Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS/Nightmare Fuel


 * The first episode has one of the Knights of Hanoi destroying people's avatars with his monster. While it's said that their accounts are deleted, it doesn't change the fact that people are running away in terror from the Knights of Hanoi and look to be killed. It also doesn't help that Ignis says getting hurt in Link VRAINS could affect your physical brain, causing mental damage.
 * Yusaku himself is already a walking example of this: he's very unpleasant, is a No-Nonsense Nemesis driven by rage and hatred, and treats Dueling as a means to get Revenge on the Knights of Hanoi. As some viewers noted, Yusaku is what Yuya would've become if he embraces brutality over entertainment. Even his "Reason You Suck" Speech as Playmaker, while simple, really shows how cold-hearted he is, topping the likes of Jack and Reiji in this department:
 * After Yusaku defeated the Knight of Hanoi in a duel, it tried to self-destruct in an attempt to take Yusaku with him, and would have succeeded if Ignis hadn't devoured him and destroyed his avatar then and there. The way Ignis ate the Knight is also pretty unsettling.
 * Somehow, Revolver could sense Yusaku tampering with Ignis, which leads to Yusaku running outside and somehow seeing the cyber world with Revolver coming straight for him on top of a dragon. Thankfully, turning off the power also turned off the signal, making Revolver lose sight of Ignis.
 * Some of Aoi's facial expressions in #6 are rather off-putting...
 * Everything about the last turn of the Aoi/Blue Angel Vs Yusaku/Playmaker duel in #7. After drawing "Dark Angel", the card Specter gave her last episode, Aoi goes berserk with a purple aura and starts dueling in monotone. Then she starts screaming as Yusaku sets up an OTK to save her from Hanoi's influence.


 * Episode 8
 * Yusaku finding Aoi knocked out on the rooftop after he logs out. Fridge Horror ensues when you realize that if Yusaku didn't know she was Blue Angel, she could have been up there for who knows how long.
 * Aoi being effectively brain dead due to the Knights of Hanoi placing a computer virus in her
 * Ema and Akira's trap for Playmaker causes a Barian-esque ring of spikes to apppear around the tower Ema and Playmaker are standing on. It then procedes to either log out or delete the accounts of everyone in Link VRAINS at the time.brain. And she'll never wake up again unless Playmaker beats Revolver in a Duel.
 * Akira torturing Playmaker due to thinking he caused Aoi's condition.
 * And then the Wham Shot of the episode. Revolver can control the Data Storm.
 * Revolver shows his power by reshaping link VRAINS into a volcanic battlefield.
 * 12 has Ignis attack Revolver like a wild animal in order to get his missing data back, going so as to devour Revolver's left arm. Granted, it was only his avatar, but previous episodes have mentioned that sufficient damage to one's avatar can transfer over to their physical body, and Revolver looked to be in pain as he clucthed his wounded arm.
 * We also got to see a better look at ignis in his Monster form, He has eyes resembling those from his old form on his chest. It's a bit creepy
 * 15, Ghost Girl is nearly swallowed up by the Data Storm after following Playmaker in to it, only surviving thanks to Playmaker. A grim reminder that the Data Storm's danger isn't an Informed Flaw, and that Yusaku/Playmaker risks his life every time he performs Storm Access.
 * Yusaku's past with the Hanoi project is chock full of this. Him and 5 other children were abducted and forced to duel AI constantly for survival, being painfully shocked and starved if they lost. Even years later and after therapy to attempt undoing the trauma, Yusaku's entire motivation is getting revenge on the people who committed the atrocity and make sure all the children like him were rescued. For a series that usually places its horror in supernatural elements, the more grounded and realistic child abduction and torture is a much more terrifying event than the series has ever dealt with.
 * It turns out the mastermind of the Hanoi Project died three years after the project was executed.
 * Episode #22 has Dr. Genome, who creates "Another" victims by drawing them into Link VRAINS against their will and them infecting them with a computer virus just like Blue Angel. Even worse, he does this to draw out Playmaker.
 * Episode #27 brings Naoki being kidnapped in real life by a member of the Knights of Hanoi to lure out Playmaker. It's a wonder Yusaku doesn't react worse to it, considering his reason for hunting down the Knights of Hanoi in the first place.
 * As Blue Angel is defeated by Spectre, she lands on the ground head-first. Ouch.
 * Spectre's origins as one of the children kidnapped in the Lost Incident opens up a fair bit of Fridge Horror. How else would the other individuals have been affected by it?
 * At this point, Spectre may as well be the Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant for VRAINS. Not only is he the Second in Command for the Knights of Hanoi and the cause of Aoi's berserker state, he pulls numerous Slasher Smile's that rival the likes of Vector, Sora, and Yuri, and his origins make him an Evil Counterpart to Yusaku. Whereas Yusaku has been consumed with revenge and hates what the project did to him, Spectre became twisted and joined the very cause of the Project, and is grateful for what the project did to him.
 * Speaking of Yuri, Spectre's origins are disturbingly similar to Yuri's, yet it makes Spectre even more terrifying. Both Yuri and Spectre were once gentler as children, before being exposed to a much more negative influencenote, causing them to develop a much more sadistic and twisted personality. Spectre's is more terrifying as whereas Yuri had Z-ARC's influence partially to blame, Spectre has no such influence. The Hanoi Project was that torturous.
 * Playmaker's vehemently pissed off expressions after Akira sacrifices himself are proof that you do not want to fuck with him, lest he decimate you to nothingness in rage. Spectre learns this the hard way.