Ghosts are spirits of the dead that some living people can see. They are often associated with anger and aggression and that's due to them not being able to cross on to the afterlife. Anime can include anything from ghost hunters trying to get rid of troublesome beings to characters befriending the beings and getting their help. No matter the reason, ghosts often pop up in the media. They're interesting, often have special abilities, and give people a glimpse into the unknown realm of the dead.
There are plenty of other dead beings similar to ghosts. Spirits aren't as aggressive (though ghosts aren't always, either), ghouls eat dead bodies, and Yōkai are similar to demons, though not in the Western world's meaning of the word. Because of these distinctions, some shows should be excluded from lists of ghosts in anime, such as Bakemonogatari, Blue Exorcist, and Death Note.
Updated December 7th, 2022, by Rain Egan: Ghosts are quite a common theme in anime. They're common in horror and sci-fi anime, though they can crop up interestingly in other places. Lately, Manga/anime authors have gotten quite creative with the inclusion of ghosts in slice of life and comedy anime, though the ghosts certainly add a mysterious element to the setting. This isn't new, necessarily. Authors have been doing this for a while. Take the American movie Ghostbusters - this wouldn't be considered a horror movie by any standards, but it incorporates ghosts in a humorous and interesting way. This update focuses on the ghosts that add an element of mystery to the otherwise ordinary setting they're in, as well as adding some more iconic ghost anime.
12 Mob Psycho 100
Mob Psycho 100 is, at its heart, a show about ghost hunting. It stands to reason that there are tons of ghost characters in the show, though one stands out as a main character. Dimple originally appears as the leader of the “(LOL)” cult, but he sticks around after he’s exorcized to the chagrin of pretty much everybody else.
In his ghost form, he appears as a wispy cloud of green smoke, or, according to Teru, a ‘nasty-looking floating energy bulb’. His signature is the bright red circles on his cheeks, that appear on any human he possesses.
11 Yu-Gi-Oh!
There are several ghosts in the original Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters anime, though many may be considered non-traditional. The only traditional ghost in the show is Shadi, a mysterious figure that often appears at the end of story arcs to provide much-needed exposition.
The main character, Yugi, can also be said to be possessed by a ghost. Yami Yugi, known as ‘the other Yugi’, is a ghost that lives inside the Millennium Puzzle that Yugi Muto wears, and is unaware of his own history as an Egyptian pharaoh. Similarly, Ryou Bakura is often possessed by a (far more malicious) spirit that inhabits the Millennium Ring.
10 Noragami
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Next up is Yukine from Noragami. Appearing as Yato, the protagonist god’s Regalia, Yukine is a former human that can transform into Yato’s weapon at any time. While the anime alludes to it, the Manga confirms that Yukine had an extremely rough childhood and likely came from an abusive family.
In his human form, Yukine appears as a short, blond teenager. He’s blunt, honest, has a strong sense of justice, and is a loyal friend. Compared to his upbringing, he seems to be doing a lot better in ghost form.
9 JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable
Reimi Sugimoto appears in the 'Diamond Is Unbreakable' arc of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, a unique anime series that follows the family tree of the Joestar family as they discover they are destined to take down supernatural foes using powers that they possess. Reimi haunts the Ghost Girl's alley, a hidden road that serves as a sort of purgatory.
Kind, joyful, and caring, Reimi is far from the stereotypical scary ghost. Her 'unfinished business' is to take down the serial killer that murdered her. While this is a gruesome goal, Reimi remains the optimistic and charasmatic girl she was in life.
8 Ghost Hound
The human and the spirit realm bleed into one another in the town of Suiten. Ghost appearances start to spread through the town, and it's up to three high school boys to investigate. Tarō, Makoto, and Masayuki have all lived through childhood trauma and because of this, can see the weird occurrences.
They can enter the Unseen World, home to ghosts, even though no humans are supposed to have that ability. Upon entering, they encounter their traumas head-on. The local Shinto priest and his daughter, Miyako, must help the boys handle this scary situation.
7 Another
Kouichi Sakakibara is a transfer student to class 3-3 of Yomiyama North Junior High. He is drawn to one of his new classmates, Mei Misaki, who he met while away from school in the hospital. She has an eyepatch and is reserved. None of the other students seem to acknowledge her or her existence, as if they can't see her.
A rumor circulates about a previous student and a grim event. However, the other classmates are unwilling to share the details with Kouichi. He must find out how this incident is connected to his new friend. Several tragedies arise to them in the cursed class, and they must work together to solve the mystery surrounding them, though it may come at a big price.
6 Corpse Party: Tortured Souls
Heavenly Host Elementary School was closed after several serial kidnappings and murders in the area. Years later, another school is built on top of the old one. Students tell scary tales based on true stories. In the new school, nine high schoolers conduct a seemingly harmless ritual to be friends forever.
Things go wrong when they are teleported to another dimension where the murders from the previous school took place. The students are murdered in gruesome ways by the vengeful ghost of a little girl and her vengeful minions. The surviving students must escape before they befall the same fate as their friends.
5 Ghost Hunt
Taniyama Mai loves ghost stories. She investigates a spooky abandoned school building and runs into the 17-year-old president of the Shibuya Psychic Research Company Shibuya Kazuya. When she passes the building the next day, she accidentally breaks some of Shibuya Kazuya's equipment, and his assistant Lin is injured saving her.
To pay for the broken camera and to continue his work, Shibuya Kazuya has Mai be his new assistant until Lin is healed. The two solve ghost-related mysteries, investigate hauntings, and Mai learns about ghost hunting and the paranormal.
4 Ghost Stories
Satsuki Miyanoshita moves to the town where her mother died. On her first day of school, she visits an abandoned building with her brother Keiichiro, neighbor Hajime Aoyama, and students Momoko Koigakubo and Leo Kakinoki. They discover that the building is haunted and that Satsuki's mother sealed away ghosts in the town.
They find out that the ghosts are being released accidentally as the town is renovated. The group must use the book Satsuki's mother left behind to exorcise the ghosts and demons for good. If not, the monsters will take over their hometown.
3 Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun
Nene Yashiro is a student at Kamome Academy, a school known for supernatural happenings. She loves the occult and wants a boyfriend. There's an urban legend of a girl who haunts the bathroom and can grant wishes if a price is paid. Nene tries this, but the spirit is a boy named Hanako-san.
Nene finds she is spiritually bound to him. She becomes his assistant, helping him destroy evil creatures and restore the balance between the human and spirit world. As she gets closer to him though, she learns that he has a mysteriously dark past.
2 Menma Honma (Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day)
Jinta Yadomi doesn't leave his house after the death of his childhood friend Menma Honma. He's drifted apart from his friends after this event. One hot summer day, Menma sees his dead friend but thinks it's the heat making him hallucinate. However, her repeated appearance forces him to realize she is there.
Menma asks him to grant her a final wish, to help her pass on to the afterlife. Jinta must reunite with his friends and work together to grant her request. But to do this, they must relive the pain, guilt, and grief surrounding her death.
1 Spirited Away
Chihiro and her parents accidentally stumble upon an abandoned amusement park. When her parents decide to eat some food and pay later because there is no staff, they are turned into pigs. As night falls, the park morphs into a town full of gods and spirits. The evil witch Yubaba, the owner of a bathhouse, keeps all trespassers captive as workers.
Chihiro's parents are moved to the hotel's stockyard, waiting to be butchered for a meal, and Chihiro is forced to work. With the help of her new friend Haku, she must try to break the spell on her parents and escape back to their world.