5 Anime That Will Give You Feels

a.k.a. 5 Anime That Made Me Laugh & Cry

As readers of my books will tell you, I tend to write a lot of sad, poignant moments that are mixed in with laugh out loud feel good scenes. (I know, I’m a mess.) In fact, one of my favorite fellow indie writers, Macy Filia, has described my aesthetic as a writer as feel good but sad, which made me laugh, and in all fairness is a pretty accurate evaluation of things. As a purveyor of the happy-sad aesthetic, here are 5 anime that will have you feeling all the feels. (ಥ﹏ಥ)

Warning: Potential spoilers ahead!

Erased / The Town Without Me (僕だけがいない街)

Synopsis: When tragedy is about to strike, Satoru Fujinuma finds himself sent back several minutes before the accident occurs. The detached, 29-year-old manga artist has taken advantage of this powerful yet mysterious phenomenon, which he calls “Revival,” to save many lives.

However, when he is wrongfully accused of murdering someone close to him, Satoru is sent back to the past once again, but this time to 1988, 18 years in the past. Soon, he realizes that the murder may be connected to the abduction and killing of one of his classmates, the solitary and mysterious Kayo Hinazuki, that took place when he was a child. This is his chance to make things right.

Boku dake ga Inai Machi follows Satoru in his mission to uncover what truly transpired 18 years ago and prevent the death of his classmate while protecting those he cares about in the present. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

My feels: The Town Without Me was first recommended to me in 2016 by my good friend V-Aria. At the time, I wasn’t emotionally prepared to watch it so I put it off for a year. Even when I thought I was prepared to watch it, I wasn’t. It was such a wild ride! I was confused, I laughed, I cried. There was so much internal screaming.  No spoilers because I really think everyone should watch this series. The storytelling was artfully done and my heart may never recover from the onslaught of feelings I had.

 

Dusk Maiden of Amnesia / Tasogare Otome x Amnesia (黄昏乙女×アムネジア)

Synopsis: Seikyou Private Academy, built on the intrigue of traditional occult myths, bears a dark past—for 60 years, it has been haunted by a ghost known as Yuuko, a young woman who mysteriously died in the basement of the old school building. With no memory of her life or death, Yuuko discreetly founds and heads the Paranormal Investigations Club in search of answers.

After a chance meeting leads Yuuko to cling to diligent freshman Teiichi Niiya, who can see the quirky ghost, they quickly grow close, and he decides to help her. Along with Kirie Kanoe, Yuuko’s relative, and the oblivious second year Momoe Okonogi, they delve deep into the infamous Seven Mysteries of the storied school.

Tasogare Otome x Amnesia tells a unique tale of students who work together to shed light on their school’s paranormal happenings, all the while inching closer to the truth behind Yuuko’s death. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

My feels: I don’t know what I expected when I started watching Dusk Maiden but it certainly wasn’t what I got. Full of funny, scary, and poignant moments, I never knew what each episode was going to throw at me. Although there was quite a buildup, the series’ unexpected ending moved me, touched my heart, and made me want more.

Mysterious Play / Fushigi Yuugi (ふしぎ遊戯)

Synopsis: While visiting the National Library, junior-high students Miaka Yuuki and Yui Hongo are transported into the world of a mysterious book set in ancient China, “The Universe of The Four Gods.” Miaka suddenly finds herself with the responsibility of being the priestess of Suzaku, and must find all of her celestial warriors for the purpose of summoning Suzaku for three wishes; however, the enemy nation of the god Seiryuu has manipulated Yui into becoming the priestess of Seiryuu. As enemies, the former best friends begin their long struggle to summon their respective gods and obtain their wishes… [Written by MAL Rewrite]

My feels: I suppose I should preface this with the fact that I watched this series when I was a hormonal teenager. XD There were so many tears that fell while watching this.

*POTENTIAL SPOILERS*

From all of the seishi having devastatingly tragic backstories to Miaka’s friendship with Yui being tested, the serene moments were few and far for me. I swear, I probably spent almost 100% of the time spent watching this so very deep in my feels. (つω`｡) The one sliver of hope I felt while watching was due to Miaka’s boundless positivity. No matter how impossible the situation felt, she always pushed forward.

 

Blue Exorcist / Ao No Exorcist (青の祓魔師(エクソシスト))

Synopsis: Humans and demons are two sides of the same coin, as are Assiah and Gehenna, their respective worlds. The only way to travel between the realms is by the means of possession, like in ghost stories. However, Satan, the ruler of Gehenna, cannot find a suitable host to possess and therefore, remains imprisoned in his world. In a desperate attempt to conquer Assiah, he sends his son instead, intending for him to eventually grow into a vessel capable of possession by the demon king.

Ao no Exorcist follows Rin Okumura who appears to be an ordinary, somewhat troublesome teenager—that is until one day he is ambushed by demons. His world turns upside down when he discovers that he is in fact the very son of Satan and that his demon father wishes for him to return so they can conquer Assiah together. Not wanting to join the king of Gehenna, Rin decides to begin training to become an exorcist so that he can fight to defend Assiah alongside his brother Yukio. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

My feels: This anime was another recommendation from a friend, who actually went on to recommend many more of my new favorites. (Thank you, Ryder!) I liked the slice of life with a supernatural twist feel that Blue Exorcist had and, for the most part, I didn’t think that this anime was very deep (in large part thanks to Mephisto’s light-hearted nature) so I could enjoy watching it during any downtime I had without worrying about getting overly emotional (lol) or having to think too hard about it.

*SPOILERS*

However, when Shiro Fujimoto’s familiar learned about his death I felt my heart break into millions of tiny pieces. T^T I got misty-eyed just watching the first 35-seconds of the clip below.

 

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (鋼の錬金術師 FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST)

Synopsis: “In order for something to be obtained, something of equal value must be lost.”

Alchemy is bound by this Law of Equivalent Exchange—something the young brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric only realize after attempting human transmutation: the one forbidden act of alchemy. They pay a terrible price for their transgression—Edward loses his left leg, Alphonse his physical body. It is only by the desperate sacrifice of Edward’s right arm that he is able to affix Alphonse’s soul to a suit of armor. Devastated and alone, it is the hope that they would both eventually return to their original bodies that gives Edward the inspiration to obtain metal limbs called “automail” and become a state alchemist, the Fullmetal Alchemist.

Three years of searching later, the brothers seek the Philosopher’s Stone, a mythical relic that allows an alchemist to overcome the Law of Equivalent Exchange. Even with military allies Colonel Roy Mustang, Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye, and Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes on their side, the brothers find themselves caught up in a nationwide conspiracy that leads them not only to the true nature of the elusive Philosopher’s Stone, but their country’s murky history as well. In between finding a serial killer and racing against time, Edward and Alphonse must ask themselves if what they are doing will make them human again… or take away their humanity. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

My feels: FMA: Brotherhood was a storytelling masterpiece from start to finish. Considering the ongoing popularity of this anime, I don’t think I have to elaborate too much on what I felt and why because I’m pretty sure we’ve all been there. (ಥ﹏ಥ)

*SPOILERS*

Although the series was riddled with devastating moments, the moment I found to be the saddest and scariest was when Roy Mustang didn’t realize he was blind. *cries* I braved the pain of watching the scene over again so that I could share it with you here:

BONUS!

Sanrio Boys (サンリオ男子)

Synopsis: The project’s premise follows Kouta Hasegawa, a high school boy that loves the yellow Pom Pom Purin dog. By mere coincidence, he ends up attending the same school as Yuu Mizuno, a boy who likes the bunny My Melody. Yuu tells Kouta that there’s nothing to be ashamed of for liking Sanrio’s cute characters. Together, Kouta, Yuu, Shunsuke Yoshino, Ryou Nishimiya, and Seiichirou Minamoto learn to accept their love of the characters instead of feeling embarrassed. (Source: ANN)

My feels: Sanrio Boys was recommended by my friend Berri, and it’s sort of the outlier on this list. Going in, I expected it to be fun kawaii fluff about cute boys who love Sanrio characters. Because of that, I made the mistake of watching the first episode while I was on the recumbent bike at the gym. I felt a tightness in my chest (not from working out lol) and my eyes got glassy but I refused to ugly cry in front of a group of strangers. A glutton for punishment, I decided to watch episode two while on the treadmill the following day. *facepalm*

 

So, that’s it. My top 5 (okay, top 6 because I couldn’t choose) anime that made me laugh and cry (happy and sad tears). If you’ve watched any of the anime on my list, I’d love to hear what you thought and how you felt. Are there any that you think I missed and should have included? Share your thoughts below!