2023 has been a roller-coaster ride for anime fans as the year brought with it some of the most memorable moments in anime history. Mega-hit shows like Jujutsu Kaisen, Attack on Titan, Demon Slayer, and more made their highly-anticipated returns but with absolutely heartbreaking arcs. Even though 2023 offered fans unforgettable and feel-good love stories, it also traumatized viewers with unbearably tragic backstories and bittersweet conclusions.
Jujutsu Kaisen and Attack on Titan are topcontenders for the saddest moments of the year. However, shows like Heavenly Delusions and Oshi no Ko were the real shockers of 2023, especially how the shows tackled dark themes and plot twists. There was no lack of gut-wrenching and teary moments in this year’s anime lineup, but only a handful managed to truly upset fans.
This article mentions suicide, murder, and domestic violence, among other sensitive topics.
10 Kazuki And Rei’s Heartfelt Goodbye To Miri
Buddy Daddies
Buddy Daddies is a wacky spy comedy, proving there’s no need for conventional heroes to take the spotlight to generate a successful anime. Besides good action, this wholesome spy family drama offers an emotional ride that will have the viewers in tears by the end of it. When assassins Kazuki and Rei took in a lost girl looking for her father, they didn’t expect to grow so attached to Miri. They became an oddball family until Miri’s mother started playing the push-and-pull game.
Miri’s mother initially abandons her, which is one of the reasons why she ends up with Kazuki and Rei. However, when Miri’s mother comes back to take her away, the boys don’t have a choice but to let her go. It was one of the most heartbreaking scenes in the anime when the guys had to say goodbye to Miri and felt frustrated over their hopelessness.
Buddy Daddies
Assassins Kazuki Kurusu and Rei Suwa meet Miri, a girl looking for her father on Christmas Day. Kazuki, Rei, and Miri unexpectedly end up living together.
- Release Date
- January 7, 2023
- Creator
- Vio Shimokura
- Cast
- Koki Uchiyama , Toshiyuki Toyonaga , Hina Kino
- Main Genre
- Action
- Rating
- TV-14
- Seasons
- 1 Season
- Production Company
- Aniplex, Nitroplus, P.A. Works
- Writers
- Vio Shimokura , Yuuko Kakihara
- Number of Episodes
- 12 Episodes
9 Miyo’s Step-Family Tortures Her
My Happy Marriage
My Happy Marriage is one of the best historical romance anime to come out in recent years. The anime has quickly established itself as an absolute hit for 2023 with its stunning animation, impressive character building, and near-perfect execution. Miyo’s character is a bittersweet reflection of strength and pain because she had to go through both to find herself. Even though she was pretty much brought up as a maid and neglected all her life, one of the worst things to happen to her was when her step-sister and mother deliberately kidnaped her.
It was almost heartbreaking to witness Miyo being tortured for absolutely no reason by her step-family. They were the ones to forcefully send her to Kudo, but when her sister realized that Miyo had hit the jackpot, she couldn’t contain her jealousy. They beat her and forced her to confess to Kudo that she wanted to call their marriage off. It was heart-wrenching seeing Miyo go through more pain even though she had suffered enough already.
My Happy Marriage
An unhappy young woman from an abusive family is married off to a fearsome and chilly army commander. But the two learn more about each other, love may have a chance.
- Release Date
- July 5, 2023
- Rating
- TV-14
- Seasons
- 1 Season
- Characters By
- Reina Ueda, Kaito Ishikawa, Houko Kuwashima
- Production Company
- Kinema Citrus
- Creator
- Akumi Agitogi
- Number of Episodes
- 12 Episodes
8 Nobara’s Last Moments
Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2
Jujutsu Kaisen: Why This Villain's Defeat Is So Controversial
JJK fans expected the main antagonist's death to be legendary, but instead, it was disappointingly lackluster.Nobara Kugisaki’s demise definitely counts as one of the saddest anime deaths of all time. Even though manga fans knew what fate the strong-willed female jujutsu sorcerer had in store for her, many still believed that the anime might deviate from the source material. However, in what seems like Nobara’s origin episode, the character meets her end after an eventful showdown against Mahito.
Although Nobara didn’t get as much limelight in Season 2 as she deserved, her farewell episode was the bittersweet closure that both the character and the audience needed. Even in her parting moments, she tried to help Yuji and, like Nanami, felt that she had done her best and had a great life. Her death was cruel, but what was worse was the guilt and failure Itadori felt when Mahito touched her soft cheeks and Nobara suffered the curse’s gruesome transfiguration technique.
7 Knives’ Devastating Last Stand
Trigun Stampede
Trigun Stampede follows the misadventures of two brothers in a dystopian future where humanity has evacuated to colony fleets from a dying Earth. Meanwhile, humans have also created interdimensional beings called “Plants,” which can act as a power source and generate energy. However, when abandoned after a computer malfunctions on a colony fleet, brothers Vash and Knives go head-to-head because of their extreme ideologies. Knives wants to eradicate humanity by embedding every Plant with a soul, and naturally, Vash intends to stop him.
In his attempt to save everything, Vash loads Knives’s Core into his gun and fires it into space. Knives runs after it, but his body burns up in the process. In the painful moment when Knives’ body is disappearing, he says to his brother that he only wanted to create a world where they were happy and safe. When his brother died, Vash had nothing but regret and guilt because no matter how hard he called out to Knives, he wasn’t going to come back.
Trigun Stampede
The show follows the story of Vash the Stampede, a legendary outlaw with an enormous bounty on his head who travels through a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
- Release Date
- January 7, 2023
- Creator
- Yasuhiro Nightow
- Cast
- Yoshitsugu Matsuoka , Johnny Yong Bosch , Sakura Andō
- Genres
- Action , Adventure
- Rating
- TV-14
- Seasons
- 1 Season
- Producer
- Katsuhiro Takei, Kiyotaka Waki, Yoshihiro Watanabe
- Production Company
- Orange, Shonengahosha, TOHO animation, Tokuma Shoten
- Number of Episodes
- 12 Episodes
6 Hoshio’s Last Wish
Heavenly Delusion
Winning fans with its darker and morbid tone, Heavenly Delusion is plagued with the leftovers of human civilization and a thirst for survival. With man-eating monsters running loose, it’s hard to imagine the anime series having any rosy scenes to offer. Out of all of its upsetting scenes, the teariest one is Hoshio’s gut-wrenching goodbye and last words to her husband, Usami. Hoshio asks Maru to relieve her of the unbearable pain of her progressive disease.
Usami consents to the action, but as she’s saying goodbye, Hoshio has an important message for her husband as she looks at the beautiful sky and life leaves her body. However, the real tragedy follows after her death when Usami, unable to deal with the loss of his wife, puts a bullet through his head as a befitting response to his wife’s last message.
Heavenly Delusion
A boy grows up behind the safe walls of an apocalyptic Japan full of monsters. Tokyo flourishes as a paradise, while outside the walls of hell dangers lurk. However, a small group searches for heaven.
- Release Date
- April 1, 2023
- Creator
- Masakazu Ishiguro
- Characters By
- Nick Martineau, Gen Satô, Sayaka Senbongi
- Genres
- Adventure , Mystery
- Rating
- TV-MA
- Seasons
- 1 Season
- Writers
- Makoto Fukami
- Production Company
- Production I.G
- Number of Episodes
- 13 Episodes
5 Nanami’s Last Words To Yuji
Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2
Jujutsu Kaisen & 9 Other Anime About Hunting Monsters
There's a successful trope in anime about hunting monsters, but this premise can be explored in diverse ways across diverse shows like Jujutsu Kaisen!Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 is perhaps the only anime in recent years to have the fandom in a frenzy of tears and shock. Not an episode goes by where a fan-favorite character doesn’t bite the dust. The Shibuya Incident Arc has redefined modern shonen anime and is a critical piece of storytelling that makes JJK a masterpiece. The Shibuya Incident arc was explicitly designed to seal Satoru Gojo, and the ripple effect of that event was the Jujutsu sorcerers being completely exposed to Psuedo Geto and his army of curses and curse users.
Out of the many deaths that occurred during the arc, Nanami’s hit the deepest. His purpose for fighting was always to protect those who couldn’t, and he especially prioritized young lives over his. After Jogo burns him half to death, he is met by transfigured humans. During this altercation, Mahito arrives and kills him right in front of Yuji. Nanami seemed content with his actions and bid farewell to Yuji Itadori, telling him that the rest was up to him.
Jujutsu Kaisen
A boy swallows a cursed talisman - the finger of a demon - and becomes cursed himself. He enters a shaman's school to be able to locate the demon's other body parts and thus exorcise himself.
- Release Date
- October 2, 2020
- Creator
- Gege Akutami
- Cast
- Junya Enoki , Yuichi Nakamura , Yuma Uchida , Asami Seto
- Genres
- Action , Adventure
- Rating
- TV-MA
- Seasons
- 2 Seasons
- Production Company
- Mappa, TOHO animation
- Number of Episodes
- 47 Episodes
4 Akane’s Suicide Attempt
Oshi no Ko
Surprisingly, Oshi no Ko dealt with several intense themes and emotional arcs that were thought-provoking and tragic at the same time. If Ruby and Aqua’s deaths in their past lives weren’t enough, the series killed off Ai in the most devastating way possible. However, that wasn’t even the tip of the iceberg, and Oshi no Ko had several more shocking moments to surprise fans, one of which included Akane’s upsetting suicide attempt. Akane was an upcoming and promising young talent, but she was also subjected to mindless online trolling and criticism like countless artists like her.
The cyberbullying got so much out of hand that Akane decided to end her life instead of facing humiliation and failure. Considering how realistic the scenario is, it’s not surprising how well the anime played out such a serious issue. Akane represents thousands of aspiring young performers who wish to make it big but get dragged down by faceless bullies behind keyboards. Akane’s attempt itself was a highly upsetting experience for the fans.
Oshi No Ko
A doctor and his recently-deceased patient are reborn as twins to a famous Japanese musical idol and navigate the highs and lows of the Japanese entertainment industry as they grow up together through their lives.
- Release Date
- April 12, 2023
- Creator
- Aka Akasaka
- Cast
- Rie Takahashi , Yumi Uchiyama
- Rating
- TV-14
- Seasons
- 1 Season
- Production Company
- CyberAgent, Dogakobo, Kadokawa, Sentai Studios, Shueisha
- Number of Episodes
- 12 Episodes
3 Arnheid And Gardar’s Heart Wrenching Fate
Vinland Saga Season 2
Vinland Saga is based on real-life events, which makes all the violence, tragedy, and brutality in it all the more upsetting. Several characters meet cruel ends in Vinland Saga; however, the most tremendous amount of pain landed in the laps of Arnheid and Gardar. The couple lived a simple life with their son until Arnheid was kidnapped and sold into slavery. Unable to deal with his son’s murder and wife’s kidnapping, Gardar sets out to free Arnheid but instead ends up being sold into slavery as well.
However, their unfortunate tale was only beginning as Gardar not only failed to free his wife but got caught escaping and slaying his master. He receives merciless treatment from Snake and is injured beyond saving. It’s an utterly heart-wrenching scene witnessing Gardar succumbing to his injuries and slowly dying in his wife’s arms. When she was still grieving her husband, Arnheid was also savagely beaten and later died of her injuries.
Vinland Saga
Thorfinn pursues a journey with his father's killer in order to take revenge and end his life in a duel as an honorable warrior and pay his father an homage.
- Release Date
- July 8, 2019
- Creator
- Makoto Yukimura
- Cast
- Aleks Le , Mike Haimoto , Yûto Uemura , Alejandro Saab
- Genres
- Action , Adventure
- Rating
- TV-MA
- Seasons
- 2 Seasons
- Production Company
- Wit Studio, Mappa
- Number of Episodes
- 48 Episodes
2 Ai Gets Stabbed By An Obsessive Fan
Oshi no Ko
Why Romance Anime Embraces Every Subgenre
Romance is one of the most loved anime genres, partially for its impressive ability to embrace other sub-genres with ease.Oshi no Ko surprised fans with its impeccable animation and solid plotline. Disguised as an idol-themed anime, Oshi no Ko got really dark way too fast, going from a glitzy, glamorous storyline to an impressive thriller. Ai Hoshino seemed to have it all when she was able to give birth to beautiful twins, all the while managing her booming career. Just when it seemed that nothing could get better for Ai, the unspeakable happened to the Hoshino family.
At the biggest concert of her life, Ai is stabbed by a stalker fan, and she bleeds to death right in front of her young children. Aqua and Ruby Hoshino witness the murder of their mother, sitting in a pool of blood, slowly seeing their happy future slip right before their eyes. It’s one of the most shocking and saddest scenes of all time to see Ai’s shining star in her eyes die, eventually setting up Aqua on a revenge spree.
1 Eren’s Last Stand And Mikasa’s Goodbye
Attack on Titan: The Final Season Part 3, Part 2
After a decade of traumatizing fans with shocking plot twists and unwarranted character deaths, Attack on Titan delivered a final episode that left the audience more upset than happy. Eren Yeager was bound for a tragic end either way because, for him, it was the end of the road. However, he couldn’t bear the fact that the world would take the opportunity of a long life from his friends and Paradis Island. Thus, he devised the plan to wipe out the world just so his home could thrive. Since genocide is never the solution, Mikasa and company had to stop Eren no matter the cost.
In a tragic yet obvious turn of events, it was Mikasa who sliced the life out of Eren, killing him and her love in the process. While the fans were still recovering from Mikasa kissing Eren’s severed head goodbye, Armin’s breakdown over his best friend’s death agonized fans. The remaining scouts grieving over Eren’s death was one of the saddest things to happen in anime history.
Attack On Titan
Original title: Shingeki no Kyojin.
After his hometown is destroyed and his mother is killed, young Eren Jaeger vows to cleanse the earth of the giant humanoid Titans that have brought humanity to the brink of extinction in Attack on Titan.
- Release Date
- September 28, 2013
- Creator
- Hajime Isayama
- Cast
- Bryce Papenbrook , Yûki Kaji , Marina Inoue , Hiro Shimono , Takehito Koyasu , Jessie James Grelle
- Genres
- Action , Adventure
- Rating
- TV-MA
- Seasons
- 4 Seasons
- Production Company
- Wit Studio, Production I.G., Mappa
- Number of Episodes
- 98 Episodes
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