Anime challenge: Saddest moment you DONT need context for.

[Traab]

Im honestly curious what people can come up with. I can think of plenty of sad moments but they all need a lot of context. As an example. In One Piece, the scene where they burn their ship, the Going Merry. If you dont have context for that, it just looks like a grotesquely overdone sob fest with a strange voice over that makes little sense. But if you watched the series to that point, if you arent crying, YOU HAVE NO SOUL! So anyone got a good clip? Too make it easier, if you can sum up the context in a paragraph and make it have an impact then that works too.

[Lord Raziere]

Im honestly curious what people can come up with. I can think of plenty of sad moments but they all need a lot of context. As an example. In One Piece, the scene where they burn their ship, the Going Merry. If you dont have context for that, it just looks like a grotesquely overdone sob fest with a strange voice over that makes little sense. But if you watched the series to that point, if you arent crying, YOU HAVE NO SOUL! So anyone got a good clip? Too make it easier, if you can sum up the context in a paragraph and make it have an impact then that works too.

I watched the entire series up to that point and that clip and I still didn't shed a single tear. One Piece is just overrated. Either that or I'm the soulless person you accusing me of because I hate One Piece anyways, so.......

as for the challenge myself I can't really think of any specific saddest scene in general much less one that needs or doesn't need context so....*shrug*

[Kitten Champion]

Now and Then, Here and There has quite a few moments that are, even if watched outside the context of events, pretty soul-crushing. Just, abject human misery in its starkest, most uncomfortable form. With animation quality enough to sell it completely.

[Mechalich]

I feel like this thread needs a massive spoiler warning.

Anyway...


The scene when Otonashi and the other survivors of the subway accident realize rescue isn't likely to come in time but all start to fill out their organ donor cards in the hope of performing a good deed after death is one that I imagine would be tear-jerking without any particular context as to what is going on (the whole sequence is a flashback). Angel Beats! in general, being one of those afterlife-based anime series includes a number of flashbacks about horrible things happening to otherwise innocent teenagers that are deliberately designed to be emotionally impactful.


The scene in Episode 11 where Karin goes mankai something like 5 times in rapid succession and loses function to a part of her body each time to the point where she can't see or move by the end is gut-wrenching and would probably be more so without the context to understand why this is happening and why Karin is fully willing to pay the price she is paying to save her friends.


The sequence in which Ayato fights the Dolem Vibrato in the RahXephon while Asahina confesses her love for him in voice over is far more tragic when you don't realize until the end that Vibrato is Asahina and the Ayato is in fact killing her without realizing it. I recall this sequence being devastating the first time around but rather tame on subsequent viewings. So limiting the context actually improves the affect in some sense.


Now and Then, Here and There has quite a few moments that are, even if watched outside the context of events, pretty soul-crushing. Just, abject human misery in its starkest, most uncomfortable form. With animation quality enough to sell it completely.


I agree. In fact, that particular series to some extent loses impact when watched in full, because the onslaught is so extensive that the viewer tends to take refuge in the absurd. I recall watching that with my college anime club and we made an endless number stick-related remarks (so many openings) to take the edge off.

[JeenLeen]

It's been years since I've seen Graveyard of the Fireflies, but I'd hazard a strong guess that it has such a scene.
Being a movie instead of a series helps, since there's less time for context to be built-up. But also just that's a sad movie.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

My own contribution, if "single episode" is okay, is definitely episode 3 of Angel Beats!

I don't remember any of Mushi-shi being super sad, but many episodes project an incredible amount of melancholy.

[Callos_DeTerran]

....the funeral from Full Metal Alchemist. You all know the one.

[Some Android]

Madoka Magica. Just Madoka Magica - I don't need to get specific. Anything post the last few minutes of episode three.

[endoperez]

Madoka Magica. Just Madoka Magica - I don't need to get specific. Anything post the last few minutes of episode three.

I disagree. The buildup does a lot for that series. The best scenes and episodes work because the show first introduces the characters. That context makes all the difference.


The scenes that are generally a good match for this thread are those where context is something familiar and self-explanatory, and when the scene has nnothing that was made up for the show in an important role.
And, of course, having anguished, sad characters in the scene for the watcher to empathise with helps.

Funerals are a good example. As mentioned, Full Metal Alchemist has a famously sad funeral scene.

Deaths are often another, especially when they are the slow kind with grieving and a whole speech's worth of last words. Deaths in the midst of a fight are usually more shocking and require a context to be as sad as deaths in a calm, slow scene.

Miscarriage and stillbirth are rarely seen in anime, but there's this manga called Bitter Virgin, and it's not a happy story. Interestingly enough, despite the dark subject matter and few specific scenes being extremely dark and sad, the story as a whole is relatively hopeful and is, in the end, about learning to cope with past tragedies, and the difficulties one faces when trying to do so.

[Anteros]

....the funeral from Full Metal Alchemist. You all know the one.

That was going to be my suggestion as well.

[Kato]

Madoka Magica. Just Madoka Magica - I don't need to get specific. Anything post the last few minutes of episode three.
Oh come on, you know that's not true. There are plenty of scenes that are not sad and most off them live from context. Don't exaggerate.


I watched the entire series up to that point and that clip and I still didn't shed a single tear. One Piece is just overrated. Either that or I'm the soulless person you accusing me of because I hate One Piece anyways, so.......

Might be because you started watching and had already decided you wouldn't like it..


....the funeral from Full Metal Alchemist. You all know the one.

Hm.. could be. But then, it's a funeral and it has a great deal of impact from us liking the character so much. Not sure if it works as well as others.


I have a hard time making my own suggestion... In part because there are really few parts that make me sad. I might suggest OP's backstory of Senior Pink but it's a pretty blown up part in the anime and I'm perfectly willing to admit there's a certain personal bias.


I kind of recall a few parts of Detective Conan / Case Closed being quite touching, i.e. the backstories of some murderers and what let them to become suc. Then again, might also be nostalgia talking.

[5a Violista]

I would say the end of My Hero Academia's Bakugo vs Uraraka fight is a pretty good one. Of course, context makes it more sad, but just by itself it's pretty sad.

[Lord Raziere]

Might be because you started watching and had already decided you wouldn't like it..


Yes. Because its bad. Thats what you do with a first episode, you get an impression, you form an opinion from that and see where you go from there. I gave like half the series a chance to change my mind because people claimed it got good at a certain arc, and that is really generous a chance, so when it didn't get better, well that tells you how good it really is isn't it?

[Anonymouswizard]

....the funeral from Full Metal Alchemist. You all know the one.

Maes's? Yeah, although there's also quite a bit of that scene that's even sadder with context. I think my favourite bit of that scene is Roy saying that it's raining when it obviously isn't, without knowing about how Roy's powers work it's a man trying to not let his grief show, with that knowledge it's suddenly Roy claiming to be useless. Plus the way it's cut with the main characters being happy really underscores it.

It's certainly not the saddest moment in the series, bit bringing it up doesn't get half the room claiming it's too soon and the other half wondering who Nina Tucker is.

I'm going to poor forward the death of Shiroe in Towards the Terra. It's a fourteen year old boy who has just been tortured by the people who are supposed to be looking after him and is just barely escaping when the closest thing he has to a friend shoots him down. This description does not do the scene justice it's a very slow scene essentially switching between Sirius becoming more and more convinced that somebody is going to save him and take him somewhere safe and Keith struggling with the order to shoot him down (coming from what's essentially Keith's approve mother).

[Traab]

....the funeral from Full Metal Alchemist. You all know the one.

I was actually going to bring up nina personally. But upon rewatching it, it was less sad and more shocking/horrifying. I still remember that moment as being the first one I saw in anime that showed me it wasnt all about kids cartoons. Like, I had watched naruto as well, but even though there were plenty of injuries and bad things taking place, it still felt like a show meant for, not LITTLE kids, but still kids, if you get the distinction. But that episode of fma really was the breakthrough moment for me on the whole anime thing.

[Lvl 2 Expert]

Butterfree's goodbye...



;)

[Maryring]

The scene from Haruhi Suzumiya where Haruhi confesses the moment she realized that she wasn't special, she wasn't extraordinary. She was just one of many living an ordinary life in an ordinary world. I'd think that sense of hopelessness and despair is very relatable, so you don't need any series context to understand it.

[Red Fel]

There are a lot of scenes in Fairy Tail. Seems like every character is written with an over-the-top heartbreaking traumatic past. But my big one has to go to one of Gray's flashbacks.

The one where Ur sacrifices herself. You see this woman about to confront a demon, saying she's doing it to protect her two precious students. While a child stands there screaming, begging for her to stop, she proceeds to explain that she is casting a spell that will destroy her. She then turns to ice as he watches.

Knowing nothing else about this scene, the world, who the characters are, or what's going on, it's painful. The music is sweeping, Ur's face is serene but melancholic, and child!Gray is screaming and sobbing.
If there's one thing this series does effectively, it's gut-punches.

Another one I'll throw out there is from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.

Kamina's death.

Okay, you want more? Picture it, the cocky shounen protagonist and his spunky kid sidekick board their robot to give the enemy what-for. They fight and - gasp! - the protagonist's cockpit is pierced! Shock! Horror! Kamina, Kamina, are you alright?

And then, in a typical shounen story beat, he is! Do you really think a little thing like that will stop me? He and his kid sidekick reaffirm their dedication and jump right back into the fight, winning the day!

Except... He really wasn't alright. This isn't your typical shounen story beat. He didn't just shrug off a lethal blow with the power of friendship. He dies within moments. It's not fair! They won! It shouldn't be like this! What comes next is several scenes of shocked, pained expressions, mourning, despair, no dialogue needed. It's stark and highly effective.
Gurren Lagann has several of these scenes, I'd say - one in the first half and two in the second really stand out. If you've seen it, you know immediately which ones they are.

[Lemmy]

That moment from Gurren Lagann honestly made me drop the series. It removed the one thing I actually enjoyed in that show... (I'm not a fan of mechas, but even ignoring that, I never found TTGL to nearly as good as people claim. Not even close).

I'm told the show gets a lot better later, and that the protagonist becomes quite badass... But I'm simply unable to care.

[Tvtyrant]

That moment from Gurren Lagann honestly made me drop the series. It removed the one thing I actually enjoyed in that show... (I'm not a fan of mechas, but even ignoring that, I never found TTGL to nearly as good as people claim. Not even close).

I'm told the show gets a lot better later, and that the protagonist becomes quite badass... But I'm simply unable to care.

It is a very short anime, so I think it is safe to say if you couldn't sit through it to the pay off the show just isn't for you.

Robin admitting she wants to live on the tower of justice has my vote.

[Drascin]

The scene from Haruhi Suzumiya where Haruhi confesses the moment she realized that she wasn't special, she wasn't extraordinary. She was just one of many living an ordinary life in an ordinary world. I'd think that sense of hopelessness and despair is very relatable, so you don't need any series context to understand it.

That scene hit me pretty good as a teenager. Not just not being special, but the sudden sense of perspective she mentions - that if one was gone tomorrow, the world wouldn't even notice. Nothing you do is special, and it's statistically almost certain that nothing you achieve will make a mark. Far as not just the world, but so much as your neighbourhood, is concerned, you might as well never have existed. For a teenager already struggling with self-worth issues, that was kind of a hammer.

Haruhi's very pointed decision that **** that noise, she was going to do something special and make a mark on the world if it killed her was a large part of why, despite she being a huge jerk, I couldn't help but genuinely admire her.

[Starbuck_II]

I got to go with Pokémon the movie:

Mewtwo Strikes Back, Ash is turned to stone during an epic Pokemon battle. Very slowly too. Pikachu desperately tries to shock Ash back to life, but he doesn't move. Pikachu starts to sob over the body of his dead best friend.

As if this wasn't enough, every single Pokemon starts crying, too;
Then extraordinary event occurred: Pikachu's tears ended up saving Ash because if Pokemon taught us anything, it's that love and friendship conquer all.

BTW, this isn't the last time one of two are turned to stone: Pokémon The Movie XY: Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction, it is Pikachu's turn to be a statue.

[GloatingSwine]

Yes. Because its bad. Thats what you do with a first episode, you get an impression, you form an opinion from that and see where you go from there. I gave like half the series a chance to change my mind because people claimed it got good at a certain arc, and that is really generous a chance, so when it didn't get better, well that tells you how good it really is isn't it?

If you watched up to the end of the Going Merry you must have watched over three hundred episodes.

So if you watched 300 epsiodes having decided you didn't like it from the first one, you must be really strapped for fun....

[Lord Raziere]

If you watched up to the end of the Going Merry you must have watched over three hundred episodes.

So if you watched 300 epsiodes having decided you didn't like it from the first one, you must be really strapped for fun....

eh, it was back when I still used a Mac laptop and all my consoles had stopped working. these days? running a high-spec PC and have a Steam account. :smallcool:

[Present 2.0]

One Piece is just overrated.

Is something really overrated, if it succeeds in entertaining the vast majority of its viewers and doesn't succeeds in that goal only with you and propably a few other people.

The Scene in the second season of Clannad is propably also very sad even without context.
I mean Nagisas Death in Childbirth.

[gomipile]

The flashback to Asuka's mother's death in episode 22. That flashback is the context that makes other moments in the series sad that wouldn't seem so otherwise. I think it is very sad(and horrifying) on its own. If someone walked in to see just that scene....

[Leecros]

I generally tend to keep an emotional distance from what i watch. So it's been awhile since i had an emotional reaction to something that I've watched. However...

Hare's Death (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URNy062Fr7s) hit me really hard. A lot more than the other spoilery death (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py12mYQmyd0) at the end of the series that was supposed to hit you hard.

It was probably the unexpectedness of it coupled with the emotional reaction that Shu has in the aftermath.

Shu pretty much spends the next several episodes doing his best Fascist Dictator impersonation.

[Gnoman]

The first appearance of Angemon in the original Digimon series probably qualifies.

[HolyDraconus]

Aerith's death...

What? It was made into a movie... that doesn't count?

[Maryring]

It mostly doesn't count cause the scene isn't very sad, comes at the tail end of a series of utterly stupid decisions and doesn't even represent the end of the character who keeps popping up later like it's no big deal.

[Delicious Taffy]

"I love Emelia."

Wait, does it still count if it's equal parts sad and infuriating?