Anime doesn’t pull punches when it comes to death. The medium has perfected the art of making us cry over fictional characters—sometimes people we’ve known for hundreds of episodes, sometimes characters we met just hours ago. The best deaths aren’t just sad; they’re meaningful. They change the survivors and reshape the story.
This list was painful to write. Here are the anime deaths that broke us, ranked by emotional impact, narrative significance, and how long we needed to recover.
Major spoiler warning for every series mentioned.
The List
25. Koro-sensei
- Series: Assassination Classroom
- Why it broke us: The students spent years learning how to kill their teacher—and when the moment came, none of them wanted to do it. Koro-sensei’s willing death, his goodbye roll call, and the reveal of his tragic past turn a comedy premise into genuine catharsis.
24. Jonathan Joestar
- Series: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood
- Why it broke us: The original JoJo dies protecting his wife from Dio, holding his enemy’s severed head as the ship sinks. His final act of compassion for someone who gave him none defines the Joestar legacy for generations.
23. Isla
- Series: Plastic Memories
- Why it broke us: The entire series counts down to her predetermined death. Watching Tsukasa fall in love knowing exactly when she’ll be erased makes every happy moment bittersweet. Her final Ferris wheel ride is devastating.
22. Portgas D. Ace
- Series: One Piece
- Why it broke us: After an entire arc dedicated to rescuing him, Ace dies protecting Luffy—the brother he finally acknowledged as worth living for. His last words, thanking everyone for loving him, expose the abandoned child who never believed he deserved to exist.
21. Kyojuro Rengoku
- Series: Demon Slayer
- Why it broke us: The Flame Hashira’s last stand against Akaza showed us what a true hero looks like. He died protecting everyone on the train, smiling, never retreating. “Set your heart ablaze!” became a rallying cry for fans worldwide.
20. Rem
- Series: Death Note
- Why it broke us: A shinigami who loved Misa so much she willingly died to save her—exactly as Light planned. Rem’s death is tragic because it’s Light’s cruelest manipulation, sacrificing someone who genuinely loved the person he was using.
19. Korosensei’s Students in the Future (Various)
- Series: Assassination Classroom
- Why it broke us: The epilogue showing the students years later, successful because of Koro-sensei’s teachings, makes his death retroactively more painful. He’s not there to see how much he mattered.
18. Ushio
- Series: Clannad: After Story
- Why it broke us: Just when Tomoya finally becomes the father Ushio deserves, she dies of the same illness that took her mother. Watching him carry her through the snow, begging her not to leave him alone again, is unwatchable.
17. Setsuko
- Series: Grave of the Fireflies
- Why it broke us: A four-year-old girl starving to death in post-war Japan. There’s nothing noble about Setsuko’s death—it’s just a child wasting away while her brother watches helplessly. Studio Ghibli’s most devastating work shows war’s true cost.
16. Kamina
- Series: Gurren Lagann
- Why it broke us: Episode 8. We weren’t ready. Kamina, the unstoppable force of confidence, dies mid-battle—and the series continues without him. His absence reshapes Simon’s entire journey and proves no one is safe.
15. Nina Tucker
- Series: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
- Why it broke us: “Ed…ward?” A child fused with her dog by her own father, then killed by Scar. Nina’s death isn’t just sad—it’s horrifying. It defines the darkness beneath alchemy and haunts Edward forever.
14. Itachi Uchiha
- Series: Naruto Shippuden
- Why it broke us: The brother Sasuke hated his whole life died protecting him—again. Itachi’s reveal as the ultimate tragic hero, a man who massacred his clan to prevent war and accepted being hated to save his brother, recontextualizes hundreds of episodes.
13. Kaori Miyazono
- Series: Your Lie in April
- Why it broke us: We knew it was coming. The entire series built toward it. And it still destroyed us. Kaori’s letter, read after her death, revealing her feelings and the lie that brought them together, is anime’s most beautiful confession.
12. Hughes
- Series: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
- Why it broke us: Maes Hughes was everyone’s favorite supporting character—the devoted family man in a world of state-sponsored violence. His death in a phone booth, unable to warn anyone about the conspiracy, is sudden and cruel. Mustang’s “It’s raining” scene completes the devastation.
11. Erwin Smith
- Series: Attack on Titan
- Why it broke us: The commander who sent thousands to their deaths finally gets to die himself. Levi’s choice to let him rest instead of bringing him back, denying Erwin’s dream to see the basement, is a mercy that hurts.
10. Kite
- Series: Hunter x Hunter
- Why it broke us: Gon’s mentor dies protecting him from Pitou, then returns as a puppet. Watching Gon’s mental breakdown, his transformation into something monstrous to avenge Kite, shows how deeply this loss shattered him.
9. Lelouch vi Britannia
- Series: Code Geass
- Why it broke us: The villain wins—by arranging his own murder. Lelouch’s Zero Requiem, becoming the world’s greatest enemy so the world could unite in killing him, is the ultimate sacrifice. He dies a monster so others can live in peace.
8. Ash Lynx
- Series: Banana Fish
- Why it broke us: After everything—the abuse, the violence, the desperate fight for freedom—Ash dies from a stab wound in a library, reading Eiji’s letter about being free to fly. He doesn’t even try to get help. He just smiles and lets go.
7. Nagisa Furukawa
- Series: Clannad: After Story
- Why it broke us: Nagisa dies giving birth to Ushio, leaving Tomoya so broken he abandons his daughter for years. The death itself is quiet, almost gentle—which makes it worse. There’s no dramatic final speech, just the light leaving her eyes.
6. Going Merry
- Series: One Piece
- Why it broke us: It’s a ship. It’s a ship and we cried for it. The Going Merry’s funeral at sea, with the crew sobbing and the ship thanking them for letting her carry them, proves One Piece can make anything emotional.
5. Jiraiya
- Series: Naruto Shippuden
- Why it broke us: The pervy sage, the failed student, the author who never gave up on peace—Jiraiya dies alone in enemy territory, but uses his last moments to send crucial information. Naruto learning of his death, the empty ramen chair, the silence—it’s the series’ most human grief.
4. L
- Series: Death Note
- Why it broke us: L dies knowing he was right about Light but unable to prove it. His final scene, with Light holding him as he dies, seeing the shinigami and understanding he lost—it’s a villain’s victory that feels like tragedy. The series was never the same.
3. Eren Yeager (Post-Rumbling)
- Series: Attack on Titan
- Why it broke us: The boy who wanted freedom so desperately he destroyed 80% of humanity—and knew he would be killed for it. Eren’s final conversation with Armin, revealing he didn’t want to die, that he wanted to be with Mikasa, that he was always just a crying child inside the monster—it recontextualizes everything.
2. Grave of the Fireflies (The Whole Thing)
- Series: Grave of the Fireflies
- Why it broke us: Both children are dead from the opening frame. We spend the entire film watching them die slowly, knowing there’s no escape. It’s not entertainment—it’s a memorial for every child lost to war. Many viewers can only watch it once.
1. Maes Hughes (Full Impact)
- Series: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
- Why it broke us: We already listed Hughes—but his death gets the top spot for his funeral. Elicia, three years old, screaming “Why are they burying Daddy? He’s got work to do!” while Mustang breaks down—this is the moment anime became weaponized grief.
Hughes wasn’t a main character. He wasn’t the strongest fighter or the coolest personality. He was just a good man who loved his family and died because he discovered the truth. That ordinariness makes his death hit harder than any fallen hero. He was us—and he didn’t get a dramatic last stand. He got a phone booth and his daughter’s birthday.
Every anime death since has been compared to Hughes. None have matched the pure, unfiltered grief of watching Elicia not understand why her daddy isn’t coming home.
Honorable Mentions
- Zabuza and Haku (Naruto) – The duo death that made everyone cry
- Yang Wen-li (Legend of the Galactic Heroes) – Assassinated mid-handshake
- Caesar Zeppeli (JoJo’s) – “SHIZAAAAAA!”
- Misuzu Kamio (Air) – Key’s first devastating ending
- Otonashi’s Sister (Angel Beats) – The Christmas reveal
- Menma (Anohana) – The flower that finally reached her
- Euphemia (Code Geass) – Lelouch’s worst joke
- Spike Spiegel (Cowboy Bebop) – “Bang”
Why These Deaths Hit Different
The deaths on this list share common elements:
Earned Investment: We spent time with these characters. Their deaths matter because their lives mattered to us.
Meaningful Sacrifice: The best deaths serve the narrative. They change surviving characters, alter story direction, and carry thematic weight.
Unexpected Timing: Some deaths are effective because they come out of nowhere. Hughes. Kamina. We weren’t prepared.
Quiet Devastation: The loudest grief isn’t always the saddest. Funerals, empty chairs, letters read after death—these moments linger.
Universal Themes: Parent-child bonds. Unrequited love. Sacrifice for friends. These deaths tap into emotions everyone understands.
Anime has mastered the art of making us care about fictional people—and then taking them away. It’s manipulative. It’s beautiful. It’s why we keep watching.