The Best Horror Anime You Need to Watch in March 2026
As the Winter 2026 anime season starts wrapping up this March, fans of the macabre have been treated to some incredibly unsettling, blood-pumping, and psychological new shows. While the mainstream anime conversation is dominated by giant shonen blockbusters, the horror genre has quietly been delivering absolute nightmares.
Whether you are looking for a currently airing series to binge before the spring season starts, or a modern classic to keep you up at night, we have you covered. Here are the best horror anime you need to watch this March!
1. Kaya-chan Isn’t Scary
| Category | Details |
| Title | Kaya-chan Isn’t Scary (Kaya-chan wa Kowakunai) |
| Studio | East Fish Studio |
| Genre | Supernatural Horror, Mystery |
| Watch Link | Watch on Crunchyroll |
Do not let the cheerful kindergarten setting fool you—Kaya-chan Isn’t Scary is the sleeper hit horror anime of Winter 2026. The story follows Kaya, a seemingly troublesome little girl who is actually fighting off horrifying evil spirits that the adults around her cannot see. It flips the script on traditional haunted house tropes by putting the horror in broad daylight within a colorful, safe space for children. The juxtaposition of cute character designs and deeply unsettling ghost encounters makes this an absolute must-watch as it heads into its season finale this month.
2. Shiboyugi: Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table
| Category | Details |
| Title | Shiboyugi: Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table |
| Studio | Studio Deen |
| Genre | Psychological Horror, Death Game, Thriller |
| Watch Link | Watch on Crunchyroll |
If you love the anxiety-inducing tension of shows like Alice in Borderland or Kaiji, Shiboyugi will ruin your fingernails. Airing right now, this psychological thriller explores a bleak society where young women participate in televised, lethal death games simply to survive the crushing economy. It relies heavily on emotional manipulation, dread, and shocking twists rather than just cheap jump scares. The psychological horror here is grounded in real-world desperation, making it one of the most intense weekly watches of 2026.
3. DAN DA DAN
| Category | Details |
| Title | DAN DA DAN |
| Studio | Science SARU |
| Genre | Horror, Comedy, Supernatural, Action |
| Watch Link | Watch on Netflix |
If pure, unrelenting terror isn’t your thing and you want to mix your scares with laugh-out-loud comedy and jaw-dropping animation, DAN DA DAN is the perfect binge. Following a girl who believes in ghosts (but not aliens) and a guy who believes in aliens (but not ghosts), the two quickly find out that both are very real and incredibly dangerous. The monster designs are genuinely terrifying and deeply cursed, but the fast-paced action and amazing character chemistry make it an incredibly fun ride.
4. Sentenced to Be a Hero
| Category | Details |
| Title | Sentenced to Be a Hero (Yuusha-kei ni Shosu) |
| Studio | Studio Kai |
| Genre | Dark Fantasy, Action, Horror |
| Watch Link | Watch on Crunchyroll |
While branded as a dark fantasy, Sentenced to Be a Hero dips its toes heavily into horror territory through its world-building and grotesque monster designs. In a world infected by the “Demon Blight,” the worst criminals are sentenced to fight monstrous hordes on the front lines. The atmosphere is oppressive, the stakes are always life-or-death, and the “heroes” are morally bankrupt survivors. It is a gritty, bloody, and visually stunning series that has been dominating the Winter 2026 charts.
5. Dark Gathering
| Category | Details |
| Title | Dark Gathering |
| Studio | OLM |
| Genre | Supernatural, Horror, Shounen |
| Watch Link | Watch on HIDIVE |
If you missed this one when it originally aired, March is the perfect time to catch up. Dark Gathering starts off feeling like a standard ghost-hunting procedural but quickly spirals into some of the most disturbing and chilling lore in modern anime. The series follows Keitaro, a college student who attracts spirits, and Yayoi, a terrifyingly fearless little girl who actively hunts down the most dangerous ghosts in Japan to capture them. The ghosts in this show are pure nightmare fuel.
6. Hyakki Yakosho
| Category | Details |
| Title | Hyakki Yakosho (Beyond Twilight) |
| Studio | Imagica Infos |
| Genre | Horror, Supernatural, Slice of Life |
| Watch Link | Premieres April 7, 2026 (Upcoming) |
While you are binging the shows above this March, make sure to add Hyakki Yakosho to your radar for next month. Set to premiere in early April 2026, this highly anticipated short-form adaptation of the classic horror manga follows a man with strong psychic abilities as he encounters deeply unsettling supernatural phenomena. It promises to deliver that classic, slow-burn Japanese folklore horror that fans of Mushishi and Natsume’s Book of Friends will adore, but with a much darker edge.
