Top 5 Best Sad Boy Anime, Will Make You Cry

Top 5 Best Sad Boy Anime, Will Make You Cry

Maybe you've watched an anime that made you feel down, sad, or emotional because the main male character was always sad.

This is what is called a sad boy anime, namely an anime that focuses on male characters whose stories are sad, confused, tragic or very emotional.

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Usually the anime character experiences the loss of a loved one, inner conflict or a traumatic past which makes him more quiet, cold and gloomy during the story.

For those of you who are looking for sad boy anime to feel sad or see the main character struggling with his life, you can watch some of the anime in this article!

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What is Sad Boy Anime?

Anime Sad Boy is an anime that tells the story of a male character with a sad, tragic or confused story.

Usually, even though the male character is only a supporting character, he displays feelings of confusion, emotional burden, is quiet, cold and his life is complicated.

This male character is called a sad boy because he not only shows a sad face, but also shows his complicated life background, difficult and emotional life choices.

This anime will also show male characters who face the loss of loved ones, heartbreak, past trauma or difficult life experiences.

Initially, the term sad boy anime came from the English word 'Sadboy' which literally means sad man and is used to describe men who express their sadness.

Its uniqueness often appears in various genres or sub-genres of romance, slice of life, psychological, fantasy or Science-Fiction (Sci-Fi).

What makes it even more visible is the tragic events he experienced, the emotional relationships with other characters, facing inner wounds and feelings of loss.

So, this sad boy anime is not an official genre in the Japanese anime world, but the wibu or otaku describe it if the anime has male characters who show sad stories including breakups, loss of family and feelings of emptiness.

The aim of this anime is to make the audience understand the inner workings of the male character, think about his life and face a major trauma that changes his character.

List of the Best Sad Boy Anime

For those of you who like to be sad, you can watch several sad boy anime that can be watched on the weekend, including the following:

Dororo

The first best sad boy anime is entitled 'Dororo', an anime that tells about tragic experiences, inner conflict and self-discovery.

Dororo is a sad boy anime adapted from a Japanese manga by Osamu Tezuka which was serialized in Weekly Shonen Sunday by Shogakukan in August 1967 and July 1968, then finished in Boken O Magazine by Akita Shoten in 1969.

For the first anime produced by Mushi Production, directed by Gisaburou Sugii and the music arranged by Isao Tomita.

This first anime series was broadcast on the Station TV Japan on Fuji TV on April 6 and September 28, 1969 with a total of 26 episodes and a duration of 24 minutes per episode.

Meanwhile, the second anime was produced by Tezuka Productions and Studio MAPPA, directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi and the music arranged by Yoshihiro Ike.

This second anime series aired on Tokyo MX, BS11 and Jidaigeki Senmon Channel on January 7 – June 24, 2019 with a total of 24 episodes and a duration of 30 minutes.

You can watching anime Dororo on Amazon Prime Video is now available with Indonesian subtitles.

Dororo gets high ratings on all platforms such as MyAnimeList around 8.26/10 and IMDb around 8.2/10.

Dororo's genre itself is quite mixed, such as action, dark fantasy, historical fantasy, supernatural, which shows sword fighting with sad and heavy vibes.

Dororo once received an award at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2020 for the Best Character Design category, awarded to Satoshi Iwataki and Hiroyuki Asada.

Then, at the Anime Trending Awards 2019 for the Favorite Male Character category for Hyakkimaru and the Favorite Supernatural category.

This anime tells the story of the main male character named Hyakkimaru, a young man who lost his organs and face since birth because his father signed a contract with the demons for power.

Hyakkimaru received a prosthetic medical device from a healer named Jukai.

Throughout the story, he goes after the devil to take back his body parts one by one.

This moment shows the duel, the rise, the pain and the sadness of losing his limbs.

In the middle of his journey, Hyakkimaru met Dororo, a thief boy who eventually became his friend.

Their interactions show sadness, hope and loss like two souls thrown from their world and trying to live amidst violence.

Dororo shows moments of sadness, revenge and inner wounds of the main character, Hyakkimaru.

Apart from that, Dororo also shows how hard Hyakkimaru's life is as a ninja who fights demons to get back his rights, namely his lost body parts.

Your Lie in April

The second best sad boy anime is entitled 'Your Lie in April (Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso)', is an anime that tells about trauma, love, music and how someone deals with loss.

Your Lie in April (Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso) is a sad boy anime adapted from the manga by Naoshi Arakawa which was serialized in Monthly Shōnen Magazine by Kodansha on April 6, 2011 – February 6, 2015.

The anime series is produced by A-1 Pictures, directed by Kyōhei Ishiguro, written by Takao Yoshioka, designed by Yukiko Aikei and composed by Masaru Yokohama.

Your Lie in April was broadcast on Japanese TV stations Fuji TV and KTV (Noitamina) on October 10, 2014 – March 20, 2015 with 22 episodes and a duration of 23 minutes per episode.

In addition, it also has an Original Video Animation (OVA) entitled 'Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso: Moments' produced by A-1 Pictures, directed by Kazuya Iwata, written by Takao Yoshioka and music arranged by Masaru Yokohama.

Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso: Moments was released on May 15, 2015 with a duration of 23 minutes.

You can watch the anime Your Lie in April (Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso) on iQIYI, Bilibili (BStation) and Netflix depending on the country.

Your Lie in April (Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso) gets high ratings on all platforms such as MyAnimeList around 8.64/10 and IMDb around 8.5/10.

Then, Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso: Moments got high ratings on all platforms such as on MyAnimeList around 7.69/10 and IMDb around 8.5/10.

This anime has won 9 awards at the Anime Trending Awards in the categories "Favorite Opening Theme Song (2014)", "Favorite Character (2014)", "Favorite Romance (2014)", "Favorite Drama (2014)", "Favorite Female Character (2014)", "Anime of The Season (2014)", "Favorite Ending Theme Song (2015)", "Favorite Leftover (2015)“ and ”Couple or Ship of the Year (2015)“.

The story tells of Kōsei Arima, a boy who is talented at playing the piano (Pianist) with great precision (Human Metronome).

After his mother died, who was also his private piano teacher, Kōsei Arima became traumatized when he heard the sound of the piano and didn't want to play it anymore.

Without playing the piano, Kōsei Arima's life becomes empty and lonely until he finally meets Kaori Miyazono, a cheerful violinist.

Kaori Miyazono brings color to Kōsei Arima's life by playing music freely, expressively and not giving strict rules for Kōsei Arima to follow.

This is what makes Kōsei Arima want to return to the world of music while accompanying Kaori Miyazono who gives him love, hope and faces tragedy.

Throughout 22 episodes, this anime will make you laugh, smile and cry because you can feel the trauma and regret.

The ending is quite iconic because it combines the themes of love or romance, loss, forgiveness and accepting the bitterness in life.

The reason that makes Your Lie in April a sad boy anime is because of the figure of Kaori Miyazono who helps Kōsei Arima to return to his old hobbies/interests so that the audience can feel the emotions of the main character.

Apart from that, it also shows the inner journey of a male character who lost his mood and enthusiasm for life, then had to accept love and loss in a way that was quite bad but beautifully remembered.

Clannad: After Story

The third best sad boy anime is entitled 'Clannad: After Story', an anime that tells the story of the life journey and inner wounds of the main character.

Clannad: After Story is a sad boy anime adapted from a visual novel by Key.

The anime is produced by Kyoto Animation, directed by Tatsuya Ishihara, written by Fumihiko Shimo and composed by Juni Maeda, Magome Togoshi and Shinji Orito.

Clannad: After Story aired on Japanese TV stations JNN such as TBS, MBS, CBC and BS-I on October 3, 2008 – March 27, 2009 with a total of 24 episodes and a duration of 24 minutes.

This anime is a sequel to Clannad (Season 1) and an adaptation of Key's visual novel that tells about life after school, love, family and loss.

In addition, it also has an Original Video Animation (OVA) entitled 'Clannad: After Story – Mou Hitotsu no Sekai, Kyou-hen' produced by Kyoto Animation, directed by Noriko Takao, written by Fumihiko Shimo and the music is arranged by Juni Maeda, Magome Togoshi and Shinji Orito.

Clannad: After Story – Mou Hitotsu no Sekai, Kyou-hen was released on July 1, 2009 with a duration of 23 minutes.

You can watch Clannad: After Story on Amazon Prime Video, HIDIVE, Apple TV and JustWatch.

Clannad: After Story got high ratings on all platforms like MyAnimeList around 8.93/10 and IMDb around 8.2/10.

Meanwhile, Clannad: After Story – Mou Hitotsu no Sekai, Kyou-hen got high ratings on all platforms such as on MyAnimeList around 7.77/10 and IMDb around 7.6/10.

Clannad: After Story tells the story of Tomoya Okazaki, a teenage boy who has had a meaningless life and family conflicts since childhood.

After graduating from school, he became close to Nagisa Furukawa, who went through many phases of adult life together, starting from work, marriage, family and destroying Tomoya Okazaki's own inner self.

When Nagisa Furukawa fell ill and eventually died after giving birth to their child, Ushio, Tomoya Okazaki's life began to fall apart.

He was traumatized and had to accept the bitter reality while taking care of Ushio.

What makes Clannad: After Story a sad boy anime is that it depicts Tomoya Okazaki struggling against trauma, loss and the heavy burden of life.

Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day

The fourth best sad boy anime, entitled 'Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day (Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai)', is an anime that tells the story of childhood trauma, guilt and dealing with loss.

Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day (Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai) is a sad boy anime adapted from the Novel Series by Okada which was serialized in Da Vinci Magazine by Media Factory in March – July 2011.

Meanwhile, the manga is illustrated by Mitsu Izumi which was published in Jump Square Magazine by Shueisha on April 4, 2012 – April 4, 2013.

The anime version is produced by A-1 Pictures, directed by Tatsuki Nagai, written by Mari Okada and the music is arranged by Remedios.

Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day (Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai) was broadcast on the Japanese TV station Fuji TV (Noitamina) on April 14 – June 23, 2011 with a total of 11 episodes and a duration of 23 minutes.

You can watch the anime Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day (Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai) on Crunchyroll, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video with Indonesian subtitles.

Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day (Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai) got high ratings on all platforms such as on MyAnimeList around 8.29/10 and IMDb around 7.3/10.

The story focuses on Jinta Yadomi (Jintan), a boy who was once the leader of a small gang called Super Peace Busters with his 5 childhood friends.

However, one of his friends in the gang, Meiko Honma (Menma), died in an accident when she was still a child and all of his friends started to distance themselves.

Jintan Yadomi turned into an anti-social child, but one day the spirit of Meiko Honma appeared in front of him, but only Jintan could see it.

Meiko Honma (Menma) said, she came back because she had an unfinished wish, but she forgot.

From there, they have to gather their gang friends again so they can help Meiko Honma (Menma) fulfill her wish.

Throughout the story, you will see the emotions of each character who is hit by guilt, regret, past trauma, learning to accept loss, healing inner wounds and repairing relationships.

In addition, the story combines past tragedies, friendship, sadness and teaches us to learn to accept pain and the process of healing inner wounds.

Plastic Memories

The last best sad boy anime is entitled 'Plastic Memories', an anime that tells the story of love and loss.

Plastic Memories is an anime adaptation of the original Japanese work (not a Light Novel or Manga) by Naotaka Hayashi, produced by Doga Kobo, directed by Yoshiyuki Fujiwara, designed by Okiura and the music arranged by Mages.

This anime aired on Japanese TV stations Tokyo MX, GYT, GTV, ABC, GBS, MTV, BS11 and AT-X on April 5 – June 28, 2015 with 13 episodes and a duration of 24 minutes per episode.

You can watch Plastic Memories on Crunchyroll, HULU, and Amazon Prime Video with Indonesian subtitles.

Plastic Memories got high ratings on all platforms like MyAnimeList around 7.91/10 and IMDb around 7.4/10.

This anime has won 3 awards at the Anime Trending Awards 2015 in the categories “Favorite Couple Ship” for 'Isla x Tsukasa', ‘Favorite Drama’ and “Favorite Original”.

The anime genre is drama, romance and Science-Fiction (Sci-Fi) because the story is set in the future, where human-like Androids called Giftia live side by side with ordinary people, but with limitations.

Tsukasa Mizugaki is an 18-year-old boy who failed his college entrance exam and ended up working at SAI Corp.

At his workplace, he is paired with an Android named Isla from the Terminal Service department who is tasked with retrieving Giftia before they expire.

Then, their relationship grew closer until finally there was an emotional conflict because Isla's life limit was getting thinner, while Tsukasa Mizugaki fell in love with her more and more but he realized that his time was limited.

This anime teaches how to live a love that cannot last forever and be ready to accept loss.

Plastic Memories also provides romantic elements with dramatic and emotional vibes that can make the audience cry and feel empty after watching it.

The story is quite simple but gripping, where Tsukasa Mizugaki learns about life, love, loss and relationships that can change someone's life.

The elements that make it a sad boy anime are because of the sad scenes, tragic romance, showing the story of the main character who ended prematurely, explaining the feeling of loss, regret and unforgettable memories.

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So, that's the information about the list of sad boy anime that you can watch this weekend!