10 anime characters with sadder backstories than Shigaraki from My Hero Academia

Anime characters usually bear a lot of emotional weight, but few of them are as tragic as Shigaraki in My Hero Academia. But some anime characters suffer even more. Their tragedy goes deeper; they lose more than just a family, identity, purpose, or hope.

These are not only sad — they are haunting. Each of these characters is an example of how suffering can mold someone. They have traumatic pasts that leave permanent scars. Here are the 10 anime characters with sadder backstories than Shigaraki.

Disclaimer: This article reflects the writer's opinion and includes spoilers from the anime/manga.

Guts, Seras, and 8 other anime characters with sadder backstories than Shigaraki from My Hero Academia

1) Guts (Berserk)

Guts is the protagonist of Berserk. He was born out of his mother's corpse. He grew up with mercenaries who abused and used him as a weapon. He was betrayed and traumatized as a child, and his only friend betrayed him by selling him to demons for power.

Guts lost all he loved in a single night. He is burdened with vengeance and survival, and his existence is a perpetual struggle against fate. This makes Guts' backstory more tragic than that of Shigaraki of My Hero Academia.

2) Seras Victoria (Hellsing Ultimate)

Seras Victoria as seen in anime (Image via Madhouse)

Seras Victoria used to be kind-hearted. Her entire unit was killed during a mission. She was kidnapped and made to witness innocent lives lost. To survive, she had to give up her humanity and was turned into a vampire, missing out on the chance of having a normal life.

The survivor's guilt torments her. She bears the burden of her past and the blood that she sheds now. Her transformation wasn't a choice—it was despair. This makes her one of the anime characters who has a traumatic past.

3) Nico Robin (One Piece)

Nico Robin as seen in anime (Image via Toei Animation)

Nico Robin is an archaeologist who was taught to read forbidden texts at a young age. Her island home was destroyed by the government. Everyone she cared about was murdered, and she spent her childhood on the run from bounty hunters and betrayal.

No place was ever safe for her. She was treated like a monster for seeking knowledge. Her only wish was to understand history, yet she paid with everything.

4) ⁠Gaara (Naruto)

Gaara as seen in anime (Image via Pierrot)

Gaara was born as a weapon. His own father hired assassins to kill him. His only trusted person, his uncle, betrayed him and told him that he was never loved. Gaara spent his childhood alone, feared by all. He could not sleep, tormented by the demon within him.

Every relationship he attempted to form was destroyed by fear and pain. He did not want to be a monster, but was forced into that role. His childhood was empty and cold. This places Gaara among the anime characters who have a sadder past than Shigaraki.

5) Crona (Soul Eater)

Crona as seen in anime (Image via Bones)

Crona is an isolated and fearful child. Since birth, they were treated as a tool, not as a human being. Their mother forced them to kill and punished them for showing kindness. Cruelty was substituted for love. They never learned how to bond with people, and all emotions were distorted into pain.

Even in the presence of people, Crona felt isolated. Their mind shattered due to rejection. Crona, unlike Shigaraki, never even got to experience or learn about love. Crona is among the anime characters who have more depressing pasts than Shigaraki.

6) Hyakkimaru (Dororo)

Hyakkimaru as seen in anime (Image via MAPPA)

Hyakkimaru was born without limbs and other organs. His father had his body parts traded to demons for power. Abandoned as an infant, he was left to perish. He was rescued by a kind doctor and received prosthetic limbs. Hyakkimaru lived his life in silence and darkness, struggling merely to live.

Each demon he slew brought back a portion of his body. He never requested this existence. His suffering began before he could even cry. Hyakkimaru is one of the anime characters with a sadder history than Shigaraki.

7) Sakata Gintoki (Ginatama)

Sakata Gintoki as seen in anime (Image via Sunrise)

Sakata Gintoki is a samurai who had previously engaged in a brutal war. He was infamous as the White Demon, and many feared him. However, behind the nickname lies a broken soul.

He lost his friends, mentors, and the mission that once defined him. The war resulted in massive emotional scars and survivor's guilt for him. He hides his pain behind smiles and jokes, and his quiet suffering runs deeper than that of Shigaraki.

8) ⁠Ray (The Promised Neverland)

Ray as seen in anime (Image via CloverWorks)

Ray is one of the smartest and most mature children raised on the farm. He had known the terrible truth about his destiny from an early age. In contrast to the others, he lived daily knowing that he and his friends were being raised to be killed. He harbored this secret for years, suffering in silence.

What's even worse is that he learned his own mother was involved. The betrayal devastated him, and he even set out to kill himself. His agony was not loud but profound. This places him among anime characters with the worst suffering.

9) Ed and Al Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)

Ed and Al Elric as seen in anime (Image via Bones)

Ed and Al Elric are two brothers who lost everything when they were young. They attempted to revive their mother through forbidden alchemy. However, it didn't work, and Ed lost his arm and leg. They were children when it occurred.

They blamed themselves and lived with guilt and pain each day. The brothers' agony resulted from love, not from hate. Their tragedy was unspoken and profound. This places them among the anime characters who have a tragic past.

10) Law (One Piece)

Law as seen in anime (Image via Toei Animation)

Law was a boy from a serene town destroyed by war and disease. He saw all that he loved slowly die, including his family. He carried bodies just to make it through each day. The trauma drove him towards revenge and hatred. And then he met someone who made him hopeful, only to see that person die as well.

His pain is constant, masked by a peaceful face. Unlike Shigaraki, Law never lost himself. He clung to his humanity. His tale is darker, more subdued, yet equally heartbreaking. Law is among the anime characters with more traumatic backstories than Shigaraki.

Final thoughts

Anime characters tend to bear heavy emotional loads, and some, such as Guts, Seras, Law, and more, have more tragic backstories than Shigaraki. Guts was born from his mother's dead body and betrayed by the people he trusted, while Seras lost her humanity to live. Law, however, suffered through the devastation of his peaceful town and the loss of all the people he loved, including the one who gave him hope.

These characters' stories of struggle, loss, and survival establish them as being even more miserable in their backstory than Shigaraki. These stories are a poignant reminder of the emotional load anime characters are capable of sustaining.