Anime, or animated film and television projects produced in Japan, cover the entire spectrum of genres and tones. As effervescent and joyous as anime movies can be, they can also be absolutely dreary and melancholy, depending on the story. The award-winning animation production company Studio Ghibli excels at this juxtaposition, with their acclaimed and beloved films celebrating life's wonders and tragedies in equal measure. When anime movies lean in for sadder moments, they do so with heart-rending effectiveness that can leave audiences shaken long after the credits roll.

Simply put, as long as there's been anime movies, the medium has embraced the possibilities of using it to tell tragic stories. These can be films with an absolutely downer ending to movies that tap heavily into melancholy themes, even if the main characters eventually come out okay. There's just something about a true anime tearjerker that hits differently than their western animation counterparts.