Tired of watching romantic or action anime movies? Why not give sad and tear-jerking movies a try? This article has listed ten of the saddest anime movies of all time. Take your pick.
―Okazaki Tomoya, Clannad
Anime movies are basically Japanese animated productions. Anime is a diverse art developed over decades of dedicated efforts. The realistic appearance and expressions, intense characters, and story backgrounds, have captivated the audiences, leaving them mesmerized through their stories and intricacies. It is difficult to keep traditions and folk tales alive in this rapidly changing world with high competition. But what they can bank on are human emotions that break the barrier of time, place, religion, and culture. Anime has amended the stereotype animation stories, and kept their culture and history alive.
10 Saddest Anime Movies of All Time
Directed by: Mamoru Hosoda
Year: 2006 This movie is a loose sequel to a novel of the same name by Yasutaka Tsutsui, which was published in 1967. It shares the same basic baseline of a young girl who gains the power of time travel. Makoto (one of the central characters) begins using the time-leaps frivolously to fix problems, but soon discovers that her actions can adversely affect others. Her reckless time traveling takes its toll; a powerful climax in which one of her friends pays with his life.
Wolf Children
Japanese Name: Ōkami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki
Directed by: Mamoru Hosoda
Year: 2012
A nineteen-year-old college student, Hana, falls in love with a classmate who is secretly a werewolf, and can change into a wolf as per his wish. He and Hana have two wolf children, a daughter Yuki and son Ame. Soon after Ame’s birth, their father dies, leaving Hana to look after the two werewolf children. She takes them to the country side, away from prying neighbors. The children are unable to control their transformation, and Hana struggles to make ends meet while dealing with her children’s choices.
Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade
Japanese Name: Jin-Rô
Directed by: Hiroyuki Okiura
Year: 2000
After the end of World War II, anti-terror policeman Fuse gets suspended after a young terrorist girl’s self-detonation during an operation. He had failed to shoot her in time. When he begins gathering some information about her, he meets and befriends her sister. Both get dragged into the rivalries between the police administration and the counter terrorism commando unit ‘Jin Roh’ (human wolves).
Into the Forest of Fireflies’ Light
Japanese Name: Hotarubi no Mori e
Directed by: Takahiro Omori
Year: 2011
Air
Japanese Name: Air
Directed by: Osamu Dezaki
Year: 2005
This movie is based on a novella of the same name by ‘Key’. The two stories run parallel to each other. One is of Yukito Kunisaki and Misuzu Kamio in the present timeline, and the other is of Kanna and Ryūya in the past. Kanna and Ryūya’s love had a tragic end, and have been reborn as Yukito and Misuzu. Yukito promises as he leaves town that he will break the spell that has kept the two apart for both the lives.
Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day
Japanese Name: Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai
Directed by: Tatsuyuki Nagai
Year: 2013
This is a tear-inducing movie about friendship and love. The movie revolves around six childhood friends, who drift apart after the death of Menma. All the group members blame themselves for her death. Year later, Menma returns to haunt her (boy)friend Jintan, and only he can see her. She demands to reestablish the group to put her spirit to rest. The ghost’s determination is truly heart-breaking.
The Place Promised in Our Early Day
Japanese Name: Kumo no mukô, yakusoku no bash
Directed by: Makoto Shinkai
Year: 2004
The story takes place in an alternate period, in 1996, where Japan is divided into two. Hokkaido is ruled by the ‘Union’, while the southern islands are under US authority. In the summer of 1996, three middle-school students make a promise that they’ll cross the border with a self-constructed plane. But their project was abandoned, after a girl, Sayuri Sawatari, became mysteriously ill and had to be transferred. At the brink of another war, Hiroki Fujisawa finds out that Sayuri had been in a coma since then, and he asks Takuya Shirakawa to help him find a way to wake her up.
Clannad
Japanese Name: Kuranado
Directed by: Osamu Dezaki
Year: 2007
Tomoya Okazaki is a young third-year high school student who has distanced himself from his father who works at a night shift. Tomoya’s mother died when he was very young. He goes to school and seems to have no interest in the life around him. One day, Tomoya meets Nagisa Furukawa, who is repeating the third year due to her ill health the previous year. She befriends him and follows him to school every day. While helping Nagisa to organize the drama club, Tomoya finally begins to enjoy his life.
5 Centimeters Per Second
Japanese Name: Byôsoku 5 senchimêtoru
Directed by: Makoto Shinkai
Year: 2007
This story tells a tale of two close friends―Takaki and Akari―who are separated by fate. Despite the distance, the two keep in touch. When Takaki finds out that he is moving further away, he decides to visit Akari. This story is told to the audience from three episodes comprising the movie. The first part is ‘Cherry Blossoms’, which is Takaki’s memories of his childhood relations with Akari. The second part is ‘Cosmonaut’, Akari’s depiction on Takaki as a teenager, which is told from Kanae Sumida’s perspective. The third part, ‘Five Centimeters Per Second’, is a montage that shows them as young adults, to the famous Japanese pop song ‘One More Time, One More Chance’.
Grave of the Fireflies
Japanese Name: Hotaru No Haka
Directed by: Isao Takahata
Year: 1988
This story takes us back to the year 1945, after Japan’s surrender at the end of World War II. The movie is unraveled in flashback, leading right to the beginning of the story where Seita dies alone at the train station. The story is about Seita and Setsuko, two siblings, whose mother is killed by burns suffered during an American bombing, and father who is working in the navy, struggling to make ends meet. It is a tragic story of a time when compassion and basic requirements are both scarce.
Animes are diverse in story, history, and genre; with mythological characters, ninjas, robots, vampires, werewolves, hybrids, etc., creating limitless variety for whatever strikes your fancy. If you have any other favorite among the sad ones, feel free to share your thoughts with us here, in the comments section below.