General

What themes or topics make you cry?

351

What usually makes you cry while watching/reading a fictional work? (anime, manga or any other medium)

For me it's usually when the nature of humanity is shown, when they show you that humans are victims of themselves, war crimes, greed, loss.

Here are some examples:
The Wind Rises (2013)
It's such a Beautiful day (2012)
Les Misérables (2019)
Waltz with Bashir (2008)

And sometimes it's the overwhelming beauty of something, like with Ponyo or Roma (2018).

Rony 4y
more often than not, when reading it would have to be suicide.

had a handfull of friends take their own lives these last couple of years so that kind of stuff sometimes hits my heart.
- saponjic 4y
  stay strong man
- MarkVijet 4y
  That would be my answer too. Another thing that makes me emotional easily is when characters have no self-worth
  Rony 4y
  probs why i love Natsuki Subaru alot, dude sees himself as nothing and watching him grow is awesome
Abraham05 4y
Brothers or best friends who are basically brothers having a conflict that doesn’t end up well
That or one of said brothers dying
R0QUET 4y
When creatures so innocent and defenseless have to face awful and unfair realities. That's the reason why Grave of the Fireflies, Kaiba, and Made in Abyss made me cry so much.
- Erfan 4y
  Definitely check out Waltz with Bashir.
  It's based on a true story.
R2R 4y
Stuff about Family relationships. Like father & son, mother & daughter and everything around those. They rarely miss to pull my geart strings.
- KormitLeFrag 4y
  if father-daughter suits your fancy then i recommend
  Love You Baby
  it might be up your alley, it deals with alot of the issues with raising a child especially in japan - depends if you can deal with the art
  R2R 4y
  Thanks. I'll add to my PTW :)
Ishanarman 4y
Hmm, the only time I cried watching an anime when I was watching Clannad AS and rewatching Anohana.
So, basically its something similar to "tragic loss".
Brati 4y
For me its the school graduation ceremony. Especially when the students sing.
JabroniPie 4y
slow-burn coming of age narratives.
tenshouin 4y
when characters get together and defeat something with the power of friendship or smth cringy like that?? gets me every time i just love some good found family friendships

and also crying audio just automatically makes me cry in general
- Erfan 4y
  The only time something like this makes me cry is with One Piece, I just care about all of them and their relationships too much.
  tenshouin 4y
  when i was playing super danganronpa 2 for the first time the ending where they all come together and put an end to the suffering they went through it made me bawl despite it being a very shitty game otherwise and i still cry everytime i replay it </3 the power of friendship is so strong
kVas47 4y
When someone is loosing a father/father figure. Gets me every time.

I miss you Asuma ;((
JoeyTT 4y
Dementia / slow memory loss, Flip Flappers is the only anime that I've seen that touched on this but it hurt a lot. I know that if I watch another scene that touches on this I'm going to cry

Flip Flappers
earphoneriot 4y
Probably when characters that already suffered much say goodbye or are killed in some very emotional way to end their suffering
When well developed characters die in front of their loved ones or in a light hearted sense, when "weird" characters succeed in a very touching way
rach0000 4y
I usually cry while watching anime, if something terrible happens to the character in question and the story makes me get attached.
I mean Im really a crybaby, so I cry to the smallest things.
Removed 4y
Conflict between close friends:
Moreso if it causes at least one of them to be lonely.
- One Piece
- Hunter X Hunter 2011
- Sk8
- Kodocha (manga)
- Noragami (manga)
- Mob Psycho II
- BNHA
But all in all, I'm a crybaby. I cry in more than half the animes I watch lol.
This is just the one thing I've noticed over the years to hit me the hardest.
GoatQuote 4y
wholesome moments during times of great sadness, a character dying happy/accomplished, or rarely a character accomplishing something when everyone doubted them
Roonpr 4y
When an unexpected character died in the middle of the story followed by mc faking his/her emotions in front of his/her relations, friends, & family then when it's all over and nobody's around the mc proceed to cry really hard.
This kind of thing is never fails to make me cry.
Decretum 4y
Dementia/ Memory Loss
Shuumatsu Nani Shitemasu ka Isogashii desu ka Sukutte Moratte Ii desu ka

The fact that the words you wanted to say/the passion you wanted to feel will never be heard because life is limited
Violet Evergarden
Plastic Memories

Accepting the death of a loved one
Sayonara no Asa ni Yakusoku no Hana wo Kazarou

Letting go of a loved one because of circumstance / missing your chance
Fruits Basket The Final

Everything
CLANNAD After Story
Jeffers 4y
Dogs. Literally anything with dogs in it. It doesn't even have to be sad. I miss my best friend Freddy :'(
- Erfan 4y
  You've probably already heard of this but
  Watch Dug Days (2021 - ).
  It takes place after the events of Up (2009) the Pixar movie, it has five 10 minute episodes, telling wholesome stories.
  
  I don't even like dogs that much but this made me very emotional.
- Artrix 4y
  Stargazing Dog
  I think you would like this.
analas 4y
There are people who simply cannot be saved. Broken beyond repair.
Goodnight Punpun

A character experiencing something extremely basic for the first time in his life. Ex: Nanachi eating delicious food for the first time.
Made in Abyss
Artrix 4y
Most wholesome and depressing manga. This one make me cry the most
Girls Last Tour
Other:
Nanachi arcMade in Abyss
Gugu arcTo Your Eternity

Tear up a bit at the ending
Goodnight Punpun