We all love a good cry sometimes, but some anime endings leave you feeling hollow for days. Prepare some tissues because we are about to revisit (or maybe avoid!) the 12 most depressing anime endings that are difficult to rewatch.
Spoiler alert: The article describes the endings of the anime, so proceed with caution.
12. Devilman Crybaby
As demons awaken and the world plunges into chaos, a kindhearted but weak boy called Akira becomes a demon warrior, fighting alongside his mysterious childhood friend Ryo in a brutal war against evil.
The ending of Devilman Crybaby is undeniably tragic. Ryo is revealed as Satan reincarnated, and Akira realizes he was deceived into becoming a Devilman to survive in the changed world.
Instead of joining Satan, Akira fights alongside other Devilmen against his army, but they are defeated. In the end, humanity, demons, and Devilmen all perish, and the angels destroy and remake the Earth. Satan mourns the loss of the only person he really loved. Ultimately, the anime presents a bleak conclusion with no clear winners.
11. Berserk (1997 Series)
Berserk is a well-respected and influential manga, but its fame might not be as widespread as some other shonen series. What also doesn’t help is that many fans find the animation and pacing terrible, with the story being so condensed that it becomes confusing and unenjoyable.
Berserk (1997) follows Guts, a powerful warrior, and his band of mercenaries. Betrayal strikes when their leader Griffith sacrifices them all to become a demon. Almost all of the main characters got killed and while heavily injured Guts survives, he is consumed by rage, vowing revenge on Griffith.
The ending is more than bleak. Guts loses everything – his comrades, his lover, and his optimism. With no clear path forward, he’s left fueled only by vengeance.
10. I Want to Eat Your Pancreas
In this movie, a withdrawn teen befriends a popular girl who reveals she has a terminal illness. Their unlikely bond teaches them about life, friendship, and cherishing each moment.
While viewers might expect Sakura to die due to her illness, the ending is even more depressing than expected. It’s not the illness that kills her.
After her release from the hospital, she is about to meet Haruki but doesn’t show up. After he goes home disappointed, he sees a news report about a local murder.
It turns out Sakura was randomly killed with a knife to the heart by a serial killer. Her shocking offscreen death is subtly foreshadowed throughout the anime, but it’s still a gut punch.
9. Made in Abyss
Made in Abyss is about a brave girl named Riko who wants to explore a giant abyss. She teams up with Reg, a robot boy, to climb down and find her missing mom. But the deeper they go, the weirder and more dangerous things get.
While the anime looks cute at first glance with its chibi characters and beautiful fantasy world, we soon learn that its substance is much darker. Though the anime isn’t finished yet, the ending of Season 1 is brutal. Moreover, from what we know so far, the final ending is expected to be sad as well.
Riko and Reg meet Nanachi, who lives with an odd, animal-like creature in the 6th layer. Viewers soon learn that this creature, named Mitty, used to be human but was cursed and is now immortal. Mitty’s soul is trapped inside her Narehate form, suffering endlessly. Reg ultimately ends her suffering with a powerful blast from his hand weapon.
8. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
In Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, David, a teen in a ruthless future city, gets cybernetic implants to become an Edgerunner – a high-tech mercenary. Partnering with a mysterious hacker named Lucy, they take on risky jobs for money and fame. But Night City’s dark side and the dangers of cybernetics threaten their dreams and their lives.
Unfortunately, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners has one of the most depressing endings you could imagine. Almost all the characters we’ve grown to like die in gruesome ways, including the main character, David. If you had any hope that David might be special because he could handle military-grade technology like the Sandevistan, it’s shattered when he meets Adam Smasher, a legendary cyborg who decimates him. In the end, only Lucy is left alive.
7. Your Lie in April
Kousei, a talented young pianist, loses his passion for music after his mother’s death. When he meets Kaori, a free-spirited violinist, she reignites his love for music and challenges him to play with joy again. However, Kaori hides a secret that casts a shadow over their blossoming friendship.
Sadly, on the day of Kousei’s piano competition, Kaori underwent surgery. Despite the doctors’ efforts, she passed away on the 18th of February at the age of fifteen. To add insult to injury, the two never fully confessed their feelings. This leaves a lingering sense of “what if” and missed opportunities.
6. Attack on Titan
Attack on Titan takes place in an unforgiving world filled with Giant monsters called Titans that eat people. One of the villagers, Eren Yeager, and his friends fight for survival after the Titans break through giant walls protecting their city. Soon after, he discovers a secret power that changes everything.
To stop Eren’s devastating plan known as The Rumbling, where wall titans march to destroy everything and everyone in their path, Mikasa Ackerman, his childhood friend, decides to halt him by decapitating his human form. However, by the time this happens, approximately 1.5 billion people have already died.
Following Eren’s death, all Titan powers cease to exist, and the Eldians return to being regular humans once more.
5. Code Geass
When discussing anime with depressing endings, I always recommend watching the original Code Geass series. Whether you choose the subbed or dubbed version, it won’t disappoint. The series follows Lelouch, a brilliant but bored student who unexpectedly gains a mysterious power called Geass, which allows him to control others. Using this power, Lelouch assumes the identity of Zero, a masked vigilante fighting against a corrupt empire.
The ending of Season 2 of Code Geass is bittersweet. Lelouch achieves his goal of eliminating much of the corrupt royalty and exacting revenge, but he dies a hated man, without revealing his identity as Zero, the masked hero. In fact, he is the one who orchestrated his own death, allowing his best friend Suzaku to kill him as part of a plan to bring an end to all war and usher in an age of peace.
4. Akame ga Kill
Another anime with a very unsuspecting and depressing ending is Akame ga Kill. In this series, a naive young man named Tatsumi travels to the Capital to help his village. However, he soon discovers the city’s corrupt government and joins a group of assassins called Night Raid who fight to overthrow the evil empire.
If you’re someone who easily grows fond of a lovable cast of characters, Akame ga Kill! will leave you deeply saddened. Most of the Night Raid members, including the main character, meet tragic ends. The series is not gentle, as both sides—the Night Raid rebels and the Jaegers, a police squad of the Empire—suffer heavy losses that are heart-wrenching to witness. The final episode delivers the ultimate blow, leaving only Akame, the titular heroine, alive.
3. Plastic Memories
Plastic Memories follows Tsukasa, a new employee at a company that retrieves Giftias – advanced androids with limited lifespans. He gets partnered with Isla, a Giftia nearing the end of her lifespan.
We all hoped that Isla would somehow survive, especially as Tsukasa fell in love with her over time. As viewers, we yearned for a happy ending for the couple. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed when Tsukasa had to retrieve Isla, who was nearing the end of her lifespan. Heartbroken, Tsukasa is tasked with recovering Isla’s memories.
The final episode is touching, filled with tender and heartwarming moments between the two. Honestly, it’s heartbreaking to see Tsukasa having to retrieve her and then accept another partner.
2. Texhnolyze
Deep beneath the surface, a forgotten society struggles to survive within the crumbling city of Lux. Ichise, a young fighter who grew up alone, faces a brutal choice. To appease a furious fight promoter, he must sacrifice his own limbs – an arm and a leg.
Texhnolyze has a very dismal ending. Ichise, alone on an abandoned rooftop, begins to deteriorate when the power systems controlling his technologized limbs fail. As he faces death, he comes to terms with his fate.
Suddenly, his artificial limbs come to life one last time, briefly flashing a crude drawing of a flower given to him long ago by Ran. A small smile crosses his face before he slowly slumps, succumbing to his injuries.
1. Grave of the Fireflies
A powerful Ghibli movie that leaves a lasting impact, Grave of the Fireflies is so distressing that most people will find it difficult to watch again. It follows Setsuko and Seita, orphaned siblings struggling to survive in war-torn Japan. Despite their love for each other, the harsh realities of hunger and dwindling resources lead to a heartbreaking tragedy.
Many consider Grave of the Fireflies the best war film ever made. There are no flashy battle scenes or strategic plots, which often romanticize war. Instead, it shows the war for what it is: a tragic ordeal where innocent people suffer for political reasons.
The ending of this anime movie couldn’t get more depressing. Watching Setsuko fade away, her calls for Seita growing weaker over time, her hallucinations as she tries to feed Seita mudballs thinking they’re rice balls—it’s devastating. Regrettably, she dies from malnutrition.
