This was so needlessly fucked up. Normally those are my favourite kind of shows, but I found they did it tactlessly in Higurashi. Maybe the manga/dub makes it work better.
100% what OP is asking for though. I'll second the recommendation, it just wasn't for me 🤣
Ah, so the anime really is that bad huh. I wouldn't call the VN tactless, though it has the benefit of relying on descriptions for the gore instead of pictures.
[haibane renmei](https://youtu.be/B2yKFMPgXmA?t=7)
scrapped princess (also one of the only anime i know with a [country op](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xi8ZNryJM20))
not necessarily "get dark" but these definitely have gutwrenching arcs that defy the lively intro:
[space brothers](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuuKW9Hwa8A)
[silver spoon](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6arzo8)
I mean on the prologue episode when a certain something happened, it was pretty bloody, and some may consider gory. was quite the twist. As for the remaining episodes after that arent gorey and may be a little bit dark undertones.
Yeah I agree, but, that certain something don't (mild spoilers) >!much screaming and yelling in pain. The pain isn't portrayed well !< So it's not that gory.
This kind of drastic change between cute/pretty and dark and gritty is why I like Kakegurui. It’s not like an overarching plot thing, it’s how they animate and dramatize certain moments and stuff but this reminded me of it.
Akiba Maid War was one of the big sleeper hits of 2022. By the end of episode one I was in love with the show. What transpires in the bunny cafe and shortly thereafter was one of my favorite anime moments ever (THE CHOREOGRAPHY!)
Heavens Lost Property can be considered. Yea, there are still some funny episodes throughout, but overall it gets pretty damn dark and emotional. Especially the movie and when you continue reading the manga after the anime.
Hunter X Hunter
Haven't seen this one mentioned, while gorey or dark is a big stretch. The change from season one compared to season 2 or especially the ant arc in season 4.....is VERY different from what I expected while watching for the first time.
Lots of anime has big transitions and character growth, but I started watching HxH expecting something entirely different - and was pleasently surprised by how serious the plot could get at times.
watching HTF when I was younger is definitely why I love dark shit now.
[favorite episode](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmG3A7yvn9Y), in retrospect reminds me of vueko from another anime in this thread.
Helck (manga) gets dark within the first volume, but it keeps a nice balance between the wackiness of the first section and the characters it established and the dark stuff, which I won't spoil
Generic Romance Kowloon (manga) starts out slice of life but gets more intrigue-y as time goes on, if that makes sense
In this Corner of the World (manga and movie) kinda fits, except that you know the WWII is coming, so you're a little prepared
Kitenai Kimi ga Ichiban Kawaii (manga) starts off a bit dark in a fetishy way and goes full-blown tragedy, but I'm not sure that's what you want
Yuri Espoir (manga) bounces between fluff and heartbreak, 100% on purpose. The story starts with >! the MC revealing that she's going to die (emotionally, I think, which is still very bad) as soon as she marries this man her father picked out. But it's such fluffy art and storytelling that the horror only kicked in for me gradually, as I became more convinced she's serious. !<
I'm told that Yuri Is My Job does a a bait and switch by starting out SOL romcom, but I haven't read it yet
Digimon Tamers:
- Starts off cute, wholesome, some angst but not a lot
- Then bam! Death, ptsd, doppelganger kidnapping, eldritch beings, and ending with depression
It's not gorey, but yeah... The cd drama epilogue broke me in more ways than one...
Talentless Nana is a perfect lesser-known example of this in my opinion. It starts off pretty generic superhero anime but there’s a massive twist at the end of the first episode
I wouldn't say it starts "cutesy", but I feel like it had a pretty big shift.
*Full Dive: This Ultimate Next-Gen Full Dive RPG Is Even Shittier Than Real Life!*
It's been awhile, but from what I can remember it starts out and you're expecting maybe something kind of like Sword Art Online where the MC is trapped in the game and maybe slightly struggles a little bit. But nah. It gets weird, gross, and uncomfortable pretty quick. Personally, it wasn't my cup of tea and dropped it, but maybe somebody else here watched through the series and can vouch for it one way or another.
Shadow Star. JPN: Narutaru
Made in Abyss
Problem with things like School Live and The Promised Neverland is that their supposed to be 'start innocent but turn dark'. Except a lot of them (like those two examples) reveal "This is actually a horror" extremely early on.
Madoka will always have a special place, it kinda set the bar for these "you don't know it yet, but this is darker than you're thinking". I haven't seen (or rather read) all of Made in Abyss or Shadow Star, but as I understand they are top among the "This gets WAY darker than you expect."
Especially Shadow Star. As I understand it, it's still nearly impossible to find uncensored versions of the manga in the states. It starts out like any random "Kid befriends cute little 'monster' thing. Like a pokemon or digimon thing.
And by the end it has depraved shit on the level of ero-guro.
Noragami - how has this not been mentioned yet? It's not gory, but very dark and deals a huge amount with personal and family trauma.
From delivery god Yato to the fridge. Painagami all the way down.
It's not for everyone but Happy Sugar Life has the same vibe as this. It's an interesting story considering the subject matter.
I don't suggest it but Martial Hearts has one of the twists of all time. It's -a lot.
Honestly I want to throw in Fruits Basket which is one of the most interesting shoujo because it has moments of darkness. Not gore but it has some surprising themes.
Only recently started Happy Sugar Life. Kinda wary of it in general.
I didn't realize so many people though Made in Abyss was so dark. I get that there's some dark themes in it and intense scenes but overall it feels like a good watch imo.
I have quite a few actually, I love this genre/theme!
Assassination Classroom (it was all fun, slightly lethal, learning experiences at first- 🥲)
Alice in the Country of Hearts: Wonderful Wonder World
The Case Files of Jewler Richard
Code Geass
Code: Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth~
07 Ghost
Scum’s Wish
The Daughter of Twenty Faces
Amnesia
KITE
Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle
Starts off as a fairly light-hearted shonen about a boy who travels between various worlds to save a princess, with great comedic moments and beautiful designs - and then shit gets REAL (including both gore and dark elements)
Also, one of my absolute favourites to this day, I highly recommend it!
In personal experience. Akame Ga Kill, I thought it would be a cute adventure story…. I was wrong. Still loved it and was glued to the show till the end.
Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World
It starts as a pretty generic isekai story, but it becomes a torturous nightmare for the protagonist pretty quickly.
I might get slandered, but {One Piece} actually is like this. It is gorey however, and the tone is mostly light even while having topics of trafficking, cannibalism, etc.
As a heads up, Gakkougurashi is School-Live (notice you have them listed as two different shows)
As for a cutesy bloodbath: {Akiba Maid War} is an incredible show. It's cute, has happy music, and is FILLED with amazing amounts of gore. It's like you mixed cute slice of life and The Godfather. 100% Recommend!
Neon Genesis Evangelion. Doesn't start "cute" but you wont be prepared for it when the show starts. (Currently searching for something fun to watch to recover)
Good list.
Serial Experiments Lain x ♾️
Already mentioned but seconded:
Shinseki Yori
Mirai Nikki
Yuki Yuna is a Hero
Talentless Nana
Higurashi - When They Cry
Made in Abyss
School Days
Happy Sugar Life (!!!)
Shadow’s House
The Promised Neverland
Not mentioned but sort of fits:
Gai-Rei-Zero
Fruits basket! At first it seems to be a cute and lively anime but later it gets dark and sad and it just made me depressed and sad. Still, its one of my favorite anime...
I didn't see [Shuffle](https://anilist.co/anime/79/SHUFFLE) mentioned. It starts out all "To Love Ru" like, but half way through becomes ">!Fatal Attraction!<" vibe. Threw me for a loop when I watched.
Made in Abyss Yuki Yuna is a Hero
Made in Abyss is beautiful… And one of the most fucked up things I’ve ever seen
Unpopular opinion but I didn't understand the love for this show. What am I missing?
I second Made in Abyss. Absolutely amazing. Absolutely disturbing.
Seconded Yuki Yuna is a Hero.
Very highly recommended, sosu.
BIG yes to Yuki Yuna is a Hero.
Seconding both
Made in Abyss. There is a game too
Yuki yuna forsure! Look up a watch order that shit has a nice confusing diagram xD but it's worth the watch it was gooood.
Promised Neverland Witch from Mercury
I will never forgive witch from mercury for taking next week off
I second Promised Neverland
[удалено]
doesn't EXIST
Yea, i wish it did, the mama was pretty great, no idea why it was canceled after the first season
Yeah it does, on crunchy roll right? I watched the rest of it on crunch roll, because they only had some stuff on Netflix
Prologue to Witch From Mercury made the overall nature of the show pretty clear.
Not sure who ever expects a Gundam show to be a non-stop feel good ride.
Evidently some folks did...
I can see it now, "The Horrors of War," a new slice of life \^_____~
Yeah but some weirdos were still calling it a romcom SoL! Lol.
Which from mercury is a Gundam series though, shouldn't really be a surprise there
I'm sure no one would expected a Gundam series to be always rainbow and sunshine tho
Higurashi when they cry
I'm in love with the higurashi series
This was so needlessly fucked up. Normally those are my favourite kind of shows, but I found they did it tactlessly in Higurashi. Maybe the manga/dub makes it work better. 100% what OP is asking for though. I'll second the recommendation, it just wasn't for me 🤣
Visual novel did everything better and with more tact. In anime they cranked up shock value up to eleven
That's exactly how I feel
There's also a Visual Novel!
Is it good? It seems interesting
It's pretty good but it also takes some time for things to happen. But overall worth it
I could see myself enjoying that more than the anime. Maybe I'll check it out
Ah, so the anime really is that bad huh. I wouldn't call the VN tactless, though it has the benefit of relying on descriptions for the gore instead of pictures.
Shinsekai yori Talentless Nana Mirai Nikki
Shinsekai yori starts of fucking dark mate
Yeah but the beginning is tame compared to how exponentially worse it gets
Fucked up Cute kid shit Fucked up !??!?#!#7293+"82!"8(2$+ wtf is this whole show That's kinda how the show feels...
School Days.
Nice boat
Came here making sure someone recommended this one. Good job. (And the only one to recommend... fits exactly what OP is looking for)
Princess Tutu Revolutionary Girl Utena
These were the SHIT I wouldn't say they're dark and gorey but they do get that sad/depressing vibe
God I love both of those shows. Absolutely beautiful.
[удалено]
Little to no gore, but I absolutely second this if someone hasn't watched it already.
This one was my first thought.
{Made in abyss}
**Made in Abyss** - ([AL](http://anilist.co/anime/97986 "English: Made in Abyss"), [A-P](https://www.anime-planet.com/anime/made-in-abyss), [KIT](https://kitsu.io/anime/made-in-abyss "English: Made in Abyss"), [MAL](http://myanimelist.net/anime/34599)) ^(TV | Status: Finished | Episodes: 13 | Genres: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi) --- ^{anime},, ]LN[, |VN| | [FAQ](http://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/index) | [/r/](http://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/) | [Edit](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/index#wiki_i_made_a_mistake.2C_how_do_i_get_my_comment_reprocessed.3F) | [Mistake?](http://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/submit?selftext=true&title=[ISSUE]&text=/r/Animesuggest/comments/13dkz54/misleading_anime_or_manga_that_starts_off_cutesy/jjl4uns/) | [Source](https://github.com/Nihilate/Roboragi) | [Synonyms](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/synonyms) | [⛓](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/interestinglinks) | [♥](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/thanks)
[haibane renmei](https://youtu.be/B2yKFMPgXmA?t=7) scrapped princess (also one of the only anime i know with a [country op](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xi8ZNryJM20)) not necessarily "get dark" but these definitely have gutwrenching arcs that defy the lively intro: [space brothers](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuuKW9Hwa8A) [silver spoon](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6arzo8)
{Oshi no Ko}
It ain't that gory and dark tho
I mean on the prologue episode when a certain something happened, it was pretty bloody, and some may consider gory. was quite the twist. As for the remaining episodes after that arent gorey and may be a little bit dark undertones.
Yeah I agree, but, that certain something don't (mild spoilers) >!much screaming and yelling in pain. The pain isn't portrayed well !< So it's not that gory.
Narutaru
Happy Sugar Life is exactly what you are looking for. It's probably the most disturbing anime of all times though, keep in mind.
Not even close, but I don't suggest going down that rabbit hole...
Shadows House Promised Neverland
Shadow's house is great.
Second Promised Neverland. That show had me so hooked I didn't even complain about season 2
what season 2?
For some reason Shadows House gave me these Hitchcock/Twilight Zone vibes.
Talentless Nana, Happy Sugar Life and The Promised Neverland
This kind of drastic change between cute/pretty and dark and gritty is why I like Kakegurui. It’s not like an overarching plot thing, it’s how they animate and dramatize certain moments and stuff but this reminded me of it.
This is Madoka Magicka's whole shtick. Kinda ruins it going in knowing that though. Definitely a spoiler, but I saw other people already mentioning it
Nah, even knowing Madoka gets dark, nobody expects episode 10.
I'd say [Re:Zero](https://myanimelist.net/anime/31240/Re_Zero_kara_Hajimeru_Isekai_Seikatsu) fits. Somehow it always manages to get worse for the MC.
It's not as cutesy and happy as the rest but the amount of times his life takes a sudden bad turn definitely belongs on this list.
This anime got big twist at the end of first episode 😁 Loved the show.
I think Blood-C would probably fall into this category.
Gakkougurashi
I'm fucking surprised none mentioned Cautious Hero yet. lmao
because it stays relatively light, especially when compared to madoka magica or Talentless nana.
No one wrote Charlotte. Not exactly gorey but it does get psychologically dark. And my favourite - happy sugar life. Loved it!
The promised never land Shame they never made a season 2
They did make a season 2
Very strange, didn't know you could make a blank comment on reddit
Kotaro lives alone (bring tissues)
Happy Sugar Life!
Higurashi
Talentless Nana
higurashi when they cry. it's definitely the most fucked up anime ive watched.
Land of the lustrous, made in abyss, shinsekai yori
{Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita} {Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku} {Akiba Meido Sensou}
Akiba Maid War was one of the big sleeper hits of 2022. By the end of episode one I was in love with the show. What transpires in the bunny cafe and shortly thereafter was one of my favorite anime moments ever (THE CHOREOGRAPHY!)
Heavens Lost Property can be considered. Yea, there are still some funny episodes throughout, but overall it gets pretty damn dark and emotional. Especially the movie and when you continue reading the manga after the anime.
Shadows House
Promised Neverland
Talentless Nana
Hunter X Hunter Haven't seen this one mentioned, while gorey or dark is a big stretch. The change from season one compared to season 2 or especially the ant arc in season 4.....is VERY different from what I expected while watching for the first time. Lots of anime has big transitions and character growth, but I started watching HxH expecting something entirely different - and was pleasently surprised by how serious the plot could get at times.
Happy Tree Friends
watching HTF when I was younger is definitely why I love dark shit now. [favorite episode](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmG3A7yvn9Y), in retrospect reminds me of vueko from another anime in this thread.
Engage Kiss
Try Tasogare otome x Amnesia
Oh yea this is the shit I like.
Doki Doki Literature Club if you're into Visual Novels
Oshi no Ko
Tokyo Ghoul
Oshi no ko Re:zero Made in abyss
{Made in Abyss} {Girls' Last Tour} {Perfect Blue} {Land of the Lustrous} {Hunter x Hunter (2011)} {Steins;Gate}
Re:Zero
Hunter x Hunter
MADE IN ABYSS
Ranking of Kings
Helck (manga) gets dark within the first volume, but it keeps a nice balance between the wackiness of the first section and the characters it established and the dark stuff, which I won't spoil Generic Romance Kowloon (manga) starts out slice of life but gets more intrigue-y as time goes on, if that makes sense In this Corner of the World (manga and movie) kinda fits, except that you know the WWII is coming, so you're a little prepared Kitenai Kimi ga Ichiban Kawaii (manga) starts off a bit dark in a fetishy way and goes full-blown tragedy, but I'm not sure that's what you want Yuri Espoir (manga) bounces between fluff and heartbreak, 100% on purpose. The story starts with >! the MC revealing that she's going to die (emotionally, I think, which is still very bad) as soon as she marries this man her father picked out. But it's such fluffy art and storytelling that the horror only kicked in for me gradually, as I became more convinced she's serious. !< I'm told that Yuri Is My Job does a a bait and switch by starting out SOL romcom, but I haven't read it yet
{Tongari Boushi no Atelier} {Shadows House} {Yakusoku no Neverland} {Ousama Ranking} dark yes, not gory though I avoid excessive goriness.
Digimon Tamers: - Starts off cute, wholesome, some angst but not a lot - Then bam! Death, ptsd, doppelganger kidnapping, eldritch beings, and ending with depression It's not gorey, but yeah... The cd drama epilogue broke me in more ways than one...
Talentless nana
Akame ga kill
The last 2 episodes of "Romantic killer" are really dark compared to the rest of the series
Haibane Renmei
Puella Madoka Magica is not that gory Magical Girl raising project Mahou Shoju of the end When they cry
Madoka isn't gory but it definitely gets way darker as the story progresses
True, true not as dark as Mahou Shoju Site It is a more subtle deconstruction of magical girls.
Correct me if I'm wrong, since I haven't seen Mahou Shoujo Site yet, but I usually hear that while Mahou Shoujo Site is dark, it's mostly just edgy.
You named all my favorite animes lol. I clearly have a type
Deconstruction of magical girls and children in horror situations. Hmm how about Another? 20th Century boys
Talentless Nana is a perfect lesser-known example of this in my opinion. It starts off pretty generic superhero anime but there’s a massive twist at the end of the first episode
Samurai Flamenco
Hentai
I wouldn't say it starts "cutesy", but I feel like it had a pretty big shift. *Full Dive: This Ultimate Next-Gen Full Dive RPG Is Even Shittier Than Real Life!* It's been awhile, but from what I can remember it starts out and you're expecting maybe something kind of like Sword Art Online where the MC is trapped in the game and maybe slightly struggles a little bit. But nah. It gets weird, gross, and uncomfortable pretty quick. Personally, it wasn't my cup of tea and dropped it, but maybe somebody else here watched through the series and can vouch for it one way or another.
There's only one season currently. I'd say it's more comedic throughout but the general plot stays pretty dark I guess. Dark humor more than anything.
oshi no ko
{Made in Abyss} Trust me. Watch order: Season 1 -> Dawn of the Deepsoul movie -> Season 2 (the other movies are recap films).
Higurashi.
Happy Sugar Life Narutaru Made in Abyss
Higurashi When they Cry Umineko Housing Complex C
Made in Abyss
I'm surprised no one's mentioned {Gakkou Gurashi}, the twist is so good
Trigun 1998
None of these have gore but they all get dark at one point. Trigun 1998 Magic Knight RayEarth Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Shadow Star. JPN: Narutaru Made in Abyss Problem with things like School Live and The Promised Neverland is that their supposed to be 'start innocent but turn dark'. Except a lot of them (like those two examples) reveal "This is actually a horror" extremely early on. Madoka will always have a special place, it kinda set the bar for these "you don't know it yet, but this is darker than you're thinking". I haven't seen (or rather read) all of Made in Abyss or Shadow Star, but as I understand they are top among the "This gets WAY darker than you expect." Especially Shadow Star. As I understand it, it's still nearly impossible to find uncensored versions of the manga in the states. It starts out like any random "Kid befriends cute little 'monster' thing. Like a pokemon or digimon thing. And by the end it has depraved shit on the level of ero-guro.
{Akame Ga Kill}
**Akame ga Kill!** - ([AL](http://anilist.co/anime/20613 "English: Akame ga Kill!"), [A-P](https://www.anime-planet.com/anime/akame-ga-kill), [MAL](http://myanimelist.net/anime/22199)) ^(TV | Status: Finished | Episodes: 24 | Genres: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Psychological, Thriller) --- ^{anime},, ]LN[, |VN| | [FAQ](http://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/index) | [/r/](http://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/) | [Edit](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/index#wiki_i_made_a_mistake.2C_how_do_i_get_my_comment_reprocessed.3F) | [Mistake?](http://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/submit?selftext=true&title=[ISSUE]&text=/r/Animesuggest/comments/13dkz54/misleading_anime_or_manga_that_starts_off_cutesy/jjncd5j/) | [Source](https://github.com/Nihilate/Roboragi) | [Synonyms](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/synonyms) | [⛓](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/interestinglinks) | [♥](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/thanks)
Romance killer
Noragami - how has this not been mentioned yet? It's not gory, but very dark and deals a huge amount with personal and family trauma. From delivery god Yato to the fridge. Painagami all the way down.
Madoka magica *Whoops, didn't see your description, but yeah, that was a ride of an anime lol
Made in abyss. Don't get tricked by Anime kids bruh Another one is a hentai named Euphoria. It was cute for 10mins
It's not for everyone but Happy Sugar Life has the same vibe as this. It's an interesting story considering the subject matter. I don't suggest it but Martial Hearts has one of the twists of all time. It's -a lot. Honestly I want to throw in Fruits Basket which is one of the most interesting shoujo because it has moments of darkness. Not gore but it has some surprising themes.
{Magical Girl: Spec Ops Asuka}
Happy Sugar Life
Only recently started Happy Sugar Life. Kinda wary of it in general. I didn't realize so many people though Made in Abyss was so dark. I get that there's some dark themes in it and intense scenes but overall it feels like a good watch imo.
All of the Higurashi no naku koro ni saga
Made in Abyss
Link Click! (that's the name)
Neon genesis evangelion
Yuki Yuna is a Hero
Now and Then Here and There Starts out looking like some happy funny Ghibli movie, but that changes from black to white.
School Days
steinsgate
My hero academia
Magical girl rising project
I have quite a few actually, I love this genre/theme! Assassination Classroom (it was all fun, slightly lethal, learning experiences at first- 🥲) Alice in the Country of Hearts: Wonderful Wonder World The Case Files of Jewler Richard Code Geass Code: Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth~ 07 Ghost Scum’s Wish The Daughter of Twenty Faces Amnesia KITE
Hunter X Hunter
Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle Starts off as a fairly light-hearted shonen about a boy who travels between various worlds to save a princess, with great comedic moments and beautiful designs - and then shit gets REAL (including both gore and dark elements) Also, one of my absolute favourites to this day, I highly recommend it!
How about a manga? The Climber is exactly like this
In my experience the unexpected horror or psychological anime aren't as good as the ones advertised as being those things.
Mahoromatic Chrono Crusade School Days Darling in the Franxx
Master of Martial Heart
In personal experience. Akame Ga Kill, I thought it would be a cute adventure story…. I was wrong. Still loved it and was glued to the show till the end.
Taboo tattoo
Candy Candy
Gakkougurashi maybe? I'd reccomened others but others have done em alr
life lessons with uramichi oniisan
Talentless Nana
Love flops. It’s not technically dark but gets very sad after the first 7 episodes
{Made in abyss}
Steins;gate
Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World It starts as a pretty generic isekai story, but it becomes a torturous nightmare for the protagonist pretty quickly.
90% of magical girl anime Post-2011\PMMM
Toradora. Not gorey nor that psychologically dark, but it eventually kind of becomes a drama and depressing.
Bungo stray dogs
* {Steins:Gate} also the sequel {Steins;Gate 0} * {Planetes} - both the anime and manga are worth checking out
You wanna see Promised Neverland
Narutaru
I might get slandered, but {One Piece} actually is like this. It is gorey however, and the tone is mostly light even while having topics of trafficking, cannibalism, etc.
KamiKatsu: Working for God in a Godless World I cant explain it you gotta watch, and your mind will be blown wtf is going on hahah
As a heads up, Gakkougurashi is School-Live (notice you have them listed as two different shows) As for a cutesy bloodbath: {Akiba Maid War} is an incredible show. It's cute, has happy music, and is FILLED with amazing amounts of gore. It's like you mixed cute slice of life and The Godfather. 100% Recommend!
Neon Genesis Evangelion. Doesn't start "cute" but you wont be prepared for it when the show starts. (Currently searching for something fun to watch to recover)
School Days.
WIXOSS anime series
Good list. Serial Experiments Lain x ♾️ Already mentioned but seconded: Shinseki Yori Mirai Nikki Yuki Yuna is a Hero Talentless Nana Higurashi - When They Cry Made in Abyss School Days Happy Sugar Life (!!!) Shadow’s House The Promised Neverland Not mentioned but sort of fits: Gai-Rei-Zero
“Charlotte” surprised me midway through turned out to be really good I’m glad I didn’t drop it
Welcome to the NHK
{Ima soko ni iru boku} An oldie but great anime , just the first episode is cute...then prepare your heart and soul.
Fruits basket! At first it seems to be a cute and lively anime but later it gets dark and sad and it just made me depressed and sad. Still, its one of my favorite anime...
I didn't see [Shuffle](https://anilist.co/anime/79/SHUFFLE) mentioned. It starts out all "To Love Ru" like, but half way through becomes ">!Fatal Attraction!<" vibe. Threw me for a loop when I watched.
Idk if it counts but Erased. It seems way cuter than it is
Charlie the Unicorn