Tear Jerker/Anime

Some scenes in anime just know the right way to tug at your heartstrings. Yes, Sacchin... we know. It is sad, isn't it?

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The following series/franchises have their own pages:

A-H

• The otherwise Squickful yaoi manga Boys Next Door pulls out all the stops angsty past-wise, hearing one of the main characters talk about being abandoned by his mother at a carnival. ("The jester's giving away balloons!"... "Mom, is there no balloon for me because I'm a child nobody wants?") It's supposed to be his Start of Darkness more or less but comes across as perfectly horrible.

I-L

• Remi (Ie Naki Ko), which became popularized in Latin American countries in the 80s, was an unending sobfest, but standing out was the scene in which the performing monkey dies on the the snowy streets. See it here. (Audio in Spanish)
  • Remi's enormous Heroic BSOD once he learns of the death of Vitalis. Seeing Remi cry and scream "My master! He's dead! My master's dead, dead, dead!". Watch it here (it's in Spanish too)

M-P

• Mahoutsukai Sally. After spending the entire series making friends in her school, Sally is forced in the end to reveal her powers to put out a fire. Day saved... except, because people now know she's a witch, she has to wipe everyone's memory and never return.
• Osamu Tezuka's short films, despite usually not having any dialogue, frequently become this. M Mermaid is about a boy who falls in love with a mermaid that everyone says doesn't exist.
• Korean Web Toon My Young Cat And My Old Dog is made of tearjerk moments, especially considering it's at least partially true: the author does indeed have a young cat that she spared from euthanasia at the shelter she works at by pretending it was put down, then paying for its vet bills and a very, very old dog she's had since childhood ("if you were a human, you'd be my younger teenage sister, not an old grandma").

Q-T

• Ten, the series to which Akagi is a prequel, proves that author Fukumoto Nobuyuki loves bringing his characters down (see also: Kaiji). In the end volumes, Akagi (who, by this point in his life, is quite the mentor to the main characters), a terrifyingly skilled mahjong player armed with his considerable wits, unstoppable will to win, and preposterous luck develops Alzheimer's. In his early fifties. Akagi decides that this is a Fate Worse Than Death and that it's Better to Die Than Be Killed by a disease that will eventually make him into an empty shell of the man he is. So Akagi calls upon his closest friends to talk with them about his death, his life philosophies, and so on...hooked up to assisted suicide machine. The very last page of Ten is a shot of Akagi's headstone, which is covered with tributes to the legend himself and considerably damaged due to aspiring gamblers wanting a little bit of his talents.

U-Z

• Witchblade. Oh God, Witchblade. Anything involving the Child Welfare Agency taking Rihoko away after finding her real mother or Masane's body slowly breaking down due to overuse of the upgraded Witchblade qualifies.
  • Probably one of the most heartbreaking moments is in the penultimate episode where Masane eats a meal Rihoko made for her before heading off to her final battle (and almost certain death,) only to discover that she's lost her sense of taste.
• Hisae Iwaoka's One Shot "White Clouds" does it in an unusual way. Told from a dog's point of view, it narrates the life of an old couple and their dog. The grandma has passed away time ago and the old man and his dog realize that the same fate is coming closer to them. If by the end of the 16th page you haven't felt moved at least, you seriously need to start looking for your soul.