When speaking about anime you usually think about fairylands or pirate islands or football leagues, however the psychological anime genre is something quite different. Psychological anime deals with the ‘Grey area’. Here, ‘Grey Area’ refers to that moral boundary, where you question right from wrong. But when thinking about thriller anime, we see colourful frames, action-packed scenes and mesmerizing visuals. Now an anime with the psychological genre and the thriller genre is something that you must watch.

Following are the list of anime that combine the mind games of the psychological anime and the action of the thriller genre.  

1. Code Geass : Lelouch of the Rebellion – Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch (コードギアス 反逆のルルーシュ)

Author: Ichiro Okouchi, Goro Taniguchi 

Genre: Psychological, Thriller, Action 

Demographic: Shounen 

Episodes: 2 Seasons, 25 Episodes each

The anime follows the story of Lelouch Lamperouge, an exiled Prince who is mysteriously granted the ‘Power of Kings’, that enables him to force people to obey him. The story is set in the year 2010 where the Holy Empire of Britannia  is trying to establish dominance over the world with its first stop being Japan. When Japan was defeated , they renamed the place as ‘Area 11’. Now with this new found ‘power of absolute obedience’, Lelouch embarks on a journey as a masked vigilante named ‘Zero’, to take revenge on Britannia once and for all. The anime follows him into this journey, where he has to balance morality, strategy and personal revenge. Code Geass is well known for its mind games and shocking twists. It is available to watch on Crunchyroll and Hulu. 

2. Tomodachi Game (トモダチゲーム)

Author: Mikoto Yamaguchi 

Genre: Psychological, Thriller, Mystery 

Demographic: Shounen 

Episodes: 1 Season, 12 Episodes 

Tomodachi Game is a personal favourite anime.  It revolves around the story of 5 close friends and classmates, Yuuichi Katagiri, Yutori Kokorogi, Shiho Sawaragi, Makoto Shibe, and Tenji Mikasa. Everything starts going downhill when the funds for an upcoming school trip; which was collected by Shiho and Makoto, gets stolen. This leads the group to being isolated from the rest of the class. Taking advantage of the situation the group receives a mysterious call asking them to come to a location unknown to anyone, which leads them to getting knocked unconscious and waking up in a white room. There they meet a controversial figure who calls himself Manabu-kun. Manabu then reveals to them that the five of them have been gathered here because one of them needs to clear a personal debt of 20 million yen. Now to pay the amount they need to participate in a series of psychological mind games that tests their friendship, true nature and humanity, as their deep secrets surface with time. The anime is a fast paced, single-sitting watch, and is available on Crunchyroll. 

3. Classroom of the Elite – Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e (ようこそ実力至上主義の教室へ)

Author: Shogo Kinugasa 

Genre: Psychological, Thriller, School Drama 

Demographic: Seinen 

Episodes: 3 Seasons, 38+ Episodes 

Koudo Ikusei Senior High School may seem like the perfect utopian school, however there is more to it than meets the eye. The anime follows the story of Kiyotaka Ayanokouji, a hidden genius.  Unlike other High Schools, Koudo Ikusei Senior High School works on a merit system, where students are divided into four classrooms ranking from A to D depending upon their merit. Now these students can move up in ranking if they score better than those students in the classes about them. Ayanokouji is a student from class D, the class where students use strategies and deception to survive and move up in rank. The anime is a psychological school thriller with more seasons in the making. The story explores human behaviour, intelligence and the lengths people can go to; to achieve excellence. This anime can be watched on Crunchyroll.  

4. Tokyo Ghoul – Tokyo Kushu (東京喰種-トーキョーグール-)

Author: Sui Ishida 

Genre: Psychological, Horror, Action, Supernatural 

Demographic: Seinen 

Episodes: 4 Seasons, 48 Episodes 

Tokyo Ghoul is a highly dark psychological anime. In a world where flesh-eating Ghouls who appear like humans, blend into the human population, Ken Kaneki is a timid high school student. However, his entire life takes a turn when a beautiful woman asks him out on a date. Soon learning that she had sinister motives, he ends up waking up in the hospital where he is told that he had been saved by her organs being transplanted into his body. This forces him to live a life between the two worlds, the Humans and the Ghouls. With this new identity embarks on a journey to find his own identity and to survive. The Anime explore came such as transformation and inner conflict focusing on dark themes, emotional storytelling, dark tones and intense tragedy. It can be watched on Crunchyroll and Hulu.  

5. Parasyte: The Maxim – Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu (寄生獣 セイの格率)

Author: Hitoshi Iwaaki 

Genre: Psychological, Horror, Action, Sci-Fi 

Demographic: Seinen 

Episodes: 1 Season, 24 Episodes 

Parasyte is a sci – fi psychological horror anime that takes place in a world where parasitic aliens have invaded the planet and are taking over humans as hosts by residing in their brain. These parasites are able to take different forms in order to trap their prey. The story follows a young high school boy named Shinichi Izumi, who ends up being victim of this parasite, however due to certain circumstances the parasite was unable to host in his brain and ends on his right hand. Now having no control over the host the parasite and Izumi are forced into a coexistence; where they are both trying to survive. The anime is known for its disturbing themes, thought provoking story lines and the concepts of fear and survival instincts. Parasyte can be watched on Crunchyroll and Netflix.