Tearjerkers

[Kött]

I'm not going to lie about this: Despite acting all rough and manly, I am quite a pussy when it comes to sad or touching stories.
Maybe it's because at some point I got fed up with the overdose of humor and stupidity that we are mostly exposed to in the world of entertainment and on the internet but I really think that it is quite nice to discover every now and then how great it can feel to discover that beside amusement and anger there are still other feelings in our hearts that can be triggered by a nice piece of art.

So far, I mainly experienced this in well written anime and while there's nothing greater for some people than getting a decent amount of fan service or action, for me it is a good cry at the end of a show that shows that it has truly been worth the time.

Some of my favorite tearjerkers are:

Clannad + After Story
Probably the most effective one out there and definitely one of my favorites. If you consider yourself Rambo and don't know the meaning of the word tears, feel officially challenged because this one IS going to make you cry... That is if you are willing to watch a 47 episode anime. But all I can promise is that it will be worth the time. Some people described it as "Clannad is life", as that actually is what it is trying to be. It shows the ups and downs in the life of a young man growing up and learning the happy and sad lessons of life.

Kanon (2006)
Yes, the infamous "uguu~" anime. The problem is that most people will just turn away and consider it moeblob bullshit after watching 30 seconds of a certain video on Youtube that shows some scenes from this anime. The eyes are way too big, supposedly cute verbal tics are initially overused and the archetypes of the characters seem to be so obvious, that most people probably won't give it a chance. Additionally it has quite a slow start and it will take a while to get into it.
The story features a young man, returning to a town where he spent a major part of his childhood and slowly starts to unfold episode by episode. Be warned though: While essentially being a kind of softhearted modern fairytale, it also features a rather dark side and cunning plot twists.
Once you get sucked into the story you are completely absorbed and all in all Kanon is simply one of the most beautiful and most touching anime that I have ever watched.

Ano Hana
A kind of classical ghost story... The protagonist of this show starts seeing the spirit of one of his decreased childhood friends one day and isn't sure whether he's just going insane or if he can really see a ghost that has an unfulfilled wish. Eventually he gives in and starts to gather the old gang of childhood friends that has drifted apart after the tragic incident.


So, how about you? What are your favorite stories, images, short films, shows or movies that have moved you to tears?

[Sef]

Charlottes Web

[rtil]

i've never cried over anything fictional, but i've come close a few times. spirited away, grave of the fireflies, the last few episodes of bebop and some scenes of katawa shoujo come to mind.

[Ashington]

some scenes of katawa shoujo come to mind.

know that feel mayne

[Sef]

I get angry more than I get tearful

[Sinitron]

Charlottes Web

the old 70s cartoon version

beautiful work

[naturally]

usually i never cry at fictional stuff unless it hits really close to home but when i saw up for the first time i was pretty close. ano hana was the saddest to me for sure, 'cause it hit extremely close to home. same with welcome to the nhk but not as much so as ano hana. also this is really weird 'cause i almost just cried at an episode of angel beats and felt really lame afterwords and then opened up tba and this was here.

so yeah i would definitely recommend welcome to the nhk for anyone who's been to some dark places. my friend's been trying to make me watch angel beats for the longest time and i was really reluctant 'cause i don't like the art in it at all but it's actually pretty good and not over the top when it comes to emotional stuff like a lot of animes do.

also the haruhi movie. god damn that was sad. though you'd have to watch the series first and the movie's like 3 hours but it is definitely worth it.

[Jon]

i got fairly emotional watching AI artificial intelligence. i think that movie's got one of the saddest endings of all time

[BluPhoenix]

2 games i can think of that have done the trick over the years

[spoiler]Metal Gear Solid
first game i've ever cried during, back when i was about 8 or 9, when i played it for the first time, sure the game can be seen as complicated and overly wordy, but some of the scenes spoke out to me in a way that i hadnt seen or thought about in the typical wargame scenario. the most prevalent was human emotion- this wasn't the sole badass 'kill everything' regime that action movies drown you in, but actually contained a reason to keep on going, the characters that were introduced as simplistic killing machines turn out to be complex individuals that life fucked over pretty well, certainly teaching that life isn't fair. the deaths of two particular characters spark not only an emotional reaction from the player, but a philosophical epiphany as well.
The Death of Sniper Wolf (Metal Gear Solid, 1998)
"I became a sniper. Hidden.. watching everything through a rifle scope. Now I could see war not from inside, but the outside... as an observer. I watched the brutality... the stupidity of mankind through the scope of my rifle."

Metal Gear Solid - Death of Grey Fox
"Snake, we're not tools of the government or anyone else! Fighting was the only thing... the only thing i was good at. But... at least I always fought for what I believed in..."

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4
This one is definitely more recent, persona 4 is a very lengthy game(about 60-70 hours), and the biggest chunk of it all is spent with the social links, essentially becoming better and better friends with the characters. Teddie, the strange dude you meet on the other side of the tv world, and is quite a mystery throughout, (doesn't know who he is, where he came from) as you approach the GOOD ending, teddie disappears and comes back a few days later [spoiler]nanako dies, a few days prior, and teddie says good bye to her as he disappears. she comes back to life, in a coma[/spoiler]
whenever teddie reappears in the velvet room, you discover where he's been and what he's been up to. his realization of what he truly was, and the sense of hopelessness he has makes me fucking misty-eyed TO THIS DAY
Persona 4: What Teddie Is, Can't Pinpoint Adachi
"What the other Teddie said before... in the end, it was all true. No matter how much I search for myself, I have no self... there was no me to begin with. I'm just a shadow that took a different form so humans would like me..."
[/spoiler]
THAT'S IT I'M DONE GUSHING

[cipher]

Man I could talk about all the hidden meanings and general greatness of Welcome to the NHK for hours. I recommend that too, especially for 'internet' people. I didn't see it as a tearjerker, but it was pretty depressing in the long run

[naturally]

Man I could talk about all the hidden meanings and general greatness of Welcome to the NHK for hours. I recommend that too, especially for 'internet' people. I didn't see it as a tearjerker, but it was pretty depressing in the long run

sorry i guess i should have established that. not really a tearjerker but heavy in it's own way for sure.

* the phillip j fry uncle episode. brotherly love

yeah there are also definitely some futurama moments that hit pretty hard.

[lenko]

never really cried cuz of a story but there's been a few moments that hit pretty hard:

-the simpsons, the first episode with homer's mom (unfortunately more eps with her ended up being made, ruining the ending completely)
-that part in the royal tenenbaums where [spoiler]richie attempts suicide[/spoiler]
-mary and max, the entire film
-the wrestler, especially the ending
-schindler's list, red coated girl. fuck you spielberg
-blackadder goes forth, the ending of the final episode

[harrison2142]

Nothing in recent memory has made me teary-eyed, but I can think of some pretty emotionally strong parts of some games, mainly the following:

Breath of fire 4 - Elena, Nina's sister who you've been searching for for most of the game, turns out to be...well....you can watch and see.
Breath of Fire 4 - Elina

MGS4 - Big Boss being all awesome and stuff.
104 Metal Gear Solid 4 Big Boss Explains

Demon's Souls - Maiden Astrea & Good Ending. For a game with very little in direct narrative, DS does a great job with those few situations in which the story really pulls through.
Demon's Soul's Walkthrough - Maiden Astraea / Garl Vinland Boss Fight
Demon's Souls Boss Battle - Last Boss & Good Ending

Red Dead Redemption - I have a cure for all ailments Mr. Marston....
Red Dead Redemption Ending - HD

And literally ever bit of Bastion. All of it.

[Greenkitten]

All About My Dog - Marimo

If you've ever owned a dog this will make you cry 

[sev]

spirited away bebop katawa shoujo

+ metal gear solid 4, but only the last time i played it, when [spoiler]naomi syringes herself to death in front of otacon while he can't do shit to stop her but cry because he's watching it over a monitor[/spoiler], and in madoka magica, when [spoiler]madoka finally understands homura's pain when they become all spacey and homura just fuckin cries out that made me really sad[/spoiler]

MGS4 - Big Boss being all awesome and stuff.
104 Metal Gear Solid 4 Big Boss Explains

Demon's Souls - Maiden Astrea & Good Ending. For a game with very little in direct narrative, DS does a great job with those few situations in which the story really pulls through.
Demon's Soul's Walkthrough - Maiden Astraea / Garl Vinland Boss Fight
Demon's Souls Boss Battle - Last Boss & Good Ending

And literally ever bit of Bastion. All of it.

agreed, all of these are super moving, but not to tears as you mentioned

especially this:

Meeting Zia in Prosper Bluff

[iinnkk]

i got fairly emotional watching AI artificial intelligence. i think that movie's got one of the saddest endings of all time

this movie has made me cry every time i have ever seen it

in madoka magica, when [spoiler]madoka finally understands homura's pain when they become all spacey and homura just fuckin cries out that made me really sad[/spoiler]

THIS PART OF THE SHOW ^ made me just bawl especially because homura is my waifu

Kaiba made me tear up a few times, Elfen lied (jesus that is a depressing show), the movie Moulin Rouge has made me cry (i am a sucker for sad romance movies)
the mangas mardock scramble and what a wonderful world! have made me pretty sad too

eh that's all i can think of right now （￣ _ゝ￣）

[harrison2142]

agreed, all of these are super moving, but not to tears as you mentioned

especially this:

Meeting Zia in Prosper Bluff

That, and the ending in which you [spoiler]carry Zulf as the Ura shoot at you[/spoiler] were my favorite parts of that game.

[sev]

yeah the zulf part was really sad too, i forgot about that.

[sev]

All About My Dog - Marimo

If you've ever owned a dog this will make you cry 

oh my god ;_______________;

[ZennyPLUS]

Nearly cried when Ash was turned to stone in the first pokemon film. You all pretty much mentioned other things that tugged at emotional strings.