Suspense anime is less about what happens and more about how long they can make you sweat before it happens. *Death Note* basically set the standard for two guys writing in notebooks somehow being the tensest thing you've ever watched. When it's done right, even a character picking up a phone can feel like a boss fight.
Prefer anime? Best Suspense anime
Through the storm of steam and machinery, who can achieve the extraordinary? In the mist of history and darkness, who whispers to me? When I woke up from the haze of mystery, I found myself in a world of guns, cannons, giant ships, airships, difference engines; potions,...
Exiting the convenience store, Subaru Natsuki emerges to a busy town inhabited by humans and demi-humans. Using dragons and carriages as transportation, the town is clearly not the modern-day Japan that he is familiar with. However, as someone who spends his days engrossed in...
The time for logical debate and magical feints has come to an end; the revelation of the truth about Beatrice the Golden Witch is at hand. To facilitate this, game master Bernkastel has chosen Will Wright the Mage-Hunter to step onto her board and answer a single question: Who...
Kazuki Hoshino values his everyday life above all else. He spends the days carefree with his friends at school, until the uneventful bliss suddenly comes to a halt with the transfer of the aloof beauty Aya Otonashi into his class and her cold, dramatic statement to him...
Ryuk, a god of death, drops his Death Note into the human world for personal pleasure. In Japan, prodigious high school student Light Yagami stumbles upon it. Inside the notebook, he finds a chilling message: those whose names are written in it shall die. Its nonsensical nature...
Famous for his military service in the 39th Asian War, the legendary Swiss robot Montblanc is violently murdered. Humans and robots around the world mourn for the beloved celebrity. Montblanc's popularity only grew in the years following the war, thanks to his dedication to...
Ash Lynx is a beauty, a genius—and a murderer. Since childhood, he had been in the care of Dino "Papa" Golzine, the mafia boss who turned him into the ruthless killer he is now. At first, Ash was just a pretty face for Golzine's pleasure, but now estranged from him, a...
In 1999, a meteorite crashed into Antarctica. The impact melted the continental ice mass and drastically raised sea levels, damaging the world's climate and causing the deaths of over half its population. Now in 2015, devastating creatures of unknown origin—referred to as...
Considered as the third installment in the highly popular When They Cry series by 07th Expansion, Umineko no Naku Koro ni takes place on the island of Rokkenjima, owned by the immensely wealthy Ushiromiya family. As customary per year, the entire family is gathering on the...
Fable is a legendary hitman who has completed numerous jobs for a variety of clients. After concluding his latest assignment, the number of people he has recently killed becomes too high, and Fable is ordered by his boss to lay low for a year. He is suggested that having to...
Hundreds of years ago, horrifying creatures which resembled humans appeared. These mindless, towering giants, called Titans, proved to be an existential threat, as they preyed on whatever humans they could find in order to satisfy a seemingly unending appetite. Unable to...
The story of Steins;Gate takes place in Akihabara and is about a group of friends who have managed to customize their microwave into a device that can send text messages to the past. As they perform different experiments, an organization named SERN who has been doing their own...
In the late 19th century, the British Empire has become a global power. Due to the strict class stratification, the average citizen has little chance of successfully rising up to the top, where the despicable nobility rules over them all. William James Moriarty, the second son...
Her first encounter with Toriko Nishina was on the Otherside after seeing "that thing" and nearly dying. Ever since that day, exhausted university student Sorawo Kamikoshi's life changed. In this Otherworld, full of mystery, which exists alongside our own, dangerous beings like...
Feeling unsettled about the future, high school student Ryouhei Arisu often escapes the reality of life. After hanging out at a bar, Arisu and his best friends, Daikichi Karube and Chouta Segawa, wait for the first train to arrive in the morning. Suddenly, a colorful array of...
Yuuichi Katagiri has battled financial hardships his whole life but has learned to stay content and positive thanks to his close circle of friends. To keep a promise he made to them, Yuuichi saves up enough money to join them on the school trip. But when the gathered money...
44 years old, single, working in a construction company for his entire life. All Kurosawa wants is a little respect from his co-workers. And a little popularity won't hurt. Unfortunately Kurosawa's plans fail miserably from time to time and one day, he finds himself right in the...
The apartment complex on the infamous Ira Street is a last resort for those fortunate enough to scrape together a few pennies. People deal with poverty and violence daily, and now a string of murders has solidified fear into their bones. Shavonne, an aspiring young writer, is no...
One day, college student Yuuhi Amamiya is approached by talking lizard Sir Noi Crezant. Crezant immediately launches into a fantastical story: the powerful mage Animus intends to destroy the Earth with his Biscuit Hammer, a huge contraption looming high in Earth's orbit. Earth's...
Cha Hyun is a reclusive high school student who spends his days holed up in his room playing video games. But when he loses his entire family in a tragic car accident, he is forced to leave his home and carefree lifestyle behind and move into a new apartment all by himself....
Natsu Iwashimizu's last memory of her family is eating her favorite meals with them. Unfortunately, she wakes up from her dream only to find herself in a sinking ship, being rescued by three strangers: Arashi Aota, whose kind-hearted personality does not match his quick temper;...
College student Nao Kanzaki has always adhered to her name's meaning: "foolishly honest." However, after opening an unsolicited package containing one hundred million yen, she inadvertently accepts an invitation for the "Liar Game." In this tournament, contestants are encouraged...
After his parents died, Shinpei Ajiro lived with the Kofune sisters, Mio and Ushio, but he has since moved to live on his own in Tokyo. But after Ushio drowns while trying to save the young Shiori Kobayakawa, he returns home to mourn her departure. However, bruises around...
Akira Houjou and Chiaki Asami are childhood friends who have experienced hell and lived to tell about it. They arrive in Japan to attend school, and soon witness the corruption and apathy of the country's population. Enraged, Akira and Asami vow to create a new Japan; a...
Lord of Mysteries holds the #1 spot right now with a 9.19 on MAL. Through the storm of steam and machinery, who can achieve the extraordinary? In the mist of history and darkness, who whispers to me? When I woke up from the haze of mystery, I found myself in a world of guns, cannons, giant ships, airships, difference engines; potions, divination, curses, hanged men, and sealed artifacts.
MyAnimePulse tracks over 942 suspense manga. This list pulls the 25 highest-rated ones — from finished classics to ongoing series.
New to suspense manga? Lord of Mysteries, Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-, and Umineko WHEN THEY CRY Episode 7: Requiem of the Golden Witch are the easiest recommendations. All three are highly rated and accessible for first-time readers.
