10 Most Heartbreaking Anime
There are countless of amazing Anime that have a huge impact on their audience. These anime are ones that left their viewers in an emotional wreck.
Grave of the Fireflies
Grave of the Fireflies tells a story on the horrors of war, told from the perspective of a pair of siblings in Japan during World War II. After being alone due to a terrible firebombing attack on their hometown, the kind and gentle boy Seita does his best to look after his younger sister Setsuko as they try to survive the dreadful consequences of war with no adults to guide them.
Your Lie In April
Your Lie In April explores how tragedy can come out of nowhere and how anyone can find the strength to continue living their life freely. Kousei is a piano genius who suffers from a devastating mental block after losing his mother to a terminal disease. He meets Kaori, a free-spirited violinist who helps him seize music and life again.
A Silent Voice
This heart wrenching story revolves around bullying, suicidal thoughts, and making amends all through the eyes of kids growing up and coming of age. When a young deaf girl, Shoya, joins Shoko's sixth grade class, she quickly becomes the target of his bullying. But things change after Shoko's treatment of Shoya is revealed and he becomes a social outcast. Years later the two cross paths again as Shoko tries to make amends for his cruel bullying.
One Week Friends
Yuki decides to befriend his quiet classmate Kaori, who has a problem where her memories reset every Monday. Due to this, Kaori always forgets her friends, so she gave up on friendships and resigned herself to loneliness. She was wary of Yuki at first, but then gladly accepted his friendship and worked with him to overcome her memory issue and find true happiness again.
Clannad and Clannad: After Story
Clannad is the anime adaptation of Key’s visual novel of the same name, and it's sequel Clannad: After Story is even more tragic. While the first part is about high school drama, friendships and romantic relationships, the second part is a much more serious and meaningful look at the struggles of adulthood and the importance of family.
Your Name
Your Name tackles the idea of fate from a new perspective. The film follows Mitsuha and Taki, high school students who come from average, humble lives. Mitsuha wants to live in Tokyo, but she can't afford it. Taki has a difficult time to maintain his studies while working a part-time job. The two are brought together by fate when they suddenly switch bodies. They soon realize how much their actions have an affect on each other and that nothing in their lives is truly a coincidence.
Violet Evergarden
Violet Evergarden, the main character, was raised solely to be a weapon used against enemies. However, as the war comes to a close, she had to find a new purpose for her life. After healing from her wounds, she began working as an Auto Memory Doll and her job is to help translate people's thoughts into words on paper. Many viewers were left destroyed by the way this story concluded.
Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day
This anime tells the story of a group of friends attempting to cope with the loss of their childhood friend Menma, who died when they were kids. Five years after Menma’s death, the group of friends had went their separate ways, but the ghost of their long-lost friend might just be enough to bring them back together. The group reunites so Menma can finally make her wish and move on, while at the same time providing her friends the closure they need to move on with life without her.
Plastic Memories
This anime explores a futuristic world with hints of romance that may not necessarily have a happy ending. Humans are taught to work with androids to destroy other androids that have gone rogue. The themes tackled in this story force the viewers to analyze their own life and what would happen if everything was already predetermined.
Angel Beats!
After a boy named Otonashi's death, he finds himself in the afterlife with no other memories to himself aside from his name. He is then told by the Afterlife Battlefront (the SSS) to help them battle an unusual girl named Tenshi. Although he first refused, he went onto joining the SSS while trying to put the pieces back together. Angel Beats is a heart-breaking show that explores the topics of mortality and learning to accept your past.