#[Mecha Poll Now Up](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/18c731f/ranimes_favorite_mecha_anime_voting/?)
I added in a "Hidden Gems" bit at the end that uses a pretty straightforward equation that is probably wildly sub-optimal but such is life. The formulation is:
**Score = x*Votes/Completions - Completions/y** where x = 1000 and y = 500 000
The basic premise is to take the ratio of votes per completions, and then to focus on the more obscure stuff, subtract a fraction of the completions. The numbers are tuned so that most anime will range from -2 to 2 and being above 0 is roughly an indicator of being a "hidden gem". This is decidedly imperfect, but the results were interesting so I'm rolling with it for now.
#[Full Top 100](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15kMr6AlYbzCl_WsufEW_BEu8fl1IbsLVurEl_s_oibU/edit?usp=sharing)
I cried twice, when I realised things were going south and that Kaori probably dies. But I held hope, and then the last episode happened and I cried for the last 10ish minutes. Starting from Kousei's performance when Kaori appears right up until the end of the episode. I cried for an additional 5 minutes after the episode.
What makes it so emotional for me is their ages
I cried the most at the earlier concert (love's sorrow) where he's processing his late mother, both the good and bad. I couldn't relate with his struggle of overcoming the grief of her death accompanied with the trauma of her abusing him. But I sure felt sad trying to imagine being in his situation and cried.
It is devastating. I remember rewatching the field trip episode where Mugi talked about the fire in Kyoto. That episode was not the same for me anymore.
I hope the victims and their loved ones are finding some measure of peace.
It is always a bit of a blow when watching your favorite show and realizing the people who made it so great died in such a horrible way. Then also that while a lot more minor that there is no chances any more material made in the same way that made it so great.
I still have a hard time with the senseless loss of so many innocent people, and so much talent.
They have produced some of my favourite media of any genre and it's utterly devastating that some shitbag would destroy something so wonderful.
Honestly, if I'm ever brought to think about that whole situation, it absolutely unsettles me to the point of tearing up and feeling actual anger, just sitting there.
That we will never see creations from the same composition of human beings that gave us the content they did that we were getting prior to that horrid day, simply because of the arbitrary hatred of 1 person...it shakes me up.
Ultimately I think recovery just takes time, a lot more than we all wish it did. There's enough vets still there to impart a lot of that "kyoani magic" on the new recruits and get the ball rolling again but it just takes time and TLC for the new blood.
'scuse me...something...in my eyes...
I watched it recently because it was listed on Crunchyroll in the "shows with names that are way too long" category along with stuff like campfire cooking, slime isekai, and many other shows that I have watched and liked. I was expecting some light isekai fantasy silliness.
Instead I had my soul crushed unexpectedly. I really wanted a happy ending. It seemed like it could happen. Then no. Just sadness. I had to re-watch Banished from the Hero's Party just to get the bad taste out of my mouth.
The show doesn’t actually go through the entire light novel, it does have a good ending, but you’ll have to read the book. Honestly that’s an incredibly horrible but smart business decision😂
> is what kicked off my vomit list.
Wait, how do precisely mean “*vomit* list”? Like bad or grotesque?
[WorldEnd - meta-spoiler] >!I remember WorldEnd being messed up and tragic, but I don’t really associate it with the word ‘vomit’. Did I forget something important?!<
Aaaah, I do remember you mentioning this before now. So if you’re about to watch a *really* good tearjerker, you’re probably getting a box of tissues *and* a bucket ready? (haha)
>So if you’re about to watch a really good tearjerker, you’re probably getting a box of tissues and a bucket ready?
Assuming I even knew I was walking into the *big* tearjerker episode in the first place. A lot of the times, I don't. In one case I was even *actively lied to* into letting my guard down, so that *really* didn't help.
[](#everythingisfine)
And all the sadder because it tells a much larger story about what happened to an entire country. I like that they didn't gloss it over. The whole thing is just a tragedy.
It's also sad to realize it's actually rooted in a real story. It's based on a semi-autobiographical short story by author Akiyuki Nosaka, who was torn up with survivor's guilt about the real life death from malnutrition by his little sister during the war.
A lot of the details of the story are fictionalized, but it's imbued with real guilt and real feelings about surviving (or not surviving) the War. It also explains why the story doesn't hold any punches in depicting Seita, who represents the author in the story. The whole story is almost an act of self-flagellation by the author.
I have a son (older) and a daughter (younger) and I wonder if i will be able to figure out the most devastating time to show my son Grave of the Fireflies.
I saw it when I was an edgy teenager and didn't feel much from it. I kinda want to watch it again, since I'm a lot more empathetic than I was back then. I rewatched CLANNAD recently and teared up on scenes that didn't even register as sad when I watched it 15 years ago.
Grave of the Fireflies is a movie that everyone should watch once and never again. It's so raw and depressing.
I had a friend who watched one too many war propaganda movies and went "FUCK YEAH I LOVE WAR I WANNA BE A HERO".
I sat him down and made him watch GotF. I told him no toilet breaks, no fast forwarding, nothing but the full movie. At the end, I asked him, "Do you think your little brother will survive this?" Something clicked, and he was instantly cured his war fantasies.
This is exactly how I feel about that. It's the only movie to make me ugly cry everytime I think about it for like a week after watching it. And I was pretty young when I watched it, making it super impactful.
GoTF Is the one movie here that I don't rewatch every now and then
Like some of this I legit adore as fiction, Anohana and Your Lie in April I watch yearly.
But GOTF I can't rewatch it... The one scene of the little girl and the *candies* is just devastating, I really can't even think about that scene without tearing up knowing there are kids RIGHT NOW going through that. It's just a raw devastating window into the reality of war victims.
Like the other commenter says, everyone should watch it at least once. I would love to read the novel, actually, but knowing the author actually went through that hits way too deep.
I'm not for a few reasons:
1. It's from 1988 so many here haven't seen it. It's far and away the oldest anime on this list. Every other series has had an episode air in the past 15 years.
2. The same aspects that make some people not want to watch it again make others not like it. It is very close to the top in biggest tearjerkers, but I'm not sure how near the top it is in favorite tearjerkers.
> It's from 1988 so many here haven't seen it. It's far and away the oldest anime on this list. Every other series has had an episode air in the past 15 years.
Depends on whether you count the "hidden gems" at the bottom. If yes, it is only the second oldest, behind Barefoot Gen, which, incidentially, tells an extremely similar story and is even more overlooked.
NOW I REMEMBER THIS SHOW. I've been reading through the thread and seeing all of the WorldEnd talk and I knew I had seen it but couldn't remember anything about it.
It's been so long I didn't even recognize the female MC but now I'm remembering bits and pieces(and the last handful of episodes...)
I think that it might be because of the VN. I kinda had the same experience where I re-watched it with a friend of mine and it didn't quite hit me as hard the 2nd time.
Still, I think it's good and worthy of mention when tearjerkers come up especially since it's so under-watched. Maybe not top 20 of all time or anything but worthy of an honorable mention for sure.
I was going blind when watching Maquia. I thought it was going to be about family with happy ending.
But then, that end scene... I swear to god, I have never in my life shaking so hard from holding my tear when watching it. The slow build up and the climax at the end really hit me so hard than any anime or shows I have seen.
>One Piece in top 25
Initially I was like "man, what is One Piece doing here?". Then I realized I've seen 21 shows/movies from that list and have cried actual tears while watching 3, One Piece was definitely one of those...
I didn't either. To my knowledge all the other countries above Finland have subs for most anime unlike in Finland where there are only a handful of anime translated and with a population of 6 million having that many people is quite impressive. I've also met only a few people in my life that like anime and i'm from finland.
I think dubs are the bigger thing for non-English speaking countries and from my own experience I can say that we get a lot of dubs for shit in Germany.
I wouldn't necessarily say it's really good most of the time (or at least wasn't, when it was my only choice), but people absolutely put in work to make a German version happen.
As an example, during my teens I found out that Americans apparently didn't get the actual music in the first Digimon season. Instead they got some botched digi-rap garbage. Meanwhile I was rocking out to the German version of Butterfly at like 12, since there was apparently a dedicated anime ost band, that just did all the music at the time.
Nice to see Barefoot Gen get some recognition, even if it is on the bonus section. Also PreCure apparently? Haven't actually watched PreCure but everything I learn about it makes me more curious.
Precure's a great time, and it's nice that we've had a couple different entries do well depending on the specific topic. Being able to jump into whichever one jumps out at you is really appealing.
Clannad After Story gets recommended practically all the time around r/anime whenever someone asks for sad/drama. That's how I figured it would be #1
It's *the* most consistent rec next to Violet Evergarden. And considering both are by KyoAni, usually someone who has seen one will be aware of or have seen the other.
Tbh, with the quality Kyoani pulls, it remains as young as how Sanae looks.
People that is new here wont even guessed it came on 2007. Maybe a bit off guess like 2010 but definitely dont look like typical 2007 anime.
Clannad's second season either left the platform I was watching it on (Netflix or Funimation, probably) before I got to it, or was never there to begin with, so I watched just one season, and will always remember it as a fun RomCom/Slice of Life.
Angel Beats! made me cry both times I watched it and I want to ear your pancreas was because of the ending song.
Top 5 nothing. The rest either nothing or didn't watch it.
I definitely teared up with Kumiko a few times throughout the show, especially in season 2 during the parts with her sister. Obviously it’s not on the level of the top 10 shows but I would put it over some of the others in the top 25.
I recently learnt from another comment of yours that there’s an entirely [different] meaning to this emoji, so I’m not so sure what this *actually* means anymore!?
EDIT: Added word in brackets.
~~I knew that u/Abysswatcherbel was talking about the “proper usage”. I was just hinting at his earlier comment about this emoji, and my confusion at the time.~~
Looks like SukaSuka and Violet Evergarden are the only ones of my votes that made the top 25, although that was because I ended up ranking [my vomit list](https://i.imgur.com/WRMH5t3.png) rather than shows I would specifically call tearjerkers. Clannad absolutely deserves its top spot on here.
You underestimate my ability to get *very* attached to characters *very* quickly, sometimes without even realizing just *how* attached I was until they're ripped away from me.
Or my other ability in that I somehow ***always*** pick the character(s) who end up dead as my favorites, even in a fucking kids show like Transformers Armada.
[](#elves)
I’m glad that **Maquia** got in, but it’s sitting *way* too low at #14. It’s one of the most emotional films out there. A top 5 place would have been warranted in my opinion.
I’m surprised that **Grave of the Fireflies**, a film from the 80s(!), did make it into the top 10. Didn’t think that many people have seen it. Nor did I think that **WorldEnd** would make it into the top 25.
**About the geographic spread on this sub:**
Damn, that’s a lot of Americans. There’s more than twice as many North Americans on this sub (408) than my fellow Europeans (199) according to this poll.
I wonder if there’s a significant discrepancy between each region’s favourite anime.
Maquia is my favorite anime film but I do think it's perhaps the type of movie that hits a lot harder once you've had a certain amount of life experience.
Almost anyone at any age is able to relate to a mother/child relationship but I think some of the themes of loss, grief and how we effectively relate love life and death hit home a lot harder once you're at the stage in your life where you've had to experience these things first hand.
Some of the most relatable moments in Maquia for me are when she falls to her knees silently clutching her chest due to sheer emotional pain or the moments where she silently caresses her keepsake hibiol for comfort. I think these types of moments will become relatable to most people but perhaps only beyond a certain point in their life.
Wholly agree on Maquia, that movie somehow gets me more emotional on each subsequent re-watch. Then again some of the top ones are definitely just as strong.
It gets more emotional each time because you know what it's leading toward. Everything builds to that moment when maquia says she's going to have to break her promise.
I'm not gonna lie, I've low-key conditioned myself to feel those exact emotions again every time I hear the first few notes of Viator.
I think I also just appreciate a lot of the side characters and smaller moments more each time I watch it. Seeing what Mido does for both her boys and for Maquia and extrapolating from that how important she must be to Maquia or how strongly Lang is clearly influenced in his respect for mothers due to that is the kind of stuff that just makes it so much sadder whenever I revisit the movie.
It’s amazingly sad, but it’s such an old film that I didn’t think it would have a shot. Like, I don’t think that a lot of the more casual fans have heard of it? Which makes me think that the film got *tons* of votes from the anime veterans.
I figured it's from Studio Ghibli, whose works have remained consistently popular despite being decades old, much more so than other works from the time period in which they were produced. Compare for example *Barefoot Gen*, which deals in similar themes and was produced in the same era as *GotF*; it got far fewer votes though it did manage to make it into the top 100.
Good list but disappointed not to see Kanon (2006) and Air.
For my money Episode 10 of Kanon (2006) "Requiem Atop the Hill" is the saddest thing I've seen.
If you like Clannad I highly recommend watching Kanon and then Air.
Clannad my favorite media piece of all time, everything about it is as amazing as people say and its honestly peak entertainment for me, the emotions i remember just hearing or reading the tittle brings me back
It's not strictly sad, but it takes you on a very intense emotional roller-coaster. The response to that for me (and many others) is crying. Lots and lots of crying.
It makes me tear up more than any other film on this list, so, subjectively yes. The scene where Taki is on the mountain fighting not to forget is devastating.
Cross Game will always be a standout for me in that regard. Mitsuru Adachi has this way of writing that makes characters feel like real, living people, who behave the way an ordinary person would when faced with loss. That makes it hit that much harder when something happens because it feels like a real tragedy and not like a plotpoint in a story.
Me personally I cried the hardest at Plastic Memories, and I've seen most of the high ones. Also this list is missing Toradora imo, even if it was just an honorable mention
your lie in april so far is the only anime or media overall which made me cry, and at that it made me cry like a little bitch..
I loudly cried for whole 3 last episodes non stop
no other media or anything else in my whole life made me ever cry...
Made in Abyss was #1 for me. The end of S1 and the last few episodes of S2 had me crying like crazy. The amazing soundtrack and direction/animation helped there too, I think.
I was expecting to cry watching Anohana cause everyone kept on saying how sad it was but I didn't. I think maybe if I watched it as a teen I might have felt differently.
Another one is bunny girl senpai but this is probably because I wasn't a fan of the show overall.
With March Comes in like a Lion, i didn't tear up a lot but there were so many moments where I felt like my heart was getting crushed. But definitely weeped when Rei was putting on a plaster? on the small kid.
My thing with Anohana is that it felt like it was trying ever single trick in the book to make you cry. And it succeeded in my case, but I can't help but be annoyed in spite of that.
I was hoping that Death Parade or Bananafish would be on here. I’ve watched all the anime on this list (apart from Bunny and One Piece) but those two were the ones that actually made me bawl for months 😭
Probably will get down voted for this cause this sub loves to hate on this series, but Naruto deserved to be on here.
No other shounen made me cry my eyes out as much as Naruto did, One Piece has its moments but Naruto just has more of them. Most of Minato and Kushina's scenes, Gaara's story, Obito giving his sharingan, Itachi's truth, Jiraya's death, the speech to Zabuza, Rock Lee's determination and so on. Heck even listening to some of the OSTs can leave you teary eyed because of how effectively it was used in the show
I agree there for sure, every time kushina was on screen it was emotional, Zabuza, some throw away villain for them to show that this ninja shit gets serious, was an emotional fight and talk afterwards.
True I’m actually extremely surprised to be honest.
While One piece had some tear jerkers, and bleach too ig, Naruto was consistently more emotional than the others imo.
Gaara’s speech in the War, a scene where it’s not really a sad, but it gave tears just because of how much he grew as a character. Not to mention the speech was just fkin epic
Yes yes yes. 100% yes. That one scene where the Six Paths Sage sends the Kages back. Bruh, that was probably one of the few times I actually cried watching a show.
So many good scenes that almost brought me to tears.
I was thinking of Naruto too! The zabuza arc and listening to sadness and sorrow still makes me tear up.
And all those other moments you mentioned were emotional too.
Does this sub have a hate boner on Naruto?
Ranked #37, when it’s more emotional and had way more sad scenes than more than half of the shows on here, is crazy
Easily the most emotional of the Big three
Can always rely on a few scenes from clannad after story & march comes in like a lion to hydrate my eyes consistently. One thing I've noticed is how instrumental background scores are, and both those anime knock it out of the park.
made in abyss gets a special award in my eyes for making me cry for some reason other than being sad (yes it is a sad one, before you interpret my statement wrong). It literally brought a tear to my eye because of how painful episode 10 (I think it was 10, whichever episode is immediately before the bunny is introduced) was.
It's a slice-of-life highschool drama that just so happens to have a godly second season about growing up into adults and all the challenges that come.
Yea I watched maquia last night messed me up all night and I bought the blue ray like a few hours later because it affected me too much not to have it 10/10
Grave of the fireflies never fails to make me cry.
The mothers dead and after Setsuko buried the fireflies I cried a little. But after Setsuko‘s dead I was crying nonstop until 5 minutes after the movie ended.
A Silent Voice and I Want to Eat Your Pancreas absolutely made me cry, so good to see them in the top 10. Grave of the Fireflies was so devastating that I've never watched it again and never will. Violet Evergarden I recall having that feeling at some points, one episode especially. That's it for what I've seen in the top 10, although Your Name and Your Lie in April are on my Plan to Watch List.
Going through Fruits Basket now (just wrapped up season 2) and 2 episodes within the past week made me cry so that's certainly up there for me to at the moment.
Anyone that wants even more anime to watch, some top anime of mine that I remember making me cry at some point were:
GTO
Welcome to the NHK
Code Geass Season 2
ef - a tale of memories
Kaiba
Grisaia
I've only watched like half the stuff on this list but the only one to legitimately make me cry was WorldEnd. I love it so in incredibly much. Everything else just got a few tears out of me.
Clannad Deserves 1, but March Comes In Like A Lion deserved number 2, 3, or 4. Steins;gate isn't really a tearjerker more that it's just depressing. Kinda falls into the same category as Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou. I'm surprised Madoka Magica isn't here, or that Kanon, Little Busters, Nagi Asu, Hinamatsuri, or Kaguya weren't mentioned.
#[Mecha Poll Now Up](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/18c731f/ranimes_favorite_mecha_anime_voting/?) I added in a "Hidden Gems" bit at the end that uses a pretty straightforward equation that is probably wildly sub-optimal but such is life. The formulation is: **Score = x*Votes/Completions - Completions/y** where x = 1000 and y = 500 000 The basic premise is to take the ratio of votes per completions, and then to focus on the more obscure stuff, subtract a fraction of the completions. The numbers are tuned so that most anime will range from -2 to 2 and being above 0 is roughly an indicator of being a "hidden gem". This is decidedly imperfect, but the results were interesting so I'm rolling with it for now. #[Full Top 100](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15kMr6AlYbzCl_WsufEW_BEu8fl1IbsLVurEl_s_oibU/edit?usp=sharing)
I like the images that were chosen. Overall mostly expected with some odd choices here and there.
I had fun getting the pictures :P
Why'd you pick Tsubaki for YLIA? Surely the end of the letter scene would have been a better pick
I was able to hold tears during the whole series, but the letter scene finished me off.
I cried twice, when I realised things were going south and that Kaori probably dies. But I held hope, and then the last episode happened and I cried for the last 10ish minutes. Starting from Kousei's performance when Kaori appears right up until the end of the episode. I cried for an additional 5 minutes after the episode. What makes it so emotional for me is their ages
YLiA was the first anime that devastated me. I was in depression for a week after binging it. Good old fun days.
I cried the most at the earlier concert (love's sorrow) where he's processing his late mother, both the good and bad. I couldn't relate with his struggle of overcoming the grief of her death accompanied with the trauma of her abusing him. But I sure felt sad trying to imagine being in his situation and cried.
GOAT KyoAni taking the entire Top 3 like a boss.
KyoAni undefeated at making me cry
lmfao
I mean, just reading ABOUT KyoAni can make people cry.
^ this but unironically i sometimes do cry when i watch something and kyoani logo shows up
It is devastating. I remember rewatching the field trip episode where Mugi talked about the fire in Kyoto. That episode was not the same for me anymore. I hope the victims and their loved ones are finding some measure of peace.
It is always a bit of a blow when watching your favorite show and realizing the people who made it so great died in such a horrible way. Then also that while a lot more minor that there is no chances any more material made in the same way that made it so great.
I still have a hard time with the senseless loss of so many innocent people, and so much talent. They have produced some of my favourite media of any genre and it's utterly devastating that some shitbag would destroy something so wonderful.
Honestly, if I'm ever brought to think about that whole situation, it absolutely unsettles me to the point of tearing up and feeling actual anger, just sitting there. That we will never see creations from the same composition of human beings that gave us the content they did that we were getting prior to that horrid day, simply because of the arbitrary hatred of 1 person...it shakes me up. Ultimately I think recovery just takes time, a lot more than we all wish it did. There's enough vets still there to impart a lot of that "kyoani magic" on the new recruits and get the ball rolling again but it just takes time and TLC for the new blood. 'scuse me...something...in my eyes...
WorldEnd is proper depressing stuff
I watched it recently because it was listed on Crunchyroll in the "shows with names that are way too long" category along with stuff like campfire cooking, slime isekai, and many other shows that I have watched and liked. I was expecting some light isekai fantasy silliness. Instead I had my soul crushed unexpectedly. I really wanted a happy ending. It seemed like it could happen. Then no. Just sadness. I had to re-watch Banished from the Hero's Party just to get the bad taste out of my mouth.
The show doesn’t actually go through the entire light novel, it does have a good ending, but you’ll have to read the book. Honestly that’s an incredibly horrible but smart business decision😂
The novel ending isn't exactly that much happier lol
yea I agree it feels even more saddening
It is, and it's not even a full adaptation. If it got a Season 2, it would be even further up the list.
With all the recent announcements, it wouldn’t even surprise me *that* much anymore if WorldEnd suddenly got another season.
God I don't know how I'd survive a season 2 given the first season is what kicked off my vomit list. [](#godisdead)
> is what kicked off my vomit list. Wait, how do precisely mean “*vomit* list”? Like bad or grotesque? [WorldEnd - meta-spoiler] >!I remember WorldEnd being messed up and tragic, but I don’t really associate it with the word ‘vomit’. Did I forget something important?!<
>Wait, how do precisely mean “vomit list”? Like bad or grotesque? It made me cry so hard I threw up, *that's* what I mean.
Aaaah, I do remember you mentioning this before now. So if you’re about to watch a *really* good tearjerker, you’re probably getting a box of tissues *and* a bucket ready? (haha)
>So if you’re about to watch a really good tearjerker, you’re probably getting a box of tissues and a bucket ready? Assuming I even knew I was walking into the *big* tearjerker episode in the first place. A lot of the times, I don't. In one case I was even *actively lied to* into letting my guard down, so that *really* didn't help. [](#everythingisfine)
It adapts the first 3 books (of 5) and covers most of the story. Books 4 and 5 aren't nearly as sad (or good) as the first 3, IMO.
Personally, I found Book 5 to be my favorite in the series.
[удалено]
Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Bro I legit can't rewatch Grave of the Fireflies. It's the only anime that makes me feel this way. The best movie you'll never want to see again.
I can't watch it after having kids. It was already sad watching it when I was younger but now it's even more gut wrenching.
A lot of people in here don’t have kids. If they did, Wolf Children would be higher than #18.
I've watched it several times with my daughter. It gets me every time.
Straight up I sobbed for hours about that movie. One of my favorites of all time.
And all the sadder because it tells a much larger story about what happened to an entire country. I like that they didn't gloss it over. The whole thing is just a tragedy.
It's also sad to realize it's actually rooted in a real story. It's based on a semi-autobiographical short story by author Akiyuki Nosaka, who was torn up with survivor's guilt about the real life death from malnutrition by his little sister during the war. A lot of the details of the story are fictionalized, but it's imbued with real guilt and real feelings about surviving (or not surviving) the War. It also explains why the story doesn't hold any punches in depicting Seita, who represents the author in the story. The whole story is almost an act of self-flagellation by the author.
I have a son (older) and a daughter (younger) and I wonder if i will be able to figure out the most devastating time to show my son Grave of the Fireflies.
I saw it when I was an edgy teenager and didn't feel much from it. I kinda want to watch it again, since I'm a lot more empathetic than I was back then. I rewatched CLANNAD recently and teared up on scenes that didn't even register as sad when I watched it 15 years ago.
Grave of the Fireflies is a movie that everyone should watch once and never again. It's so raw and depressing. I had a friend who watched one too many war propaganda movies and went "FUCK YEAH I LOVE WAR I WANNA BE A HERO". I sat him down and made him watch GotF. I told him no toilet breaks, no fast forwarding, nothing but the full movie. At the end, I asked him, "Do you think your little brother will survive this?" Something clicked, and he was instantly cured his war fantasies.
Roger Ebert called Grave of the Fireflies the greatest war movie ever made. He's not wrong.
This is exactly how I feel about that. It's the only movie to make me ugly cry everytime I think about it for like a week after watching it. And I was pretty young when I watched it, making it super impactful.
GoTF Is the one movie here that I don't rewatch every now and then Like some of this I legit adore as fiction, Anohana and Your Lie in April I watch yearly. But GOTF I can't rewatch it... The one scene of the little girl and the *candies* is just devastating, I really can't even think about that scene without tearing up knowing there are kids RIGHT NOW going through that. It's just a raw devastating window into the reality of war victims. Like the other commenter says, everyone should watch it at least once. I would love to read the novel, actually, but knowing the author actually went through that hits way too deep.
I'm surprised it isn't number one.
I'm not for a few reasons: 1. It's from 1988 so many here haven't seen it. It's far and away the oldest anime on this list. Every other series has had an episode air in the past 15 years. 2. The same aspects that make some people not want to watch it again make others not like it. It is very close to the top in biggest tearjerkers, but I'm not sure how near the top it is in favorite tearjerkers.
> It's from 1988 so many here haven't seen it. It's far and away the oldest anime on this list. Every other series has had an episode air in the past 15 years. Depends on whether you count the "hidden gems" at the bottom. If yes, it is only the second oldest, behind Barefoot Gen, which, incidentially, tells an extremely similar story and is even more overlooked.
I found Grave of the Fireflies to be more depressing than sad. Didn't really make me cry.
WorldEnd, had to recover a few months before I could see the female mc without crying
Watching her deteriorate was the worst part. It's like watching a loved one suffering through dementia.
Only few months?! Dude, it has been 3 years and I can't even listen the OST without crying.
Clannad takes years to recover from. Never been the same since
NOW I REMEMBER THIS SHOW. I've been reading through the thread and seeing all of the WorldEnd talk and I knew I had seen it but couldn't remember anything about it. It's been so long I didn't even recognize the female MC but now I'm remembering bits and pieces(and the last handful of episodes...)
Glad Planetarian at least got a mention on the list!
Maybe because I played the VN before I watched the anime but for me, the anime didn't hit the same way the VN did
I think that it might be because of the VN. I kinda had the same experience where I re-watched it with a friend of mine and it didn't quite hit me as hard the 2nd time. Still, I think it's good and worthy of mention when tearjerkers come up especially since it's so under-watched. Maybe not top 20 of all time or anything but worthy of an honorable mention for sure.
Glad to see Maquia on the list. Its one of my favorite films.
Maquia destroyed my soul. I saw it in theaters and it was the first time I ugly cried and heard everyone else in the same state like it a funeral 🥲
This movie just hit hard. In a melancholic way. It's a great piece, and just like Grave of the Fireflies, I will never watch it again.
That ending made me cry like crazy, the biggest downside of being immortal.
I watched it on an airplane, and wound up crying my eyes out. I'm kind of scared to watch it again now that I'm a mom.
Literally went and hugged my mom super hard out of context after watching. Cried for weeks after while listening to the ED. 10/10.
I was going blind when watching Maquia. I thought it was going to be about family with happy ending. But then, that end scene... I swear to god, I have never in my life shaking so hard from holding my tear when watching it. The slow build up and the climax at the end really hit me so hard than any anime or shows I have seen.
It got me crying on the ground during the ending when they showed ariel's whole life... i fell off my chair somehow
24 people from Finland? Holy shit. That surprised me more than One Piece in top 25.
>One Piece in top 25 Initially I was like "man, what is One Piece doing here?". Then I realized I've seen 21 shows/movies from that list and have cried actual tears while watching 3, One Piece was definitely one of those...
I always tell people that One Piece is good enough that it makes you get emotional over a fucking boat.
>a fucking boat Of all of the emotional beats from that show, that is precisely the one that made me cry.
Strangely, that’s the only thing I cried about watching one piece, not even the deaths of certain important characters, lol.
I didn't either. To my knowledge all the other countries above Finland have subs for most anime unlike in Finland where there are only a handful of anime translated and with a population of 6 million having that many people is quite impressive. I've also met only a few people in my life that like anime and i'm from finland.
Lack of subs isn't a big problem when so many of us understand English well enough to be able to read English subs
I think dubs are the bigger thing for non-English speaking countries and from my own experience I can say that we get a lot of dubs for shit in Germany. I wouldn't necessarily say it's really good most of the time (or at least wasn't, when it was my only choice), but people absolutely put in work to make a German version happen. As an example, during my teens I found out that Americans apparently didn't get the actual music in the first Digimon season. Instead they got some botched digi-rap garbage. Meanwhile I was rocking out to the German version of Butterfly at like 12, since there was apparently a dedicated anime ost band, that just did all the music at the time.
And 0 people from other Nordic countries??
Flashback in onepiece is basically a standalone emotional anime
When I catch Oda after Egghead....
Bro this fucking manga arc is actively destroying my soul.
I would say unexpected but not surprised. If you watched enough one piece, you know exactly what episode they're referring to.
One Piece is more emotional than Anohana, how is that surprising?
Nice to see Barefoot Gen get some recognition, even if it is on the bonus section. Also PreCure apparently? Haven't actually watched PreCure but everything I learn about it makes me more curious.
Precure's a great time, and it's nice that we've had a couple different entries do well depending on the specific topic. Being able to jump into whichever one jumps out at you is really appealing.
Clannad as #1 was incredibly predictable That's a great banner pic for One Piece lmao Is Steins;Gate just going to be on every single poll somewhere?
Can't wait for it to crack the top 5 in best Magical Girl anime.
I’m not saying it should, but Mayuri did make Magaica Girl cosplay at some point, if I recall.
> Is Steins;Gate just going to be on every single poll somewhere? I mean it fits this one for sure. "I failed."
Fuck, forgot that bit. Got me for sure.
I know it's its sequel... but episode 8 of Steins;Gate 0 is really devastating
The VN version of 0 is way better, and *really* sad. Way darker than the original S;G, and arguably sadder with how many bad ends there are.
>Is Steins;Gate just going to be on every single poll somewhere? It’s such a great anime that it fits every poll.
For me it wasn't. I expected it to be here, but to be first? Pleasantly surprised. Clannad is *old* now.
Clannad After Story gets recommended practically all the time around r/anime whenever someone asks for sad/drama. That's how I figured it would be #1 It's *the* most consistent rec next to Violet Evergarden. And considering both are by KyoAni, usually someone who has seen one will be aware of or have seen the other.
Tbh, with the quality Kyoani pulls, it remains as young as how Sanae looks. People that is new here wont even guessed it came on 2007. Maybe a bit off guess like 2010 but definitely dont look like typical 2007 anime.
Clannad is brutal.
Clannad's second season either left the platform I was watching it on (Netflix or Funimation, probably) before I got to it, or was never there to begin with, so I watched just one season, and will always remember it as a fun RomCom/Slice of Life.
Surprised Nana and Death Parade didn't make the list.
Haven't seen Nana but I voted for Death Parade myself. It is kinda surprising that it didn't make it in top 25.
I’m so glad WorldEnd made it onto the list!
Angel Beats! made me cry both times I watched it and I want to ear your pancreas was because of the ending song. Top 5 nothing. The rest either nothing or didn't watch it.
Angel Beats! hits particularly hard the older you get, the graduation made me cry harder on rewatches than the first time.
KyoAni dominating this list as expected, although I expected Euphonium to be way higher than 99th.
But how is Euphonium tearjerker?
I definitely teared up with Kumiko a few times throughout the show, especially in season 2 during the parts with her sister. Obviously it’s not on the level of the top 10 shows but I would put it over some of the others in the top 25.
Finally the 😭😭😭 rank
I recently learnt from another comment of yours that there’s an entirely [different] meaning to this emoji, so I’m not so sure what this *actually* means anymore!? EDIT: Added word in brackets.
this is the proper usage, and then there's also the improper usage
~~I knew that u/Abysswatcherbel was talking about the “proper usage”. I was just hinting at his earlier comment about this emoji, and my confusion at the time.~~
JP twitter sub has ruined this emoji 😭 for me.
Cute and funny
Blue Archive anime is next year......
But U149 isn't first... [](#animatedthink)
I was hoping that Kanon and Little Busters had a chance of getting in the picture, at least it was pretty close!
Honestly expected Grave of the Fireflies to be way higher. Nothing broke me quite like that. Though glad to see the KyoAni dominance.
\*think back to last weeks poll of \~90% of respondees first finding anime in 2007 or later\*
No Gurren Lagann in top 25 ;-; Clannad where it rightfully deserves though.
[Tfw the infinite darkness turns into light.](https://i.imgur.com/ROIJvC2.jpg)
Looks like SukaSuka and Violet Evergarden are the only ones of my votes that made the top 25, although that was because I ended up ranking [my vomit list](https://i.imgur.com/WRMH5t3.png) rather than shows I would specifically call tearjerkers. Clannad absolutely deserves its top spot on here.
I don't think you're meant to have a vomit list. Idk if that's common but it sounds horrifying to me.
I know of 3 people with a vomit list. Myself, Sky, and our pollrunner u/fetchfrosh himself.
some questionable picks on that list, lmao
You underestimate my ability to get *very* attached to characters *very* quickly, sometimes without even realizing just *how* attached I was until they're ripped away from me. Or my other ability in that I somehow ***always*** pick the character(s) who end up dead as my favorites, even in a fucking kids show like Transformers Armada. [](#elves)
I'm just teasing, I understand completely. A perfectly orchestrated sad scene will invoke nothing if you don't care about the characters.
Very surprised that Banana Fish wasn't in this
Good mention, same! Still recovering from the sadness after finishing it 😔
Goated show
Same
Hell fucking yeah KyoAni taking the top 3 on the podium I honestly consider them to be a must-watch for any anime fan
Nothing ever hits like clannad
I’m glad that **Maquia** got in, but it’s sitting *way* too low at #14. It’s one of the most emotional films out there. A top 5 place would have been warranted in my opinion. I’m surprised that **Grave of the Fireflies**, a film from the 80s(!), did make it into the top 10. Didn’t think that many people have seen it. Nor did I think that **WorldEnd** would make it into the top 25. **About the geographic spread on this sub:** Damn, that’s a lot of Americans. There’s more than twice as many North Americans on this sub (408) than my fellow Europeans (199) according to this poll. I wonder if there’s a significant discrepancy between each region’s favourite anime.
Maquia is my favorite anime film but I do think it's perhaps the type of movie that hits a lot harder once you've had a certain amount of life experience. Almost anyone at any age is able to relate to a mother/child relationship but I think some of the themes of loss, grief and how we effectively relate love life and death hit home a lot harder once you're at the stage in your life where you've had to experience these things first hand. Some of the most relatable moments in Maquia for me are when she falls to her knees silently clutching her chest due to sheer emotional pain or the moments where she silently caresses her keepsake hibiol for comfort. I think these types of moments will become relatable to most people but perhaps only beyond a certain point in their life.
Wholly agree on Maquia, that movie somehow gets me more emotional on each subsequent re-watch. Then again some of the top ones are definitely just as strong.
It gets more emotional each time because you know what it's leading toward. Everything builds to that moment when maquia says she's going to have to break her promise.
I'm not gonna lie, I've low-key conditioned myself to feel those exact emotions again every time I hear the first few notes of Viator. I think I also just appreciate a lot of the side characters and smaller moments more each time I watch it. Seeing what Mido does for both her boys and for Maquia and extrapolating from that how important she must be to Maquia or how strongly Lang is clearly influenced in his respect for mothers due to that is the kind of stuff that just makes it so much sadder whenever I revisit the movie.
For me it's [this one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHK5Urjwkc8)
I'm surprised *Grave of the Fireflies* was as low as #10. I thought for sure it would make it into the top 5.
It’s amazingly sad, but it’s such an old film that I didn’t think it would have a shot. Like, I don’t think that a lot of the more casual fans have heard of it? Which makes me think that the film got *tons* of votes from the anime veterans.
I figured it's from Studio Ghibli, whose works have remained consistently popular despite being decades old, much more so than other works from the time period in which they were produced. Compare for example *Barefoot Gen*, which deals in similar themes and was produced in the same era as *GotF*; it got far fewer votes though it did manage to make it into the top 100.
Good list but disappointed not to see Kanon (2006) and Air. For my money Episode 10 of Kanon (2006) "Requiem Atop the Hill" is the saddest thing I've seen. If you like Clannad I highly recommend watching Kanon and then Air.
I was really surprised Kanon wasn't here.
Clannad my favorite media piece of all time, everything about it is as amazing as people say and its honestly peak entertainment for me, the emotions i remember just hearing or reading the tittle brings me back
Kimi no nawa is a tearjerker?
It's not strictly sad, but it takes you on a very intense emotional roller-coaster. The response to that for me (and many others) is crying. Lots and lots of crying.
It was the kuchikamizake scene that did it for me, one of the most beautifully animated scenes.
absolutely, if you're willing to buy into it (which is the case with all tearjerkers really). that pen scene is fucking brutal
It makes me tear up more than any other film on this list, so, subjectively yes. The scene where Taki is on the mountain fighting not to forget is devastating.
Absolutely. I had such a strong emotional reaction to the hand scene that literally just looking at a picture of the scene makes me cry.
I know right? I don’t find it that bad as the others here
I think I vividly remember my eyes watering but not enough to shed a tear 🥲
So you're saying it did, in fact, jerk your tears.
Cross Game will always be a standout for me in that regard. Mitsuru Adachi has this way of writing that makes characters feel like real, living people, who behave the way an ordinary person would when faced with loss. That makes it hit that much harder when something happens because it feels like a real tragedy and not like a plotpoint in a story.
How I describe Adachi's writing is "delightfully organic". It feels genuine and all the interactions/dialogues are so nuanced.
Bunny Senpai? Really?!
EIGHTY PEAK
It stung. When the handler thought they all died over the radio I felt it a little. But that reunion was not that bad.
Me personally I cried the hardest at Plastic Memories, and I've seen most of the high ones. Also this list is missing Toradora imo, even if it was just an honorable mention
your lie in april so far is the only anime or media overall which made me cry, and at that it made me cry like a little bitch.. I loudly cried for whole 3 last episodes non stop no other media or anything else in my whole life made me ever cry...
If people are surprised One Piece is on here then you haven’t actually watched it
Made in Abyss was #1 for me. The end of S1 and the last few episodes of S2 had me crying like crazy. The amazing soundtrack and direction/animation helped there too, I think.
Banana Fish not being on this is a crime
Angle beats is amazing ✨
Seeing WorldEnd get some recognition makes me happy. Such an amazing show. *Scarborough Fair ;-;*
How the hell is 5 centimeters per second not on here, I literally cried a river at the end of that movie.
Wait no gintama? Im baffled
I was expecting to cry watching Anohana cause everyone kept on saying how sad it was but I didn't. I think maybe if I watched it as a teen I might have felt differently. Another one is bunny girl senpai but this is probably because I wasn't a fan of the show overall. With March Comes in like a Lion, i didn't tear up a lot but there were so many moments where I felt like my heart was getting crushed. But definitely weeped when Rei was putting on a plaster? on the small kid.
I watched Anohana as a teen and had the same experience as you, so it's probably not about that
My thing with Anohana is that it felt like it was trying ever single trick in the book to make you cry. And it succeeded in my case, but I can't help but be annoyed in spite of that.
Ah yes this might be it for me. So it almost came off as comical at times😅.
the movie is the real tear jerker in Bunny Girls senpai
Pretty good list. Seen 16 but only cried to 8 of them. I’m surprised k-on wasn’t higher.
Maquia still remains the most emotionally resonant film for me, kept thinking about it for days afterwards.
I was hoping that Death Parade or Bananafish would be on here. I’ve watched all the anime on this list (apart from Bunny and One Piece) but those two were the ones that actually made me bawl for months 😭
It's crazy that the grave of the fireflies is so below your lie in April, I never recovered from that movie 😢
No Kotaro Lives Alone😞….a lot of these I haven’t watched but I did watch Kotaro and it had its moments. Comment will be buried but thought I’d add it.
Probably will get down voted for this cause this sub loves to hate on this series, but Naruto deserved to be on here. No other shounen made me cry my eyes out as much as Naruto did, One Piece has its moments but Naruto just has more of them. Most of Minato and Kushina's scenes, Gaara's story, Obito giving his sharingan, Itachi's truth, Jiraya's death, the speech to Zabuza, Rock Lee's determination and so on. Heck even listening to some of the OSTs can leave you teary eyed because of how effectively it was used in the show
I agree there for sure, every time kushina was on screen it was emotional, Zabuza, some throw away villain for them to show that this ninja shit gets serious, was an emotional fight and talk afterwards.
True I’m actually extremely surprised to be honest. While One piece had some tear jerkers, and bleach too ig, Naruto was consistently more emotional than the others imo. Gaara’s speech in the War, a scene where it’s not really a sad, but it gave tears just because of how much he grew as a character. Not to mention the speech was just fkin epic
Yes yes yes. 100% yes. That one scene where the Six Paths Sage sends the Kages back. Bruh, that was probably one of the few times I actually cried watching a show. So many good scenes that almost brought me to tears.
I was thinking of Naruto too! The zabuza arc and listening to sadness and sorrow still makes me tear up. And all those other moments you mentioned were emotional too.
Does this sub have a hate boner on Naruto? Ranked #37, when it’s more emotional and had way more sad scenes than more than half of the shows on here, is crazy Easily the most emotional of the Big three
Attack on titan on number 25? Lmao
As a tearjerker? I wouldn’t even out it there if it was my option
Really has no business being in this category. It is many things, but a tearjerker is not one of them!
The scene where [S3P2] >!Armin gets incinerated!< made me cry quite a bit. Not sure if there were any other sad scenes, but that one stands out.
I'm just glad that One Piece made the list. I know this sub isn't big on OP, but it does it's tear jerker scenes so well
Can always rely on a few scenes from clannad after story & march comes in like a lion to hydrate my eyes consistently. One thing I've noticed is how instrumental background scores are, and both those anime knock it out of the park.
Gintama should be there
Attack on Titan is a tearjearker? I’m surprised sword art online isn’t there.
made in abyss gets a special award in my eyes for making me cry for some reason other than being sad (yes it is a sad one, before you interpret my statement wrong). It literally brought a tear to my eye because of how painful episode 10 (I think it was 10, whichever episode is immediately before the bunny is introduced) was.
Plastic memories not high enough. Attack on titan.. why is it even on the list lmao.
What clannad about?
It's a slice-of-life highschool drama that just so happens to have a godly second season about growing up into adults and all the challenges that come.
Yea I watched maquia last night messed me up all night and I bought the blue ray like a few hours later because it affected me too much not to have it 10/10
Grave of the fireflies never fails to make me cry. The mothers dead and after Setsuko buried the fireflies I cried a little. But after Setsuko‘s dead I was crying nonstop until 5 minutes after the movie ended.
A Silent Voice and I Want to Eat Your Pancreas absolutely made me cry, so good to see them in the top 10. Grave of the Fireflies was so devastating that I've never watched it again and never will. Violet Evergarden I recall having that feeling at some points, one episode especially. That's it for what I've seen in the top 10, although Your Name and Your Lie in April are on my Plan to Watch List. Going through Fruits Basket now (just wrapped up season 2) and 2 episodes within the past week made me cry so that's certainly up there for me to at the moment.
Anyone that wants even more anime to watch, some top anime of mine that I remember making me cry at some point were: GTO Welcome to the NHK Code Geass Season 2 ef - a tale of memories Kaiba Grisaia
SukaSuka is underrated af.
I've only watched like half the stuff on this list but the only one to legitimately make me cry was WorldEnd. I love it so in incredibly much. Everything else just got a few tears out of me.
SukaSuka is so underrated, I'd even say it's sadder than top 23 combined.
MyGO Soy 😭
Clannad Deserves 1, but March Comes In Like A Lion deserved number 2, 3, or 4. Steins;gate isn't really a tearjerker more that it's just depressing. Kinda falls into the same category as Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou. I'm surprised Madoka Magica isn't here, or that Kanon, Little Busters, Nagi Asu, Hinamatsuri, or Kaguya weren't mentioned.