Top 10 Sad Romance Anime

Anime makes us feel a lot of emotions – love, anger, hate, happiness and similar to that, when an anime centralized around sadness is done right, it will make you watch the main character’s heart shatter, and ensure that your heart is shattered in the process. With that note, let’s take a look at the Top 10 Sad Romance Anime that will make you cry.

10. Plastic Memories Will Make You Feel That Love Can Be Found Everywhere

The premise of this anime has our protagonist Tsukasa failing his college entrance exams. However, after pulling some strings through his connections, he manages to net himself a job working at the Sion Artificial Intelligence Corporation, or SAI Corp for short.

This corporation is famous for its creation of “Giftias”, who are highly advanced android that are almost identical to real humans in every way. The catch? They have a limited lifespan of 81,920 hours, which roughly translates to around nine years and four months.

9. True Tears’ Ending Will Have You Crying

True Tears is an anime that many are claiming to be rather straightforward in its approach and fairly uncomplicated. However, its expert execution ensures that even its straightforward approach will have you tearing up by the time you reach the last episode. 

The premise has us following the protagonist Shinichirou Nakagami, as he finds himself in the position that many people would dream to be in. Imagine living under the same roof with the girl that you have a crush on!

8. Orange Combines Science and Romance Beautifully

If you are a fan of Kimi No Na Wa, you will find yourself interested in the premise of the anime Orange as well. It’s not everyday that you get to see a science fiction twist in a romance anime, after all. The anime premise follows Naho Takamiya on the first day of her sophomore year of high school.

However, she was greeted by a strange letter that was addressed to her as she woke up. When she noticed that the letter claimed to be from herself 10 years into the future, she definitely found it hard to believe. However, she found herself believing in the letter as some of the events that were explained within the letter actually end up taking place over time.

7. Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day Is A Masterpiece Of An Anime

This anime is notorious for making its long term fans cry seconds after hearing the first five seconds of its ending theme. Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day is a masterpiece of an anime that will give you an experience that you will truly cherish for years to come in the span of eleven episodes. 

The premise is centralized around a group of childhood friends who grew up growing distant from one another after the untimely death of their friend Menma.

6. Hotarubi No Mori E Explores A Love That Was Destined To Fail

Hotarubi no Mori e is a movie that expertly combines the romance genre with mystical and fantasy elements. In the premise of this anime, we end up exploring a love that is destined to fail.

The premise starts off around 6 year old Hotaru Takegawa, who finds herself lost in the ancient forest while she was visiting her uncle. In a desperate situation, he finds help in the form of a masked forest spirit named Gin.

5. Your Lie in April’s Music Warms The Heart And Soul

This anime is universally known by anime lovers around the world as the one anime that you revisit once every six months if you need a good cry. The premise has us following the prodigious pianist Kousei Arima, who was making strides in the music scene.

However, ever since his mother passed, Kousei found himself mysteriously losing the ability to hear the sound of his own piano. This caused Kousei to leave behind his prestigious musical career as he started living a carefree life alongside his friends.

4. 5 Centimeters Per Second Is A Romance Masterpiece

5 Centimeters Per Second is a masterpiece of a movie directed by none other than Makato Shinikai, who received international praise for his recently released movie “Kimi No Na Wa”. This anime tackles long distance relationships and the reality that unveils itself as one decides to commit to one.

The premise has us follow Takaki Toono and Akari Shinohara, two childhood friends that fell in love, but due to unfortunate circumstances, found themselves drifting apart from one another.

3. I Want To Eat Your Pancreas Will Make Your Jaw Drop

Do not let the comedic title fool you, this anime will bring you the opposite feeling of laughter and joy. This movie’s premise has you following an aloof bookworm of a protagonist named Haruki Shiga. Haruki is a rather distant individual who keeps himself detached from the world. However, things take a turn when he discovers a handwritten book with the title “Living with Dying”.

He later on finds out that the book is a secret diary that belonged to a very beloved and popular classmate of his named Sakura Yamauchi, as she confides in him of the reality of her situation. Sakura lets Haruki know of her pancreatic disease as Haruki decides to accompany her for her remaining days, even though he was initially unempathetic to her plight.

2. Violet Evergarden’s Animation Is Elegant, Beautiful, and Surreal

Many consider watching Violet Evergarden as the equivalent of bashing your heart nonstop with a sledgehammer. This 13 episode anime is legendary for its performance in its ability to make the viewer feel destroyed by the end of it. The premise has you following Violet Evergarden.

However, when the war eventually comes to an end, she finds herself hospitalized with only the memory of words left from a person she held dearest within her. However, the words meant no sense to her. She found a new purpose in life as she started working as an Auto Memory Doll, whose job is to translate the thoughts of people into words on paper. Do give this anime a watch but keep a tissue box nearby as well.

1. Clannad After Story Is One Of The Saddest Romance Anime Ever

For an anime that is based around a visual novel, it made waves after its release as many consider it to be the most well known sad anime out there. The prequel to Clannad After Story had us dealing with a rather run-in-the-mill high school romantic drama premise. However, as a direct continuation of Clannad, Clannad After Story has us dealing with the struggles of adulthood.

The premise of this anime has us following the two protagonists Tomoya Okazaki and Nagisa Furukawa after their high school graduation. Not many slice of life anime will let you see the characters live their entire lives out. This anime will break your heart.