10 best prison anime that you should try

Prison anime have become hugely popular backdrops in anime over the years due to their settings. Often dark, gritty, and intense, prison anime shine a light on the darker sides of human nature. They feature complex characters and storylines as the protagonists attempt to survive or break free from their confined worlds.

For anime fans looking for suspense, action, psychological themes, and surveys of morality, prison anime deliver powerful punches. The restricted settings ramp up tension, while the characters drive complex and sometimes disturbing narratives.

Many explore redemption and reform against a bleak backdrop of suffering and cruelty. Read on for a list of the top 10 prison anime series ever made. Each delivers riveting storytelling and thought-provoking themes set against stark prison backdrops guaranteed to glue viewers to the screen.

Behind bars: 10 best prison anime to watch now

1) Deadman Wonderland

This prison anime Deadman Wonderland is a dark sci-fi series set in a bizarre, sadistic prison/amusement park hybrid. After Ganta Igarashi gets framed for slaughtering his entire homeroom class, he gets sentenced to Deadman Wonderland.

The unusual prison doubles as a theme park and forces inmates to fight brutal gladiatorial battles for the public's amusement. As Ganta struggles to survive brutal prison conditions, he strives to clear his name and expose the real killer.

Strange supernatural powers tied to his traumatic past may give him the edge he needs. This edgy prison anime has it all: psychological tension, riveting action, and a descent into the darkness of the human heart. Over 12 nail-biting episodes, it will have viewers clinging to the edges of their seats.

2) Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou No Shichinin

Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin (Image via Madhouse)

This dramatic historical fiction prison anime takes a gritty look at juvenile delinquency and reform against the backdrop of a 1950s reform school. After seven troubled teenagers get sent to Shounan Special Reform School, they must band together to survive the abusive guards and horrific living conditions.

As the seven cellmates form intense bonds in the face of extreme adversity over a few years, it explores heavy themes like morality, justice, and human connection. Excellent character development and a plot that swings between brutal violence and heartfelt emotion make this a gripping, yet sometimes disturbing watch.

Fans of complex character studies set in unusual environments will find this show impactful and unforgettable. The 26 action-packed episodes offer an intense look at the best and worst of human nature.

3) Prison School

This wildly hilarious prison anime offers a different fare with its ecchi comedy setting. When five teenage boys get enrolled in a historically all-girls high school that recently became co-ed, viewers are in for loads of raunchy laughs.

Leading a crusade for more rights amidst severe oppression from the manipulative Underground Student Council, the protagonists hatch crazy schemes to stage prison breaks to avoid further punishment and prove their innocence.

Prison School mixes fan service with over-the-top ridiculousness to produce riotous results across a 12-episode run. Beneath the mature humor lies an anarchic but insightful send-up of fascism and resistance. Those who enjoy edgy comedy and don't mind extreme perversity will find this prison anime delightful.

4) Nanbaka

For those seeking a lighter, funnier prison anime set in prison halls, Nanbaka delivers endless laughs. This action comedy focuses on Juugo, a prisoner with mysterious origins who gets incarcerated in the ultimate high-tech prison.

Overflowing with sight gags, absurdist humor, and wacky characters, Nanbaka turns typical prison themes on their heads. Viewers looking for bleak, serious narratives will be sorely disappointed. This prison anime offers oodles of feel-good fun for those interested in the comedy genre.

While the advanced security, peculiar quirks, and backstories of various inmates and officers fuel the show's charm across two seasons, totaling 25 episodes, the warm camaraderie between the protagonists gives Nanbaka its emotional core.

5) Btooom!

For battle royale thrills with video game overtones, the Btooom! anime delivers tense, violent action in droves. When protagonist Ryouta Sakamoto gets transported to a deserted island along with other players of the popular online game Btooom!, they must fight to eliminate each other using only special bombs.

With stark animation and a gritty color palette reflecting the characters' dire straits, this 12-episode prison anime grabs viewers by the throat and refuses to let go. As alliances form and mutate, the show explores the lengths to which people will go to survive.

Packed with edge-of-the-seat battle scenes, psychological tension, and moral ambiguity, Btooom! is not for the faint of heart. However, it makes for an exhilarating watch.

6) Jyu-Oh-Sei: Planet of the Beast King

At 11 episodes long, this sci-fi action anime packs a powerful dystopian punch. Set on the harsh prison planet Chimaera, the plot follows Thor as he contends with deadly plants and animals while banding with other exiled convicts.

Vicious power struggles erupt in a kill-or-be-killed environment where only the strongest prevail. With fluid action animation and stellar world-building, Jyu-Oh-Sei: Planet of the Beast King offers a riveting viewing experience.

Those who enjoy "Survival of the Fittest" themes will find this anime a rare gem despite its brevity.

7) Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor

Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor (Image via Madhouse)

With an unrelentingly bleak atmosphere portrayed through a unique rotoscopic animation style, Kaiji plunges viewers into the despair and desperation of debt slavery. It follows protagonist Kaiji Itou, an impoverished young man coerced into participating in deadly high-stakes gambling competitions on ominous cruise ships.

These terrifying gambles represent the only way for Kaiji to repay his severe debts and reclaim his freedom. Relying on sheer psychology, strategic thinking, and gut instinct rather than skills or talent, he faces impossible odds across nail-biting episodes spanning two intense seasons.

Fraught with graphic violence and moral dilemmas, Kaiji paints a disturbingly grim portrait of economic ruin and the extreme measures it drives people to take. Yet, despite the merciless cruelty of Kaiji's captors, glimmers of redemption shine through even in the deepest darkness.

8) Shinsekai Yori

Also known as From The New World, this dystopian sci-fi anime takes place 1000 years into the future, where a small percentage of the population has developed psychic powers.

The plot chronicles protagonist Saki Watanabe's coming of age as she awakens to the utopian society's horrific secrets. Complex world-building and sequences of strange events culminate in the protagonists facing harsh punishments and trials, though not in traditional prison settings.

With bold themes exploring sexuality, morality, power, and human nature itself, Shinsekai Yori spans 25 eerie but profound episodes. The glacial pacing rewards patient viewers with an unforgettable viewing experience.

9) Angels of Death

When intrigue and psychological tension are called for, this dark anime series delivers grittiness in spades across 16 episodes.

The plot follows Rachel Gardner, a young girl who gets trapped with other prisoners in a sinister building. To escape, she has to traverse each floor while confronting deranged murderers armed with deadly weapons.

Despite excessive gore, an unhurried pace makes this slow-burn anime ideal for patient thriller fans. With mind games aplenty and plot twists around every dark corner, Angels of Death offers hair-raising chills set within a nightmarish prison-like environment.

10) Gantz

In this prison anime, when teenage protagonists Kei and Masaru get hit by a subway train while helping a homeless man but emerge magically unharmed, they discover themselves trapped in a room holding other recently deceased people.

Equipped with advanced weaponry, they get forced to battle monsters while an ominous black orb watches. While monster battles and expanding sci-fi elements take center stage across two seasons, the grim setting plays an instrumental role.

Characters grapple with mortality and morality while attempting to earn survival and freedom. With stunning visuals conveying hard-hitting violence, Gantz makes one final blood-drenched case for the narrative power of prison-like settings - albeit highly unusual ones.

Conclusion

Prison anime backdrops offer endless scope for gripping, impactful stories across genres from action to comedy, sci-fi to psychological thrillers.

As the above series demonstrated, confinement provides the perfect pressure cooker for interpersonal drama, battle-focused narratives, complex character studies, and observations about morality.

Whether set on a corrupt prison planet or inside the walls of a brutal reform school, prison anime engage viewers with high-stakes plots steeped in tension. Characters struggle to endure or challenge unjust incarceration, band together, break free, or simply survive.

These shows shine spotlights on resilience in the face of terrible oppression. For anime fans seeking fast-paced, psychologically intense shows that get the pulse racing, prison-based series deliver excitement and insight in equal spades.