Here is everything you need to know about the five darkest anime beginnings.

Texnolyze

Texhnolyze is an obscure cyberpunk psychological thriller from the early ’00s. It pushes its characters to such dark places that it almost begins to feel like a parody. Texhnolyze’s world is depicted as a classist dystopia where those with the least must live in Lux.

Ichise laments his life as a lowly fighter who can barely make ends meet. But his inability to play by the rules results in one of his arms being cut off as punishment. No longer able to carry out his trade and now on the run, Ichise’s story in Texhnolyze only proceeds to get worse.

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Tokyo Ghoul

Tokyo Ghoul’s first season is its strongest, and many audiences were willing to stick it through to the end. Its first episode is titled “Tragedy,” and it proves to be true to its name. The entire series examines Ken Kaneki’s indoctrination into the world of ghouls after he becomes the first half-ghoul half-human hybrid.

Kaneki’s unique fate gets sealed in the series premiere. Kaneki innocently befriends an outgoing individual, Rize, who turns out to be a ghoul. They both experience a devastating accident, which results in Rize’s organs being transplanted into Kaneki, imbuing him with half-ghoul status.

Attack On Titan

Death and despair follow Attack on Titan’s characters wherever they go. By the end of the series. Humanity is just as evil as any monster. Betrayal and sacrifice are par for the course in Attack on Titan.

Eren Jaeger spends the entire series guided by his desire to wipe out the Titans. Which is largely triggered by his mother’s vicious death in the series premiere. A Titan attack catches everyone by surprise, and the final minutes are devoted to a terrified Eren.

Elfen Lied

There’s endless tension in Elfen Lied, a concise anime from the early ’00s. Where an amnesiac alien gets pulled in two extremes, one of which is drenched in bloodshed. Elfen Lied is a fascinating case of nature versus nurture where the amnesiac Diclonius, “Lucy,” considers the humans that she encounters and what they represent.

Elfen Lied ends in a bleak place that doesn’t have encouraging things to say about humanity. Lucy psychically eviscerates dozens of people before she loses her memory. Kohta and Yuka show Lucy kindness, but even they can’t help but get angry at her after she destroys precious mementos.