I have a confession to make: No anime or manga has ever made me cry. EVER. I’ve watched many sad episodes and chapters that have made me choke up a little, but nothing has actually made me shed tears. And I’m a girl.
But don’t flame me until I acknowledge the eight nine series that have pushed me to the very brink of tears. I AM human, I promise. In no particular order…
(warning: MASSIVE SPOILERS. ‘Nuff said.)
1. Bleach (episodes 3 and 60 in particular)
It may seem odd that a shonen series as mainstream as this one made my lip tremble, but the stories behind two of the girls is truly heartbreaking. The part with Orihime tearfully apologizing to her older brother was sniffle-worthy for a big sibling like me. But even that wasn’t as sad as Aizen betraying Hinamori in episode 60. I mean, come on, Hinamori pretty much idolized him, he acted like he cared for her, and then he ditches her after trying to kill her. Maybe I’m biased because I can kinda relate, but I think that scene should be enough to make most girls cry.
2. Kaleido Star (episode 26)
Yes, it’s a mildly sappy series about achieving your dreams, but the heartbreaker ending was just cruel. Layla was the most dynamic character in the whole series, and Sora no longer being able to perform with her just sucked. Jeez, Gonzo’s shows are so cruel sometimes…
3. Petite Princess Yucie (episode 24)
I started watching it and almost passed it off as random cutesy crap. But when the four uber-uber-UBER-kawaii supporting characters vanished and we thought they were gone forever, I almost completely lost it. And all to save the stupid prince that Yucie fell in love with… fairy tales just suck sometimes. ;_;
4. Fullmetal Alchemist (episode 25, 49, 51, and the movie)
For all the fangirls it has, FMA can be SUCH a cruel series.The lovable Maes Hughes dies in episode 25, Edward ends up destroying his own mother in episode 49, and the end of the series left our beloved brothers worlds apart. And even though the movie brought them back together, they killed off Alphonse Heidrich! AND THE END JUST SUCKED!!! It’s as if our wonderful yaoibait Edward will never find true happiness… *sob* I want a freaking proper ending, dangit…
5. Naruto (chapters 328-330)
Shikamaru’s one of my all-time favorite anime characters, and while I wasn’t big on the rest of Team 10, Asuma’s death just sucked. He left behind Team 10, his nephew (if I remember correctly,) poor Kurenai, her unborn baby, and all of flippin’ Konoha. His death was much like Hughes’: it sent shock waves through the world he lived in. It made me wanna hug Shikamaru… ;___;
6. D.Gray-man (don’t make me list all the episodes!!!)
This series has brought me to tears countless times for some reason. The single most notable, though, was after the exorcists got completely massacred in episode 39. Komui’s struggles with the aftermath of the incident was beyond heartbreaking, and Lenalee’s reaction was no fun either. Reever’s determination to save his men in chapter 139 was almost as tragic, but I’m still mad at Hoshino-sensei for cutting that scene short. Allen and his stupid fancy Innocence can wait, dangit! >_<
7. Eureka Seven (episode 26, manga volumes 5 and 6)
Episode 23 of the anime dealt with Renton’s refusal to accept the religious discrimination that put a girl’s life in danger. His pathetically heroic efforts were heartbreaking in an unusual way; I’ve never seen anything else like it in anime. The manga, which follows a very different plot from the anime, gives a large chunk of Anemone and Dominic’s background in volume 5. While sometimes I want to slap those two, Dominic’s honesty as she almost rejects him is so sweet. Normally I loathe sappy stuff, but it makes me want them both to have a happy ending. (I have yet to read volume 6. ;_; ) I read volume 6, and the end brought tears to my eyes too. Renton and Anemone get totally ripped off after all they’ve been through. It’s not the same ending as the anime, I’m warning you right now.
8. Neon Genesis Evangelion (episode 19)
Shinji fighting Toji without even knowing it just sucked. The very end of that episode, when we didn’t know if Toji was going to live or not, just sucked. ‘Nuff said. (… I hate you, Gendo Ikari…)
EDIT: 9. Clannad (episode 9)
I agree with some blogger who say KEY twisted our arms to make us cry, but Fuuko-chan’s desperation and gratitude was so lovable. Like I said, I’m a big sibling, but I wouldn’t want my adorable sister to obsess over making my wedding nice. I walked around my house in a total daze after watching this; my brain just wouldn’t stop going ‘*sniff* FUUKO-CHAAAAAAAANNN!!!!1′ I’ll never think about weddings the same way again…
~CJ
CJ
stardragon
alexkun
Crisu
Janette
rakuen42
Dave
This is because you don’t watch Kanon or Clannad.
What about Lucky Star 22?
… oh snap, I totally forgot Clannad. XD
See, I was drafting this list in my head last night, trying to remember 2 years of otakuism right before bed… and sleep robs your mental lists, y’know? XD
So yeah. I don’t know how I forgot that….. And I never saw Lucky Star 22 somehow. I suck desu.
Lucky Star 22 was (almost) make me shed a tear…God that was really poignant moment.
Conquerer of Shamballa sucked. Sucked, sucked, sucked. I was already upset over Hughes’ death and the tragic separation of the brothers, and that didn’t help any. Not only did they get stuck in our world after all that work, but Heidrich was cruelly killed, which was just a slap in the face. The movie was well done, but it had a terrible ending. There’d better be a second season to make up for it (and put them back where they belong).
Y’know, the Elric brothers have given up so much; it seems that they’re waaaaay overdue to get something back. Whatever happened to Equivalent Exchange?!
Watch Grave of Fireflies or Higurashi No Naku Kara Ni ((Kai) = second season) (both seasons please, so you would understand it totally)
Omg I never cry about anything its just not my thing, I think soap operas suck, I mean seriously this guy at my church retreat that I knew fell off a tower (where you go off on the line into the water forgot what it was called….) and died and I was right there when it happend and heard him moan for a few minutes till the ambulance arrived an I didnt even cry… But in the past 6 months(Im sorta new with anime) or so I’ve watched two big ones to me Deathnote and Code Geass and I have to say they seriously messed with my head. I realize most anime’s are probably based atheistic view Im not sure if that is right or not that is just wht I got from watching them but Im a Christian and in my opinon I sorta think like an atheist(weird huh?) so I dont know if it had to do with the anime challenging my beliefs or with me I have a big problem with feelings of uselessness which I got alot from Deathnote and Code Geass. When I finished watching both of those I was filled with so many questions about the world it really made me think (brain overload) and when I tried to sleep I just kept thinking about them and ended up balling my eyes out because I guess of the sadness of it. I just felt so useless and how alot of the stuff in the world is completly pointless and that really screwed with me for some reason. I guess you just get a personal connection to the anime but I know most of it as far as I know is not even close to true and yet it still screws with me. I started thinking no wonder anime people are so weird (no offense but at my school there are some extreamly weird people) Is this suppose to happen with these lol? Does this kind of thinking happen with anybody else or am I just going emo cause Im just wondering if the whole messing with your head thing is part of the entertainment value because I somewhat really enjoyed it or else after Deathnote I would have never watched Code Geass it was so obvious to me it was going to mess with my head when I first watched it but it was cool and anime is very addicting =D so i watched it anyhow, but seriously does this happen to anyone else? WOW guess what Im getting rashes on my face and around my chest and back beacuse of watching Code Geass (just finished watching today) SERIOUSLY is this stuff happening to anybody else???