Whether fate is a canonical presence in an anime setting or not, viewers can tell when a couple was truly meant for each other. There are few more tragic moments in storytelling than when fate or circumstance rips them apart. While it is possible for one of the pair to go on living without the other, they are forever changed by their loss.
Some stories are meant to be short; it makes them no less meaningful. Even if they don't believe in ghosts or an afterlife, the characters who lose their soulmate never really lose them entirely because they carry their memories together.
10 Hotaru & Gin Had To Keep Each Other At A Distance
The Forest Of Fireflies
The Forest of Fireflies is a short film based on a one-shot shojo manga. Hotaru met Gin, a person who's not quite human when she was young, and the two grew up together. Gin helped her when she was lost in the forest when she was six years old, and since then, they have meet every summer and spent the holiday together.
Hotaru and Gin can never touch, or else Gin will disappear from the human world. Regardless of the limitation, the two fall in love. Despite all their caution over the years, calamity strikes when Gin helps a boy up, not realizing he's human. Hotaru and Gin made the most of the limited time they had together.
9 Menma Will Always Look After Jinta
Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day
A group of high schoolers must come to terms with the tragic loss of their friend, Menma, in Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day. The spirit of Menma appears before her former friend, Jinta, one day. He's struggled to move on since her death because he had a crush on her, but he never told her. The consequences of that decision are still felt in the present day.
When Menma can't come back to life, her spirit visiting him helps him reconnect with the friend group that had drifted apart after her death. After seeing Jinta reconnect with their community, Menma's spirit can move on.
8 Erina & Jonathan Were A Perfect Match
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
For such a histrionic show, the Season 1 finale of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is surprisingly heartrending. The final episode begins with the reunion of Erina and Jonathan Joestar as they begin their honeymoon travels.
Dio Brando crashes the ship and rips Erina's dreams of the future for her Jonathan to complete shreds. Jonathan's last act is to save Erina, using all of his remaining strength to put her out of harm's way. Though she lost the love of her life, she lived and raised their child and the ward she found on the ship well; Jonathan would be proud.
7 Jiro Horikoshi Lived For Two Reasons
The Wind Rises
Jiro Horikoshi wanted to marry Naoko Satomi despite her reservations over her health in The Wind Rises. Though she passed young, Jiro had no regrets because he spent all the time he could with the love of his life.
As the title suggests, Jiro's love of flight and designing planes is as much an intrinsic part of him as his love for his wife, Naoko. It's a brush of wind that tells him she's passed. She's still with him, even if only in his dreams, telling him to continue living for her.
6 The Villain Dies For The Girl
Magic Knight Rayearth
Princess Emeraude of Magic Knight Rayearth fell in love with Zagato despite her best efforts. Zagato is seen as a villain because he imprisoned the princess. The magic knights slay Zagato, believing they must do so to save the princess and help Cephiro.
Princess Emeraude is completely heartbroken; everything Zagato did was for her. Emeraude and Zagato are one of the more heartbreaking anime pairings. Zagato is a refreshing take on the kidnapper villain trope, inverting it in a satisfying and ultimately tragic way.
5 Dracula Can't Go On Without Lisa
Castlevania
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Dracula has already lived through centuries in Castlevania, as evinced by his castle full of scientific discoveries, by the time he meets the woman who would become his beloved wife, Lisa. Lisa is a mortal, and she remains one even after she marries Dracula and gives him a son, Adrian.
Dracula was bloodthirsty and bored before she came, and after she was murdered by humans, he broke entirely and became an enraged butcher. When she was alive, she'd convinced her husband to try things he hadn't cared to do before, like travel and experience the world with new eyes.
4 Fiore Lost Mamoru
Sailor Moon R: The Promise Of The Rose
Mamoru reveals his backstory with Fiore in Sailor Moon R: Promise of the Rose. Shortly after he lost his parents at a young age, he befriended the alien boy Fiore. Fiore couldn't withstand the Earth's atmosphere for long, however, and the two had to part though they loved each other very much.
Fiore never stopped loving Mamoru, though Mamoru understandably developed feelings for Usagi after the two reunited and remembered their former lives on the moon. Fiore found Mamoru again, but once more, the two had to part, though in kindness.
3 Christa & Ymir Trusted Each Other Most
Attack On Titan
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Ymir helped Christa when she needed to start her life over under an alias in Attack on Titan. Christa has a hidden greatness in her, and she also brings out the best side of Ymir. The two grow a close friendship that turns romantic when they both train in the 104th corps.
One of the best love confessions ever in anime is the letter Ymir wrote to Christa right before she met her end. When she lost Ymir, she lost the person who saw her for who she really was.
2 Meier Link Should Have Turned Charlotte When He Had The Chance
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
It never seems to work well when vampires fall for humans, including for Meier Link and Charlotte in Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust. They barely get more than a few weeks together, much less years before Charlotte's life is ended.
Meier mourns over her. Then D and Leila watch as Meier takes her away in a spacecraft, leaving the Earth forever. Perhaps the most hopeful, creative fans could theorize that he's bringing Charlotte to a place where he could find a way to bring her back.
1 Spike Still Thinks Of Julia
Cowboy Bebop
Spike and Julia are star-crossed lovers, first kept apart by her ex-lover, Vicious, and ultimately parted by her death in circumstances taking place previous to the events of Cowboy Bebop. Though their time together was short, there was no other person for Spike.
In Cowboy Bebop, Spike is a remarkably emotionally remote person, but he falls in love with Julia practically from the moment he lays eyes on her. Even years later, Spike still refers to Julia almost as if she's still alive and his heart is still hers.