Top 10 Must-Watch Ghost Anime Of All Time & Where To Watch Them!

The word “Ghost” defines an apparition of a dead person appearing in front of the living.

But in reality, when a person dies, the form it takes after death depends on some factors like regrets, attachment to someone, unfinished vengeance, which leads to being a specter, phantom, wraith .etc.

Mob Psycho 100 Trailer

There are several stories of ghosts in anime, but there are some that deliver sheer excellence with their intriguing stories. So, let’s begin with the top 10 list of ghost anime.

10. Ghost Hunt

Ghost Hunt is a story that deals with investigation revolving around the ghosts.

Taniyama Mai and her friends were exchanging stories of ghosts. They were interrupted by Shibuya Kazuya, president of the Shibuya Psychic Research company.

He was asked to investigate the ghost stories surrounding the abandoned school building by the principal.

The next day, Mai, while passing through that abandoned building unknowingly interfered with the investigation injuring Kazuya’s assistant, which resulted in her being the assistant replacement, and soon she began to learn the paranormal world.

9. Hanada Shounen-shi

Hanada Shounen-shi is a hidden gem that delivers sheer excellence through its hilarious depiction of ghosts.

Ichiro Hanada is a notorious child who lives in a quiet rural town with his parents and grandfather.

Soon after experiencing a near-death situation when hit by a truck, Hanada began to see and communicate with spirits. The spirits of the dead people bound by their unresolved issue seek Hanada as their savior who will help them out.

8. xxxHOLiC

xxxHOLiC is a fiction about a boy granting other people’s wishes to get rid of his ability to see spirits.

Kimihiro Watanuki can see spirits and other assorted supernatural creatures, which he finds to be bothersome. One day being inexplicably compelled to enter a strange house by some spirits, he encounters Yuuko, a mysterious woman.

She claims to help Kimihiro to get rid of his abilities to attract supernatural creatures. In exchange, he has to work in her store where people’s wishes are granted and thus begins his new journey in life.

7. Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun

Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun is a sweet and scary tale delivered with pure grace.

Kamome Academy has its own version of urban legends about the “Seven Wonders” that every school has. Among them is the legend of Hanako-san, who, upon summoning grants any wish.

Lured by the gossip, Nene Yashiro, a girl hoping for romantic fortune summons Hanako-san and discovers that the rumored girl is actually a boy.

Toilet-bound Hanako-kun | Official Trailer

After a series of unfortunate events, she ends up being Hanako-kun’s assistant and learns about his duty to maintain peace amongst mortals and apparitions.

6. Noragami

Noragami will teach you to pursue your dreams regardless of their difficulties.

Yato is a minor deity and self-proclaimed “ Delivery God” who dreams of having millions of worshipers. He charges five yen apiece for doing odd jobs, for which his weapon partner keeps deserting him.

Noragami - Official Trailer

Hiyori Iki, a middle school girl, after taking a hit from a car to supposedly save Yato, finds out that her soul is leaving her body, and she demands Yato to return her back to normal on which he agrees. Still, she has to find him a new weapon partner in exchange.

5. Mononoke

Mononoke deals with a medicine seller who wanders around Japan to exorcise spirits.

The Medicine Seller is a mysterious master of the occult. He travels across feudal Japan in search of malevolent spirits called “mononoke,” which, after locating, he has to learn its form and its truth to kill it with his mighty exorcism sword.

His journey leads him to an Inn where a pregnant woman named Shino is resting but soon finds out that the room is infested by the Zashiki Warashi, a lethal band of mononoke, and he begins his investigations to exorcise it.

4. Natsume’s Book of Friends

Birds aren’t born for cages, that’s what Natsume’s Book of Friends symbolizes.

Takashi Natsume is always chased by spirits. He soon discovers that his deceased grandmother has passed on to him the Yuujinchou or “Book of Friends,” which contains the name of the spirits under her control.

Natsume has the same power as his grandma. He is being chased by those spirits who want to attain their freedom from the book.

Natsume, accompanied by Madara, a self-proclaimed bodyguard, endeavors to free those bound spirits.

3. Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day

Anohana symbolizes the flower that never withers away.

Jinta Yadomi is being bothered by Meiko “Menma” Honma, whom he thinks is nothing more than a hallucination due to a hot summer day as Menma died years ago. But soon, he realizes that Menma is a ghost who has come to fulfill his wish.

anohana - The Flower We Saw That Day - TV Series English Dub Trailer

The story revolves around six friends who got separated after Menma’s untimely death and are again drawn together to lay Menma’s spirit to rest.

2. Mob Psycho 100

Mob Psycho 100 smartly depicts the different shades of mental health through a vibrant story.

Shigeo “Mob” Kageyama is an eighth-grader who has tapped into his psychic prowess at a very young age but is unable to control it.

To gain control over his skills, he enlists himself under Arataka Reigen, a con psychic, who uses Mob to earn his recognition by exorcising spirits.

TVアニメ『モブサイコ１００』 ティザーPV

However, he doesn’t know that Mob’s hidden power can go berserk if his unrestrained emotions are triggered, and there is no one-stop him.

1. Mushishi

Mushishi is the most befitting supernatural fiction with its surprisingly calm storytelling.

Mushi is the most basic form of life which exists without a purpose and is neither good nor bad. They live in countless forms and can mimic things from natural worlds such as plants, diseases, and even rainbows.

To Mushishi, researchers of Mushi, this is just a vague definition as calling them a form of life would be an oversimplification.

To learn about their existence, “Mushishi” Ginko chases the rumors of the occurrence of Mushi and tries to find an answer.

Honorable Mentions

There are a few other stories which have different ways of ghost portrayal, they are:

Ghost Stories, Natsuyuki Rendezvous, In/Spectre, Ghost Hound, GeGeGe no Kitarou, Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits.