Kyofu Densetsu: Kaiki! Furankenshutain

Kyōfu Densetsu Kaiki! Furankenshutain (恐怖伝説・怪奇!フランケンシュタイン), called in the U.S. simply Frankenstein, is a 1981 Japanese animated television film based on Mary Shelly's novel. In this 98-minute violent, adult-oriented film, the creature was portrayed as a misunderstood monster, who only wanted to be loved.

Plot
The film centers around the life of Victor Frankenstein. After creating the monster together with his partner Zuckel, the monster attacks the assistant and falls from a cliff. Assuming the monster is dead, Victor returns to his wife and daughter. A police inspector named Bellbeau investigates some mysterious mutilations killings, and Victor is blackmailed by his former assistant, who lost an eye in his fight with the monster.

Victor grows more and more paranoid, having terrifying nightmares about his creature, believing him to be pure evil. The monster survived his fall, and stole clothes and food from the villagers, who he killed in his confusion, including Zuckel. Emilie spends time with her grandfather, a wise blind man who warned Victor about his experiments. When the monster finds his way to the grandfathers cabin, he becomes good friends with Emelie and the old man, because they can see that he only wants to be loved, and they give him the name Franken.

Victor wanted to rid himself of all the evidence of his experiments, so he decided to hunt the monster down and shoot him. From Emelie, the monster learns about god. When a fire breaks out in the woods, Emelie's mother is killed, and Franken can only rescue Emelie's grandfather. When Philip tries to shoot Franken, he is accidentally killed by the monster.

Emelie thinks Franken did it on purpose and shoots his hand, and Franken is once again alone. He seeks refuge in a church, where gazes upon the crucifix, and notices that both Christ and himself has a hole though their hands, he breaks into tears, and begs god for forgiveness. Victor believes that his creation killed his wife, he finds him the church, but Franken escapes.

The grandfather tells Emelie that's it was not Frankens fault that Philip died, and she sets out to find him. At the mountains, Inspector Bellbeau and his police force open fire on the monster. Emelie comes to his rescue, and for the first time, Franken speaks her name. Tired of a life he never wanted, the monster commits suicide by throwing himself of a cliff. Victor, driven mad by all the terror he caused, shoots himself in the chest. Inspector Bellbeau visits Franken's grave, as the red scarf Emily gave the monster blows away in the wind.

Trivia
This version has received cult-status in Sweden, where it was released on VHS.