10 Most Heartbreaking Moments In Anime

The world of anime has an amazing amount of emotional material that can absolutely crush even the hardest fans, and heartbreak from a depressing anime can be a long and drawn-out process. Sometimes it’s the happier anime that lead unsuspecting fans into inner turmoil with plot twists that thrive on the contrast their upbeat stories bring to the tragedy.

No story is complete without fans experiencing the pain rooted deep within the human experience, and these ten anime moments don’t disappoint.

10 Mob Psycho 100

Mob Psycho 100 is an amazing anime where the main protagonist’s growth doesn’t come in the form of greater fighting power. Rather, it comes in the form of something a bit closer to home for fans, that being emotional growth. Mob is so overpowered that he has locked his emotions deep inside so as to not lose control of his powers and accidentally hurt someone. So, in season 2 of the anime, Mob has been making some great progress towards unlocking those emotions, and every fan is excited and rooting for him.

Tragically, both of his parents are burned alive, and the episode ends as Mob finds out and completely loses control. It’s the type of episode that shoves a dagger right in the soft spot of your heart—but viewers may find some comfort in the events of the following episode.

9 One Piece

One Piece is an anime that is built on the power of friendship and family. Every fan knows that everything is going to turn out okay if Luffy tries his best and is supported by the people around him.

So, when Luffy’s brother, Ace, is captured by the World Government, fans knew Luffy would rescue him—and he does! Luffy saves the day right before Akainu shoves a lava fist right through Ace’s gut while he’s protecting Luffy, and the surprise is completely heartbreaking, especially when you see Luffy’s later reaction.

8 Code Geass

Leloche, the main protagonist of Code Geass, sacrifices just about everything important to him to change the world for the better. His love interests, his morals, and even the sanctity of his relationship with his sister are sacrificed for him to finally becoming the ruler of the entire world. So, when he is almost immediately assassinated by a character of his own creation, Zero, fans are devastated.

Lelouche sacrifices the very last thing he can, his life, in order to accomplish his goals, and, the entire time, fans were hoping it was a trick. It was one of the most enthralling character arcs in the Code Geass series, but fans wished it could have ended any other way.

7 Blood Blockade Battlefront

Blood Blockade Battlefront is a fast-paced anime that has an art style and storyline that fit perfectly with the setting, a demon-infested New York City. The anime tends to be very blunt and in your face, so, when Leo meets White and some of her first words to Leo are to tell him she’s a ghost, fans have a pretty good idea what’s going to happen. But, as Leo and White get closer and closer, hope buds in fans’ hearts.

As fans learn about White’s past, that hope is lassoed and more deeply implanted in our minds. Then, in the final episode of season 1, we see Leo overcoming his pain and working so hard to do what only he can do, but White still “dies.”

6 Angel Beats

Angel Beats starts out as a very light-hearted and amusing anime that is fun to watch despite the darker sort of setting. Thus, when the anime takes a turn towards the depressing side, the contrast is crippling. By the end, fans are yearning for a return to the light-hearted and happy.

Yet, at the end of the series, Otonashi confesses his feelings for Angel, wanting to stay in the Afterlife and help her complete her duty, and is subsequently turned down as she moves on due to finally being able to thank her heart donator, Otonashi. It hurts.

5 Chrono Crusade

Chrono Crusade is an old-school anime that is just amazingly depressing throughout the majority of the series. Yet, the ending is what absolutely crushes fans. The two main protagonists, Chrono and Rosette, end up saving the day, but it’s at the cost of literally everything important to them, including each other, as well as Rosette’s driving reason for even entering into a pact with Chrono.

Add all that to a tear-jerkingly beautiful death scene with Rosette laying her head against Chrono as they silently pass away, and you end up with fans who still tear up while thinking about the ending a decade later.

4 Demon Slayer Kimetsu

Demon Slayer Kimetsu features tons of fantastic arcs, and the series is strewn with heartbreaking moments. When Tanjiro loses his family, it hurts. When we realize ghosts of his master’s past students have been helping him train, it hurts. When Nezuko is being tortured in front of the Hashira, it hurts.

Yet, the anime never lets up as it piles on the hardships. In the latest installment of the anime, which comes in the form of a movie, Tanjiro is forced to abandon his family in a very realistic dream only to be put back in that dream to have them emotionally torture Tanjiro, and it just drives that dagger in a little deeper.

3 Trigun

Trigun is another old-school anime that follows Vash The Stampede, a seemingly immortal being who just so happens to be the nicest guy ever. Throughout the anime, he adamantly upholds his vow never to kill another living being and works his way out of some amazingly difficult situations to do so. Y

As the anime rushes towards its climax, Vash is finally put in a situation where he has no choice but to kill the bad guy in order to save his friends, and it completely crushes Vash and fans alike. Some people are just too good to deserve such heartache.

2 Elfen Lied

Elfen Lied is a gloomy, gory, and surprisingly cute anime that provides viewers with many opportunities for heartbreak. While fans can see the main protagonist’s tragic story coming from a mile away, the side stories are what truly tug at our heartstrings. If a father deciding to sacrifice himself with his daughter after being reunited after years apart doesn’t break your heart, nothing will.

1 Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood has retained its place as one of the best anime of all time, and it’s easy to understand why. This story has a perfect mix of intrigue, action, romance, and comedy with hopeful and heartbreaking moments woven in between. The most heartbreaking moment in the anime has to have been the death of one of the greatest side characters of all time, amplified by the guilt of the two main protagonists he was trying to help.

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