Japanese animation went through many phases over the decades. Yet, one of the most controversial periods in its history happened during the big economic boom in the 80s and 90s. At that time, anime studios discovered the original video animation format. Therefore, they started publishing movies and TV shows with an obscene amount of gore, blood, violence, and all other unholy content unfit for TV. This top ten list features the most shocking anime titles from the 80s and the 90s. 

10. "Angel Cop" (1989-94) 

Let's start the list with a cult classic, "Angel Cop." Like many other entries here, this is not a brilliant anime as it's on the other end of the spectrum. However, we would absolutely recommend watching it because the authors apparently wanted to see how far they could go. 

This movie is legendary for the absurd amount of violence, vulgarity, and precious examples of early dubbing. The story takes us to the future, where cybernetic augmentation is the way forward. The main character Angel and her colleagues from the Special Security Force made great efforts to maintain order. By using extreme violence, of course.

9. "Cyber City Oedo 808" (1990-91) 

Yoshiaki Kawajiri is one of the most notorious anime directors whose work is pushing the boundaries of censorship and often that of good taste. That this gritty and bloody Cyberpunk anime is one of his most reserved works says a lot. 

"Cyber City Oedo 808" is an omnibus of three separate stories about three former criminals taking dirty work with a promise of a reduced sentence. It's short, not very sweet, and packed with more glam hair than Poison's music video. Despite not being very good, it is still worth seeing, at least because of the vampire sentence.  

8. "Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend" (1989) 

This anime gathered a colossal level of infamy very quickly. Even for the anime scene of the late 80s, Urotsukidoji was notorious, and for a good reason. Technically this is a hentai anime and a pioneer of the tentacle subgenre. However, this is also one of the creepiest horrors, with a level of violence unprecedented for that time. 

Urotsukidoji features as many scenes of disembowelment, mutilation, and beheadings as those where tentacles abuse people in the most imaginative ways. The only reason to try this anime is a curiosity to see how far it can go. However, Urotsukidoji is also a piece of anime history and a bringer of some new engaging trends. 

7. "Devilman" OVAs (1987- 2000) 

If Osamu Tezuka was the father of anime, then Go Nagai was that nasty uncle letting you drink and asking if you started touching yourself. Nagai's work is full of violence and profanity, mixed with controversial themes. His most famous work is "Devilman," with many incarnations from the '70s to the Netflix show in 2018. 

However, our attention is on the series of OVAs published from 1987 to 2000. Akira Fudo's transformation from an ordinary schoolboy into a frightening demon never looked so explicit and gory. It's especially worth mentioning the third OVA, "Amon: The Apocalypse of Devilman," which is still one of the most extreme examples of schlock OVA.

6. "Baoh: The Visitor" (1989) 

Hirohiko Araki is known as the creator of "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure," one of the most popular manga and anime of all time. But before JoJo, Araki made another title serving as a testing ground for all the tropes he would later use in his masterpiece. 

"Baoh" is a story about an ordinary young man infected with a strange parasite. The parasite gives him extraordinary powers and puts him against the evil organization that made him into a monster. This OVA features all the elements that will be a part of JoJo; henchmen being torn apart, anatomically impossible physiques, and dogs being killed. Really, what's the deal with Araki's hatred of dogs?

5. "Ninja Scroll" (1993) 

"Ninja Scroll" is one of the quintessential anime that shaped an entire generation when it appeared in 1993. It is also one of the best Kawajiri movies, second only to "Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust." The story is pretty simple, as a wandering ninja becomes involved in a conspiracy to overturn the Shogun. 

This might be a fine choice if you're looking for blood, nudity, and many ninjas getting sliced up. The story might be bare bones, but that simple frame allows for unimaginable fight scenes. Also, the show has some very questionable scenes involving certain parts of the female anatomy. We're pretty sure snakes shouldn't be nesting there.

4. "Hokuto no Ken: Movie" (1986) 

"Fist of the North Star," as it is called in America, is one of the most popular shonen anime, made for male teenagers in the 80s. Despite having young demography, this animation is excessively violent. What would you expect from a story about the successor of the deadliest fighting style in the world? 

The fascinating thing about "Fist of the North Star" is that it was inspired by many Western movies, especially "Mad Max." Therefore, the main character Kenshiro combines Mel Gibson, Sylvester Stallone, and Bruce Lee. Needless to say, he doesn't use words to pacify his opponents. This movie took an already brutal TV show and brought it to a higher level.

3. "Apocalypse Zero" (1996) 

In a post-apocalyptic Tokyo, monsters have taken over. However, young siblings, Harara and Kakugo, have been trained to fight these beasts. They even got special armored suits to help them in their battles. Soon enough, Harara succumbed to the evil side and took a vow to destroy humanity. 

"Apocalypse Zero" is one of the most hated anime titles, but we think it's undeserved. Indeed, the manga has a bigger and better storyline. Still, it's quite enjoyable watching the siblings clashing in a fight that decides the destiny of humanity. The same author made the equally disturbing "Shigurui," adapted into a TV show in 2007.

2. "Genocyber" (1994) 

This show takes place in a futuristic world where boundaries between countries slowly disappear. Instead, private armies and corporations start to disturb the peace. Genocyber Project combines psychic abilities and cybernetics, but as usual, things went awry, and the world plunged into shocking violence. 

"Genocyber" is among the goriest and most disturbing anime you will ever see. The plot can sometimes be confusing, but let's be honest, no one watches this kind of anime for the plot. This is what happens when people try to make as offensive anime as possible. The show is drowned in gore and carnage, so if you like watching people disintegrating into a molecular paste, give this anime a chance.

1. “Midori Shoujo Tsubaki” (1992) 

"Midori" is the most notorious anime of all time and definitely the most controversial piece of animation ever made. The story takes place in the early 20th century when an orphan girl Midori joins the circus of the freaks. Unfortunately, she becomes a regular victim of the anomalies who work there and endures increasingly worse torture. 

"Midori" doesn't pull any punches, and nothing is off the table, including child sexual assault and extreme amounts of gore. One man, Hiroshi Harada, made this film using all his life savings to create it over five years. He alone drew 5000 sheets of animation! As a result, he reached immortality as the creator of one of the most sickening works of fiction.

The things featured in anime might be pretty overwhelming for someone who grew up watching western animation only. Something is definitely not alright with all that gore and violence in Japanese animation. Still, we can only watch in awe and ask ourselves how they thought of it, let alone did it. Of course, we wouldn't recommend any of these to sensitive or easily offended people. 

What's your favorite explicit anime? Which ones would you add to the list?

Cover photo: YouTube screenshot