Saddest Anime Series of All Time

Anime is full of heartbreaking moments. Even the most heart-pumping, action-packed anime series out there love to throw an emotional curveball the viewer’s way, and watch on as these shows hit us with gut-punch after gut-punch. However, some anime go a step further, and lean fully into the sad side of things, earning a reputation as sad shows, rather than shows with sad moments.

It’s the first day of November, and as the year winds down into the winter, we thought it was the best time to talk about some tear-jerking anime series, you know, while everyone’s mood is a little more somber. Today, we’re listing the saddest anime series of all time, guaranteed to make even the most stone-cold viewer shed a tear. We’ll be keeping this list spoiler-free, so you can watch these shows for yourself after our recommendation, but be warned – they’re not the most heartwarming experiences!

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To Your Eternity

Image by Brain’s Base

To Your Eternity feels like an intense way to start our list, but it tends to be one of the first shows that comes to mind when I think ‘saddest anime series’. The story of this show follows Fushi, an immortal being born from an orb that can take on the form of dead people or animals that he encounters. The premise of the series is that as Fushi comes across more and more people, and has more and more experiences, his humanity develops along the way. However, as you might expect, Fushi experiences a lot of death in this series – every character is ultimately expendable in the story of his growth.

There’s something particularly harrowing about watching To Your Eternity, realising Fushi can now transform into a specific character, and concluding that this means that character is dead. The story is mostly told through smaller story arcs, detailing each of Fushi’s different experiences across batches of episodes, and though some arcs hit harder than others, To Your Eternity remains harrowing throughout, with some of the most beautiful, yet devastating moments in anime history – if you need convincing, just try to make it through Episode 1 without getting at least a little misty.

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Death Parade

Image by Madhouse

There’s a lot to be said about how the plot of Death Parade never reached its full potential. The series was limited to a 12-episode run, and tried to take on a much greater story than that number would allow to flourish. However, within those 12-episodes, the series still made its mark emotionally, and stood out as one of the saddest anime series of all time. It’s the mystery of the black-haired woman at the center of the show that takes the cake as the show’s most emotional peaks, but there’s plenty of sad moments along the way that give the series an overall melancholic tone.

Death Parade makes use of a fairly genius concept – whenever someone dies, they are sent to a bar in the afterlife, where it is decided if their souls will be reincarnated, or banished into a void. The story mainly follows the bar run by Decim, where people who died at the same time go to compete against each other in Death Games to decide whose soul goes where. Much like To Your Eternity, the series is made up of smaller stories, focusing on the lives and deaths of the duos who arrive in Decim’s bar, with the black-haired woman’s mystery acting as an overarching story thread. While the show was ultimately cut short before it realised the full potential of its universe, it’s still worth a watch, as one of the most devastating anime of all time.

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Angel Beats!

Image by P.A. Works

If the list so far has indicated anything, it’s that anime loves to talk about death. Death is a central theme in so many anime, and Angel Beats! is another one of those shows to add to the list. The story of Angel Beats! focuses on a young boy who loses his memories upon death, and is transported to a school in the afterlife run by the student council president named Angel. In the school, he is invited to join the Afterlife Battlefront, a group of students who rebel against Angel to get her to free them from the school, and allow their souls to pass on.

Much like Death Parade, many fans have criticized this series for being too short, and not being able to expand upon the many potential stories at work. However, the lack of episodes does allow the story to keep focused on the central plot of Angel and the young boy at the center of the story. There are many twists and turns along the way in Angel Beats!, all of which add more and more poignancy to an already depressing concept. While short, the series is a worthwhile watch, and earns a spot as one of the saddest anime series of all time.

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Violet Evergarden

Image by Kyoto Animation

Violet Evergarden is a visually stunning anime, with some of the most beautiful animation in the industry, all of which supports the series’ incredibly emotional plot. Violet Evergarden tells the story of the titular protagonist, a young ex-soldier who, in the hopes of moving past her lifelong focus on war, takes up a job as a letter-writer to create and bring people together, rather than destroy. The series manages to sophisticatedly balance joy and sadness in a way that makes the series emotionally devastating, yet still enjoyable to watch.

There are a handful of episodes in Violet Evergarden that could hold their own on a list of the saddest anime episodes of all time, and considering the show only has 13 episodes, that’s quite the percentage. In many ways, Violet Evergarden mirrors the journey of self-discovery from the likes of To Your Eternity, but when this story is combined with Kyoto Animation’s visuals, and a more episodically-paced plot, the end result feels far more refined and complete. I highly recommend Violet Evergarden to anyone who hasn’t seen it yet – it’s a heartbreaking, but incredible experience.

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Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day

Image by A-1 Pictures

Anohana is one of the more infamous series on our list, mainly because of just how unequivocally sad it is in its very concept. This anime tells the story of a young group of friends who drift apart after one of them, a young girl named Menma, tragically drowns in a river. Ten years later, however, Menma’s ghost appears to Jintan, one of the friends, and asks that he help her fulfill a wish so that she can pass on to the afterlife, a quest that leads to the disbanded group of friends working together once again.

Anohana tells a fairly simple story, but uses it to full effect. Without giving away any spoilers, the series’ final moments are some of the most heartbreaking in anime history – it’s one of those shows where even thinking about causes a hollow feeling in your stomach, as you remember just how sad it was. The series does have its lighter moments throughout, so I would still recommend that you watch it – it’s not all doom and gloom the whole time, and actually has some very pleasant moments amidst all the sadness.

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Clannad

Image by Kyoto Animation

Clannad is a series with unusual beginnings. While many anime series are based on manga, or just tell original stories, Clannad was based on a Japanese visual novel video game, and a highly successful one at that. As such, the franchise already had some momentum when its anime adaptation was released years later, and to say that this anime made a mark is an understatement. Clannad has become somewhat of a poster-child for heartbreaking anime, and it’s not difficult to see why. The show lures you into a false sense of security like no other.

Without giving anything away, most of Clannad is not actually too sad, mainly playing out as a comedy, slice-of-life series starring a young boy and girl whose relationship we watch develop over time. For those who have seen the series, you know why it’s regarded as one of the saddest anime series out there, but for those who haven’t, prepare yourself – it makes its way onto these lists for a reason. The series is definitely worth a watch as one of the most infamous anime of all time, and it earns a spot on this list for both its sadness, and its overall quality.

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Banana Fish

Image by MAPPA

I absolutely adore Banana Fish, but unlike the other shows on this list, where I can praise how beautiful they are, or comment on how most of the series is happy with sad moments throughout, Banana Fish is just depressing, from start to finish. Still though, it is one of the most gripping series I’ve ever seen, and a standout in the crime-drama anime scene. Just prepare to never smile during this show, and be ready for the anime to tackle some extremely dark themes, many of which are very rarely addressed in anime.

The series follows Ash Lynx, a street-gang leader in 1980’s New York, who finds himself wrapped up in the mystery of a new drug called ‘Banana Fish’. Along the way, he meets a Japanese journalist named Eiji Okumura, who becomes one of his closest ‘friends’ – I put friends in quotation marks for a reason there. This show pulls no punches, and though at times the narrative meanders a little into stale territory towards the end, for the most part it’s an incredible experience through and through. From its atmosphere, to its tragic characters and plot, however, the series is incredibly sad, so be ready to shed some tears.

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Your Lie in April

Image by A-1 Pictures

Our list concludes with my personal choice for the absolute saddest anime series of all time – and also one of the best. Your Lie in April is a strangely devastating show, one which leaves a mark on its viewer like no other once the credits roll. Though I think that the story here would strike a chord on the heart of any viewer, musicians in particular will likely find that this story resonates with them the most. Regardless of this though, every anime fan should experience this show at least once – and once might be all you can handle.

The story follows a young piano prodigy who, after his mother passes away, loses the ability to hear the piano keys he’s playing. After years of living in darkness, he meets a young girl who plays the violin, who tasks herself with pulling the boy out of his sadness, and returning him to the stage to play piano once again. Music plays a huge role in this series, and the art direction of A-1 Pictures, filled with colour and cherry blossoms, truly adds to the creation of a beautiful world for the series to take place in. Though the series is incredibly sad, it ultimately leaves a mark for the right reasons, and though it may not be the most rewatchable series, the experience of watching Your Lie in April for the first time will stay with me for a long time.

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Conclusion

Though plenty of anime love to dive into the emotional side of things, these anime have left their mark over the years as some of the saddest anime series of all time. What do you think of our list? Did we miss any anime that brought you to tears? Be sure to let us know your favourite sad anime series, and your thoughts on our list in the comments!

See also: Cozy Anime Movies

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