Sometimes, we need to watch depressingly sad anime to make sure we’re still capable of feeling emotions. In a fast-paced world where everyone struggles to keep up, we need a hard reset where we can release everything we’re feeling inside. These 10 sad anime recommendations might do the trick, but prepare to be emotionally devastated.
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Plastic Memories
Plastic Memories is an anime with a sad ending. While most people praise it for being a tearjerker, others feel that it is overrated.
At the end of the day, if you want to watch a sad anime that will make you cry, Plastic Memories is a decent watch.
The story follows Tsukasa Mizugaki, an 18-year-old man who started working for a renowned android production company after failing his college exams.
SAI Corporation developed a new android model called Giftia, which has human-like qualities but can expire after 81,920 hours.
Angel Beats
Angel Beats boasts an interesting premise unique to its genre. It is a fast-paced anime with a lot of potential, but only if it has 24 episodes.
Despite this, Angel Beats has a compelling story that will emotionally resonate with viewers without them noticing.
The anime follows Yuzuru Otonashi, a young boy who ends up in the afterlife without his memories.
As it turns out, the afterlife is set at a local high school where lost souls who have experienced trauma and hardship reside before they reincarnate.
Anohana
Almost everyone I know loves Anohana, and so I watched it. Lo and behold, there’s tears in my eyes as I watch a group of friends rekindle their lost bond in front of my screen.
While some would see Anohana as an incredibly boring anime with problematic characters, I was invested in the recurring theme of friendship between the characters, especially their melodramatic lines and dialogue.
Anohana is a tearjerker that doesn’t pull any punches; it will manipulate your feelings. It is a hit or a miss, depending on your preference.
The anime revolves around a group of six childhood friends who eventually drifted apart from each other after the death of Menma.
Years later, the ghost of Menma appeared before the recluse Jinta, asking for her wish to be granted.
Your Lie in April
I will always remember Your Lie in April for its catchy opening song, and of course, the emotional wreck I became after I finished watching it.
The month of April will never be the same, as we will always be reminded of the bond between Kousei Arima and Kaori Miyazono.
Your Lie in April follows Kousei Arima, a once-skilled pianist who lost his ability to play after suffering from a mental breakdown. Not only is he not able to hear the sound of his piano, but his hands also won’t move anymore.
Everything changed when Kousei met Kaori Miyazono, a violinist who helped him return to the music world.
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Violet Evergarden
Violet Evergarden, a beautiful anime both in visuals and premise, is one of the most recommended anime to viewers who like to take things slow.
It’s not going to be for everyone due to its slow development, but it gets better and better as the plot unfolds.
Violet Evergarden centers around Violet, a former soldier who became an Auto Memories Doll at the CH Postal Company in search of the meaning of love.
She hopes to understand the meaning of the words I love you, which her late superior, Gilbert Bougainvillea, told her before his last breath.
Will Violet ever understand love?
Wolf Children
Wolf Children is a sad anime that will make you cry until you’re dehydrated. It will hit you where it hurts and will practically make you cry the whole time.
Aside from the feels, this sad anime movie’s portrayal of real human behavior will make an impact on you. It is the kind of film that gets its message across clearly, thanks to the characters and their experiences throughout the film.
Wolf Children centers around Hana, a college student who falls in love with a werewolf. They had two children: Yuki and Ame. However, Hana’s husband died while hunting food for the children, leaving Hana to care for them alone.
Clannad After Story
Clannad After Story is an amazingly sad anime that will make you cry buckets of water.
You’ll be surprised at how much you can cry for an anime like Clannad After Story. This is the next level of sadness; it will make you go through five stages of grief, and we’re not even exaggerating.
Set several years into the future after the first season, Clannad After Story starts with Tomoya Okazaki and his life with Nagisa. After graduation, the couple married each other, and soon after, Nagisa got pregnant.
Pregnancy is hard, so Tomoya strives to support Nagisa at all costs, to the extent that he’s willing to quit his job as an electrician to be by his wife’s side. However, every love story doesn’t have a happy ending.
I Want to Eat Your Pancreas
This sad anime film will take you weeks to recover from despair and an evening of existential crisis. Be ready for I Want to Eat Your Pancreas, for it will seriously mess up your emotions.
I Want to Eat Your Pancreas tells the sad story of Haruki and Sakura and how their friendship progresses throughout the film.
Haruki is a very aloof teenager with no friends, while Sakura is an extremely popular girl at school who hides a fatal pancreatic illness.
No one knows about Sakura’s illness except Haruki. Sakura got interested in Haruki since he never showed her sympathy despite her condition.
A Silent Voice
After watching A Silent Voice, you’ll probably have tears rolling down your face. This is a sad anime film that hits hard in ways that will hurt you over and over again the more you watch it. Perhaps this is pain incarnate?
A Silent Voice revolves around Shoyo Ishida, a former bully who was ostracized by all of his friends at school after bullying his deaf classmate, Shoko Nishimiya.
This continues until high school, where Shoyo tries to take his own life after feeling alone with no plans for the future.
Thankfully, Shoyo reconnects with Nishimiya in the hopes that he can fix everything between them.
Grave of the Fireflies
One of the best, but also one of the saddest Ghibli films there is, Grave of the Fireflies follows Seita, a young boy who’s caring for his younger sister, Setsuko, amidst the declining days of World War II.
To survive, Seita and Setsuko need to rely on each other, as the consequences of war have a huge impact on their way of life.
Grave of the Fireflies is an incredibly sad anime film, so be mentally prepared. It is not recommended for the weak-hearted, as it can send you into a very depressing state.
Even so, this film has gorgeous animation, but don’t watch it on date night.
There are more sad anime out there, like To Your Eternity and Barefoot Gen, to name a few, so be on the lookout for future updates and lists!
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