It's amazing how much the bond of the girls can let me feel that way, and even till today, my heart aches each time I watch this scene.
4. Grave of the Fireflies
Okay, I won't describe what exactly is the sad moment here in the title, even though I'm sure most of you already know as Grave of the Fireflies is quite an old Studio Ghibli movie. So, if you don't want to know what it is, scroll away!
Alright, back to it.
Setsuko's death is one of the saddest deaths I've seen in an anime. It's tragic because the setting of the film invites us to a war environment, and seeing Setsuko, a young girl in the midst of it all is unsettling. Setsuko and her older brother Seita's mother did not survive an air raid, and this alone is something that might leave a young child confused and afraid. Yet, Setusko is such a precious girl, as she goes through the aftermath of each day with Seita. Her love for fireflies is something that is so pure, and heartwarming. One thing she enjoys as well is her candy drops, one thing that I've come to love as well.
What's interesting is the fact that this candy tin belonged to the popular Sakuma candy drops in Japan, which I believe can still be found at Daiso today, if I'm not wrong. There is even a print of Setsuko on it.
Alright, going back to the main point. With such a tumultuous journey that Setsuko and her brother share, all we want to do is to root for the siblings to survive this tragedy. However, Setsuko slowly becomes more frail as the movie progresses, as food source is scarce. Eventually, this leads to a case of malnutrition, leading to her death. What makes the scene sadder is the fact that Seita has actually returned with a large quantity of food. Watching this as a young child back then, I already felt the overwhelming sadness.
Nevertheless, Grave of the Fireflies is definitely a must-watch. It's heartbreaking, but the warming journey between the siblings is something to look out for, and the movie definitely adds in elements of fireflies in order to give metaphorical value to the tragic setting in the film. And also, candy drops.
3. Anohana - "Menma, we found you"
Ah, Anohana... The first anime series I have ever watched. (I know right, what a way to start my first TV anime experience...) The one thing that can be sadder than death is getting over a death. The idea of wandering spirits unable to move on is something that sets up an emotional experience when they finally find a way to move on into the afterlife. Even in real life, thinking about things like these have always fascinated me.
When the anime starts, we know right away that Menma is ghost. She has unfortunately passed on at a very early age because of an accident, and her friends have been suffering with the guilt of not being there for her. This carries on even when they enter high school. Yet, Menma remains cheerful, and constantly sticks by Jinta, who is able to see her as a ghost. The more slice-of-life feel in the early episodes give us a very light-hearted emotion as we watch Anohana. In fact, Menma doesn't even know to move on into the afterlife. However, when the rest of the gang realises that they can see Menma, emotions start to stir up among the group of friends. The group then go through means to help Menma move on again, though it doesn't come easy.
That's where the hard part comes: that moving on is actually just as simple as getting the Super Peace Busters together again. Something so selfless is one thing that tugs at my heartstrings, and as they gather for the last time to witness Menma's last moments as a ghost, they start to read letters that Menma has written for each of them. One of it being "I love you, Jintan. It's the "I want to marry you" type of I love you". Something about the way it was written left me in tears as well, and I'm not even big on romance in this anime!
As the group chants "Menma, we found you", Menma smiles, in tears as she whispers "you found me".
Although it should be an uplifting moment for Menma's reincarnation, there's this empty feeling as the rest of her friends watch Menma disappear. The fun moments shared throughout the 12 episodes start to fade away, but I'm sure it's something they all (and I) can remember.
On a brighter note, this year is Anohana's 10th year anniversary! There was a recently released poster of the Super Peace Busters all grown up, and seeing that made me so happy.
2. Unread emails from Antarctica - Sora Yori mo Tooi Basho (A Place Further than Universe)
Unread emails? How sad could it be that it could land up in my second place for heartbreaking moments in an anime? Well, if you have seen Sora Yori mo Tooi Basho, then you'll understand the tears I have shed during this scene.
The premise of Sora Yori mo Tooi Basho is something that seems like an easy slice-of-life watch. It's simply 4 girls going on an ambitious adventure to Antarctica together. Yet, the only reason why such a far-fetched country would even come into place is because of our lovely Shirase Kobuchizawa. When the anime begins, Shirase's mother is nowhere to be seen, and what Shirase knows is that her mother is still somewhere in Antarctica. She has been constantly sending emails to her mother, to which she hasn't gotten a response from. However, she is still determined that her mother is out there somewhere and even goes through many means just to be able to fund her expedition to Antarctica. She manages to accomplish this, and with it she makes friends with 3 other girls: Mari, Hinata and Yuzuki. While friendship and exploring new adventures each day as they embark on their trip to Antarctica is something that drives the majority of the film, the underlying context of Shirase's missing mother is something that continues to brew over time. As an audience, we'd probably know: that Shirase's mother is probably dead, and Shirase is just lingering on false hope.
As such, the realisation that Shirase's mother is dead arises towards the ending of the series, when Shirase finds her mother's old laptop that was left abandoned. As Shirase gets hold of the laptop, the soundtrack starts to fade in. It's a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack, and even listening to it alone gets me sometimes.
The lyric in the song: だから ずと わすれない~ (That's why, I'll never forget you) is so beautiful.
It takes a while for Shirase to enter the password to her mother's laptop, until she types in her birthday which is the first key in making us emotional. As the soundtrack continues, the laptop screen turns into the email display, as we see Shirase's emails to her mother start to pop up. The emails come in slowly, but the more the emails start to flood in, that's when the my own tears start to flood down my cheek. It's as if I want to yell at the screen to make it stop, because it's heartbreaking to see that Shirase's mother has never actually seen all of her emails, and I can't imagine how much sadness Shirase herself must be feeling uncovering almost 1000+ worth of unread emails. The scene cuts with her friends sitting outside, crying as well as they feel the heart-wrenching pain that Shirase must be feeling on the inside as she yells out for her mother.
Despite the emptiness I felt, the way this scene was delivered was so special. The idea of just seeing a laptop screen fill up with unread emails is something so compelling, in the saddest way possible. I guess it's also attributed to the way the anime sets up Shirase's character, and the entire setting in the series which is brilliant.
On the brighter side, there's an episode in this anime where the girls stop by Singapore and their shenanigans is truly something hilarious. All in all, Sora Yori mo Tooi Basho is an anime that is quite high up my favourite anime list, and thinking about it now makes me want to rewatch it all over again. Be right back as I get ready my tissues for my incoming tears--and of course, laughter at several moments in the series.
1. Alas, the number 1 heartbreaking moment in an anime. *DRUMROLLLLLLLLLL*
Episode 10 of Violet Evergarden.
Violet Evergarden in itself is already an anime that is a feels-trip from start to end, but episode 10 is one that takes the cake.
Going through briefly, Violet Evergarden follows Violet herself, who works as an auto memory doll--a letter writer for the people who are illiterate or need help expressing emotions in their letter. Often, these letters show a meaningful backstory, to which Violet also grows and gathers experience from them as she figures out herself how to express her own emotions following a traumatic experience in the military.
Episode 10 then follows Violet to a countryside where a terminally ill war widow lives with her young daughter Anne. From the very first instance, I can automatically tell the widow has limited time to live, and she's definitely writing the letter to her daughter. However, that's not something the daughter can comprehend. She often gets jealous that Violet gets time to spend with her mother because of their letter-writing sessions. But, she doesn't know that the letters are actually for her.
Sometimes, Anne's outburst can be seen as childish, but I don't feel that way in this episode. As Anne gradually gets consoled by Violet, we see that she feels things a bit more deeply than a normal child. She is aware of her mother's sickness, and confesses that all she wants is to spend time with her mother, probably before her time is up. In the episode, we also get hints that once Anne's mother passes on, Anne will remain in the same mansion. Yet, the idea of growing up alone without a mother is one that will probably render Anne miserable for the rest of her life. Hence, these are things that will probably affect a young girl like Anne.
As Violet finishes her final letter, she leaves the mother and daughter to spend their remaining time together.
Once she reaches back, Violet actually starts to cry, confessing that it has been heartbreaking to write the letters. And the reason is because:
Rather than just writing one big letter, there are fifty letters, one for each year on Anne's birthday. Although we all know that Anne is going to be left alone, the reveal that there are fifty letters is one that makes the episode so gruelling. Just imagine: you are alone at home, but every year on your birthday, you aren't alone because you are accompanied by the presence of your mother's words in the form of a letter. Anne is reminded of that every year, and as she grows up and experience different life changes, it is as if her mother is there with her as well and that makes me look on very forlornly at the episode ending.
I won't let my words overtake too much, so here's the actual scene that made my heart break the first time I watched it.
Many tears were shed~
And I think I might have a knack for tragic mother-daughter stories seeing my top 2 moments...
Well, there we have it. My list of top 5 heartbreaking anime moments. As mentioned, these moments I've picked out are subjective, but for now, when I look back at these 5 moments, I can confidently say that I still find myself choking back tears. It's wonderful how much the the storytelling, beautiful visuals and soundtrack can allows us to feel in an anime, much like in a real-life film and that's the beauty of animation.
Till then, stay safe during this pandemic everyone~ I'll see you all in the next post.
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