What's the Most Brutal Anime You've Seen?

[Jezzascmezza]

I've only watched about a half dozen animes in my time- I'm planning on watching many more in the future though.
Considering that, I'd probably have to go with Baccano- probably because of the fact that I wasn't expecting it to be that violent, and it was, so it kind of shocked me at first.

 

[Username Redacted]

Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne is full of rape, blood, torture, bloody rape-torture, and general nastiness. It treats the bloody rape-torture the way most people treat porn: get in real close, savor the moment, yeah that's the way, slice her nipple reeeeeeal sloooooow. I don't know if I'd call it brutal in the way a God of War game is brutal, but it's violent, evil, sadistic, and not for the kiddies.

Folks already mentioned Ninja Scroll, Samurai Champloo, Akira and Hellsing.

EDIT: And I see Rin already mentioned too. Crap.

God of War, I find, is much more cartoonish in its violence. Rin, as you've pointed out, gets in there and tries to make it a really intimate affair. I don't find there to be much cringe worthy out of GoW while there are more than a few such moments in Rin.

 

[Movitz]

That's a though one.

Black Lagoon has a very brutal tone, with the story centered around people living outside decent society, and it does have some moments when people are meeting quite terrible fates, but it always cut away before turning into Day of the dead.

Elfen Lied doesn't cut away from its gory moments, and several kids get killed on screen in that series.

I think Elfen Lied wins. Congratulations!

...you sick bastard.

 

[Movitz]

You know what, I totally forgot about Hellsing Ultima, but then again it's so over the top, so the brutality doesn't give you as much a punch as it does in other series.

 

[Julius Terrell]

Fist of the North star has people's heads exploding in EVERY episode. It beats Elfen Lied by a few factors of 10. The Black Lion was a pretty gory movie as well. I never get tired of watching that movie. Go Nagai directed that movie. Fuck Ninja Scroll! It's all about Ninja Resurrection. Very gory! I could do this all day.

 

[Johnny Impact]

Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne is full of rape, blood, torture, bloody rape-torture, and general nastiness. It treats the bloody rape-torture the way most people treat porn: get in real close, savor the moment, yeah that's the way, slice her nipple reeeeeeal sloooooow. I don't know if I'd call it brutal in the way a God of War game is brutal, but it's violent, evil, sadistic, and not for the kiddies.

Folks already mentioned Ninja Scroll, Samurai Champloo, Akira and Hellsing.

EDIT: And I see Rin already mentioned too. Crap.

God of War, I find, is much more cartoonish in its violence. Rin, as you've pointed out, gets in there and tries to make it a really intimate affair. I don't find there to be much cringe worthy out of GoW while there are more than a few such moments in Rin.

Which is basically what I meant. God of War games are like the old Tom & Jerry cartoons. If there's a dangerous object in the environment, someone is getting rammed into it -- preferably at speed. We know exactly how it works. It *is* brutal, full of disembowelment, dismemberment, and other things beginning with dis-, and yet we laugh because it's so foolishly over the top.

A subrace of women who are genetically obligated to submit themselves to agonizing demon-rape....now *that's* messed up.

 

[piinyouri]

Not being a huge huge anime fan, so I'm sure there will be better answers and I shall be laughed out of the hall, but the Ninja Scrolls movie would be my vote.

 

[Razentsu]

I guess Elfen Lied takes top spot. I have yet to finish Higurashi, though.

The most brutal one I've watched so far is Fate/Zero, but I am also currently reading the Higurashi no Naku Koro ni visual novel, and there's an anime adaptation of it. I'm pretty sure that once I get to the anime, it will dethrone Fate/Zero.

Man, Fate/Zero was more brutal and darker than I expected. For some reason, even though I am familiar with the tone of Type Moon works, I always get caught off guard by the darker bits.

 

[Owlslayer]

I'd go with Higurashi. I've seen lots of violence in anime before, but what happened there was pretty damn disturbing. Hellsing was also pretty brutal. And Berserk, as well.