10 anime worlds that would be awful to be trapped in

Numerous odd and fantastical anime worlds have wowed fans worldwide for their creativity, inventive characters, and breathtaking views and locales. Many fans have stated they'd love it if these worlds were real and could be visited, like journeying to become a Pokémon master in the Pokémon world or becoming a State Alchemist in Fullmetal Alchemist.

But then there are worlds that, if one were suddenly transported to them, they'd likely die at best. At worst, they'd either be turned into zombies, eaten alive, subject to horrifying experiments, turned inside out, or forcibly ascended into a horrifying stasis. While some of these worlds do require some thought as to the horrors therein, others have their squalid conditions on full display.

Disclaimer: The following article contains spoilers for all the anime discussed. All opinions are exclusive to the author.

10 anime worlds that would be awful to live in

1) Remnant (RWBY)

Although RWBY's anime world of Remnant is mainly shown from the eyes of awesome huntsmen and huntresses like Team RWBY, Remnant is a scary place. This is shown in the series and supplementary materials like the novels. From extreme weather, such as Atlas' cold or Vacuo's heat, to marauders, gangs, corruption, Faunus discrimination, and Atlas' brand of military fascism, there are many hostile elements before thinking about the Grimm.

The Grimm are an ever-present threat drawn to humanity by strong negative emotions. They can come in every size, from small birds to kaiju, and any number, from a lone Ursa to a pack of Beowolves. The only safe havens are within the four kingdom's borders, as being outside them for any extended period risks Grimm infestations.

The supernatural antics don't end with various demons that are attracted to negativity. Remnant's Gods are real, killed off the first version of humanity, and doomed Salem to an immortal life. Salem herself orchestrated the Fall of Beacon and Atlas in volumes 3 and 8, and the only safe place is the nearly inhospitable desert of Vacuo as of volume 9.

2) Earth: Post-Second and Third Impacts (Neon Genesis Evangelion)

The Second, and Third Impacts in NGE and Rebuild (Image via Studio Gainax and Studio Khara)

Neon Genesis Evangelion's anime world was dangerous before the start of the series. The Second Impact destroyed the ice caps, wiping island nations off the map. The resulting refugee crises and national conflicts led to millions dead and nations like India and Pakistan being wiped out due to nuclear exchanges.

The Earth's rotational axis was thrown off, meaning seasons like fall and winter were gone from areas like Japan. That's before the arrival of the giant, nigh unstoppable Angels that were capable of wiping out entire cities with ease. The Third Impact's impact and aftermath are different in both the original NGE and the Rebuild movie saga but equally devastating.

In The End of Evangelion, all of humanity is liquified into LCL except Asuka and Shinji. Though the world is devastated, with the moon bisected, humanity can live if they choose to reject Instrumentality. In Rebuild 3.0+1.0, Third Impact gets interrupted but Gendo Ikari's Fourth Impact and Additional Impact event forces Shinji to reset the world and erase all Evangelions for peace to prevail.

3) Universe 7: Future Trunks' timeline (Dragon Ball Z and Super)

Trunks’ future, Z and Super (Image via Toei Animation)

Dragon Ball's anime world isn't that horrible to live in, provided one isn't involved in the life-or-death struggle the Dragon Team constantly finds themselves in during Z and Super. Usually, if anyone gets killed, cities get destroyed, or Earth gets destroyed, it can be fixed with the Dragon Balls. For the most part, earthshaking events only happen every few years.

Then there's Future Trunks' timeline in Dragon Ball Z, an anime world where the Dragon Balls are inert due to Piccolo's death and most of humanity is dead. Following killing the future versions of Android 17 and 18, along with Cell, and stopping Majin Buu from being revived, the world was on the way to rebuilding.

Then, Zamasu and Goku Black came into the picture. The duo used their near-infinite power to wipe out the other gods and universes in their timeline, leaving Earth for last. The only way to truly eradicate the threat was to have Zeno erase that entire universe and have Future Trunks and Future Mai go into an alternate one.

4) Paradis and Marley (Attack on Titan)

Paradis and Marley in Attack on Titan (Image via Wit Studio/Studio MAPPA)

Attack on Titan's Paradis was established as an island nation for Eldians fleeing from Marleyians. Subsequently, it became Marley's dumping ground for criminals to be turned into Titans and set loose. Both nations in this anime world have their fair share of problems, even if Paradis is worse to live in.

Paradis was constantly under threat from Titan incursions even before Wall Maria was breached. The Titans themselves cannot be killed easily, resulting in bloody messes when they're around. The Church of the Walls, mercenaries like Kenny, and later Yagerists show that the Titans aren't the only problem.

The nation of Marley treats its citizens like cogs in a machine, especially Eldians who are akin to second-class citizens and suicide squads at best. Some fans have theorized that if Marley had broken the cycle of violent oppression, Eren Yeager wouldn't have triggered The Rumbling. Sadly, Attack on Titan's anime world is full of people unwilling to end fighting until it's practically too late.

5) The Looped Earth (Undead Unluck)

Undead Unluck’s Looped anime world (Image via David Production)

Time loops are stressful, if video games like In Stars and Time or anime like Summertime Rendering are any indication. Undead Unluck's anime world exists in a massive time loop, which nobody is aware of unless they're a Negator. There are several things amiss with this version of Earth, including no stars, seasons changing on a whim, and giant monsters wreaking havoc.

God makes these creatures called UMAs, or Unidentified Mysterious Animals, to impose rules upon the world. The UMA Spoil, for example, introduces the concept of organic life spoiling upon death, and its powers turn an entire town into zombies. The UMA Autumn adds Fall and uses its powers to turn people into books to read and then eat them. These rules are added automatically every three months until God destroys the world and resets the loop.

Being a Negator is much like being a mutant in X-Men, with powers manifesting at a young age. Their powers usually come with nasty drawbacks, like Tatiana's Untouchable killing her parents and her almost being sold off. Main heroine Fuko Izumo has Unluck as her power—anyone who comes into physical contact with her experiences bad luck that ranges from messing up clothing to a meteor killing them.

6) The Hole (Dorohedoro)

The Hole in Dorohedoro (Image via Studio MAPPA)

Calling a city "The Hole" doesn't inspire much confidence, and Dorohedoro proves why in spades. The anime world of The Hole is a city of non-magic users aka human beings who all live in desolation and squalor thanks to Magic Users using the Hole as their testing ground for magic.

The Hole features such "delightful" sights, such as magic rain that can sicken people instantly, restaurants like the Hungry Bug that are overrun with cockroaches. Additional sights in this anime world include the hospital that can't cure magic wounds and a department store that's little more than a flea market at best.

There's also The Night of the Living Dead, which, much like the film of the same name, has humans who died from experiments rise from their graves and crave flesh and violence like zombies. Needless to say, life in The Hole is a miserable existence.

7) Night City (Cyberpunk Edgerunners)

As thrilling of a story as Cyberpunk Edgerunners was and as cool as Night City looks, peeling back the surface reveals a cyberpunk dystopia. Night City was already bad in Cyberpunk 2077, with what V went through. Edgerunners puts more emphasis on what Night City is like for people who call this anime world home.

In short, Night City is a breeding ground for all kinds of crime. The corporations rule everything from hospital access to the police. Cybernetics are risky due to Cyberpsychosis. Even basic utilities like the Internet aren't safe since super hackers exist in the form of Netrunners and can hack any cybernetic implant and person and make them their playthings.

Blackouts are common since the power grid is under strain from various drug dens, Netrunner dens, and massive corporate offices. There are very few living animals in the city, with some having to be smuggled in. The gangs come in all kinds of colors and stripes from the machine-like Maelstrom to the cult-like Voodoo Boys.

8) Honno Town (Kill la Kill)

Honno Town in Kill la Kill (Image via Studio Trigger)

Kill la Kill's main anime world of Honnoji Academy is already hellish enough as a school where fighting is a way of life and the chances of being injured are high. When not in the academy, most people can be found in Honno Town. Life in Honno Town isn't pretty, despite Kill la Kill being over-the-top.

Honno Town is designed vertically: those of status, fame, money, and power are literally above all others and get many lavish pleasures and accommodations like express transport to school. Those on the bottom live in barely functioning ramshackle huts, which is where Mako Mankanshoku and her family make their home.

While one can attain status and renown through fighting, as shown in episode 7, this is an uphill battle due to the Elite Four being biased, the impossible No Tardies Day obstacle course, and everyone backstabbing everyone else for glory. Most people would probably avoid Kill la Kill's anime world if they had to live in Honno Town.

9) Midland/Fantasia (Berserk)

Berserk is A Song of Ice and Fire before George RR Martin put pen to paper. This anime world features many horrific elements like mercenary marauders who don't care for what they do so long as they get paid, giant monsters that roam the land, and demons that kill without mercy.

Following the Great Wave of the Astral World, tons of spirits and otherworldly creatures entered the physical world and began wreaking havoc. The only safe haven is Falconia, the new capital of Midland. Although a utopia in all but name, the city has its fair share of blemishes, like forcing apostles to fight bloodthirsty monsters.

It's not like the world was all that great before Femto caused the Great Wave that caused the world to be merged into Fantasia, given that Guts had to fight to survive since infancy. The existence of monsters and demons and places like The Abyss, where Evil dwells and souls wander for eternity, means that being trapped in Berserk's anime world would be a nightmare.

10) The zombie-infested world (High School of the Dead)

The zombie-infested High School of the Dead (Image via Studio Madhouse)

Sometimes the worst anime worlds suffer from the simplest horror scenarios—zombie apocalypses. While there are many such zombie apocalypse anime to choose from, High School of the Dead wins out for how quick and horrifying Japan's descent into chaos is portrayed.

Despite the fanservice, High School of the Dead features zombies overrunning a school quickly and violently and students turning into zombies just as fast in its first few episodes. It doesn't hold back on the gore and highlights the existence of sociopaths like Koichi Shido, who will either leave people to die or corrupt students without care.

The series also shows how bad things get when people turn on each other in a heartbeat, even well-meaning or "good" people. There are plenty of heroic moments in the series, like standing up to the aforementioned sociopath, killing the zombies to save people like the JSDF do at a mall, and getting blood and plasma to save an elderly woman. However, the constant zombie threat makes it a harsh anime world.

Despite plenty of anime worlds being wonderous, fantastical, and outright gorgeous to see unfold, this list has shown there are plenty of drawbacks even to over-the-top worlds like that of Kill la Kill. While plenty of fans would love to visit these worlds, there are always a few that have problems above and beyond humanity's cruelties toward one another.

There are plenty of anime worlds that can be safe havens or interesting to see or explore. This list is likewise not exhaustive, as there are many anime worlds torn apart by violence, bloodshed, or otherwise mystical and fantastical creatures that all crave violence. It's good to enjoy seeing these anime worlds, but being trapped in them would certainly spell death for unprepared victims.