15 Heartbreaking Anime That Will Make You Cry

Apparently, anime creators love making their audience cry. Tons of anime seems to be created specifically to make us bawl our eyes out. From the heartfelt dramas about young love, unrequited feelings, and relationship drama to the more serious stories that tackle issues like death, war, and illness, anime has found countless ways to break our hearts and make us weep.

If you're a fan of heart-rending stories that make you produce that salty discharge from your eyes, you've come to the right place. We have ten great anime recommendations for when you need a good cry. There are still countless other incredibly sad anime, but these are our picks.

Updated by Madison Lennon on March 7, 2020: Anime is one of the most popular mediums out there right now. People from across the globe enjoy watching it for the intricate storytelling and oftentimes, anime is even better at telling profound and moving stories than Western animation.

We decided to update the following list with some more heartbreaking anime series. If you're someone who likes it when your television shows can make you cry, then you definitely need to check out the anime we've recommended below.

15. Plastic Memories

Plastic Memories is one of those shows that gives you a bracing dose of reality and the fact that nothing lasts forever. The entire premise of the show is about the creation of androids that are almost impossible to discern from real human beings.

However, the main difference is that they have a very short finite lifespan. They can only live for a maximum of about nine years and some change. The protagonist falls in love with one of these androids and we have to watch him realize that his time with her is running out.

14. Violet Evergarden

Violet Evergarden is a profound and moving anime but there are some moments that will definitely make you reach for the tissues. Most people cite this anime as one of the few that left them destroyed by the end.

Violet Evergarden, the main character, was raised specifically to be a weapon used against enemies. But as the war comes to a close, she had to find a new purpose for her life after recovering from her wounds. She begins to work as an Auto Memory Doll, which is a job that helps translate people's thoughts into words on paper.

13. Chrono Crusade

This anime is all about the struggles of post-World War I in New York City. However, it's not a straightforward drama. The series is actually about a demonic entity and the Magdalene Order, whose goals are to stop the demons from destroying the world.

Fighting the monstrous entities isn't without its difficulties and the Order has seen plenty of horrifying collateral damages. One of the main characters, Rosette, is still hopeful that she'll find her brother somewhere in the wreckage, as he was taken from her by a demon.

12. True Tears

True Tears is a fairly uncomplicated and straightforward romance story but that doesn't mean it won't have you bawling your eyes out by the end of the series. It follows a boy named Shinichirou Nakagami who winds up living under the same roof as the girl he has feelings for.

However, he begins to notice that she acts very differently at home than she does when they're elsewhere. He is eager to help her in the best way he can but has a difficult time figuring out the best way to do that while still taking care of himself.

11. Elfen Lied

Elfen Lied is sort of infamous for being extremely depressing. For starters, the show has a rather horrific scene of animal abuse early on so if that's something that would shatter your heart, you might want to steer clear or find a guide that tells you what to skip over.

The series follows a young girl named Lucy who is a special breed called a Diclonius. She becomes the victim of a terrifying and torturous scientific experiment. She eventually escapes by killing everyone around her and gets an injury that causes her to have a split personality. It is one of the most controversial anime out there and it's definitely not for the faint of heart.

10. 5 CENTIMETERS PER SECOND

Makoto Shinkai’s films are known for their breathtakingly beautiful visuals that set them apart from pretty much everything else out there. While his latest hit Your Name. is certainly his best-made film overall the one that hits us in the feels the hardest is still 5 Centimeters Per Second.

Revolving around two close friends who are torn apart by life, 5 Centimeters Per Second is a film about growing up and growing apart. Despite their efforts to stay in touch, they keep drifting further apart as they go through life. However, their memories of each other remain and they keep hoping to meet once again, despite the growing distance between them. The film gives a realistic portrayal of the natural progression of life, of the way that people tend to naturally drift apart sometimes. The title is a reference to the speed of falling cherry blossoms, a poetic metaphor.

9. STEINS;GATE

While Steins;Gate isn’t “classified” or “marketed” as sad anime, it still has one of the most heartbreaking arcs in all of anime. Steins;Gate tells the story of Okabe Rintarou, a college student and self-proclaimed mad scientist who accidentally discovers a way to change past events, by sending so-called D-mails. After making use of the D-mails, Okabe and his friends find out that when you mess with time, it tends to mess back.

Okabe must race against the clock to save his childhood friend Mayuri, and ends up watching her die again and again. Eventually, he arrives at the point where he must choose between Mayuri and the girl whose life he saved when he sent the first D-mail. The girl who's been helping him all this time, the one he fell in love with: Makise Kurisu. Watching Okabe fail time and time again, seeing the two of them grow desperate in the face of overwhelming obstacles is enough to break anyone.

8. FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST: BROTHERHOOD

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is an anime sporting one of the most gut-wrenching stories ever told. It’s a tale about two young brothers who broke the laws of alchemy by attempting human transmutation, in order to bring their deceased mother back to life. The brothers paid a high cost for their indiscretion. The younger Alphonse lost his entire body, while his brother lost his leg and then his arm, in the process of bringing his brother's soul back and binding it to a suit of armor.

Nevertheless, these brave and tenacious brothers refused to resign themselves to their fates and set out to find a way to get their bodies back. They believed the Philosopher’s Stone to be the key, but, faced with the stone's true nature, they had to grapple with the moral implications of using it. That’s only scratching the surface, too. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is a rich, layered, and poignant anime featuring several tragic stories that will make your blood chill and eyes tear up.

7. TOKYO MAGNITUDE 8.0

When an 8.0 magnitude earthquake located 25 km under the sea hits Tokyo, two young siblings, Mirai and Yuki, found themselves struggling to reach their parents as they track their way home from a robot exhibition in Odaiba. The children are assisted by a single mother and motorcycle courier, Mari, who is making her way to her daughter and mother.

On their long and arduous journey to reunite with their families, the trio finds comfort and support in each other and become a family in their own way. Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 is a horrifying, poignant and realistic depiction of the aftermath of a huge natural disaster, as seen through the eyes of three well-portrayed characters. It's guaranteed to make an impact on anyone. Beware, this one hits right in the feels like a ton of bricks.

6. A SILENT VOICE

The 2016 anime movie A Silent Voice from Kyoto Animation is not a pleasant experience, but that actually works in its favor. This movie does not want you to feel comfortable. It wants you to feel what the characters on the screen are feeling and it does its job thoroughly. A Silent Voice is about a deaf girl named Shouko who was constantly harassed by her peers in elementary school to the point that she had to transfer schools multiple times. It’s also about Shouya, the boy who bullied Shoko and who later became the target of bullying himself when he turned on his friends.

In his third year of high school, Shouya, haunted by his wrongdoings and regretting his past actions, resolves to go on a journey of redemption. He finds Shouko again and strives to make amends. A Silent Voice is unsettling and heartbreaking, but it’s also heartwarming and hopeful. It will put you through a rollercoaster of emotions.

5. ANGEL BEATS!

Angel Beats! kicks off with a boy named Otonosahi waking up only to realizes he’s dead. Luckily for him, a rifle-carrying girl named Yuri explains that he’s arrived in the afterlife and that she is the leader of a name-changing battlefront that rebels against God and fights God's henchwoman, the student body president Angel who possesses supernatural powers.

Angel Beats! is actually pretty funny, up until the point when it isn't and you forget what laughter is. As the battlefront orchestrates and executes various missions against Angel, Otonashi questions the morality of their actions. Eventually, the true nature of the afterlife school is revealed and Otonashi begins working with Angel to realize the purpose of this limbo – allowing people who have experienced trauma and hardships in life to move on. Watching the story of these characters unfold as they strive to let go of their attachments to their past lives is a real tearjerker.

4. YOUR LIE IN APRIL

The Fall 2014 anime, Your Lie in April from A-1 Pictures, follows a piano prodigy and famous child musician named Kousei Arima, who lost the ability to hear the sound of his own piano after his mother’s death. Two years later, Kousei meets Kaori Miyazono, a lively violinist who helps him see that music should be played freely, and not in the strict, structured manner his mother taught him.

The anime addresses the story of Kousei’s recovery as he learns that there’s more to music than hitting each note perfectly (and falls in love with Kaori along the way). Unfortunately, much like the anime's bright color palette, Kaori’s cheerfulness is merely masquerading the impending tragedy. Set to a beautiful, touching soundtrack, Your Lie in April is a deep-felt and heartbreaking story that deals with emotional trauma, overcoming loss, and moving forward. It'll make anyone shed a tear.

3. ANOHANA: THE FLOWER WE SAW THAT DAY

Want to cry for eleven episodes straight? Want to gain the awesome ability to cry on cue upon hearing the first notes of a song? If your answer is yes, we've got you covered. Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day is an original anime from A-1 Pictures that aired in the spring of 2011. This eleven-episode anime tells the story of a group of childhood friends, now teenagers, attempting to cope with the loss of their friend Menma, who died when they were kids.

Five years after Menma’s death, the group of friends has drifted apart, but the ghost of their long-lost friend might just be enough to bring them together once again. The group reunites so that Menma can finally make her wish and move on, while at the same time providing her friends the closure they need to move on without her. Throughout the story, we see how Menma’s death affected each of her friends, as they come to terms with their own inability to cope and overcome their feelings of guilt. Anohana is an emotional, tearjerking experience you don’t want to miss out on.

2. CLANNAD

Clannad is the anime adaptation of Key’s visual novel of the same name. It’s probably the most well-known sad anime out there. The anime consists of two seasons: the twenty-three-episode-long Clannad and its infinitely more depressing follow-up, the twenty-four-episode-long Clannad: After Story. While the first part deals with run-of-the-mill high school drama, mostly friendships and romantic relationships, the second part is a much more serious and impactful look at the struggles of adulthood (with an emphasis on the importance of family).

It’s a rare anime that allows us to actually see the character’s whole lives play out, instead of ending with high school graduation or, god forbid, the couple holding hands. Be prepared, though, because Clannad does not pull punches. It will break your heart and leave you sobbing in a pool of tears. If you enjoy that experience, consider watching other Key anime adaptations, like Little Busters!

1. GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES

Grave of the Fireflies is one of the most heartbreaking movies you’ll ever see. Set in the final days of World War II, the film tells the story of a boy named Seita and his younger sister Setsuko, whose lives have been devastated by the cruel and brutal war that’s left them without their parents and their home.

Left to fend for themselves in the Japanese countryside, the siblings’ youthful optimism is blinding in the face of unyielding adversity, giving them the strength to attempt to resist an inevitable fate. Grave of the Fireflies is an achingly depressing, profoundly beautiful, and deeply moving film that will not leave anyone indifferent.