9 Horror Movie References You Never Noticed In Anime

It's spooky time!

Rosario And Vampire
Shueisha

Halloween is the perfect season for sitting back, relaxing with a warm beverage, and watching some scary movies. But maybe you're not into horror, or perhaps you've run out of horror movies to watch on repeat and want something new. Or maybe you're just someone who wants to sit around and watch anime all the time and, since its October, you want to at least get in the mood with some spooky Japanese cartoons.

Well you're in luck my fellow otaku, because I have for you this handy list of nine times anime have referenced your favorite horror movies. But we're not just listing nine anime influenced by horror movies, oh no, these are nine references you may not have caught or realized on first viewing.

Some might be throwaway gags you didn't notice, some might be backgrounds that skittered past too quickly to realize, or it may just be a plot point you didn't pick up on.

So, sure, Another is just a brutal anime version of Final Destination and Zombie Land Saga has a zombified dog named Romero. But those are obvious, here's some slightly more subtle examples.

9. My Hero Academia

Rosario And Vampire
Funimation

Sometimes referred to as “this generation's Naruto”, My Hero Academia is the story of a High Schooler who wants to be a Super Hero in a society where almost everyone has a super power – called a quirk. The twist is that said kid is one of the, like 5% of society, who does not have a super-powered quirk.

Some quirks are as simple as being able to gently levitate items toward you, others are as bombastic as sweating out nitroglycerin and being able to ignite it on command. But one hero candidate in particular has the ability to emit a gas from his body that turns anyone who breathes said gas into a zombie.

Said zombies are nigh-indestructible, have super-strength, and spread their zombie-ism via biting others.

This student, training to be a hero with a quirk known as 'Zombie Virus' is named Fujimi Romero – that's right, much like the dog from Zombie Land Saga he is named after the infamous director who basically created the modern zombie trope, George A. Romero.

Contributor
Contributor

Author of Escort (Eternal Press, 2015), co-founder of Nic3Ntertainment, and developer behind The Sickle Upon Sekigahara (2020). Currently freelancing as a game developer and history consultant. Also tends to travel the eastern U.S. doing courses on History, Writing, and Japanese Poetry. You can find his portfolio at www.richardcshaffer.com.