The 24 best drama anime series and movies with the most heartbreaking and touching stories that will make you cry!
Which anime dramas do you recommend watching?
Well, it seems that anime creators enjoy making their audience cry; a lot of anime seem to be made with the intention of making us cry. From heartwarming drama anime series about young love, unrequited feelings, and relationship drama to more serious, touching anime stories about death, war, and illness, anime has found numerous ways to break our hearts and make us cry.
Therefore, if you are a fan of heartfelt dramas, you should probably check out this list of the best heartfelt anime dramas, movies, and television shows that will make you cry.
24. Penguindrum
The story of Penguindrum, a touching drama anime, begins in a very sad way. The main characters’ little sister Himari is very nice to them until tragedy strikes, when the siblings lose both of their parents and Himari becomes very ill.
Penguindrum is an underrated but good sad anime with action that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Fortunately, Himari Takakura, who is in the final stages of her illness, is hopefully saved from death by a mysterious spirit who resides in a hat shaped like a penguin. However, in exchange for extending Himari’s life, the spirit asks Himari’s brothers, Kanba and Shoma, to find an elusive item known as the Penguindrum with the
23. True Tears
True Tears, a sad romance television show that tells the story of Shinichiro, a high school student who wants to be a picture book author, and Hiromi, a classmate who starts living under his roof after her mother dies, is by far one of the best heartbreaking drama anime series of all time.
She has bottled up her emotions since her father’s death and projects a melancholy aura around her. Because of this, Shinichiro has decided to do his best to cheer her up, but he doesn’t know how. One day, Shinichiro meets Noe perched in a tree. Noe is someone who has been the subject of strange rumors. So, what will happen to these three main characters?
22. School Days
The story of Makoto Ito, a first-year high school student living with his divorced mother in the fictional town of Haramihama, is told in School Days, which is both a heartbreaking series and a horror television show. It is by far one of the best heartbreaking drama anime television shows on our list.
He will be drawn to Kotonoha Katsura, a classmate who travels on the same train as him to get to campus. Following a change in the plan for the class, he meets Sekai Saionji, a positive girl who will give Kotonoha and him reasons to meet.
21. Kokoro Connect
Kokoro Connect is a drama-romance series that mainly focuses on the touching story of five high school students at Yamaboshi. There, Taichi Yaegashi, Iori Nagase, Himeko Inaba, Yui Kiriyama, and Yoshifumi Aoki are the only members of the cultural research club. This is one of the most heartbreaking drama anime series that will definitely make you cry.
In their daily lives, they all experience a variety of supernatural, mind-altering phenomena, all of which appear to be caused by a cryptic entity who calls itself “Heartseed.” Heartseed intends to use the phenomena to test the characters for an unknown objective, and as the characters experience these phenomena, they realize that it’s not just fun and games; it also begins to change the relationships between the five students!
20. Guilty Crown
Guilty Crown is one of the most moving drama anime you will ever watch. The story takes place in 2029, following the outbreak of the unidentified virus “Lost Christmas,” when Japan is under the control of a multi-nation organization known as GHQ, an independent military force dedicated to restoring order.
Ohma Shu, who is 17 years old, has avoided causing trouble for others. However, when he meets Yuzuriha Inori, a key member of the resistance guerrilla group known as “Funeral Parlor,” whose members use mecha weapons to fight against the government, his life changes.
Shu now has the psychic power known as “Ability of King,” which gives him the ability to draw out the manifestations of a person’s personality, or voids. If he wants to help take back Japan once and for all, he needs to learn how to control his new power.
19. Code Geass
Through the eyes of Lelouch vi Britannia, a former Britannian prince who is the son of Emperor Charles Zi Britannia and his royal consort Marianne vi Britannia, the anime series Code Geass depicts a tragic past filled with betrayal, rebellion, and retaliation. Marianne was brutally murdered in the palace, and Nunnally vi Britannia, Lelouch’s sister, was so traumatized by the event that she lost both her
Lelouch vows to his Japanese friend Suzaku Kururugi that he will one day obliterate Britannia as an act of vengeance against his father. All that you will see in this saddest anime will make you cry. After the Lelouch and Nunnally are sent to Japan to lull the Japanese government, Japan is attacked and defeated by Britannia.
18. Plastic Memories
After failing his college entrance exams, Tsukasa Mizugaki manages to land a job at the Sion Artificial Intelligence Corporation, the leading android production company, where he is in charge of the creation of highly advanced “Giftias,” which are almost indistinguishable from normal humans. The series Plastic Memories has 13 episodes and spans the genres of drama, romance, and sci-fi.
Tsukasa will fall in love with a pretty Giftia named Isla, who has served in the Terminal Service and is regarded as the best Giftia retrieval. As their relationship develops, it becomes clear that Isla is approaching the end of her own life.
This is one of the best anime drama shows, and it teaches you how to deal with the sad, touching endings that come every day.
17. Angel Beats!
Angel Beats! is one of the best drama-romance anime series that is sure to make you cry. The sad story, heartfelt soundtracks, and amazing aesthetics make Angel Beats one of the best animes you’ll ever see.
Otonashi is the protagonist of the story, and one day he wakes up to find that he has already passed away. Then, a rifle-wielding girl named Yuri appears and explains that they are in the afterlife. Yuri tells Otonashi that she is the leader of the Shinda Sekai Sensen and fights an evil girl named Tenshi. Unable to believe Yuri’s claims that Tenshi is evil, Otonashi attempts
Otonashi joins the SSS to fight Tenshi, but he finds himself strangely drawn to her. As he tries to regain his memories and get to know Tenshi, he starts to figure out the mysteries of the afterlife.
16. Orange
Orange is a good anime that blends romance and slice of life. It tells the story of Naho Takamiya, who wakes up late and finds a letter she wrote herself 10 years in the future warning her to be careful with various events and her futuristic life, which is full of regrets. At first, Naho doubted the letter, but she begins to live her life according to the events it describes.
The letter also advises her to keep an eye on the new transfer student Kakeru Naruse and to be careful when making decisions that involve him because he will not be around in the future. She hopes that her younger self can right the wrongs that were done in the past.
Orange is one of the best touching romance drama anime tv shows of all time that will make you more appreciative of your life and showcase its values. Naho now has the guide to save Kakeru before she comes to regret it once more.
15. Tokyo Magnitude 8.0
The tragic story of Mirai Onozawa, a student who is fed up with the problems in her family, is the focus of Tokyo Magnitude, a tragic drama anime that will hit you right in the feels.
Mirai and her sibling Yuuki witness the devastating power of this phenomenon as it devastates the city because she wishes that everything would vanish. Sadly, however, her troubling thoughts appear to have come true when a terrible earthquake occurs just a few seconds later.
Later, they met Mari Kusakabe, a motorcyclist and single mother who decides to help the kids who want to find their families. Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 is one of the best drama anime series about love and desperation, and it makes you think of the awful things people might go through when they are stuck in the middle of a terrible earthquake.
14. Violet Evergarden
The story of a young girl known as “the weapon,” whose sole purpose was to destroy enemy lines, is told in the epic anime Violet Evergarden. After leaving the battlefield, she starts working at CH Postal Service, where she completes assignments to write letters that can connect people.
It is one of the best drama-touching anime series that will break your heart and will blow you away with its emotional appeal. So begins her adventure as an Auto Memories Doll and discovers various people’s emotions and love shapes.
13. Erased
Erased, released by A-1 Pictures, is one of those good, heartbreaking anime with great dramatic events that will make you cry. It follows Satoru Fujinuma, a 29-year-old man who is sent back in time to 18 years to stop a series of kidnappings that killed his mother.
Erased, also known as Boku Dake ga Inai Machi, focuses on Satoru, who wants to right the wrongs of 18 years ago while saving those he cares about in the present. Soon, he realizes that his mother’s murder is somehow linked to the abduction and killing of his childhood friend Kayo Hinazuki. Now, he wants to right everything.
12. Death Parade
One of the best psychological drama anime series, Death Parade is produced by Madhouse studio. It has heartbreaking and touching scenes that deal with death in a rather unusual way.
The story focuses on what happens after death: for some, they arrive at the Quindecim, a bar frequented by the mysterious white-haired Decim. Humans go to heaven or hell, but for some, a bartender challenges them to random games that will ultimately determine their fate.
You are invited to Quindecim, where Decim decides your fate, as the true human side, good or bad, emerges during these deadly games!
11. Cross Game
You should believe me when I say that this is a television show that delivers such touching feelings and thoughts that will make you cry, which is why a sports-themed anime made the list of the best heartbreaking drama series.
Kou Kitamura is the protagonist of the story, and he lives near the Tsukishima family, who own a batting center and the Clover cafe. His cute girlfriend, Wakaba, is the second daughter of the Tsukishima family. The third daughter, baseball prodigy Aoba, doesn’t like Kou at all.
Despite publicly expressing little interest in baseball, Kou begins his covert training to become as good as Wakaba desires in order to fulfill her dream of Koh pitching at legendary Koshien Stadium, the site of the national high school championship finals.
10. Shiki
The tragic tale of survival in a world where one cannot easily distinguish between good and evil is told in the horror drama anime Shiki. The story begins when there are a lot of sudden deaths in the quiet village of Sotoba, and a doctor named Toshio Ozaki initially thinks it’s an epidemic. However, he soon becomes convinced that something strange is going on. The Shikis, or vampires as they are called, have only their will to live as they clash with the fear of the paranoid
9. Terror in Resonance
The story of Terror in Resonance, an anime television show, is one of the most moving and heartbreaking dramas ever told. It takes place in Tokyo during a devastating terrorist attack, and the only clues are the word “VON” and an odd video on the Internet.
“it’s a very good anime with a sad ending!” says one reviewer of the streaming video, “it’s a very good anime with a sad ending!” Two teenage boys directly challenge the police, threatening to wreak havoc across Tokyo. This causes paranoia throughout Japan because they are unable to act, and the police are looking for ways to determine the identity of the terrorists.
8. Byousoku 5 Centimeter
Even though Makoto Shinkai’s latest hit, Your Name, is unquestionably his best-made film overall, the one that hits us right in the feels the hardest is still 5 Centimeters Per Second. His films are known for their breathtakingly beautiful visuals, which set them apart from almost everything else available.
5 Centimeters Per Second is a touching drama anime film about two close friends who are torn apart by life. Despite their efforts to stay in touch, they keep drifting further apart as they go through life. However, their memories of each other remain and they keep hoping to meet again, despite the distance between them. The anime film gives a realistic portrayal of the natural progression of life and the way that people tend to naturally drift apart from time to time.
7. Steins; Gate
Even though Steins; Gate isn’t officially classified as a heartbreaking drama anime, it still has one of the saddest and most heartbreaking arcs of all time. In Steins; Gate, Okabe Rintarou, a self-described crazy scientist, accidentally finds a way to change past events by sending emails. After using these emails, Okabe and his friends discover that when you mess with time, it tends to mess back as well.
Okabe must race against the clock to save his childhood friend Mayuri, and he ends up watching her die over and over again. Eventually, he reaches the point where he has to choose between Mayuri and Makise Kurisu, the girl he saved when he sent the first mail, the girl who has been there for him all along and the one he fell in love with. Watching Okabe fail over and over again and watching the two of them become more and more desperate in the face of
6. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is a popular action anime from the studio Bones that tells the story of two young brothers who broke the rules of alchemy by undergoing human transmutation in order to bring their dead mother back to life. As a result, the brothers paid a high price for their illegal attempt, and the younger Alphonse lost his entire body, while Elric lost his leg and arm. Then, they both embark on a risky journey, meeting friends and enemies, and
5. Grave of the Fireflies
One of the most heartbreaking drama anime films you’ll ever see is Grave of the Fireflies, a historical anime film set in the final days of World War II about a boy named Seita and his little sister Setsuko whose lives are turned upside down by the wretched war that has left them without parents or a place to call home.
Grave of the Fireflies is an achingly depressing, heartbreaking, profoundly beautiful, and deeply moving anime film that you will never forget. The siblings are left to fend for themselves in the Japanese countryside, where their optimism is blinding in the face of unyielding adversity.
4. Anohana
Next up is Anohana, which is without a doubt one of the most moving drama anime series ever made and is sure to break your heart. The story follows a group of teenage friends after one of them, Menma, died in an unfortunate accident. Jinta and his childhood friends grew apart over time.
The defunct Menma appears in front of Jintan one day, stating that he may be able to see her due to a wish she would like fulfilled, but she is unsure of what that wish might be. As a result of Menma’s appearance, the group will reunite once more, with the goal of granting Menma’s final wish.
3. Your Lie in April
The story of Kousei Arima, a piano prodigy who lost his ability to play and became unable to hear the sound of his own piano after suffering a tragic event in his childhood, is one of the most touching drama anime series ever created. While Your lie in April is a good romance, it is also without a doubt one of the most heartbreaking drama anime series ever created.
Your lie in April is a good romance drama anime that focuses on the progress of Kousei’s recovery as he discovers that music is more than just playing each note perfectly, and that a single melody can bring in the fresh spring air of April. Kousei left behind his music career and begins living a boring life with no goal at all. Until one day, everything will change when he meets a pretty violinist named Kaori Miyazono. Kaori will turn his life upside down and force
2. A Silent Voice
The 2016 anime film A Silent Voice, which is also known as Koe No Katachi in Japanese, tells the touching story of Shouko, a deaf girl, who had to change schools multiple times because she was constantly bullied by her classmates in elementary school. It also tells the story of Shouya, the boy who was one of the people who bullied Shoko and later became the target of bullying himself when he turned on his friends.
This is a good Japanese anime film that is both unsettling and heartbreaking, but it is also heartwarming and hopeful, and it will put you through a rollercoaster of emotions. In his third year of high school, Shouya, haunted by his wrongdoings and regretting his past actions, resolves to go on a journey of redemption. He finds Shouko again and strives to make amends.
1. Clannad
There is no disputing that Clannad is the saddest anime television series of all time; despite the fact that it is a series that will make you weep with its heartfelt story and high-level drama, it is still a series that cannot be overlooked on this heartbreaking anime list. The plot follows the life of a delinquent student named Tomoya, who has little interest in school. One day, he meets a lonely girl named Nagisa, who had to go back
Tomoya decides to hang out with Nagisa and soon meets more friendly students. As Tomoya spends more time with these friends, he learns more about them and their problems. He decides to help each one overcome her obstacle, so he begins to think that life isn’t as boring as he thought it was. Nagisa claims that they are now friends, but Tomoya passes the meeting off as nothing.
