. Spooky season, sad season, hype season, there is a perfect pick waiting for every single one.
Speaking of spooky vibes, plenty of streamers lean hard into that ghostly aesthetic too. If you love ethereal, otherworldly characters, check out our roundup of the best white and silver-haired VTubers to watch, because half of them look like they wandered straight out of one of these shows.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most popular supernatural anime right now?
Jujutsu Kaisen and Dandadan are the two biggest supernatural anime on the planet at the moment. Jujutsu Kaisen rules the action space with its cursed spirits and incredible MAPPA fights, while Dandadan blew up overnight thanks to its chaotic mix of ghosts, aliens, and comedy from Science Saru. Demon Slayer is right up there too and shows no signs of slowing down.
What is a good supernatural anime for beginners?
Natsume’s Book of Friends is a perfect starting point because it is warm, easy to follow, and episodic, so you can watch a little at a time without stress. Blue Exorcist and Noragami are also fantastic gateways since they blend supernatural action with humor and crystal clear stakes. Any of these three will ease you right into the genre.
Which supernatural anime is the scariest?
For pure fright, Hell Girl and Ghost Hunt are the ones that truly get under your skin. Hell Girl is bleak and unsettling with its midnight revenge website, while Ghost Hunt builds slow, creeping dread through genuinely spooky hauntings. Fans who want ghost stories anime with real scares should start with those two and keep a light on.
Are there any short supernatural anime series I can finish quickly?
Yes! Mononoke is only 12 episodes, Ghost Stories is 20, and the first season of Natsume’s Book of Friends is 13 episodes. These are ideal if you want a complete supernatural anime series you can knock out over a single weekend without committing to hundreds of episodes.
What is the difference between supernatural and occult anime?
They overlap a ton, so do not stress about it. Supernatural anime covers anything paranormal, from spirits to psychic powers to yokai. Occult anime leans more specifically into curses, dark magic, forbidden rituals, and secret knowledge humans were not meant to have. Shows like Death Note and The Ancient Magus’ Bride sit firmly in the occult corner of the genre.
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Wrapping Up
There you have it, the 15 best supernatural anime to watch when you want spirits, curses, and paranormal chaos crashing into your life. Go cozy with Mushishi or full send with Jujutsu Kaisen, because every pick on this list will haunt you in the best way. Now grab some snacks, turn off the lights, and enjoy the ride. Just maybe keep a lamp on when you go to bed.
