Depressing anime you like? This is not an emo thread!

No, I'm not emo, goth, or a crazy dude with psychotic fantasies about pain and suffering. I'm a regular guy who enjoys a good story, regardless of genre.

Now that that's out of the way, are than any anime you like that you have found particulary depressing, but also thought-provoking? Here's my list.

1. Grave of the Fireflies - This is an amazing anime that, although the box says 8 and up, I'd probably only show it to kids old enough to handle the themes. It's a true story of a couple of kids during WW2. It really makes one think about war, and I'm not ashamed to admit that I cried a lot when I saw it. I showed it to my brother and he cried himself to sleep that night, but no one I've met has ever regretted watching it.

2. Barefoot Gen - This is another true story from WW2, particularly the bombing of Hiroshima. I definately don't recommend it to everyone. It's graphic, painful, and disturbing. I barely made it through the whole movie, and although I'm glad to have watched it, I probably won't ever sit through it again. For anyone who has studied the atomic bombing of Japan, read the eyewitness accounts, etc., you'll find that the film is spot-on. Don't let the corny character renditions fool you - it's painful.

As a side note, there's also a drama, and that's not as bad.

3. Saikano - This is more introspective than depressing. It's an apocalyptic anime that made me think. It is disturbing, and I kind of skipped some scenes. It's definately not for young kids, and one of the death sequences is particularly difficult to watch. The live-action movie isn't as thought-provoking, nor is it as emotionally engaging, but for anyone who wants to see but probably can't, the movie is a good alternative.

4. Paranoia Agent - Not so much depressing as mind-warping. Very good series.

Okay, I'm done. I know there's more, but I can't remember any titles!

Grave of the Fireflies is one of my favourite movies. It's great and yes sad.

I tried to watch Paranoid Agent, but I don't like it much.

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One that is think that also fits here is Jin-Roh (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jin_Roh).

There are for sure more but I can't think of more at the moment.

... X/1999
It's an end of the world type story.. it's really good.. Very depressing, yet has a rather deep message..
it's about a battle for the planet... If the Seals win, humanity gets to live, if the Harbingers win, Humanity dies, but the earth survives.

The 2006 version of Kanon trumps all, especially the Makoto arc.

Ef- A Tale of Memories, and the second season, Tale of Melodies, were pretty good too.

I also liked "Grave of the Fireflies", but the sadest Anime I like is called "Air" Yep great stuff. Very sad, but not really all at the same time.:tu:

I found Code Gaess to be extremely depressing but it was well written and original for me.

Come on!!
Neon Genesis Evangelion wins the major price of the depressing animes.
I think it's because the three main characters have some...NO...MANY emotional problems.

Air, Clannad, Kanon and Ef- A Tale of Melodies; They all had their sad moments but they still had really good storylines.

Elfen Lied was quite depressing, especially towards the end but cant say I've seen many others.

... X/1999
It's an end of the world type story.. it's really good.. Very depressing, yet has a rather deep message..
it's about a battle for the planet... If the Seals win, humanity gets to live, if the Harbingers win, Humanity dies, but the earth survives.

Yes, I agree. It's a beautiful anime, and very depressing. The plot is also very interesting, because there is this huge conflict/decission that has to be made.
All in all it's just an impressing anime imo.

Elfen Lied is pretty depressing, too. Lucy's past was depressing, Mariko's story is depressing, everything is just really tragic. Only Yuka was extremely annoying imo. Why was she even there ? To me, she was totally unnessecary and way too whiny. Maybe she was just there as a contrast with her "normal" problems to all the other really tragic fates.

Wolf's Rain was also depressing towards the ending.

I loved the way that X/1999 didn't really have bad guys, and that they both wanted to 'save the world' but in totally different ways. The wrong side won in my opinion though :)

For sad anime I have to agree with Grave of the Fireflies, it's such an emotional film. Barefoot Gen is too although the youth and optimism of the main character stops it being overly depressing. The manga is very good too- I've only read the first 4 books but it is a really eye opening story.

Mariko's background in Elfen Lied was very tragic, and the puppy scene with Lucy made me cry like a baby, but it was actually Nana who I felt for the most.

Now and Then, Here and There is a very brutal and tragic anime series about war in a dystopian world and I'd recommend it for anyone who likes the series and films mentioned above.

Can I mention Jin Roh in here? That movie made me cry. I found it to be so sad, but I like it too much not to watch it again.

Also, the last few episodes of Cowboy BeBop depress me. The end especially never fails to move me. Elfen Lied was the same way for me, as well.

Maybe I just haven't seen too many depressing animes. I don't know.

Maybe I just haven't seen too many depressing animes. I don't know.
No, some animes really are depressing. I think the Japanese really have a sense of drama and tragedy.
Besides, I think Death Note was kind of depressing too. In the beginning we see Light as this smart boy who is disappointed by humanity and wants to make the world a better place, and at the end nothing is left of him and he is totally insane. I wanted him to die, because he killed L (:rolleyes:), and imo his future was hopeless anyway but when it happened I felt quite depressed, because it was so tragic. It's not a depressing anime in general but I think it is really tragic to see what can become of people when you give them power.

Gantz:] Because in a warped way it reflected reality, minus the aliens. However the view of things seemed real.

Jin-Roh: Pretty much the same reasons as Gantz.

Saikano: Enough said here.

Gunslinger Girls: Some of the stories of how the girls got there, for example, having your parents try to kill you for insurence money is really depressing.

Two that don't depress me are Wolf's Rain and X/1999. Yes, people die but they reflect the world that we are making and in a metaphorical sense (especially Wolf's Rain). They talk about hope for a future, something I sometimes doubt that we have. All I wish for sometimes is a chance, a hope, that somebody will get through the next 100 years or so. Looking around, very often the odds don't seem very good.

I haven't seen Grave of the Fireflies yet.
Judging by you all it seems like it is pretty good so I'll have to get on that one. :)


I really enjoy .hack//SIGN.
It seems depressing to me.
The character's all have there real life problems that you learn about.
...and you can kind of relate. Understanding that they play the world for a place to escape.

Everyone needs an escape I think.

Excellent anime show!

I don't think Black Lagoon in itself is a depressing anime, but my favourite character, Revy, I find is very depressing. What little is known about her past is horrible and has given her a very negative, nihilistic, and bleak outlook on life. The other characters too (Rock and Balalaika) are either depressing in their naivety/outlook and or past. Then you have minor characters like Hansel and Gretel whose backstory I can't mention here, but it's pretty grim and terribly depressing.

Black Lagoon is my favourite anime and for the mostpart I find it very witty and exciting. But every so often a character's past is revealed or they'll say/do something that takes me back. It's never a little thing either, it always seems to be something that changed them for the worse (eg. Revy being beaten up by corrupt police when she was young).

Gunslinger Girls: Some of the stories of how the girls got there, for example, having your parents try to kill you for insurence money is really depressing.

Oh, I have to agree with this! So many of the girls' stories were just sad and depressing, and then to learn of their fates just makes it even worse. The episode with Elsa's murder of her handler really drives the emphasis home.

My favorite has to be The Demon Ororon. I cried so many times, it really is an exciting series. Though, I'm still not positive of Chiaki's gender, no matter how many times I re-read it.

Air will always make me cry no matter how many times I've seen it.

Also, Kuro****suji (Black Butler) is really depressing towards the ending to me.

Two anime movies that I consider to be quite depressing, due to the fact that they both drove me to tears, are:

Grave of the Fireflies- The king of anime tearjerkers. :sad: This movie has a depressing beginning, a depressing middle, and a depressing ending (but it could be interpreted as otherwise), yet is very powerful and moving at the same time. Even though I love it, I have only watched this movie once. Anymore times is too depressing for my soul.

and

5 Centimeters Per Second- Though it does not involve death, apocalypse, war, or anything else that is often considered sad in anime, it does include characters that experience more common things like moving, heartbreak, and growing further away, emotionally and physically, from someone you used to be close to. Highly recommended.

Come on!!
Neon Genesis Evangelion wins the major price of the depressing animes.
I think it's because the three main characters have some...NO...MANY emotional problems.

Ohhhhh yeah. Neon Genesis Evangelion wins the "depressing but great anime" contest, hands down. The three main characters do not only have 'emotional problems,' they're practically clinically depressed to the point of insanity.

Arashi no yoru ni
That movie made me cry at the end....fuuuu.....Mei TcT

Eh. I guess Jigoku Shoujo could be depressing but it's worth watch either way. I liked Elfen Lied too. I seriously could NOT finish watching Grave of Fireflies. I'm trying to get around to that soon. Honey and Clover can be just a bit depressing. At least the ending song makes me depressed for some reason.

*plooka plooka*

To me it has to be Jyu-Oh-Sei. I've never cried at an anime, but that one for sure made me cry. Especially at the end. I really haven't watched much anime because of limited video access on my internet.

Neon Genesis Evangelion, Madoka Magica, there's a pretty hefty list.

Also Sento Yousei Yukikaze to a degree.

Here's one, sort of. Very VERY older anime movie called "Robot Carnival". It's a collection of short stories by different artists all featuring robots as a central theme. The one in particular I'm thinking of is a segment called "Presence".

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood is one of my favorites. The original anime is great too.

One of the most depressing anime I've ever seen is Hotaru no Haka (aka Grave of Fireflies). It's great to see something that declares war as something horrible without criticising just one side. Though I wouldn't recommend to watch it together with young children, no matter if it's just drawn or not.

Another nice and depressing (though not nearly as dark as Hotaru no Haka) anime is Bokurano. I read the manga first which made the anime appear somewhat "lame" and "harmless" at certain points, but it still had a lot of sad moments and the base setting. 15 children are part of a "game" that is actually a row of fights between their own world and other worlds. They either have to win or their world will just stop to exist. And even if they win, they'll all die after their individual battle. The peaceful ending songs don't make it better at all.