Best Heartbreaking and Tragic Anime
Anime has a habit of making the audience cry with the help of complex emotional drama and topics like failed romance, death, war, illness, and many more. If you are a fan of anime that makes you bawl your eyes out then you are at the right place. We have listed down 15 Heartbreaking and Tragic Anime that will make you cry or downright emotional.
Let’s put on a mask of bravery and dive right into this sad yet interesting selection of stories.
15. Domestic Girlfriend
Domestic Girlfriend is a Japanese anime based on a manga written and illustrated by Kei Sasuga. The anime was produced by the studio Diomedea. The main plot of the anime revolves around a teenage boy suffering from unrequited love and the gradual progress of his life to the depths of utter despair as he found himself in a never-ending chain of love and hate.
Natsuo Fujii is the male protagonist of the anime, an ordinary high school student who gets himself tangled up in unrequited feelings as he develops his first crush on his cheerful homeroom teacher, Hina Tachibana. Although he has a kind and flexible personality Natsuo continues to fathom why he cannot acquire his lifelong desires.
He meets Rui Tachibana, one of the female protagonists of the series during a mixer party. Rui, like Natsuo, was longing to become an adult, trying to get over their lackings they end up having intercourse. However, they both part ways after an unfulfilled experience.
Upon arriving home Natsuo gets the shocking news of his father remarrying but the thing that shocked Natuo up to the spine was his new stepmother and her daughter which turn out to be Hina Tachibana and Rui Tachibana.
With this awkward situation in place, what will be Natsuo’s course of action?
Check out the anime to find out more.
The anime features quality animation and a unique plot with a bizarre premise but it can be excused with the way this anime executes complex and heartfelt emotions. The anime has 1 season and 12 episodes in total.
14. Btooom!
Btooom! is a Japanese anime based on a manga written and illustrated by Junya Inoue. The anime was produced by studio Madhouse. The main plot of the anime revolves around a NEET gamer (and Japan’s Top Player) who has been avoiding reality by immersing himself in the virtual world of this popular game called Btooom! but soon his life changes once for all as he finds himself in the worst possible situation with his life at stake.
Ryota Sakamoto is the male protagonist of the series, a good-for-nothing online gamer who has abandoned reality by dedicating himself to this popular survival game called Btooom! He is often degraded by his mother for not pursuing a real-life career.
The anime features the views of Ryoto as he prefers virtual life over reality, he even gets married to a girl, Himiko he met online in the game. However, his life takes a turn for the worse when he finds himself on a remote island, operated by a mysterious organization. A green chip is embedded in his left hand. Soon after having a clash with other people stranded on this island, Ryota realizes that this tragic game of life and death is the equivalent of his favorite game “Btooom!”. Ryoto meets a couple of allies during his dreadful survival on this remote island. The allies include Emilia Mikogami also known as Himiko and a middle-aged man Kiyoshi Taira.
With the Island filled with Btooom! players, the ultimate survival game has started. Will Ryota be able to sail through the sea of challenges for his survival without falling prey to a tragic fate?
Check out the anime to find out more.
The most interesting thing about this anime is how it deals heads on with the darkness lurking within every person while having an interesting storyline. The anime has 1 season and 12 episodes in total.
13. Sounds Of Life (Kono Oto Tomare)
Kono Oto Tomare: Sounds of Life is a romantic Japanese anime series based on a manga written and illustrated by Amyu. The anime was produced by studio Platinum Vision. The main plot of the anime revolves around the members of the “Koto Club” (a Japanese traditional instrument) and their struggle to enter the national competition and claim victory for their club.
Kudo Chika, a past delinquent who gets framed for a tragic incident. Inspired by his grandfather’s love for Koto joins the “Tokise High-School Koto Club”. He has a straightforward personality. His character undergoes a lot of development throughout the series and he becomes more mature and refined.
He meets Hozuki Satowa, the main female protagonist of the series. Satowa first displays a rude attitude towards the members of the club but she gradually becomes kind and caring. Even though Satowa is considered a Koto Prodigy, she has her own traumatic experience as being a prodigy comes with great responsibilities and restrictions which can ruin the personal affections and sentiments of a person.
Even though the club is filled with all these people with different views and worries, the thing that binds the club together is the immense love of all members towards Koto. The anime features the journey of these students as they go through the hardships of life for a better tomorrow.
The whole anime is filled with heartfelt emotions and tragic moments that will surely make someone shed tears.
Will they all be able to sail through this hectic journey to embrace the bright tomorrow?. Check out the series on Hulu, Netflix, or other streaming services to find out.
12. Karakuri Circus
Karakuri Circus is Japanese anime based on a manga written and illustrated by Kazuhiro Fujita. The anime was produced by studio VLON. The main plot of the anime revolves around a young boy who has become the owner of a big company following the death of his father and a group of people pursuing him using puppets to claim the fortune for them.
Masaru Saiga is one of the male protagonists of the series. He is a middle school student who has been running from various factions who were trying to claim the fortune inherited by Masaru following the death of his father.
He meets Narumi Kato, a young man with a solid physique and mastery of Kung-Fu. Narumi suffers from a mysterious Zonapha Syndrome which causes random seizures. He ends up protecting Masaru from the pursuers and becomes his big brother.
Eleonore Saiga, also known as Shirogane, is a woman skilled in using puppets. She helps Masaru when Narumi is gravely injured and becomes Masaru’s protector because she owes a debt to his grandfather.
The anime features the interconnected fate of these three main leads as they continue to uncover a massive tragedy about this strange syndrome (Zonapha) and the existence of puppets lurking behind the curtains of the circus.
Check out the series to find out about this underrated yet interesting anime. The anime has 1 season and 36 episodes in total.
11. Blast Of Tempest
Blast Of Tempest is a Japanese anime based on a manga written by Ken Shirodaira, Arihide Sano, and illustrated by Ren Saizaki. The anime was produced by studio Bones.
The main plot of the anime revolves around two young friends working together to help a mage on a deserted island to save the world while discovering the truth behind the death of their most beloved person in the world.
Yoshino Takigawa is one of the main protagonists of the anime, an ordinary high school student with a calm and rational personality. He becomes friends with Mahiro Fuwa because of a certain incident.
Yoshino meets Aika Fuwa, the step-sister of Mahiro Fuwa, and also becomes friends with her. Gradually Yoshino and Aika fell in love and started dating each other behind Mahiro’s back. Even though Mahiro doesn’t acknowledge it he also unknowingly develops feelings for Aika, which is the reason behind his devotion towards his step-sister.
However, a certain tragedy, the mysterious death of Aika Fuwa, causes immense grief for Mahiro and Yoshino. Mahiro decides to uncover the truth behind the death of Aika and goes on a journey while Yoshino holds back all his overflowing emotions for the sake of Aika as their relationship was a secret.
Strange supernatural phenomenon struck the world and the existence of entities known as mages became known, Mahiro comes back with magical abilities and is reunited with Yoshino to get forward in their quest to save the world while unveiling the mishap that struck their beloved one.
What will fate have in store for these two and the world? Check out the anime to find out more.
The anime has a unique mystery-oriented plot with quality animation and many heartbreaking moments. The anime has 1 season and 24 episodes in total.
10. Tada Never Falls In Love
Tada Never Falls in Love is an original Japanese anime produced by the studio Doga Kobo. The whole anime revolves around two students from different countries as they gradually become closer to each other and ultimately find themselves longing for each other.
Mitsuyoshi Tada is the main protagonist of the series who has a passion for photography. Mitsuyoshi has a kind and decent personality as he always helps others. He has a calm persona as he never lets his emotions get the best of him but the strings of fate may have decided to bring them out this time for better or worse.
He met Teresa Wagner, the main female protagonist of this anime. Teresa has an energetic personality although she can act dumb sometimes. The two of them get acquainted and to Mitsuyoshi’s surprise Teresa ends up in his class as a transfer student, as their friendship progresses Tada ends up rethinking his approach to love.
The anime features the power of sensitive emotions like love and their influence on the individual lives of people as they always tend to bring out their hidden selves and utmost desires. Will Tada who has never experienced love and Teresa a young girl from an entirely different background go against the fate that has been set for them under the magical power of love?.
Check out the series on Netflix or any other streaming site to find out. The anime has 1 season and 13 episodes in total.
09. Guilty Crown
Guilty Crown is a Japanese original anime produced by studio Production I.G. The whole anime revolves around the quest of humans fighting the apocalypse virus and trying to stop the secret organization “Daath” from destroying the earth.
Ouma Shu is an ordinary student at a high school. Shu is troubled by his past and his cowardness. He has been loathing himself for not doing something that he truly desires as he always goes with the flow of others.
He meets Inori Yuzuriha, a young frail-looking girl working for Funeral Palor (A resistance group against GHQ government organization). Inori is running from GHO with their top-secret asset Void Genome, a Biological Weapon as it was ordered by the Gai Tsutsugami (Leader Of Funeral Palor). Inori gets captured by GHQ, Shu decides to help her, and rushes to save her as she is on the verge of being killed by an Endlave (a man-made robot), Shu ends up using the power of Kings from the Void genome and saves her.
After that Shu also becomes a member of “Funeral Palor” with Inori as his partner. Will Shu and Inori be able to save the world from the apocalypse virus while unfolding the mystery behind this virus? Check out the anime to find out.
The whole anime is brilliantly written and has a well-balanced tone throughout the season. The anime has 1 season and 23 episodes in total including an OVA episode.
08. Violet Evergarden
Violet Evergarden is a Japanese anime based on a light novel written by Kana Akatsuki and illustrated by Akiki Takase. The anime was produced by the studio Kyoto Animation. The whole anime revolves around a girl who only knows how to fight in a war, deprived of emotions and feelings she is left on an emotional journey to discover herself and her past when the war is over.
Violet Evergarden is the main heroine of the series. She was a war soldier unaware of anything except fighting; she was trained to be a killing war machine. The only thing she understands instantly is the order to kill.
She meets Gilbert Bougainvillea, a major in the army who adopted and trained her. Gilbert is under constant guilt for training such a young girl about warfare and murdering but he could not help it because that was the only way to help her live independently. He named her Violet because he believed that one day she would bloom into a beautiful woman like a flower. However, at the final battle spot, Gilbert gets heavily injured and orders Violet to leave with a heartbreaking message saying: “Live… and be free. From the bottom of my heart, I love you”
After the war ended there was no sign of Gilbert, it is unknown as of the moment whether he is alive or not but to Violet her beloved major is still alive somewhere. Violet decides to learn the meaning of the final message that the Major left to her.
To learn about herself and an emotion called love, She takes a letter-writing job. These girls write letters for others and are called “Auto Memory Dolls”. Violet gets quite a character development throughout the series. She finds many friends in the postal company and learns about many things.
What will be the future of Violet and will she ever meet the major again?
Check out the anime to find out more. The whole anime has stunning animation, amazing characters, and deals with intricate emotional themes. The anime has 1 season and 14 episodes in total including 1 OVA episode.
07. Phantom: Requiem For Phantom
Phantom: Requiem For Phantom is a Japanese anime based on a video game of the same name. The anime was produced by studio Bee Train. The main plot of the anime revolves around a young tourist who gets caught in the middle of mafia warfare and ends up becoming their puppet in order to survive.
Azuma Reiji AKA Zwei is the male protagonist of the anime. He is an ordinary Japanese journalist wandering on the streets of America as a tourist. He ends up witnessing the murder of a person by an assassin. Desperate to escape, he takes refuge in a building however he eventually gets caught by the assassin of the Mafia organization known as Inferno.
The Inferno Organization brainwash him and decide to make him their most powerful and ruthless killer also known as Phantom. He meets Elen also known as Ein who trains him harshly under the orders of Scythe Master (a High-Level member of Inferno) to become a phantom.
After becoming the phantom of Inferno, Reiji is named Zwei and he starts executing people on orders from the organization. What will be the fate of these two Phantoms having no place in ordinary life?
Check out the anime to find out. The anime features the tragic life of assassins as they continue to carry out orders merely in order to survive in this corrupt world. The anime has 1 season and 26 episodes in total.
06. Dororo [2019]
Dororo is a Japanese anime based on a manga written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. The anime was produced by studio MAPPA. The main plot of the anime revolves around a boy with prosthetics who fights blood-thirsty demons to reclaim his body parts.
Hyakkimaru is the male protagonist of the anime whose father, Lord Daigo Kagemitsu made a pact with demons to grant prosperity on his dying land. The 12 demons answered his call and granted his land prosperity in exchange for the body parts of his newly born son Hyakkimaru.
The lord disposes of his child but miraculously he survives and a wandering man helps him and makes prosthetic limbs and arms for him so that he can live. After several years, Hyakkimaru is now a grown-up with amazing fighting skills with prosthetics. Hyakkirmaru starts killing demons because killing a high-grade demon grants him his lost body part.
On his journey, he meets Dororo, a young tomboy thief wandering around stealing things and selling them to make a living. Through certain incidents, Hyakkimaru saves Dororo from bullies and the two of them become friends. The two of them started traveling together.
Will Hyakkimaru and Dororo be able to sail through this corrupt world full of self-serving people while defeating demons?
Check out the anime to find more. The anime has 1 season and 24 episodes in total.
05. My Teen Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected
My Teen Romantic Comedy is Wrong As I Expected is a Japanese anime series based on a light novel written by Wataru Watari and illustrated by Ponkan8. The whole anime revolves around the two socially awkward students and their daily lives as members of “Service Club” and solving other students’ problems.
Hikigaya Hachiman is the main protagonist of the series. He has an awkward and antisocial personality due to which he sees youth as an evil thing as he lived his whole life as a loner however the gods of romcom have planned something different for him in high school.
He meets Yukinoshita Yukina, a beautiful student with top grades. She thinks highly of herself and thinks she is superior to others. This is the type of attitude that earned her the title of “Ice Queen”. Hachiman ends up enrolling in the Service Club due to pressure from his teacher. What will fate have in store for these young teenagers with personality problems? Check out the series to find out more.
The anime perfectly expresses the outburst of emotions during the teenage years of a person and how much they can influence the lives of individuals. It has many heartwarming moments to give you that emotional punch.
The anime has 3 seasons and 40 episodes in total including 2 OVA episodes.
04. Rascal Doesn’t Dream Of A Bunny Girl Senpai
Rascal doesn’t Dream Of a Bunny Girl Senpai is a Japanese anime based on a light novel written by Hajime Kamoshida and illustrated by Keiji Mizoguchi. The whole anime revolves around teenagers facing a problem in the form of “Puberty Syndrome” and their struggle to overcome these problems.
Azusagawa Sakuta is the male protagonist of the series. Sakuta has a sarcastic personality with a lack of social skills. One day he meets a girl named Sakurajima Mai wandering around in a bunny girl outfit at a library. Sakuta learns that Sakurajima Mai is suffering from “Puberty Syndrome”. Sakuta helps her in recovering from puberty syndrome as he has also been a victim of this strange disease.
Throughout the anime, Sakuta ends up helping more girls who also suffer from puberty syndrome and Sakuto has no choice but to help them in order to live a peaceful life. Will Sakuta be able to sail through daily life filled with madness generated from puberty syndrome?
Check out the anime to find more. The anime has 1 season and 13 episodes in total.
03. Darling in the Franxx
Darling in the Franxx is an original Japanese anime produced by studio A-1 Pictures. The main plot of the anime revolves around humanity living in plantations and fighting Klaxosaurs (Biological weapons created by a distant species) by using Franxx (Man-made armed robots).
Hiro is the male protagonist of the anime also known as Code-016 who has been living with different children to learn and train how to pilot a Franxx. At first, Hiro displays great compatibility with the Franxx but after an unprecedented incident, he loses his ability to pilot Franxx.
During this harsh time, he meets Zero Two also known as Code-002, an elite class Franxx pilot with a dark history. Through various events, Hiro ends up piloting a Franxx with Zero Two, and to his surprise, he was able to pilot the Franxx quite perfectly. After this incident Zero Two and Hiro get partnered together to fight the Klaxosaurs.
The anime features complex emotions alongside a meticulously crafted mystery-oriented storyline. It has many heartbreaking moments and even some tragic elements to keep the stakes high.
Will the fateful meeting between Zero Two and Hiro be able to change things for good? Check out the anime to find more. The anime has 1 season and 24 episodes in total.
02. The Rising Of The Shield Hero
The Rising Of the Shield Hero is a Japanese anime based on a light novel written by Aneko Yusagi and illustrated by Seira Minami. The anime was produced by studio Kinema Citrus. The whole anime revolves around four humans summoned to another world as “four cardinal heroes” to save the world from the chaos brought by “Waves”
Naofumi Iwatani is the main protagonist of the anime. He is an ordinary human studying in university until he gets summoned to another world as a “Shield Hero” to fight against the waves. Shield Hero is considered a useless figure due to his inability to attack properly. Because of the resentment of people and the King towards Naofumi, they betray him and he end-ups losing all his pride, wealth, and almost everything.
Naofumi’s personality becomes twisted and self-preserving due to tragic events; they corrupt him. He starts his journey to survive in this world. He meets Raphtalia, a demi-human slave. Naofumi bought her from the merchant and starts taking care of her while training her to survive in this cruel world. Eventually, Raphtalia becomes mature, and to pay for Naofumi’s kindness and help, She decides to become Shield Hero’s sword to protect him and this world from the waves. Will Naofumi rise from the depths of this toxic world to redeem his lost self?
Check out the anime to find more. The anime has pretty good animation and storyline. The sarcastic and twisted personality of the protagonist is a major aspect of the popularity of this anime.
The anime has 1 season and 25 episodes in total while the second season is on its way.
01. Terror in Resonance
Terror in Resonance is an original Japanese anime produced by the studio MAPPA. The anime revolves around two boys declaring themselves as terrorists, conveying a message to the arrogant world while burying down their tragic truth.
Nine and Twelve are the main protagonists of the series. They were childhood friends and a part of a project called “The Athena Plan” whose goal was to educate children with unique abilities but sadly that was just a cover in reality it was mere cruelty.
Nine and Twelve start making online videos with the name “Sphinx” expressed as a “Terrorist Group” to convey a message about their undeniable existence in the world. Twelve meets Lisa Mishima, who is dealing with depression and anxiety, Twelve helps her out and they become closer. We can not discuss the plot in too much detail as it might ruin the experience for you.
Terror in Resonance deals with many mature themes. It has a very well-written story full of mystery, heartbreak, and betrayal. If you do not have a very strong heart then you might not be able to hold back your tears.
Will the world answer the call of these two young men of unknown origin as they continue to aware the arrogant world of this disgusting side of humanity? Check out this underrated yet masterpiece anime to find more. The anime has 1 season and 11 episodes in total.
Thank you for reading!
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