Known for making viewers cry like children and teaching them the value of friendship, Anohana is regarded as the most captivating anime.
This entire amazing story is built upon a lovely tale of friendship, trust, and unending love.
I am aware that Anohana brought you to tears that seemed unending. Well, that’s what happens when you see an anime this good.
However, if you’re searching for even more anime to watch here are our top 15 recommendations that are somewhat comparable to Anohana, a show that is likewise well-known for evoking tears in viewers.
15. Wolf Children
Though its plot is innocent, Wolf Children is a heartfelt film. It describes Hana, a single mother, and her struggles in raising her two kids.
The children are half-wolves, which makes that difficulty even greater. Hana was left to raise the children by herself when their father was slain while out hunting.
The trash collector was going to dispose of his corpse when Hana discovered it, making her further sadder.
As Hana battles to raise her two extraordinary children, this anime will put viewers in her shoes.
Despite Hana’s struggles, the anime is not only heartwarming just like Anohana but also motivational and uplifted, as she proves to be a resilient and loving single mother.
14. True Tears
Despite being a rather simple and simplistic romance narrative, True Tears will undoubtedly leave viewers in tears by the end of the show.
The story revolves around Shinichirou Nakagami, a young man who develops feelings for a girl and ends up sharing a roof.
But Shinichirou observes that her behavior at home differs greatly from her behavior elsewhere. He wants to be of any assistance to her, but he finds it hard to balance taking care of himself with helping her.
This anime is a depressing romance that will leave viewers in tears just like Anohana did.
13. Erased
The next in line is Erased, the opposite but depressed friendship and romance story just like Anohana.
An unemployed twenty-nine-year-old named Satoru Fujinuma is the focus of the time-traveling psychological thriller anime Erased. Randomly traveling through time, Satoru solves puzzles and saves individuals from horrible outcomes, like murder.
Satoru’s last-minute lunge is what makes Erased so devastating.
In addition to identifying the murderer, he needs to preserve the lives of his three deceased classmates.
This difficult endeavor is rather painful, but the show’s greatest anguish is best shown by Satoru’s friendship with Kayo Hinazuki.
The entire scenario seems to center around Kayo, her family, and her yearning to belong, making her the driving force behind most of the heartbreak and sorrow in the anime.
12. Tokyo Magnitude 8.0
Much like Anohana, this anime beautifully imparts valuable lessons on friendship and support, creating a profound narrative that resonates with the heart.
While making their way home from a robot show in Odaiba, two young siblings named Yuki and Mirai struggle to get in touch with their parents as an earthquake of magnitude 8.0 strikes Tokyo, 25 kilometers below the surface of the ocean.
Mari, a motorcycle courier and single mother, helps the kids while she heads to her mother and daughter.
The three become a family in their unique ways as they journey together in search of their families, finding solace and support in one another along the way.
Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 presents, from the eyes of three masterfully portrayed characters, the horrific, heartbreaking, and realistic aftermath of a massive natural disaster.
11. Orange (2016)
Orange may appear to be just another mystery anime, but beneath the surface, it’s one of the saddest anime shows ever.
A letter from Naho Takamiya’s future self is received by the main character. But since these letters deal with the passing of her friend Kakeru, she must decipher them to understand their meaning.
The meanings of these letters portend the worst calamity for Naho and everyone else if she is unable to decipher them.
Viewers are taken on a journey alongside the characters as they each cope with their regret, remorse, and loss in Orange, which is a deeply depressing film.
10. Kokoro Connect
Popular for its compelling plot and intriguing characters, Kokoro Connect is a magical romance anime.
To make up for Yamaboshi Academy’s lack of a club, five students got together and founded the “Student Cultural Society,” which is the subject of the story.
On a fateful day, Yui and Aoki, two of the characters, encountered an odd event in which they unexpectedly switched bodies for a short while.
Later on, everyone in the group encounters the same abnormality at random.
Up until they realized each other had severe scars they had been hiding, they found everything that was happening to be humorous.
9. Plastic Memories
One of those shows that braces viewers with reality and serves as a constant reminder that nothing lasts forever is Plastic Memories.
The creation of androids that are nearly indistinguishable from actual humans is the central idea of this depressing science fiction anime.
The primary distinction is that androids have a limited lifespan and are thus extremely short-lived. They have a maximum lifespan of nine years.
Watchers must watch as the protagonist falls in love with one of these androids and learns that his time with her is limited.
8. I Want To Eat Your Pancreas
Following the lead of Anohana, this anime echoes the importance of sadness, love, support, friendship, and untold romance.
In the depressing anime film, I Want To Eat Your Pancreas, Haruki is followed when he discovers and reads Sakura’s journal. He learns Sakura has been enduring a deadly pancreatic illness in silence.
Haruki is horrified to discover he is the first to know about Sakura’s illness when he returns to the notebook.
Before her unavoidable death, Haruki promises to assist her in fulfilling all of her life’s ambitions.
This anime is terrible, with its most agonizing tragedy occurring abruptly. Sakura may seem carefree when discussing her death, but beneath her vivacious exterior lies a great deal of worry.
As they become closer, she teases and flirts with Haruki the entire time, but he doesn’t know how he feels about her until it’s too late.
7. Clannad
Tomoya Okazaki, a third-year troublemaker from Hirazaki High School, is the main character of Clannad. Nothing in particular about Tomoya’s life or anything else interests him. He avoids talking to his classmates due to his reserved attitude.
Tomoya once comes upon Nagisa Furukawa, who is humming to herself.
Tomoya said nothing as he left, ignoring Nagisa’s assertion that they were friends. He finally becomes friends with her after seeing that she has been around more lately.
In addition to learning that Nagisa’s illness has caused her to be delayed by a year, Tomoya also learns of her aspiration to bring back the school’s theatrical club.
He strives to help Nagisa realize her ambition with the assistance of four girls. Tomoya discovers that life is not that boring when he observes a significant shift.
6. Angel Beats!
If we talk about spirits then just like Anohana this one is also filled with spiritual power but a bit in violent style.
Angel Beats! It opens with Otonashi, a boy, realizing he’s dead when he wakes up.
Fortunately for him, a girl with a rifle named Yuri informs him that he has arrived in the afterlife and that she is in charge of a battlefront that changes its name to rebel against God and take on God’s henchwoman, the supernaturally gifted kuudere girl Angel Tachibana.
Otonashi doubts the morality of the battlefront’s actions as they plan and carry out different missions against Angel.
After a while, the real goal of the afterlife school is revealed, and Otonashi starts working with Angel to understand it: to help those who have gone through pain and struggle in life move on.
Every one of the aforementioned fatalities is filled with grief and will undoubtedly bring audiences to tears.
5. Hotarubi no Mori e (Into the Forest of Fireflies’ Light)
Similar to Anohana, this anime crafts a narrative emphasizing the enduring power of love and romance but it also adds depression and sadness as well.
A masked woodland spirit named Gin finds Hotaru when he gets lost in the forest. She learns that the spirit would vanish if it came into contact with a human’s skin.
Gin is assured by Hotaru that she will return with a gift for him. As Hotaru went to Gin every summer, the two of them grew close.
Two persons who are far apart but closer to each other are the subject of the story.
4. Your Name
In anime, the concept of fate is not new. It is an ongoing theme in a number of the medium’s genres.
But Your Name takes a fresh approach to it, making it one of the most depressing anime films ever. Mitsuha Miyamizu and Taki Tachibana, two high school students from ordinary, modest backgrounds, are the subjects of the movie.
Although Mitsuha can’t afford it, she wants to live in Tokyo. Taki finds it difficult to balance his part-time job and school.
These are two very similar personalities who are fated to meet when they unexpectedly trade bodies. They soon come to understand that nothing in their lives is genuinely a coincidence and how profoundly their choices affect one another.
From the opening credits to the moving and unforgettable conclusion, Your Name will hold the attention of viewers.
3. A Silent Voice
Sometimes the most unlikely places can produce the best romances.
Although romantic interests and childhood relationships are popular plot points in anime series, Anohana and A Silent Voice go above and beyond!
As a restless teenage boy, Shouya Ishida tried every harsh trick in the book to escape boredom. When a deaf girl named Shouko Nishimiya joins his class, Shouya and the other students tease her for amusement.
Following her mother’s notification to the school, he finds himself singled out and held accountable for all that has befallen her.
Since Shouko left the school, Shouya is now at the mercy of his peers. He is cruelly rejected by classmates during elementary and middle school, and teachers turn a blind eye.
Even in his third year of high school, Shouya is troubled by his past mistakes. He embarks on a mission of atonement in the hopes of running into Shouko once again and offering an apology for his previous transgressions.
Despite the fact that the majority of the novel depicts painful times, it has a wonderful conclusion that will ultimately make you feel extremely happy. One of the best-rated anime series and a must-see is A Silent Voice.
2. Your Lie in April
Since Your Lie in April is consistently referred to as the show that will shatter your heart in its final moments, you must be familiar with this title already.
The narrative tells the account of Kousei Arima, a young pianist who was gifted but lost it all due to a horrific event.
However, everything changes when he meets Kaori Miyazono, a violinist, who encourages him to rekindle his talent and resume his career in the spotlight.
This anime is incredibly emotional from the very beginning, making it a tearjerker.
Even though it ends on a dreadful note, it inspires you with lovely feelings and imparts valuable lessons about moving on with your life.
In the best way possible, it concentrates on themes of loss, depression, and trauma. It is an anime that is both tragic and inspirational, and it is highly recommended.
1. Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Grave of the Fireflies is without a doubt the saddest work of art in the history of anime.
Although cheerful stories are a hallmark of Studio Ghibli films, don’t let that popular perception deceive you in this case.
In the heartbreaking story Grave of the Fireflies, a young boy and his younger sister fight to survive in a Japan devastated World II conflict.
Not only the animation is well-liked by fans all around the world, but it also caught the eye of some of the best critics and viewers and was named one of the best war and saddest anime ever made.
Just when we thought things couldn’t get any worse, this anime, which depicts the author’s early experiences, and is based on a true story.
You might spend days crying like a child after watching this movie.