I’m sure all anime fans have a favourite series out there that they enjoy just because it hits them hard every time they watch it. That show, and that moment, that has you breaking down into tears. It isn’t a feeling I seek out all that often but every now and then it is exactly what I need. If it was finished, I know that March Comes in Like a Lion would have topped this list, but given it hasn’t, here are some of my other favourite shows that are sure to make me cry every time I watch them.
As always, I’d love to know what would be on your list.
Please Note – There are absolutely spoilers below.
Honourable mentions to Clannad After Story, Your Lie in April and Yuri on Ice.
Number 5: Code Geass
Code Geass is action filled and exciting. It also has some thought provoking moments and some interesting commentary on the human condition. But what sticks with me long after I’m finished watching the show for the whatever number time I am up to is how many times it felt like the show had grabbed my heart in a fist and squeezed. Shirley’s death, Lelouch accidentally setting Euphemia off on her massacre, the final sequence, so many moments where it just punches you hard in the gut. And yes, Shirley’s death is the one that makes me cry each and every time.
Number 4: Steins;Gate
For an apparently mad scientist, Rintaro really takes the events of Steins;Gate hard and what we see is a fairly quick break down as this guy gets hit time and time again by more than he can really deal with. As the weight of his failures start to crush him, we see Kurisu reach out to him unknowing that she’s also part of the weight that he can’t actually deal with. While eventually all is righted, this show can pack a mean emotional punch as you wonder what decision you could make in the situation particularly when it looks like saving Mayuri will lead to someone else’s death.
Number 3: Heaven’s Memo Pad
Heaven’s Memo Pad starts out fairly innocuously and to be honest there’s a lot of silliness throughout the series. But underlying all of that there are always some fairly dark themes and ideas and the final story arc brings things right to the surface. With the attempted suicide of his friend at school and drugs being sold in the area, Narumi is left feeling utterly helpless and useless and ends up making a fairly rash decision in an effort to do something. I always forget just how serious this show ends up getting because I start it and get kind of fooled by the early episodes which means the ending hits hard every single time.
Number 2: Assassination Classroom
You don’t get a prize for knowing the affect this show had on me when we finally got to that scene. Yes, the one where the students all stand around and say goodbye before Nagisa finally assassinates their teacher. And yes, it is designed to pull at your heart strings and it is overly long and all the other things people might say about it. But that doesn’t stop it from being highly affective and leaving me in a complete mess of tears absolutely every time.
Number 1: Angel Beats
My go to anime for when I feel like having a cry. Whether it is Otonashi recalling his life, Hinata promising to marry Yui no matter what her condition was, the graduation sequence or the final farewell between Kanade and Otonashi this show gets me. What I love is that I don’t feel bad while watching it. I laugh, I get excited in the action sequences, roll my eyes at the classroom antics, and get to go through a whole range of emotions before the show tears my heart out and stomps on it a few times. Plus, if you watch after the credits, after you’ve had your release of tears, the show does just enough to put a smile on your face and leave you feeling like the world isn’t such a bad place after all.
So there’s my list. What have you got on yours?
Thanks for reading.
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Thanks,
Karandi James.
