my introduction to anime with sad endings was Ringing Bell (Chirin no Suzu/Chirin's Bell). it's a kodomo demographic anime movie done by Sanrio (yes, the ones who make Hello Kitty and the studio that animated Osamu Tezuka's Unico; it was even marketed in the US as being made by the same studio that made Unico).
now, you know how some people have called Bambi one of the most traumatic movies they've seen as a kid? Bambi personally didn't affect me much, heck, I watched Watership Down on TV back in the 80's and was fascinated by it (quite frankly, it does have some rather graphic scenes and a pg-13 rating, the original Watership Down movie wasn't anywhere near as toned down as the more recent cartoon series it got), that didn't even get to me.
the ending of Ringing Bell had me sobbing and traumatized.
so, at the beginning of the movie it looks all happy, Chirin is this happy, frolicsome lamb... but then a wolf attacks the flocks and makes Chirin his target, his mom jumps over him to save him and gets killed. Chirin vows to get revenge on the wolf and is disgusted by the passivity of the rest of the flock so he runs off to find the wolf. the wolf is somewhat amused by him so he raises Chirin to become strong and eventually Chirin comes to see the wolf as a father figure. then eventually the wolf takes Chirin out to raid a farm and kill some sheep. the wolf targets a lamb and its mom leaps to cover it. remembering what his mother did for him, Chirin attacks the wolf and kills it. happy ending, right?
nope. Chirin is too different from the other sheep so despite the fact he killed his father figure to save one of them he's driven off to live alone. the movie ends implying he dies wandering alone in a snowstorm.
ONLY JAPAN COULD MAKE A KIDS MOVIE THAT DEPRESSING!
You know, i finished watching Angel beats! A few days ago, an didn't think it was all that sad.
I guess I had a similar problem in the fact that I just couldn't get close to the characters. They needed to lengthen the anime and allow viewers more time to bond to everyone before they got obliterated...
Wolf's Rain neutral
I cannot watch it again.. I just.. wept so many tears.
I've heard Clannad was a good tear-jerker too.
Um... I did get weepy at Angel Beats! too because I wasn't expecting it to be sad. )B
I agree with whomever said Cowboy Bebop...Definately sad.
Only anime to ever make me physically shed tears though is Code Geass R2 Ferrrrrr sure.
-SPOILER ALERT-
Lelouch's death was so traumatizing, you spend the entire anime hoping he succeeds and finds Happiness, and at the end, he loses everything, his sister, his power, his best friend, all to re-create the world.... It's powerful..
Yeah, angel beats wasn't all that sad...
If you want to cry = i suggest clannad and clannad after story, for no other anime has succeeded in making me cry like that. I had even had a spoiler on how it ended and i was bawling. (not that d*ck from earlier, from some youtube video). Even without the sadness, it's a great anime. I would definitely recommend you watch it. 3nodding
•••Happy Autumn!❤
Air had me balling my eyes out when I watched it. Then the next day I started watching Clannad. I watched it till I realized it was another sad anime so I quit watching it.
I remember in Dragon Ball Z when Bee died (Boo's doggy) died I cried. I am such an animal lover. I know there are random moments in animes I weeped about, but I cannot remember them. I think I may had tears in my eyes when Nicholas Wolfwood died in Trigun. He was so cute and my Trigun crush of the time.