The anime medium is massive, showcasing a number of diverse narratives and themes — explaining why it has so much appeal all over the world. Several anime are filled with lovable characters, many of which stick with the viewers long after the series' conclusion.
Considering the sheer number of characters that populate the anime medium, there are quite a few that suffer great losses and tragedies throughout their respective series. Whatever the reason for their issues, it sometimes feels like life has dealt them an unfair hand. It's hard to look at some of these characters without thinking that they deserve to have it just a bit easier.
10 Levi Ackerman Has Lost Many Friends And Comrades (Attack On Titan)
Attack on Titan's Levi Ackerman has been through a lot in his life. Most people he comes to care about eventually die, leaving him alone in the world. His first loss, his mother, occurs at a very early age. When Levi almost starves to death, his uncle saves him, only to abandon him again.
During his service in the Scout Regiment, he also lost many of his friends and comrades in battle, including his own hand-picked squad. Worse, Levi endures the death of his beloved commander, Erwin, in order to save Armin's life. Levi may be humanity's strongest soldier, but he's been through a lot of hardship to get there.
9 Ken Kaneki Has Been Alone Since Childhood (Tokyo Ghoul)
All Ken Kaneki from Tokyo Ghoul wants is a date — he finally goes on one with a woman named Rize, with who he shares a love for books. However, it turns out that Rize is a ghoul and just wants to prey on him (because ghouls can only eat human flesh).
After being turned into a ghoul himself, Kaneki experiences new levels of misery. In addition, Yakumo Oomori subjects him to unbearable torture before his transformation, consequently changing Kaneki's personality from meek to aggressive.
8 Kyo Sohma Is Disrespected By The Remaining Zodiac Spirits (Fruits Basket)
Kyo possesses the Zodiac cat spirit, making him an outcast inside the Sohma family. In Fruits Basket, it's believed that this spirit isn't part of the Zodiac — this is because, in an old story, the rat spirit tricks the cat into not attending a banquet held by God for all the animals.
This leads to Kyo being disrespected and discriminated against by the remaining spirits, who mock him for his perceived inferiority within the Zodiac. Not to mention the fact that Kyo is blamed for his mother's death by everyone in the family. There are only a few people in his life who care for him, especially in his true form.
7 Ash Lynx Is Abused By The Mafia Boss, Dino (Banana Fish)
Ash from Banana Fish has led a horrific life. His mother abandons him, his father doesn't want him, and his brother is sent to Iraq to fight in the war. Starting at age seven, Ash is assaulted several times by his coach, who he later murders.
After running ran away from home, Ash is captured and forced into child prostitution for a Mafia Boss named Dino. He is subsequently put in charge of several gangs on the streets of New York, ultimately introducing him to more violence, betrayal, as well as the deaths of those he cares for.
6 Edward Elric Loses His Mother And Almost Gets His Brother Killed (Fullmetal Alchemist)
Edward Elric may be the youngest State Alchemist, but his journey hasn't been very easy. As a child, his father abandons him, an event that leaves him emotionally destroyed. It only gets worse for Edward when his mother passes away, so he decides to bring her back with Human Transmutation, alchemy's biggest taboo.
This results in him losing an arm and a leg each, whereas his brother, Alphonse, loses his entire body. Once Edward enters the military, he faces more loss, and has to deal with violence and genocide being part of the world in Fullmetal Alchemist.
5 Subaru Natsuki Is Alienated At School As Well As Home (Re:Zero)
Subaru grows into a confident young man in Re:Zero, having modeled himself after his father. He is smart and funny, so people naturally gravitate towards him. That is until Subaru's peers begin to surpass him at everything, resulting in him being alienated at school as well as at home.
After he gets transported to a new world and meets Emilia, Subaru starts to get his sense of self-worth back. While in this other world, Subaru meets his end quite a few times. He is later given the ability known as "Return by Death," which lets him reincarnate himself after dying. As great as this sounds, Subaru is unable to reveal his powers to anyone as it could kill them — which ends up pushing his new friends away.
4 Atsushi Nakajima Suffers At Others' Hands In His Orphanage (Bungou Stray Dogs)
Atsushi, the protagonist of Bungou Stray Dogs, grows up in an orphanage, facing hatred and abuse not just from the adults but from the other children, too. A lot of that hatred is rooted in the fact that Atsushi can transform into a tiger at night, an ability that he initially doesn't know he has.
It isn't until he gets kicked out of the orphanage and meets Dazai that he realizes & comes to terms with his ability. Atsushi then joins the Armed Detective Agency with others who also possess supernatural abilities.
3 Armin Arlert's Life Is Filled With Death And Destruction (Attack On Titan)
Attack on Titan's Armin Arlert has always been bullied by other children for his interest in the world beyond the Walls. In fact, it is after one of these incidents that he meets Eren and Mikasa for the first time.
Armin has dreams of seeing the sea and the diverse geography of the outside world, which is one of the main reasons behind his decision to join the Survey Corps. Since joining, however, he has watched his friends being eaten alive by Titans on many occasions. Not only that, he's the current possessor of the Colossal Titan, an ability that he really does not enjoy having.
2 Itachi Uchiha Is Manipulated Into Killing His Clan (Naruto)
In Naruto, Itachi Uchiha grows up with fighting all around him, his childhood filled with the devastation and aftermath of war. The person he cares about most is his little brother, Sasuke, whose happiness is the only thing on Itachi's mind.
Although Itachi definitely uses his brother as a tool for his own vengeance, he is himself thoroughly manipulated by Danzo, who makes Itachi kill his entire clan in order to protect Sasuke. Danzo uses Itachi's childhood trauma as a tool to get what he wants from him.
1 Killua Zoldyck Has Had A Dark Upbringing (Hunter x Hunter)
Killua may be the heir to a family of assassins, but he eventually gets bored of the killing, as well as his extreme training regimen. He runs away from home to take the Hunter Exam, which is when he's first introduced in Hunter x Hunter. At first, Killua is all smiles and cheekiness, much like his counterpart, Gon.
On the other hand, viewers are shown his darker side as the series progresses. Killua can often be ruthless and bloodthirsty — a result of his dark upbringing and horrendous experiences. This aspect of his starts disappearing as his friendship with Gon progresses, but it's still difficult to imagine a twelve-year-old having to go through so many ordeals.