'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD/2wCEAAMDAwMDAwQEBAQFBQUFBQcHBgYHBwsICQgJCAsRCwwLCwwLEQ8SDw4PEg8bFRMTFRsfGhkaHyYiIiYwLTA+PlQBAwMDAwMDBAQEBAUFBQUFBwcGBgcHCwgJCAkICxELDAsLDAsRDxIPDg8SDxsVExMVGx8aGRofJiIiJjAtMD4+VP/AABEIAAUACgMBIgACEQEDEQH/xABgAAEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABwgQAAEDBAEFAAAAAAAAAAAAAAECAwQAERIhBQYHExQjAQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEBhEAAgMBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQIAAyEREv/aAAwDAQACEQMRAD8A2J19yDsSQ8tlKUJXEZyKb+Sy3DkMiSNgWGtVJh26izR7KZrrYf8AoEZPHEL3bTqRqlKeo6ANlRWoSqtRg8z/2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Anime is a beautiful work of art that comes in different forms and brings out different emotions. It can make viewers laugh uncontrollably, fall in love with the feeling of falling in love, send shivers down their spines, keep them awake at night or even put them to sleep, and it can also touch their souls in a way that they end up crying.
Many of the stories in anime are so profoundly moving that watching them makes someone want to cry. Stories with the most emotional pull are mostly heartbreaking, painful to witness, relatable to one's saddest memories, and brilliant works of fiction with a strong emotional hold. This article includes a compilation of such animes that are sure to bring viewers to tears.
From A Silent Voice to Colorful, a list of animes that are sure to make the fans cry
1) A Silent Voice
A Silent Voice is a moving story about a young boy haunted by his mistakes from the past.
Shouya Ishida was a wild and cruel elementary school student. Shouko Nishimiya, a deaf little girl, was transferred into his class, and Shouya and the rest of his class bullied her for fun.
However, as the bullying became unbearable for Shouko, she transferred out of school. Shouya, on the other hand, was held responsible for something that the entire class did. He used to bully her, but after Shouko, he became the victim. Throughout elementary and middle school, he was heartlessly shunned.
As time went on, he realized his mistakes, and after being humiliated and abandoned by his own friends, he fully shut himself down to the point where he stopped looking at others.
His depression and loneliness consumed him to the point where he decided to end his life after settling everything, including finding Shouko and apologizing for his mistakes.
A Silent Voice, aka The Shape of Voice, is a romantic anime film, but it is much more than that. The film delves deep into the causes of depression while also addressing some extremely sensitive issues such as suicide, bullying, isolation, and child psychology.
Every character in the story is rooted in reality and has flaws, which is why it feels so relatable. This is an anime that will make viewers fume, bawl, and smile.
2) 5 Centimeters Per Second
5 Centimeters Per Second by Makoto Shinkai is a marvelous depiction of agony and longing that follows the lives of the main character, Takaki Tohno, his relationship with Akari Shinohara, and the widening gap between them. This anime presents a more realistic view of love and relationships, in contrast to the idealized image of fairytale love and the idea of eternity.
The story depicts what happens when two people love each other but aren't meant to be together through the lives of Takaki Toono and Akari Shinohara, childhood friends who are torn apart by circumstances beyond their control.
They promise to keep in touch, and while the passage of time widens the gap between them, a string of memories stays with them as they move on with their lives.
As the plot develops, the story becomes even more complicated and devastating. The anime not only depicts extremely depressing moments, but it also explores deeper and more realistically the issues behind depression.
Everything about the film—the animation, the story, the sound design—is flawless, creating an emotional experience for viewers that feels like a trip down memory lane.
3) Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day
Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day is widely known as one of the saddest slice-of-life anime. Anohana tells the story of a group of childhood friends whose relationships crumbled after one of them died. Things started to come together after one of the group members began to see her ghost.
The group reassembles to identify what she requires in order to pass on and enter the afterlife. However, while doing so, the group deals with their inner conflicts and they confront the issues and their guilt, and all the suppressed emotions, which helps bring the broken pieces together as if the death that pushed them apart is now pulling them together.
The story has several touching moments that lead the audience towards an equally heartbreaking conclusion. The anime actively depicts the dynamics of friendship perfectly and gives the sensation of reliving memories; it also addresses pain and guilt through its incredibly beautiful animation. This is a compelling story that has the potential to move hearts.
4) Weathering With You
Weathering With You is a fantasy anime that follows Hodaka who runs away from his remote island home to Tokyo. Upon arrival, he quickly finds himself stretched to his financial and personal limits. He spends his days alone, struggling to survive.
Then one day, on a crowded street corner, Hodaka meets Hina, a bright and determined young woman with an odd and amazing power to clear the sky and stop the rain. They both take the viewers through an unforgettable journey that makes them feel all kinds of emotions.
It is an exquisitely crafted anime with some of the best visuals of recent times. As beautiful as the animation is, the story depicts a very strong and ugly side of society in which children and teenagers are repeatedly abused mentally and physically to the point where they are forced to make a life-changing decision.
5) Your Lie in April
One of the most popular anime titles that is often regarded as being the most emotional is Your Lie in April. Fans even consider it one of the saddest anime ever created in Japan.
The plot revolves around Kosei Arima, a talented pianist and musician who left everything behind after his mother died, leaving him traumatized. When he meets the free-spirited violinist Kaori Miyazono, however, he forms a bond with her and is eventually thrust back into the spotlight.
Your Lie in April addresses teenage emotions as well as the pressures that many teenagers experience from their parents and environment. Before Kaori's mother passed away, he had this experience. The story also actively explores the subject of trauma.
Every viewer will likely shed a tear or two experiencing this emotional rollercoaster that is animated so well with mesmerizing music.
6) I Want To Eat Your Pancreas
The narrative of I Want To Eat Your Pancreas centers on Haruki, an isolated high school student who discovers a tiny notebook belonging to a classmate named Sakura which leads him to learn that she had a fatal illness, but he doesn't seem to care much about her.
Haruki's reaction gets Sakura intrigued and she decides to follow him around. As the story progresses, the two gradually become closer as they spend more time together.
However, it is not a fairytale love story, and there is no happily ever after. Things get really tense as the plot takes a devastating turn. The story takes viewers on an emotional journey that is unforgettable. This is a story about love, suffering, and grief. The anime is an absolute work of art that can make viewers cry their eyes out.
7) Grave of the Fireflies
Grave of the Fireflies is one of Studio Ghibli's greatest works. It was released in 1988 and is regarded as one of the greatest animes ever made. This is a timeless classic that will always be appreciated. Grave of the Fireflies follows Seita and his sister Setsuko, two children who were left homeless because of the war.
They lose everything at the hands of war. Their mother was a bomb victim, while their father left as he was a member of the Japanese navy. Due to the bombings during the war, they lost everything as their house, school, and the place they grew up were all destroyed.
Grave of the Fireflies is an incredible experience that allows viewers to reevaluate the meaning of life. It presents a simple survival story about a kid and his sister finding shelter and food during war, yet it has such a powerful impact that it stirs something inside.
It depicts the brutality of war in its truest form and the reality that is left destroyed and reduced to ashes.
8) Erased
Erased is a supernatural mystery anime that follows Satoru Fujinuma, a character who secretly possesses a special ability that enables him to go back in time to specific events, but only in relation to critical ones.
When his mother gets killed, he goes back in time to try to solve the mystery, but instead finds himself in elementary school, just before his classmate Kayo vanished.
After traveling back in time, he was expected to put an end to a horrific series of crimes that disrupted his life many years ago. As the story progresses, it takes the viewers through some mind-blowing twists and turns that are filled with emotional trauma, grief, love, and loss.
9) Into The Forest Of Fireflies’ Light
Into The Forest Of Fireflies’ Light is a romance anime movie. It follows the story of six-year-old Hotaru Takegawa who gets lost in a forest rumored to be inhabited by spirits. There she meets Gin, a mysterious boy wearing a mask who offers to help her.
However, she soon discovers that a curse has been placed on Gin. If he is ever touched by a human being, he will vanish forever. After saving Hotaru, Gin advises her to never come back, but she does not listen to him, and over time, the two grow close despite his condition.
As the years pass, their feelings for each other intensify, and they grow extremely attached to each other. Both Hotaru and Gin begin to struggle with the boundaries that fate has placed between them.
It's heartbreaking to see how the two can't be together even though they long for each other. It is truly a mesmerizing anime to watch that can easily make someone emotional.
10) Colorful
Colorful in an anime film based on Eto Mori's novel, published in July 1998. The story focuses on the topics of sin and death. The anime is about how a sinful soul was granted the chance to rebirth as it appears in the body of a student named Makoto, who committed suicide. But the soul must discover why Makoto died and the sin committed by the soul in a previous life.
The plot becomes darker as the sinful soul goes through the journey of revealing Makoto's suffering, mental pressure, and the main reason that pushed Makoto to the point where he decided to commit suicide.
It touches on a topic that is rarely addressed in much detail: suicide. Although Colorful focuses heavily on the concept of suicide, it also expands by focusing on other closely related topics that are often ignored, such as the consequences of suicide and the mentality surrounding it. This anime is unquestionably a masterpiece that has the power to move even the most hardened hearts.
