The best anime genre for people who are fans of thriller, psychological and dark anime, is the combination of all of these, which are survival anime. These are anime showcase games that make the best of friends betray each other, trust among companions is as fragile as glass and survival is all that matters. These anime are not for the weak, with constant suspense, manipulation and mind games, they will keep you on edge to the very end. Survival anime have it all, from horror, thriller, action to mystery and warfare, this is what makes it so special and addictive. These anime feature high-stake games, each worse than the other, making each passing episode more and more unpredictable. 

Now if you are someone that enjoys the mind games of psychological anime and the slow burn of suspense anime, these anime are the perfect ‘next-watch’ for you.

1. 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. 

2. Deadman Wonderland (デッドマン・ワンダーランド)

Author: Jinsei Kataoka & Kazuma Kondou 

Genre: Action, Horror, Sci-Fi, Survival, Suspense

Demographic: Shounen 

Episodes: 1 Season, 12 Episodes 

The anime follows the story of Ganta Igarashi, who was preparing to go to a prison amusement park along with his classmates. However, Ganta Igarashi’s life takes a complete turn when his entire class is massacred by a ‘Man wearing red’.  Fortunately, Ganta Igarashi  survived, unfortunately he was accused of the massacre and ironically sent to the same prison he was about to visit with his classmates which is known as the ‘Deadman Wonderland’. Soon realising that the only way to survive in this prison is to win deadly games, Ganta Igarashi with his newly discovered blood manipulation powers  tries to win these games in order to save his own life and to find the ‘Man wearing red’ to clear his name. Deadman Wonderland is not just a simple prison; it has its own dark secrets and experiments. Known for its fast – paced action sequences and psychological elements that push Ganta Igarashi to his wits end both physically and mentally. The anime is available on Crunchyroll. 

3. Danganronpa: The animation – Danganronpa: Kibou no Gakuen to Zetsubou no Koukousei The Animation (ダンガンロンパ 希望の学園と絶望の高校生 THE ANIMATION)

Author: Kazutaka Kodaka 

Genre: Mystery, Psychological, Survival, Thriller, Suspense, Horror

Demographic: Seinen 

Episodes: 1 Season, 13 Episodes 

When Makoto Naegi  gets accepted into the most elite school “ Hope’s Peak Academy’,  he cannot believe it himself. Still being grateful, he walked into the academy on the first day but as soon as he entered he fell unconscious. When he woke up; he found himself in an abandoned classroom and out of curiosity began searching around and soon found all  his other classmates at the gym equally confused about their whereabouts. They are soon  greeted by the school principal, Monokuma, who happens to be a sadistic robotic teddy bear. Monokuma soon reveals to them that the only way to escape the school is for each student to kill someone without being caught. Now, the students have two options, either they can successfully kill someone without being caught and escape the school or, they do not kill anyone and stay together forever in the school. The anime is a constant pendulum oscillating between psychological mind games and mystery solving. With each student having their own personalities and talents, the investigation of each murder becomes more and more interesting. The anime is known for its dark humor, tension, horror and mystery all combined together This death-game anime is available on Crunchyroll. 

4. Btoom!

Author: Junya Inoue 

Genre: Action, Psychological, Sci-Fi, Survival, Gore

Demographic: Seinen 

Episodes: 1 Season, 12 Episodes 

Ryouta Sakamoto is Japan’s top player in an online game called ‘Btooom’. However, everything starts going downhill when he suddenly wakes up on a tropical island with a small green gem embedded in his hand, a bag of unique bombs called ‘BIMs’ and no memory of how he got there. He soon realises that someone decided to make a real life version of the exact same game he is a pro at. Now the only way to survive is to kill the seven other competitors and collect the green gem from them. Originally with the plan of not wanting to kill people Ryouta Sakamoto is faced with questioning his own morals when facing foes who are not as welcoming as he is. The anime follows Ryouta Sakamoto’s struggle between wanting to survive and keeping his morality safe. ‘Btooom’ is a highly strategy focused anime challenging survival instincts and psychological tension. This video game brought to life is available to watch on Crunchyroll.  

5. Darwin’s Game (ダーウィンズゲーム)

Author: FLIPFLOPs 

Genre: Action, Supernatural, Survival Game, Mystery

Demographic: Shounen  

Episodes: 1 Season, 11 Episodes 

When Kaname Sudou, a high school student receives an invitation on his phone to play ‘Darwin’s Game’, he accepts it without thinking much about it. However everything changes when an in – game opponent is now sitting in front of him. Soon realising that he is in a deadly battle game in real life, where opponents have to either hunt each other for points or just fight to survive, Kaname is forced to adapt quickly or risk death. In this game world each participant is given a unique ability known as a ‘Sigil’. The Anime follows Kanamae’s journey to uncovering more and more darker secrets of the game as he keeps on playing. The anime is known for its fast-paced action sequences and strategic planning.  This ruthless battleground anime can be watched on Netflix and Crunchyroll.