Top 10 Saddest Moments in Anime
Anime has a way of hitting you right in the heart. One minute, you're enjoying an epic battle, a heartwarming friendship, or a lighthearted joke. The next, you're sitting there, staring at the screen, questioning your life choices as tears stream down your face. Some moments in anime aren't just sad, they're downright devastating. These scenes leave you emotionally drained, struggling to process what just happened, and sometimes even hesitant to continue watching.You know the ones. The gut-wrenching farewells, the shocking betrayals, the sacrifices that didn't have to happen but did anyway. The moments that made you put the show on pause just to gather yourself. Some of them are tragic because you saw them coming and still couldn't prepare. Others hit you out of nowhere, leaving you in disbelief. No matter the cause, these scenes stay with you, making you appreciate the characters, their journeys, and the stories they told.
Now it's time to vote. Which anime moments made you cry, shout at the screen, or sit in stunned silence? Upvote the ones that wrecked you the most and add any that deserve a spot on this list of heartbreak.
The funeral was what really killed me. Elicia crying... and even Mustang cries, possibly the only time in the series he's cried. Dear God, this series isn't kind to small children. Nina got turned into a chimera and killed, Elicia's dad died, Winry's parents died when she was little... the list goes on. Poor Hughes. I honestly can't think of any dads in FMA who were genuinely kind to their kids and managed to survive to the end.
This was one of the saddest deaths. The funeral brought me to tears, especially Elicia's reaction. The way he died was horrible too. Why, ENVY, WHY?! It was bad enough you were killing him, but you also had to look like his wife to do so.
Homura Akemi: I'll do it over, no matter how many times it takes. I'll relive it over and over again. I will find a way out. The one path that will save you from this destiny of despair. Madoka, my one and only friend. I don't care because if it's for you, I'll stay trapped in this endless maze forever.
This moment was so sad. Homura's perseverance has amazed me and also made me cry. She is truly a strong character to live through those events, and I love how she gave everything up just to save her best friend. She showed me to never give up. Her story is just so inspiring for me.
Koro-Sensei's death wasn't just an "Ah, he's dead, let's cry, then forget about it by the end of the episode" kind of death. His death was dragged out for the whole episode (and the whole chapter for the manga), and they crammed everything they could into those 22 minutes to make it as sad as possible.
It was his birthday. He had just made peace with his enemy. He had just done roll call. The other teachers called him Koro-Sensei for the first time. They showed a bunch of scenes where they were having fun with Koro-Sensei. Then he died, and it's kind of odd to say it was beautiful. He floated into the sky as glowing particles that swirled around the moon. Seeing the whole class crying their eyes dry made it even sadder and made you feel like crying along with them. Koro-Sensei impacted every single one of the students' lives in big, if not major ways. He brought the light forward in every student. And now, he is reunited with his lost love.
The anime is tragic, but the manga is worse. So much worse.
This made me cry almost as much as Pip's death and the last lines.
I have watched both Clannad and Clannad: After Story multiple times. I will not lie, this scene is one of the most heartbreaking scenes I have ever seen. I literally just got done watching this episode about five minutes ago. My heart is broken, and I cried. Not going to lie, I even knew that this was going to happen, and it still got to me. This anime is hands down one of the best anime I have ever seen. This scene specifically is one of the most heartbreaking scenes ever! My feels, man, my feels.
If you've seen Clannad: After Story (which hopefully you have if you're reading this), this is a no-brainer. After Nagisa dies giving birth to Ushio, Tomoya finally reconciles with his child after leaving her for five years. And then, when everything cools down...
Clannad and Clannad: After Story are unbelievable. Not only are they hands down the saddest anime in recent memory, but they are also certainly some of the best.
The revived Itachi disappearing.
And that line:
"For once, I want him to call me elder brother."
This moment broke my heart when the story was told about his truth. I respect you, Itachi.
If this isn't heart-wrenching, I don't know what is.
Two deaths stand out the most in Fullmetal Alchemist: Maes Hughes and Nina Tucker.
Hughes was such a lovable character, a real family man, and a great friend who died way too soon. Envy, disguised as his wife, killed him.
Nina Tucker had it worse. She was just a little girl who ended up becoming part of her crazy father's sick and twisted experiment. What's worse is there was no way to return her to normal. Her death was more of a mercy killing because Scar knew she could never go back to normal and would be forced to live the rest of her life as a lab experiment.
One of the saddest childhoods you'll ever see. The girl is made fun of because she has horns. This is supposed to show how society persecutes people for random reasons (e.g., white people enslaving blacks). She makes friends with a dog, and her bullies kill the dog just because they hate her that much. I don't want to give too much more away, but it is a good anime, and if you really want to be depressed, read the manga. It will make you cry harder than Angel Beats.
Rather than making me cry, it made me want to go outside, randomly pick fights with people, and beat them up. Is that a bad thing?
The Newcomers
It was painful. Episode 17 was so devastating because of what just happened to Chelsea. She was beautiful.
This moment was so sad.
Luffy losing his friends and watching them disappear one by one was heartbreaking. They were his crew, his family. Losing them within less than a year of meeting them, and yet having such strong bonds with them, was so hard to watch.
Nothing could be more tragic than being pulled from the ones you love without cause, only to satisfy the ambitions of selfish men. To wait for countless days and nights alone, stricken with grief. To wait solemnly for death to take you into the darkness.
But wait. A light shines before you, promising freedom and revenge. You take its word without regard for the destruction that lies ahead. But not all is as it seems, so you find, as your saving grace becomes your prison.
When you have your final opportunity to deal the same cruelty back onto those wretched men, there couldn't be a more defeating thing in the world than knowing, deep down, that once all is said and done, you cannot reap the benefits of what you sow. You will die or lose control to the monster that feeds your hate, confined to a mind that no longer belongs to you.
I already knew the twist before I watched Madoka, but this scene really got to me. The way that Sayaka could go from a hopeful idealist to a despairing nihilist is absolutely heart-wrenching. Additionally, the music and animation really drive the sadness home.
I'm gonna be honest, I didn't really care for Sayaka as a character. Sorry.
I was a HUGE One Piece fan! I started when the manga first came out. Luffy and Ace were my favorite characters of all time. They were also the first anime characters that I got attached to. The love and respect that these two shared was something so amazing and beautiful. I cried for days, and I know this is going to sound pathetic, but after Ace's death, I couldn't read or watch the series. To this day, I find it difficult to watch any One Piece episodes knowing that Ace is gone. Looking at my plushies and action figures of Ace makes me sad.
I cried so much when Kousei was desperately begging for Kaori to stay with him. The music was also so intense and somehow sad for me. One of the saddest anime moments, in my opinion.
Episode 22, in general, was the saddest scene I've ever seen. And for the first time ever, I actually dropped tears.
I was sad when L died too. Man, I have to tell you, I cried. L is still my favorite ever in Death Note.
I was all for Light until this point. I was depressed when L died, and I couldn't help but be happy when Light died.
This showed you just how sad you could feel for someone who had you guessing up to the very end.
By far the best moment in Dragon Ball Z. Cell was about to explode and take the entire world with him, so Goku did the only thing he could think of. He sent himself to King Kai's planet to get rid of Cell and save the Earth.
Knowing Goku can never be brought back, he saved the entire world. But he was there to defeat Cell once and for all. It's this moment that makes the Cell saga my favorite saga in Dragon Ball Z.
I cried for this... for a while. Every time I watch it, it is still the saddest moment ever.
I start crying uncontrollably when he said, Gohan, take care of your mom.
I finished Angel Beats yesterday. I'll let you know I only cried about this for like 30 minutes (I'm proud, by the way). I'm crying again, dang it!
What sets this apart for me is that I still tear up about this, which is unusual because normally I cry once, like at these moments: SPOILERS, by the way - Menma's disappearance - Anohana, Nagisa's death - Clannad AS, all other disappearances in Angel Beats, Yuuki's death - Sword Art Online II (Mother's Rosario), Taiga leaves - Toradora, etc.
Anyway, this has to be the saddest, yet strangely fulfilling, moment in anime that I have ever witnessed. This moment ensured Angel Beats's place on my top ten anime of all time.
This is such a beautifully sad and happy anime. This episode was so sad. He finally let go. It was a big step in this anime.
Saddest thing ever. Just, no question. I haven't really cried about anything for a long time, but this made me cry so much. I felt alive. This proved to me I am not soulless.
Every time I watch this scene, it reminds me of the movie Stand By Me, at the end where Gordie and all his friends go their separate ways.
I am a huge Pokémon fan. This is even sadder than Bye Bye Butterfree and the first movie put together.
They were together for so long, and then all of a sudden, they go their separate ways.
Flashback to me crying and hugging my dog while watching this.
This is the one I was looking for. I have not seen a sadder episode in any cartoon or manga. A very powerful scene. I thought Vegeta's sacrifice was the saddest until I watched this.
This was very heartbreaking.
I literally bawled my eyes out. This was the absolute saddest scene I've ever seen in any form of media, Eastern or Western.
By far the best emotional scene I have ever seen!
Okay, I get that Kanade is the main character and whatnot, but seriously!? Kanade's disappearance (touching and meaningful, but a bit too sudden with no buildup) is in the top 10, but Yui's is nowhere to be found... Come on, people. She couldn't move a muscle in the real world, so even with her tiny, fragile, delicate body she tries her absolute best and squeezes out every ounce of strength in her feeble body in the Afterlife to attempt to do the things she couldn't dream of in the real world.
Then she is proposed the ultimate dream of happiness, so bright and colorful that she could envision it in the Afterlife. Yui's death was without a doubt the saddest moment in all anime for me, and it should be near the top for any anime lover as well.
This is the saddest story of all animes. He was made a monster even before he was born. He's been all alone, hated, feared, and unwanted during his childhood and more. He didn't have any friends. I don't believe any anime character has suffered as much as he has.
Gaara is my favorite character. When I heard how bad his past was, I cried.