Top 10 Anime Movies That Will Make You Cry
You will not break us anime, you will not…ah damn, here comes the waterworks! Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we are counting down our picks for the top ten anime movies that will make you cry.
For this list, we'll be looking at the animated movies from Japan that made audiences burst into tears, either out of an overwhelming sense of sadness or joy.
Special thanks to our user mlpfimfan234 for submitting the idea on our interactive suggestion tool: WatchMojo.comsuggest
#10: “Hotarubi no Mori e” (2011)
You can bet that there’s going to be a lot of unconventional romances on this list, because if there’s anything that can make you start to well up, it’s the brewing love of two people who shouldn’t be together… After getting lost in a forest, a young girl named Hotaru encounters a spirit known as Gin, and the two soon become fast friends. As the years pass, friendships blossom into unspoken affection. There’s just one problem; if Gin is touched by a human, something terrible will happen. Robbed of any physical contact, the relationship shared between these two will have you balling by then end.
#9: “Stand by Me Doraemon” (2014)
Since the early seventies, this time-travelling robotic cat has brought joy to countless children. An icon of Japanese animation, it’s fair to say that a lot of audiences would have grown up with Doraemon and maybe even watched him with their own kids since the series is still going to this very day. Now with that mentality in mind, when you have a movie dedicated to said robotic cat returning to his own era and leaving his beloved friend Nobita behind…yeah…is it any surprise why apparently there was mass sobbing from Japanese audiences during screenings?
#8: “Wolf Children” (2012)
A human and a werewolf fall in love, and have two of the most adorable hybrid kiddies you’ll ever meet. Then it gets sad. After the death of her beloved, Hana moves to the countryside in order to raise her two children. Following her trials as a single mother and both Yuki and Ame’s adjustment to both the human and wolf inside them, this most bizarre of family dynamics is bound to cause your heart to explode. There truly is no greater love than a mother has for her children.
#7: “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time” (2006)
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Everyone knows the rule, you don’t mess around with time travel! After discovering that she has the power to make jumps through time, a high school girl named Makoto does what any of us would do; get selfish. Unfortunately, there are always consequences, and it’s not long before her actions cost her dearly. In those moments where she breaks down over what she’s lost, we’re right alongside Makoto crying out eyes out.
#6: “Whisper of the Heart” (1995)
Ghibli finally makes his entrance, giving us a film that will speak to anyone with a passion or a dream, and how the journey to make that dream a reality can often be heart-breaking. As she continues to press forward with her writing, teenager Shizuku finds herself having to deal with adolescent love and the hardships of the real world while she struggles to write her book. There may be no fantastical elements to it, but the relatable hard lessons that Shizuku has to learn will hit you in the heart all the same.
#5: “The Wind Rises” (2013)
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You knew we’d be seeing a Miyazaki film, though this one certainly packs much more weight due to the fact that many of the events depicted are based on history. Following the life of aircraft designer Jiro Horikoshi, the film hits the audience heavy, as we watch Jiro’s lover suffer through disease, all the while his own creations are being used to assist the insurmountable bloodshed of the first world war. Whether for the historical implications of the tragedy or the struggle of these two lovers, Jiro’s journey is both beautiful and utterly heart-breaking.
#4: “Millennium Actress” (2001)
Fame truly is a fickle friend. The film depicts the life of a well-known actress, who through various flashbacks recounts her career as well as her lifelong search for a mysterious painter she encountered in her youth. The way the film blends together pieces of her younger years as well as scenes from her many acting roles doesn’t only make for a beautiful viewing experience, but also a sad reflection of how her glamorous life has also been one filled with incredible loneliness and unfulfillment.
#3: “Your Name” (2016)
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After awakening in each other’s bodies and without any knowledge of who the other is, Taki and Mitsuha must find a way to reverse whatever happened to them, all the while searching for each other as they live out a day in the life of the opposite sex. What follows is the most unconventional of love stories, and one packed with so much emotional weight that by the time the ending roles around you’re either going to be cheering your head off or weeping on the floor. Makoto Shinkai will not be content until he has us in absolute pieces. Check out his other works like 5 Cm per second if you don’t believe us…
#2: “A Silent Voice” (2016)
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Bullying is a monster, and as this film explores, it is very easy for an attacker to become a victim. In a heart-breaking story of redemption and forgiveness, an isolated student named Shoya sets out to make amends for the pain he caused to a deaf girl. From its artistic interpretations of solitude, the melody of emotions, and the journeys our character takes just in order to arrive at that apology, you’ll end up a wreck by the end of the whole thing! It may hit close home for many, but that’s what makes the story all the more beautiful in the end.
#1: “Grave of the Fireflies” (1988)
Anime has depicted war in a variety of ways, though none pack as much of a punch as Seita and Setsuko’s harrowing tale of survival in the wake of the second world war. As they head from place to place, it slowly becomes clear that we are watching two orphaned children starve to death. Despite the film practically laying out the morbid outcome in the very first scene, nothing can prepare us for the most tragic moments the film throws at us…great now I’m crying.
