In every story, deaths are inevitable. If the writer or creator feels that a certain character must be removed, readers and viewers will have no power to complain. All that we can do is cry in the corner and mourn over the loss of our favorite character.
The same goes for anime. There are moments when the creator feels the need to kill a certain character for added impact to the series or a way to boost the protagonist. But sometimes, there are just deaths that are so heartbreaking that we really can’t get over it for a long time. With this, we decided to compile the most heartbreaking anime deaths of all time based on our opinion.
Setsuko from Grave of the Fireflies
Fans of Studio Ghibli are well-aware of how amazing the studio develops dramatic and sad stories. One of the well-known movies in the same category is Grave of the Fireflies. The movie is set during World War II and it focused on Seita and Setsuko, siblings who lost their house and mother due to the bombing.
The two strived to survive together on their own, Seita is 14 and Setsuko is 4, and with their young age, it was just impossible. Oftentimes, the two were not able to eat or not even have a chance to take a bath. One day, Seita found some watermelon and decided to feed it to Setsuko, not knowing it would be her last meal before dying in her sleep. What makes her death heartbreaking was that the siblings faced a harsh reality at an early age.
Menma from Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day
The anime started with Menma being already dead. She passed away years before the start of the story. Her ghost appears before Jinta, one of Menma’s childhood friends, and asked for his help to grant her wish to pass into the afterlife.
Jinta did not believe her at first because he thought he was just hallucinating but towards the end of the anime, he decided to gather all their friends to help Menma. After all their issues have been fixed, the group wished that they could shoulder her death and helped each other to move on.
Jiraiya from Naruto
Jiraiya has been one of the influential characters in Naruto. He basically became the father figure for Naruto, other than Kakashi and Iruka. Fans did not expect that one of the legendary Sanin to be killed. To be honest, he knew he was going to die but instead of retreating, he fought.
The most heartbreaking part was he sent a code to Naruto, telling his student to never give up. He didn’t want Naruto to stop fighting no matter what obstacles he faces. Even in his death, Jiraiya proved how great he was as Naruto’s master by providing information about Pain. Though fans of the series already know that his death would mean that Naruto will become better, it was just unfortunate to see a wonderful character die.
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