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15 heartbreaking anime that will make you cry

From Plastic Memories to Angel Beats!, these are some of the saddest and most emotional anime we've ever seen - get ready to cry.

Apparently, the creators of sad anime love make your audience cry. It seems like tons of anime are made specifically to make us cry our eyes out. From heartfelt dramas about young love, unrequited feelings, and relationship dramas to more serious stories dealing with issues like death, war, and disease, anime has found countless ways to break our hearts and make us cry.

If you are a fan heartbreaking stories, so you've come to the right place. We've got 15 great anime recommendations to give you a good cry.

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15. Plastic Memories

plastic memories is one of those shows that gives you a lively dose of reality and the fact that nothing lasts forever. The whole premise of the show is the creation of androids that are almost indistinguishable from real people.

However, the main difference is that they have a very short lifespan. They can live for a maximum of about nine years and some changes. The protagonist falls in love with one of these androids and we have to watch as he realizes that his time with her is coming to an end.

14. Violet Evergarden

Violet Evergarden is a deep and touching anime, but there are moments that will definitely make you reach for the fabrics. Most people cite this anime as one of the few that got them ruined towards the end.

Violet Evergarden, the main character, was created specifically to become a weapon against enemies. But as the war came to an end, she had to find a new purpose for her life as she recovered from her wounds. She starts working as an automatic memory doll that helps translate people's thoughts into words on paper.

13. Chrono's Crusade

This anime is about the struggles of New York after the First World War. However, this is not an easy drama. The series is actually about a demonic entity and the Magdalene Order, whose goal is to prevent demons from destroying the world.

Dealing with monstrous creatures is challenging, and the Order has seen a lot of horrific collateral damage. One of the main characters, Rosetta, still hopes that she will find somewhere among the wreckage her brother, who was taken from her by a demon.
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12. Real Tears

"Real Tears" is a fairly straightforward and straightforward romance story, but that doesn't mean that by the end of the series you won't have your eyes popping out. It follows a boy named Shinichiro Nakagami who ends up living under the same roof with a girl he has feelings for. Even the name speaks about the drama of this anime, very sad and tearful.

However, he begins to notice that at home she behaves quite differently than in other places. He wants to help her the best he can, but finds it hard to find the best way to do so while taking care of himself.
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11. Elven song

"Elven song" notorious for being extremely depressive. First off, the show has a pretty horrendous animal cruelty scene early on, so if that's something that could break your heart, you might want to stay away or find a guide to tell you what to skip.

The series is about a young girl named Lucy, who belongs to a special breed of Diclonius. She becomes the victim of a horrifying and torturous scientific experiment. She ends up escaping, killing everyone around her, and is traumatized which results in a split personality. This is one of the most controversial anime out there and definitely not for the faint of heart.
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10. Five centimeters per second

Makoto Shinkai's films are known for their stunningly beautiful graphics that set them apart from everything else. Until his last hityour name.this is by far his best film and one that strikes us the most overall – Five centimeters per second.

Film "Five centimeters per second" which tells the story of two close friends who are separated by life, talks about growing up and separation. Despite their efforts to stay connected, they continue to drift apart throughout their lives. However, their memories of each other remain, and they continue to hope to meet again despite the growing distance between them. The film gives a realistic portrayal of the natural development of life, of how people sometimes naturally diverge. The title is a reference to the speed at which cherry blossoms fall, a poetic metaphor. This is one of the saddest anime in the world that brings you to tears, if you want to watch a sad story, you are welcome.

9. Stein's Gate

ThoughSteins; gate not "classified" or "sold" as a sad anime, it still has one of the most heartbreaking arcs in all of anime. “Stein's 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 what are called D-mails. After using D-mail, Okabe and his friends discover that when you waste time, it tends to mess up. This anime is great for crying, as the level of sadness is outrageous..

Okabe has to race against the clock to save his childhood friend Mayuri and ends up watching her die over and over again. Eventually, he comes to a point where he has to choose between Mayuri and the girl whose life he saved when he sent the first D letter. The girl who helped him all along is the one he fell in love with: Makise Kurisu. Watching Okabe fail over and over again, seeing both of them become desperate in the face of insurmountable obstacles, is enough to break anyone.
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8 Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is an anime that tells one of the most harrowing stories ever told. This is the story of two young brothers who broke the laws of alchemy by trying to transmute a person in order to bring their dead mother back to life. The brothers paid a high price for their indiscretion. The younger Alphonse lost his entire body, while his brother lost a leg and then an arm, in the process of recovering his brother's soul and binding it to his armor. If you are looking for a good sad anime to watch, we recommend Fullmetal Alchemist, suitable for both guys and girls.

However, these brave and steadfast brothers refused to accept their fate and decided to find a way to get their bodies back. They believed that the Philosopher's Stone was the key, but when faced with the true nature of the stone, they had to face the moral implications of using it. And that's just the tip too. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is a rich, layered and poignant anime that tells several tragic stories that make the blood and eyes water.
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7. Tokyo 8

When Tokyo was hit by a magnitude 8.0 earthquake located 25 km underwater, two younger siblings, Mirai and Yuki, struggled to reach their parents as they were returning home from a robot exhibition in Odaiba. The children are assisted by a single mother and a motorcycle courier, Marie, on her way to her daughter and mother.

On their long and difficult journey to be reunited with their families, the trio find comfort and support in each other and become a family in their own way.Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 is a terrifying, poignant and realistic portrayal of the aftermath of a massive natural disaster, seen through the eyes of three well-portrayed characters. This is guaranteed to affect anyone. Beware, this one goes straight to the head like a ton of bricks.
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6. The shape of the voice

2016 anime film «A Silent Voice» from Kyoto Animation - an unpleasant experience, but it actually works in his favor. This movie doesn't want you to feel comfortable. He wants you to feel what the characters on screen feel and does his job meticulously."Voice Shape" is about a deaf girl named Shouko who was constantly harassed by her peers in elementary school to the point that she had to move out of school several times. It's also about Shoya, the boy who bullied Shoko and who later became the target of self-harm when he attacked his friends. A very sad anime about love, if you like to be sad, we recommend it.

In his third year of high school, Shoya, haunted by his misdeeds and regretting his past actions, decides to embark on a journey of redemption. He finds Shouko again and tries to make amends.Silent voice unsettling and heartbreaking, but also joyful and encouraging. It will take you through a rollercoaster of emotions.
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5. Angelic beats!

Angel beats! begins with a boy named Otonosahi who wakes up only to realize that he is dead. Luckily for him, a girl with a rifle named Yuri explains that he has arrived in the afterlife and that she is the leader of a name-changing front that rebels against God and fights God's handmaiden, student body president Angel, who has supernatural powers.

Angel beats!actually quite funny, to the point where it's not and you forget what laughter is. As the fight organizes and carries out various missions against the Angel, Otonashi questions the morality of their actions. Eventually, the true nature of the afterlife school is revealed, and Otonashi begins to work with Angel to understand the purpose of this uncertainty - to allow people who have experienced trauma and hardship in life to move on. Watching these characters' story unfold as they seek to shed their past-life attachments is a real tear-jerker.
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4. Your lie in April

In the anime «Your April lie" from A-1 Pictures, released in the fall of 2014, tells the story of a child prodigy and famous child musician named Kusei Arima who lost the ability to hear the sound of his own piano after the death of his mother. Two years later, Kousei meets Kaori Miyazono, a living violinist, who helps him understand that music should be played freely, rather than in the strict and structured manner his mother taught him.

The anime tells the story of Kousei's recovery when he learns that there is more to music than hitting every note perfectly (and falling in love with Kaori along the way). Unfortunately, like the anime's vibrant color palette, Kaori's cheerfulness merely masks the impending tragedy. "Your April lie" With a beautifully touching soundtrack, this is a deep and heartbreaking story about emotional trauma, overcoming loss, and moving forward. It will make anyone cry.
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3. Unseen flower

Want to cry eleven episodes in a row? Want to get the amazing ability to cry on cue when you hear the first notes of a song? If your answer is yes, we will take care of you. We still don't know the name of the flower we saw that day. (expanded name) is an original anime by 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, trying to cope with the loss of their friend Menma, who died as a child.

Five years after Menma's death, the group of friends have drifted apart, but the ghost of their long-lost friend may be enough to bring them back together. The group reunites so that Menma can finally make her wish and move on, while providing her friends with the completion 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 guilt.Anohana is an emotional, tear-jerking experience not to be missed.

2. Clannad

Clannad is an anime adaptation of Key's visual novel of the same name. This is probably the most famous sad anime. The anime consists of two seasons: 23 episodesClannad and its much more depressing sequel, the 24-episodeClannad: After Story . While the first part deals with the usual high school drama, mostly friendships and romantic relationships, the second part is a much more serious and impressive 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 how a character's entire life unfolds, instead of ending with a high school graduation or, god forbid, a couple holding hands. However, be prepared becauseClannad does not take a hit. It will break your heart and make you sob in a pool of tears. If you enjoy this experience, consider watching other anime adaptations of Key such asLittle Busters!

1 Grave of the Fireflies

"Grave of the Fireflies" is one of the most heartbreaking films you'll ever see. The film is set in the final days of World War II. It tells the story of a boy named Seita and his younger sister, Setsuko, whose lives have been devastated by a brutal war that has left them without parents or a home.

The youthful optimism of the brothers and sisters left to fend for themselves in the Japanese countryside blinds them in the face of insurmountable adversity, giving them the strength to try to face their inevitable fate."Grave of the Fireflies" is a painfully depressing, deeply beautiful and deeply touching film that will not leave anyone indifferent.