Saddest Scenes In Anime

Many people love anime with a passion. The emotions this medium can elicit can be quite intense, with everything from anger to joy by viewers who get immersed in these shows. Of course, the range of emotions that viewers can experience extends to sadness as well, with some shows featuring heartbreaking moments that will make any viewer shed a tear, regardless of how hardy they might be.

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Anime is such a broad medium that almost every show features tearjerkers of their own. Given the sheer number of sad scenes in anime, it can be hard to choose the most emotional of the bunch. Most anime resonate differently with other people, but some of the saddest anime moments hit a common emotional ground with viewers and leave them reaching for the tissue box as they weep openly at these sad scenes that hit people hard with the sheer emotions at play here.

Updated on December 24, 2024, by Ahmed Rehan Nasir: Eliciting emotions of grief and sorrow in viewers is an art in itself, and anime series have nailed it to a tee. From compelling deaths to simply a scene of pure sorrow, anime shows have managed to create memorable scenes that have left a lasting impression on viewers. With newer series being released each season, it's becoming hard to keep track of the saddest scenes in anime. Still, some scenes stand out more than others, evident from the emotional intensity and profundity. This list has been updated with a few more scenes that are some of the saddest in all of anime.

Warning: Spoilers Ahead

29 Ash Bidding A Tearful Farewell To Butterfree

Original Series, Episode 21: Bye Bye Butterfree

The magic of Pokemon during its original run is something that is hard to talk about with words alone. An entire generation of children were hooked by the adventures of Ash Ketchum as he got his starter Pokemon and explored the world, gathering a group of loyal friends in the process and trying his hardest to become the Pokemon Master after numerous failures.

After capturing a Metapod, Ash is glad to see this protective Pokemon finally evolve to become Butterfree. It's a powerful Pokemon that serves Ash well during his adventures until he meets a female Butterfree. Realizing that he needs to let his beloved Pokemon go, Ash bids a tearful farewell to Butterfree as the duo moves on in one of the saddest anime moments where kids couldn't help but bawl their eyes out.

28 The Deaths At The End Of Stardust Crusaders

Stardust Crusaders: Battle In Egypt, Episodes 44 (The Miasma of the Void, Vanilla Ice, Part 3) & 46 (Dio's World, Part 2)

Throughout the epic adventure of Stardust Crusaders, the heroes face a ton of threats but persevere against all the odds. It's easy for fans to label this as a form of plot armor, only for things to take a turn for the unexpected once the group infiltrates Dio's mansion. The first test here is Vanilla Ice, whose ridiculously powerful Stand power causes Avdol's death almost instantly. Iggy joins the list of casualties, and Polnareff manages to emerge victorious after exploiting his enemy's vampiric weakness to the sun.

Meanwhile, Kakyoin engages in a battle with Kakyoin without any knowledge of how this diabolical villain's stand works. This turns out to be a fatal mistake, with Dio using his time-stop abilities to punch a hole in everyone's favorite Emerald Splash user. It's a brutal end for such a lovable character, but Kakyoin figures out the mystery behind Dio's powers and uses his final act to give the Joestar duo a hint on how to tackle this foe. These may be two of the saddest moments in anime, but there's a silver lining at the end of each confrontation.

27 Eren's Final Moments With His Close Friends

The Final Chapters (Part 2)

The final season of Attack on Titan features some of the craziest plot twists that leave fans wanting more. At the end of the tale, the heroes stop the Rumbling, and Armin gets to engage in one final heart-to-heart with Eren that makes for one of the most satisfying moments in the series. Eren finally reveals the true extent of his plan and how the visions of the past and future caused him to go down such a drastic route.

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While the Rumbling may still not be justified, Armin understands Eren's intentions, with the two interacting like long-lost friends for the first time in a while. It's an emotional moment that gives the Eldians and fans the closure they want, contextualizing Eren's actions in one of the saddest anime moments that proves once again why Attack on Titan is a piece of cinema that more fans should enjoy.

26 Ai Hoshino's Death

Oshi no Ko, Season 1: Episode 1 “Mother and Children”

While the odd beginning of Oshi no Ko might have hinted towards a lighter-themed show, the anime flips the script on its head and presents a dark and intense narrative that delves into the cutthroat showbiz industry. Arguably the saddest moment in the entire anime is Ai Hoshino's death, an event that serves as a precursor for much of the anime's premise.

While viewers had barely been acquainted with Ai Hoshino, her death was still quite shocking and compelling. Moreover, the sight of Aqua and Ruby holding onto their dying, bleeding mother further sets the stage for an extremely sorrowful scene.

25 Caesar's Emotional Death

Season 1, Episode 20: Caesar: A Lonely Youth

If there's one thing viewers can curse the internet for, it's ruining one of the most emotional moments in JoJo history. Battle Tendency features one of the best JoJo protagonists of all time, and the bond he forms with Caesar makes Joseph even more engaging as a protagonist. Both characters start out as rivals who push each other to their very limits, eventually becoming friends in the face of adversity as they strive to hunt down and defeat the Pillar Men as a solid duo.

So, when Caesar dies at the hands of Wamuu, fans can't help but shed a tear as the loss of their companion hits both Joseph and Lisa Lisa hard. Many people shed a tear at this moment, and it's a shame that countless memes and jokes have made it harder for people to keep a straight face at the scene where Joseph yells out Caesar's name in anguish on a rewatch.

24 The Ending Of Assassination Classroom

Episode 46: Graduation Time

Throughout Assassination Classroom, viewers are led to believe that Koro-sensei is responsible for Earth's doomed fate. It's easy to develop a sense of hatred towards this character, only for the show to reveal what's going on as this octopus-like being slowly becomes one of the most endearing characters on the show.

Watching the students having to take him down before one last emotional roll-call is heartbreaking and makes it clear why fans love Assassination Classroom to bits. The series is well-paced and features some great action sequences, with the bonds that everyone forms with Koro-sensei making this farewell tough to watch.

23 Nanami's Demise

Season 2, Episode 18: Right And Wrong

Jujutsu Kaisen went off the rails in the latest season, with the Shibuya Incident serving as a spectacle for the ages. The sheer scale of the battles on display in this arc was amazing, but the high stakes present in this all-out war also meant that some beloved characters were going to come out with serious injuries, if at all.

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After wowing viewers with his cool demeanor, watching Nanami bite the dust with a single touch from Mahito is hard to bear. Many lives were lost in the Shibuya Incident, but this one hurt the most by a country mile. The series has moved on to bigger and better fights, but the hole left behind by Nanami's death will be hard to replace for quite some time.

22 The Infamous Puppy Scene

Episode 8: The Beginning ~ Beginn (lit. Beginning)

Elfen Lied has attained somewhat of a misleading reputation courtesy of a gory first episode that many people associate with being representative of the final product. Sure, violence plays a central role in Elfen Lied, but there are also many emotional narratives taking place in a short 13-episode that will thrill viewers to no end.

Elfen Lied doesn't shy away from showing some truly grotesque scenes, but the worst is when the brutality of the anime coincides with its emotional narrative. The scene where Lucy's puppy is tortured and killed by her bullies is one of the most horrifying scenes in anime, and it says something when some people find her murderous personality to be justified given what she's been through.

21 Rengoku's Final Stand

Episode 7 Of The Mugen Train Arc : Set Your Heart Ablaze

After defeating Enmu and saving everyone from his diabolical plans, most people felt like things had finally ended in a rather tense arc in Demon Slayer. However, once Akaza made his surprise appearance, viewers knew they were in for something shocking.

Despite fighting with all his might, Rengoku loses his life after a fatal punch through his stomach. Until his dying breath, he stopped Akaza in his tracks until sunrise to try and kill him, with his death having a resounding impact on Tanjiro, the Hashira, and the rest of the Demon Slayers in the series.

20 Sasha Getting Fatally Shot

Season 4, Episode 8: Assassin's Bullet

The fourth season of Attack on Titan has gone through a major shift, with Eren transforming from a fairly generic shonen protagonist into one of the most compelling villains ever written. His actions have left viewers in shock and awe, with his plan of genocide being horrifying to witness firsthand.

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His assault on Liberio was horrible, sparking a chain of events that eventually led to an enraged Gabi embarking on the zeppelin that housed the Survey Corps. She aimed at the first person who came into her view and shot Sasha in cold blood, with everyone's favorite potato girl breathing her last soon after.