One of anime's greatest strengths is its heightened sense of reality. Because of the amplified nature of animation, anime has the distinct opportunity to tell more extravagant and intense stories than something made to be live-action. This strength has led to the abundance of battle shonen, which is a genre that excels with hyper-intensity.

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A good anime can use the full scope of the medium to heighten all emotions, including sadness. Anime can deliver on some of the most potent, harrowing stories across any medium, with some of the saddest stories ever told coming from animation.

10 Your Lie In April Lifted Fans Up And Then Broke Them

An image from Your Lie In April.

Your Lie in April is a romance drama anime following a young piano prodigy who struggles to play after suffering trauma in his childhood. After meeting a star violinist, the young boy is brought back into the life of music before making the horrific realization that his new friend is dying.

Your Lie in April is one of the most gorgeous anime of the past few decades. It's a story that is both incredibly uplifting and utterly tragic at the same time. Few anime can break a viewer's heart as well as Your Lie in April.

9 Shōwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjū Is A Sad Tale Of Lost Love

Rakugo Shinjuu anime

Shōwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjū is a tragic tale of complex characters in a triangle of love that none can admit to. The anime follows two vastly different rakugo artists, bonded through their shared art and in denial of their love for each other.

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Alongside them is a young geisha in training, shouldering the burden of their mutual pining. The story is a Shakespearan tragedy through and through, expertly using literary tropes like dramatic irony to devastate viewers and showcase anime's most heartbreaking story. Shōwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjū is an anime unlike any other.

8 A Silent Voice Is A Heartbreaking Film

A silent voice

A Silent Voice is a romance drama that follows Shoyo Ishida as he attempts to atone for his past life as a bully and rehabilitate his relationship with a young deaf girl. Premiering in 2016, A Silent Voice is one of the most beloved anime films of the past decade.

The world of anime is dominated by television, but every once in a while, an original movie releases that demands to be seen. A Silent Voice is one of those very movies, captivating an audience of fans well beyond the average film and delivering one of the saddest stories in anime.

7 Steins;Gate Used Time Travel To Tell A Tragedy

Okabe in a panic staring at camera in Steins;Gate.

Steins;Gate is one of the most critically acclaimed sci-fi anime of the past two decades. Premiering in April of 2011, the story follows a group of young scientists as they stumble into the groundbreaking invention of time travel.

While seeming like a grand discovery at first, Steins;Gate's protagonist, Okabe, very quickly discovers that nothing but misery awaits the end of his journey. Facing an impossible choice between his two closest friends, Okabe has to resist insanity and overcome the odds, saving everyone in the process.

6 Japan Sinks Is An Underrated Gem

Japan Sinks

Japan Sinks premiered in 2020 as a Netflix Original by visionary anime director, Masaaki Yuasa. The anime was met with middling reviews, with many critics failing to buy into the story as anything more than a mediocre apocalypse story. But those who enjoyed Japan Sinks felt it was a harrowing tale with twists and turns that could demolish a viewer's heart.

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The world of anime is competitive, with many great shows coming out each season. But for those who enjoyed it, Japan Sinks was easily in the conversation for anime of the year.

5 Death Parade Finds New Ways To Break Hearts Every Episode

Two souls get off elevators for Decim in Death Parade.

Many anime prefer long-form, serial storytelling as opposed to an episodic structure. This means that the average anime will tell a full, connected story, with each episode progressing and changing the status quo in various ways.

Death Parade found a unique way to blend the two with each episode introducing a new cast of characters playing judgment games in the afterlife while keeping a few characters along the way for an overarching background narrative. Because it introduces new characters nearly every episode, Death Parade constantly has to invent unique ways to make these stories sad, which it does to great success.

Your Name characters meeting.

Spinoffs of popular shows dominate the world of anime movies. The highest-grossing anime film of all time is a continuation of the Demon Slayer anime, with movies like Jujutsu Kaisen 0 and My Hero Academia following closely behind. But there is still room in the world for great, original stories, as demonstrated by the works of Studio Ghibli.

Outside of Ghibli, the director making the largest name for himself is Makoto Shinkai, who broke into the mainstream with his beautiful and sad film, Your Name.

3 Kotaro Lives Alone Is Heartbreakingly Cute

Kotaro eating

Kotaro Lives Alone was released in March of 2022 as part of Netflix's Original programming. While the anime has not found massive success, it's amassed a small, but vocal crowd of fans. Kotaro Lives Alone follows the titular Kotaro, a toddler who's been forced to move into his first apartment all on his own.

Without his parents to help him survive, Kotaro quickly learns to rely on his neighbors, developing strong, familial bonds with each of them. While Kotaro himself is an adorable child, the story constantly has viewers crying over his situation.

2 Berserk Is Even Sadder Than People Think

Berserk Band of Hawks

The story is Berserk well known in the anime sphere for being incredibly dark and violent, with some of the most horrific scenes ever written. But due to its most recent adaptations being somewhat lackluster, Berserk has failed to find a foothold in a modern audience.

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Those old enough to have seen the 90s adaptation, however, know that Berserk is more complex and emotional than its reputation may imply. Berserk is so much more than edgy violence, with a deeply mature story that can devastate even the most calloused of viewers.

1 Wolf Children Is One Of Mamoru Hosada's Greatest Works

Wolf Children farming

Wolf Children is an original family drama following a young mother as she struggles to take care of her two werewolf children following the death of their father. Premiering in 2012, Wolf Children is a sad anime that can heavily move anyone who knows the struggle of being a single mother.

Whether a viewer is a single mom themselves or a child of one, Wolf Children can bring them to tears. It's a fantastic story about family, identity, and finding one's place in the world.