As a lover of anime, it fills my heart with joy to see how popular the genre has become in recent years. More and more people are watching it, and it's become a prominent part of streaming services like Netflix and even Disney+. Movies like Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle (2025) and Chainsaw Man: The Movie - Reze Arc (2025) have made bank at the box office, and younger members of Gen Z and Gen Alpha are becoming more obsessed with anime. But those movies aren’t exactly appropriate for young kids.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg, though. Both of those films are violent and definitely skew for an older audience, but they’re nothing compared to other anime films. The list below includes anime movies that kids should never see due to excessive violence, controversial sexual content, or challenging psychological themes and topics that are dark even by adult standards. If you’re going to sit down and watch anime with your kids, just make sure it isn’t any of these five anime films.
Perfect Blue (1998)
Perfect Blue is what you get when you combine the trippy surreality of David Lynch with the emotional devastation of Darren Aronofsky. Directed by the late great Satoshi Kon, Perfect Blue is a dark character study ideal for those who want to see celebrities as actual people.
While Mima at first appears to be your standard pop starlet, Perfect Blue slowly but surely starts to unravel her mental well-being in dramatic and uncomfortable ways. Seeing obsessive fans stalk and harass Mima can be a lot to handle, especially when it's presented as graphically as it is, and that’s before we get into the psychological trauma Mima undergoes that makes her begin to question her reality. It’s not quite as visually horrific as Smile 2 (2024), another celebrity-centric horror film, but it’s meant to unnerve viewers in a much deeper and more personal way. Perfect Blue received a nice boost of relevance thanks to its recent 4K theatrical rerelease, but if you’re going to see it for that juicy psychological horror, leave the kids at home.
Belladonna of Sadness (1973)
As times change, what content is and isn’t appropriate for children shifts. Nowadays, kids are more desensitized and exposed to violence, so anime films that have violent imagery can be acceptable to show children in some circles. Sexual violence, though, is an entirely separate story, and Belladonna of Sadness is chock full of it.
Much in the same vein as Promising Young Woman (2020), Belladonna of Sadness is a rape revenge movie. That alone may make watching it a non-starter for people, especially children, but its artistry and beauty are captivating. Watching the torment that Jeanne undergoes is painful to watch, yet seeing her rise from it and enact her revenge (with a little help from the Devil) is surprisingly fulfilling. Even if you disregard the numerous instances of sexual assault, the presentation alone may make it difficult for a child to watch, since it fully envelops itself in an arthouse aesthetics that feels more at home with movies like Suspiria (1977) or Fantastic Planet (1973) than your typical anime fare. It’s a challenging watch, but one without merit for those who want to see a more mature anime movie steeped in feminism.
Wicked City (1987)
The late ‘80s and early ‘90s were a gold mine for ultra-violent anime, and there was no better director of R-rated schlock than Yoshiaki Kawajiri. The man knew how to direct a violent spectacle, and if you think you can handle violence in an anime, then you haven’t seen Wicked City.
Wicked City is what you get when you blend the ultra-violence and cynicism of Devilman Crybaby (2018) with the intricate worldbuilding of Blade Runner (1982). The world itself is ripe for exploration about the balance between demons and humans, but it all gets lost in how excessive the film is. Rampant violence, sexual assault, and full-on nudity make Wicked City problematic at the best of times, and that’s not including the borderline misogynistic treatment of Wicked City’s female cast members. However, if you’re willing to stomach all that, the violence is exceptionally well animated, with plenty of viscera to the point that gore lovers will be in heaven. Wicked City is a beautifully violent spectacle that any action aficionado should watch at least once to see just how violent an anime can be, but children should stay far away from it.
Barefoot Gen (1983)
On the surface, Barefoot Gen doesn’t seem too terribly problematic for kids. The film has a bright aesthetic and optimistic kids living their lives despite the harshness of World War II. And yet, it’s one of the most devastating WWII movies of all time. Why? Because we see firsthand the effects of the atomic bomb being dropped on Nagasaki and the human cost of it.
Watching the cast of children get seared by the nuclear devastation is gruesome. The aftereffects are also bleak and soul-crushing, but that hardly matters. Just seeing kids obliterated in agonizing detail is enough nightmare fuel to stick with you well beyond the film’s 85-minute runtime. For that alone, it’s one of the most affecting anti-war movies of all time, right alongside Grave of the Fireflies (1988) and Fail Safe (1964), and one of the most stark warnings about the horror that nuclear weapons can cause. Barefoot Gen is an important film, but not for children.
Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (1997)
There’s no denying that Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995) can be a challenging watch for anyone, regardless of their age. The psychological deconstruction of its cast exposes some pretty dark truths about their personalities, but nothing compares to the hell they endure in Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion.
The End of Evangelion is nothing if not apocalyptic. It’s a 90-minute spiral of despair as we not only see our cast succumb to their worst tendencies, but also witness everything come to a horrible and bitter end. This is the embodiment of the trope “rocks fall, everyone dies,” and it’s shown with an unnecessary amount of mayhem and madness. It’s the same kind of explosion of horror from Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) when Skynet obliterates mankind, only on steroids. For kids, it can be absolutely terrifying. For adults, it’s still uncomfortable to watch, and it definitely ends the series on a morbid note. At the very least, it makes The End of Evangelion ideal for anyone who hates happy endings.
