While plenty of Japanese anime series are wacky comedies or innocent slice-of-life adventures, some of the most memorable series will tug right on the viewers' heartstrings and make them cry for someone who doesn't even exist. In particular, sad romance anime series can provide a real emotional ride and keep viewers engaged right to the end.

The best sad romance anime series may provide a much-needed break from all the goofy rom-com anime series and keep the anime industry grounded with some heavy, compelling drama. Anyone looking for the best sad romance anime have plenty of excellent tearjerker series and anime movies that will take them on an emotional journey they won't soon forget.

Updated on November 30th, 2023 by Louis Kemner: Sad romance animes can leave a lasting impression on any casual or serious fan of animation, even with bright, colorful visuals and familiar anime tropes and clichés. Now, fans can check out five more of the saddest romance anime and see how rough but intriguing true love can be in this medium. This list about sad anime has also been updated to adhere to CBR's current publication standards.

This article mentions sensitive topics, including suicide.

15 Orange Blends High School Romance With Grief & Future Messages

For a romance anime with a sci-fi twist akin to films like Your Name, Orange hits that sweet spot with the right group of fans. This 13-episode series has a different take on romantic tearjerkers; the story revolves around Naho Takamiya, who suddenly receives letters from a future version of herself.

Orange Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 7.62
• IMDb: 7.6
• Anime Planet: 4.01/5

The letter implores the younger Naho to prevent her friend, Kakeru Naruse, from committing suicide by looking after him. To complicate the plot, Naho soon realizes she has to pursue her romantic feelings for Kakeru, but the cost is sacrificing her happy marriage and new family she's created in the future.

14 Plastic Memories Argues That Machines Really Can Find Love

It's pointless to pursue a romance doomed to fail. That's the challenge Plastic Memories' Tsukasa Mizugaki and Isla want to face. The anime does a fantastic job of showcasing a bittersweet romance between two unlikely individuals and highlights the realities of their technologically advanced world, including artificial intelligence.

Plastic Memories Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 7.91
• IMDb: 7.3
• Anime Planet: 3.97/5

High school graduate Tsukasa is lucky enough to land a job in SAI Corp, or the "Sion Artificial Intelligence Corporation." They manufacture androids called "Giftia," near-perfect human replicas but with only nine years to live. Tsukasa gets paired with a Giftia named Isla for a specialized job, but in true romance anime fashion, he falls for her. The problem is Isla's life as a Giftia is nearly over, and Tsukasa isn't yet ready to say goodbye when Isla's timer reaches 0.

13 Full Moon Stars a Singer Who Doesn't Have Much Time Left

Living with an illness may prevent a person from achieving their lifelong dreams. Anime fans in this position can relate to Full Moon's Mitsuki Kouyama as she struggles between a life-saving surgery and pursuing her dreams as a singer. She wants her music to reach her childhood crush, Eichi Sakurai, who moved to America before she could confess her feelings.

Full Moon Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 7.94
• IMDb: 7.7
• Anime Planet: 3.88/5

However, Mitsuki is fighting throat cancer and only has a year left to live. Not only that, but her grandmother is pressuring her to give up on her singing dreams. From the beautiful music to the loveable characters — albeit its occasional funny moments — Full Moon is a fantastic watch. Fans will get emotional watching Mitsuki fight her hardest to make her last year count, making Full Moon a fine anime about living life to the fullest before time runs out.

12 Angel Beats Explores Love, Purgatory, & Personal Baggage

The Angel Beats anime is a classic series from the early 2010s, and it may be an overlooked gem for anyone who only recently got into Japanese anime. This series blends drama, romance, and the supernatural into a single bizarre package, one that tugs on the heartstrings even with its ending credits sequence.

Angel Beats Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 8.06
• IMDb: 7.6
• Anime Planet: 4.14/5

Protagonist Yuzuru Otonashi awakes one day on the campus of an unfamiliar school at night, where the local students are waging war with a kuudere girl named Tachibana. That school is a purgatory zone for students with unresolved issues. As the students overcome their problems, they fade away, which may tear certain lovers apart, like it or not. The anime also has strong, resonant themes about young adults dealing with their unresolved issues, which makes the characters deeply unsympathetic.

11 The Wind Rises Shows an Airplane Engineer Finding Love

The Wind Rises is another of director Hayao Miyazaki's masterpieces, set around World War I. The movie is a beautiful story of a real-life engineer, Jiro Horikoshi, who is passionate about building airplanes. He travels across to learn from the best and soon meets his soon-to-be lover, Naoko Satomi.

The Wind Rises Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 8.11
• IMDb: 7.7
• Anime Planet: 4.05/5

Jiro gets a job as a weapons engineer but travels back and forth to spend time with Naoko. They plan to marry once she recovers from her illness, but the tragic tale unfolds as Jiro's very creations contribute to her deteriorating health. Sadder still, Naomi passes away while Jiro is on a business trip, so he never has a chance to say goodbye. The Wind Rises is about someone deciding what's most important to him, and the answer won't be easy to find.

10 Princess Tutu is a Sad Anime About a Duck Turned Human

Despite its strange premise, anime fans shouldn't underestimate Princess Tutu's emotional impact. It's a beautifully written, yet sad love story that takes artistic and musical inspiration from classical ballets like Swan Lake and fairytales like The Ugly Duckling. Princess Tutu is a classic in anime history. A storyteller, Drosselmeyer, decides to bring one of his stories to life.

Princess Tutu Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 8.14
• IMDb: 8.1
• Anime Planet: 3.91/5

Drosselmeyer sets his eyes on a duckling, Ahiru, who has fallen in love with an amnesiac human boy. He grants Ahiru a human body, immersing her in a world of talking animals and magic, and gives her a task: she must help the boy regain the fragments of his heart, not as herself but as her magical alter ego: Princess Tutu. However, Ahiru must never tell the boy her true feelings lest she vanish.

9 Natsume's Book Of Friends is a Romance Between a Girl & a Forest Spirit

Fans of the beautifully executed Natsume's Book of Friends will love this short but sweet film by the same mangaka. Hotarubi no Mori e is a perfect choice for romance anime fans who love the whimsical and supernatural. Like most sad romance anime, Hotarubi no Mori e features a love that will never materialize — this one between a human girl named Hotaru and a forest spirit named Gin.

Natsume's Book Of Friends Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 8.31
• IMDb: 8.1
• Anime Planet: 4.18/5

Their relationship starts awkwardly, since Gin is standoffish as he tries to avoid her. He can't be touched by human hands, for the mortal realm's fragile magic will cause him to disappear. Their slow-burn relationship morphs into mutual love as they spend more time together. Alas, all good things must come to an end — a beautifully sorrowful end, in this case.

8 Weathering With You Is About Romance During Unnatural Disasters

Director Makoto Shinkai has produced a variety of great but sad romance anime movies, with Weathering With You ranking among the best of them. Protagonist Hodaka Morishima recently arrived in Tokyo to restart his life, but feels lost, and things will get even weirder when the weather acts up in supernatural ways.

Weathering With You Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 8.28
• IMDb: 7.5
• Anime Planet: 4.24/5

All this is connected to Hina Amano, a girl who can manipulate the weather. Hodaka and Hina will grow close, but the weather problems will get worse, and the two of them will have to make some tough decisions about what their heart wants vs what the entire city of Tokyo needs to survive. In the end, those choices may reveal a lot about what matters most to these characters.

7 Clannad Shows How Romance Can Heal the Heart

The Clannad anime comes off as light-hearted as fans become familiar with Tomoya Okazaki and his classmates. But moving into After Story will leave viewers bawling their eyes out. The first season touches on Tomoya's strained relationship with his workaholic father and disinterest in school. Clannad gradually moves into his mental and emotional healing after meeting his soon-to-be girlfriend, Nagisa Furukawa.

Clannad Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 8.0
• IMDb: 7.8
• Anime Planet: 4.12/5

After high school, Tomoya and Nagisa grow up together, experiencing the highs and lows of life and taking steps further into their future. Tomoya encounters his life's best and worst moments, forging a path with every new change. Clannad's tale prominently highlights the difficulty of adulthood through Tomoya's perspective.

6 I Want To Eat Your Pancreas Is About Living While Dying

I Want To Eat Your Pancreas sounds odd and almost off-putting, but it has a much deeper meaning that warrants a serious watch. This over-90-minute film centers on an antisocial male protagonist, Haruki Shiga. He's a bookworm far detached from the world around him until he accidentally discovers that his charming female classmate, Sakura Yamauchi, has a terminal illness in her pancreas.

I Want To Eat Your Pancreas Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 8.55
• IMDb: 8.0
• Anime Planet: 4.34/5

Haruki's the only person to know this saddening truth and starts off unsympathetic to Sakura's struggle. As time passes, a bond slowly builds between them as Haruki warms up to Sakura. In turn, she gives Haruki a new sense of purpose and meaning to his mundane life. That makes I Want To Eat Your Pancreas one of several sad anime that's all about valuing life while a person still can, and coming to terms with grief and a friend's inevitable end.

5 Fruits Basket Is a Classic Shojo Romance With a Supernatural Twist

Fruits Basket quickly solidified itself as a classic tear-jerking romance with its 2019 reboot. Underneath the colorful cast of characters is a deep-seated trauma caused by a horrific family curse. What seems to be a simple life for the zodiac members of the Sohma clan is a much sadder, more isolated existence than they would like to admit.

Fruits Basket Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 8.22
• IMDb: 8.6
• Anime Planet: 4.32/5

Other than the Sohmas, protagonist Tohru Honda is a plucky, cheerful girl with more than enough emotional baggage. Most people quickly underestimate her upon the first encounter, but her inner strength and open-mindedness have pushed her through some of life's biggest curveballs. After meeting the Sohma clan, she's sucked into their dark, twisted world. Overall, Fruits Basket is an excellent anime, but it's not just that. This anime also explores themes of second chances, family drama, self-esteem, and finding one's own destiny regardless of so-called fate. That makes Fruits Basket highly empowering, not just a sad romance.

4 Your Lie In April Uses Music to Heal Kousei's Heart

Most anime fans are familiar with Your Lie in April, but it's much too good to pass up; it's the perfect romance anime meant to wrench the tears out of any viewer. Your Lie in April focuses on piano prodigy Kousei Arima, who loses his passion for music after his strict mother's death. All that changes when he meets a carefree violinist, Kaori Miyazono.

Your Lie In April Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 8.65
• IMDb: 8.6
• Anime Planet: 4.32/5

The two grow closer with every fight as Kaori pushes Kousei to his limits, re-introducing his heart to music again. However, Kousei fears pursuing a relationship with her, convinced that his feelings are one-sided. The viewers watch through his eyes as he watches Kaori thrive in front of him as he fights the urge to chase what he truly wants. Your Lie In April is successful because it blends heartbreaking young love with the healing power of music and hope, making it a bittersweet anime and not just a tear-jerker.

3 Oshi no Ko Blends Romance With Drama, Revenge, & Music

The Oshi no Ko anime can be described as an excellent but sad romance anime, but it's also a critical insight into the idol industry and even a partial isekai story. In Oshi no Ko, the main characters must tell truth from well-meaning lies and determine what true love is when no one is what they seem.

Oshi no Ko Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 8.73
• IMDb: 8.4
• Anime Planet: 4.44/5

The story begins when Dr. Gorou and his young patient Sarina Tendouji are literally reborn as the twin son and daughter of Ai Hoshino, a pop idol they admire. Ai fears she doesn't truly love her children, and when Aqua and Ruby Hoshino grow up, they'll face tricky and heart-wrenching romantic problems of their own, too. Fans also love Oshi no Ko because it expertly blends seemingly unrelated genres and concepts into a single narrative, including grief, loss, revenge, pseudo-isekai, and finding the meaning of one's life.

2 Your Name. Is More Than a Body-Swap Romance

Countless anime fans agree that Your Name. is one of the very best sad romance anime movies out there, based on its lofty MAL score, and it's also the crowning achievement of director Makoto Shinkai's career so far. Your Name. starts as a funny slice-of-life body-swap story, but it soon becomes much more than that.

Your Name. Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 8.84
• IMDb: 8.4
• Anime Planet: 4.50/5

Taki Tachibana is a teenage boy living in Tokyo, and when he stops swapping bodies with Mitsuha Miyamizu, he fears that something has gone terribly wrong. Taki will bravely make the trip to Mitsuha's hometown in rural Japan, but what he finds there may shatter his heart and keep him apart from the girl he loves. This anime movie is about not just love, but also the power of friendship, fighting back against fate, and the joy of seeing life through a fresh set of eyes.

1 A Silent Voice Explores the Consequences of Bullying

A Silent Voice is an outstanding, sad anime based on the seven-volume manga series of the same name. On the surface, this anime movie is about the consequences of bullying, which is part of the truth, but it's ultimately about two very different teenagers desperately trying to communicate heart-to-heart.

A Silent Voice Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 8.93
• IMDb: 8.1
• Anime Planet: 4.49/5

The antihero, Shoya Ishida, cruelly bullied his deaf classmate Shoko Nishimiya in 6th grade, and he came to sincerely regret it. Now Shoya and Shoko are in 12th grade, and they have finally come face to face once again. Shoya is desperate to make amends somehow, while Shoko just might have amorous feelings for her former bully, emotions she can't easily express. A Silent Voice isn't just about sad romance or bullying. It's ultimately about two misunderstood teens desperately trying to communicate with and understand one another for the first time.