Does anyone else find overly violent anime difficult to watch?

I realise of course I won’t be the only one, but it’s something I find doesn’t seem to bother most people who watch anime, I’ve been into the medium properly since around 2012, and every now and then an anime will get recommended that is gruesome and I’ll usually even try to power through it, but it never works for me.

The main one is AoT, I think it’s fair to say it’s a very popular manga and anime, and I won’t pretend it isn’t a gripping story (at least as far as I got to, stopped after the final season before the movies, when Rumbling was the opening, and even watched the first 3 twice) but for me, I had to really mentally prepare myself to watch it, and I realised i just wasn’t enjoying the experience because of how uncomfortable it made me.

When I had first started, I recall i had to overcome a minor version of this with Naruto, because of all the blood during the land of waves, eventually I did and it was never an issue for me with it again.

Anyway, there’s anime like chainsawman that I constantly hear good things about, but I just don’t want to try them because i can tell it’s going to do this, and so I wanted to see how others feel on it, and maybe even if you’ve changed on it over the years. I will say it’s not just anime either, game of thrones back in the day was also triggering, as is the new fallout series and several games.

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Commentaires

SpaceMarine_CR2026-01-19 07:46

Not really, and AoT is not even top 10 most gory or disturbing anime there is

Multievolution2026-01-19 07:57

Oh I’m sure of that, I just not to go down and find out personally.

Otherwise996_9112026-01-22 18:18

I love the feeling of constant foreboding fear and dread AoT gives off. Anything else out there like it?

injurred2026-01-19 07:54

For me not so much, but I see it with my daughters when we watch anime together, one likes the violent scenes and is amazed by the detail and the other covers her eyes every single time it starts to get bloody.

MusubiKazesaru2026-01-19 07:54

I think I'd have a problem with the absolute upper echelons of anime violence, but not much else. We're talking really disturbing OVAs levels of violence.

SpaceMarine_CR2026-01-19 07:59

After watching Elfen Lied, mainstream anime violence and gore wont phase me

Charming_Figure_90532026-01-19 08:08

I though that bad too, boy is it just the tip of the iceberg

Xironymous2026-01-19 07:55

Can't say I'm too much into it but I don't mind it considering AoT and Akame ga Kill were the first anime I watched and over the years plenty other gory anime

31GoonerStreet2026-01-19 08:08

I've never been a fan of overly violent or violence for violence sake in animes, but I somehow sat through the entirety of Dead Man Wonderland because the story hooked me early in.

ClemFire2026-01-19 08:12

As I've gotten older I've tended to avoid anime that are too gory or violent. I don't find it too limiting but for example this season I'm not watching Death Games, JJK S3, or Hell's Paradise S2 for said reason. The genres I prefer watching are drama, romance, and slice of life anyways which rarely have anything too graphic.

If you are interested in one of those recs I am really liking You and I Are Polar Opposites this season.

Multievolution2026-01-19 08:13

I’ll take a look, I do find myself favouring those genres myself these days.

ClemFire2026-01-19 08:25

Hope you enjoy it! Its premiere was my favorite this season, and just made me feel really happy.

Those genres line up with my favorites last year of Watatabe, My Dress-Up Darling S2, and Ruri Rocks.

porpoiseoflife2026-01-19 08:16

I need to be in a certain mindset to watch something with extreme violence. I have definitely spent my time in the viscera parts of the anime catalog, don't get me wrong. But for an average night, I would pick something else to watch rather than see intestines repeatedly.

nirvash5302026-01-19 08:33

As long as it's not as gratuitous as Blood-C's violence.

I swear whoever made those scenes has to be a sadist.

tarutaru992026-01-19 08:37

I mean its not an issue exclusive to anime, is it? You may just have a problem with gore in general, which is perfectly normal. I know people who passed on GoT because they were averse to gore, for example.

VoidEmbracedWitch2026-01-19 08:55

There are some scenes in for example Made in Abyss that go into body horror I found unsettling, but like, AOT or CSM levels blood and gore don't affect me at all. Being someone who's not particularly squeamish around and somewhat used to seeing blood and intestines irl, I find things like Danganronpa's pink blood (in the games) and Shiboyugi's *preservation treatment* more uncomfortable to look at than regular old blood. Weird how that works.

ElliotAlderson20242026-01-19 14:53

Genocyber FTW

Katlima2026-01-19 15:47

It depends on the vibe of the show. Someone getting their face slapped in a show like Fruits Basket feels more serious than body parts flying left and right in Undead Unluck.

That doesn't mean you have to enjoy it. If you don't like gore, maybe watch something else?

I think sports shows would be a good compromise. You still have action and the spirit of fighting without all the death and gore.

Whathefrenchtoastt2026-01-20 02:18

No because I know it's not real. Yet any 'real' shows that are violent I can't watch and definitely can't watch any crime/murder shows(real murder not fiction)..

MrModsMusic2026-01-21 16:36

Oddly enough, the violence is more disturbing to me in cartoon form. I think because as someone who grew up watching non-violent (action, but no blood or gore) Saturday morning cartoons, my brain is borderline programmed to think that cartoons are wholesome and cute. So my brain is always mildly shocked when it witnesses violence in 2D form. lol if that makes sense.

opilo3332026-01-20 04:17

Tbh I was just like you until I watched Squid games. Squid games shows us dead bodies like it’s nothing (it’s the whole point of the series). So if you want to be cool with violent stuff I recommend watching it. In animes though when people get mortal wounds they don’t always die (like in jujutsu kaizen) so I don’t get sick when I see people getting wounded in it. Also, breaking bad is real good for managing your stress and uneasiness.

At this point I’m just recommending series, but really, watching the non animated ones before animes helps you get the connection of animes to reality easier. So I’d say try watching some good non animated series and then get back to anime and see if you can see the violent ones. Because then you will see it beyond the violence, you will see the intent and the wickedness of the person inflicting it. It won’t be about the violence anymore, but about why he chose it.

Multievolution2026-01-20 05:04

I appreciate the advice, I’ve tried quite a few of the live action ones you’ve mentioned, and others like game of thrones, the conclusion I’ve come to is a dislike of body horror and anything that is particularly gruesome.

For me, anime is a way to dissociate a bit, and I guess because it can be really animated and detailed/over the top makes it too much for me personally.

If I’m having to grin and bare it with my entertainment more often than not I think I’d rather find something more relaxing, but that’s just my preference, if nothing else making this topic has helped me realise that much.

opilo3332026-01-20 12:00

It’s probably even better you think that way man. So many stuff using violence to make a point… though it’s the way we humans end up going when we lose control.

ActualRound76992026-01-21 03:12

I don’t mind the violence. I’m able to disconnect the real world from the stuff I watch.

Multievolution2026-01-21 03:16

I can go a degree, but it still make me uncomfortable

ActualRound76992026-01-21 03:17

that’s fair. I’m honestly just desensitized from violence and fan service and all that. so, it has always been a moot point for me

Multievolution2026-01-21 03:26

I think for me it’s when it really goes out it’s way to focus on it that I tend to feel iffy about it, but to some degree you do just expect it

MrModsMusic2026-01-21 16:17

Yes. I swore off watching certain anime (especially AOT) for years because of this, but a friend of mine kept begging me to watch it.

I’ll be honest. I don’t really “enjoy” violence like some people seem do. People tend to talk down to you or criticize if say you can’t take violence (especially online) almost as if it says something about your maturity, but personally I think it’s a very normal human thing to not enjoy watching someone get torn to shreds, and I think it’s very immature to criticize someone simply because such things make them uncomfortable.

I enjoy some cool action, nice choreography and a well told story.
AOT is violent, and I don’t enjoy seeing people get eaten. But the show also has so many of the other elements that I love, which made it worth finishing for me, and by the end of it, I was absolutely in love with the series.

Im honestly a lot more numb to violence than I used to be, but I didn’t start off that way and it’s not because I inherently “enjoy” it. It’s just because Ive seen a lot of it now so I’m used to it.

So my point is, what you’re saying is totally normal, and relatable.

You don’t have to enjoy violence if you don’t want to. If you got all the way through AOT and still found that you couldn’t enjoy it, then maybe shows like that just aren’t for you. You don’t have to force yourself to watch things that you genuinely don’t like. After all, what’s the point in that? There’s lots of more wholesome anime content out there tbh.

Far_Satisfaction12532026-01-22 01:32

Only if the story frames all the violence as right and doesn’t morally challenge the mc