Kicking off this list is Martin, the sister of Sophie, the co-lead of this edition of Garo. Throughout most of the series, Sophie goes out to seek her brother, who has been gone for years and has found proof that he could still be alive in the so-called lost city of El Dorado. By the time she finds him, he was already dead on the inside since he was cooperating with the bad guys the entire time. As it turns out, his programming skills were used just so a monster, or a horror in the world of Garo, could enslave souls.

Things go from bad to worse when he is consumed by that monster and Sword must kill him. However, he finds time to redeem himself by giving his sister the password to end the system enslaving human souls. As to what makes this death emotional, throughout the duration of the series, it has been about Sophie wanting to be with her brother. Unfortunately, this is a cautionary tale of if you find what you’re looking for, you might not always like it, but there may still be hope for just one second and to never let it go.

Two deaths we feel should be worthy of acknowledgement are that of Seita and Setsuko, the main characters from Grave of the Fireflies. They survived repeated fire bombings and most diseases. Unfortunately, they couldn’t survive starvation by being out on the streets. Throughout the duration of the movie, you see how they struggle to survive as they face every adversity put in their way, and try to do so honestly.

By the time the movie starts, they’ve already lost their mother and it’s assumed that their father, who is serving in the Imperial Navy, is likely dead. What makes their death so emotionally impacting is that these two children have lost everything and all they have is each other. Unfortunately, Setsuko is the first to go and it happens during a time when Seita managed to get food, but it was too much for her to go any further. Seita dies shortly after and is nothing more than just a footnote to those that find him. What the passing of these two children symbolize is what war can do to children, and the responsibility that adults and society have to protect them.

Ok, so this character was already died prior to the beginning of the series, but it was her death that sets things in motion, and it relates to real life issues such as bullying and suicide. Still just a teenager, she had her life ahead of her. Thanks to the internet, everyone has a platform and you see how her suicide demonstrates that is both a good and bad thing. Through art websites, she was gaining recognition for her art and was friends with Sota, the main character. Eventually, her internet fame allowed her to gain the recognition of one of her favorite artists for a collaboration.

Unfortunately, unsubstantial claims of plagiarism ruined her reputation and Sōta did nothing to support her since he was jealous of her and cut off all contact with her. As a result of no one sticking up for her, she took her own life and it paved way for Altair, her original character, to come into the real world with the intentions of destroying it. Through her passing, we can learn how bullying and not supporting victims can lead to.

It is not simply the fact that Nina dies that makes it heartbreaking, but the circumstances that lead up to it. No thanks to her madman of a father, he fuses her and their dog out of desperation to get more money and keep his alchemy license. What makes this death more tragic is that Nina is still a little girl and she was very outgoing and playful, especially with her dog, Alexander.

Now stuck as a fusion with her dog, Scar, one of the series’ antagonists, violently puts her out of her misery. Considering Scar’s extreme methods, despite calling it a mercy killing, could have been done more gently since she was dying with tears in her eyes. What ultimately makes this death emotional is that whatever it was that happened to her, it was all against her will and that she was only a child.

Miki has been Akira’s best friend since childhood and she has always tried to be a friend to all. Throughout the series, she’d go out of her way to find the best in others and never compromised her values, even when the world was going literally going to Hell. When she and the world discovered that Akira was Devilman, she still stood by his side and tried to plead with her community that Akira was still human.

And what does she get for standing up for her beliefs? She and her family and barbarically lynched by a fearful mob! What makes this death so emotional is not only was she trying to stand up for her friend, Akira, that very friend was still fighting to protect the human race from other demons, and sadly, the person he wanted to protect the most was killed by humans.

Shirley was just your average high school girl in a world where three super powers were at war, and she was still enjoying her life. Unfortunately, Lelouch, her crush, just had to get involved in the rebellion business. She gets taken hostage by the rebels Lelouch associates with and he was the unintentional cause of her father’s death. Eventually, she comes to discover that he is Zero, but immediately erases her memories in the first season.

At first, all is (mostly) back to normal for a year until Jeremiah’s Geass Canceler brings her memories back, and after processing everything that has happened, she wants to help Lelouch’s cause. Unfortunately, Rolo, Lelouch’s assistant, kills her out of jealousy. When Lelouch finds her, she comes to terms with her feelings and confesses that she loves Lelouch. Knowing that she’s a regular innocent teenager, he does everything possible to keep her alive, but even excessive blood loss is beyond the power of his Geass. As to why this death is impactful, it shows that Lelouch can’t save all of his friends, even the purest ones who care about him the most.

This may not be for Tekkadan as a whole but it is mostly in context to Akimoto, Biscuit, Orga, and Mikazuki. While characters dying are not uncommon in the world of Gundam, very rarely do we see the main cast getting killed off. Then again, the main cast of Iron-Blooded Orphans aren’t your ordinary main cast, which further contributes as to why their deaths are not just distinguishing, but emotional. In comparison to your usual teenage pilots, Mikazuki isn’t an academic overachiever who just found himself to his Gundam by chance.

As for Mikazuki, and the rest of the private mercenary unit he belongs to, Tekkadan, they are fighting because of economic conditions on Mars and that they are orphans. Due to their accomplishments in helping Kudelia get to Earth to recognize the problems on Mars, they become heroes and the source of hate for other Earth based military organizations. In their final battle against Gallarjhorn, one such organization that has every bit of technological advantage in their favor, what Tekkadan makes up in lack of technology and proper manpower, they make it up for in heart and balls, and in their last stand, that is what they show.

In the end, Mikazuki faces the biggest fight of his life and him and most of his closest friends die in battle, and what makes it even more tragic in an ironic sense is whatever it was they were fighting for, they got it in the end. After their deaths, Mars finally achieved its freedom (along with children being exploited for labor) and it was ironically thanks to the enemy! However, what makes their deaths epic is that their sacrifices weren’t in vain.

From the history of anime and manga, Joe’s death in Ashita no Joe is probably one of the most iconic images in Japanese pop culture. His death pose is actually featured as a statue on a bench in Tokyo for crying out loud! But Joe’s death does more than to merely signify the end of the series, but the end of a hard and long journey as Japan enters a new era. Joe came from the streets and discovered he could make a name for himself if he took up boxing. He never cared about becoming a champion or a hero, he just wanted to prove his own self-worth to himself.

As a character, he was heavily flawed and his antics at times made some of sports’ worst bad boys look like saints. He was certainly a product of his time and his lower class environment, but his accomplishments empowered the people he represented. By the age of 21, he was on the verge of being an invalid and he still chose to fight an accomplished champion with remarkable power. Like Rocky when he fought Apollo Creed, he was a million to one underdog but as long as he can go the distance, he can still prove that he’s not just a bum. Joe went out there and did his thing. He took a beating, but he also delivered a beating to the point where no matter who won, both fighters were never going to be the same. By the end, Joe lost the decision, but content that he was able to prove himself that he can make it to the very end, he smiles as he sits in his corner and quietly passes away.

Joe was meant to represent the lower class people (whether young or old) of post-World War II Japan, which was still recovering from the damage of the war. By the time the series ended in the mid-1970s, Japan was on its way to becoming the second biggest economy in the world and what Joe was meant to represent had run its course. Joe’s death as a whole symbolizes an end of an era and it was time to move on to an unknown and yet better world that lied ahead of Japan.

At number 2, we have to give it to Kircheis, who dies in the first quarter of this classic series. Is he killed by the Free Planets Alliance? Or a fanatic of the Phezzan merchant planet? No, he is killed by a rival Galactic Imperial soldier who wanted to assassinate Reinhard, his best friend. Despite having an argument prior to his death, Kircheis went beyond the call of duty and saved Reinhard’s life at the cost of his own.

Considering how much Reinhard valued both his companionship and his wisdom, it forever changed the course of history in Legend of the Galactic Heroes, and it certainly changed Reinhard, who you tend to see in isolation for the rest of the series. Even surrounded by company, the series presents he still has a vast sense of emptiness without Kircheis. Whenever Reinhard expressed himself too aggressively, Kircheis was always there to keep him humble, and remind him why they want to conquer the universe for the greater good.

Throughout the rest of the series, both Reinhard and the rest of the admirals under his command all wonder how things would have gone if Kircheis was still around to help out. Not only was he an effective and charismatic leader that equaled Reinhard’s ability, but he had a compassionate heart who would have made relations between the Empire and the Free Planets Alliance much easier.

For you fans that have been watching anime since the 90s, you probably enjoyed Fushigi Yuugi. If there is one death from all of anime history that we have to put at number one, it has to be Nuriko’s. What makes Nuriko’s death very iconic to its fan base is not about how he died, but about it relates to how he lived. In an age before mainstream pop culture positively portrayed gender fluid characters, Nuriko is certainly a character that stands out from his time and even now as the issue persists in modern media.

Nuriko never cared about what other people thought of him, and he always looked at the bright side of things. Despite the tragedy of losing his sister during his childhood, he did what he could to preserve her memory and was really nice and caring to others around him. The reason why fans feel impacted by his death is because out of all the characters on this show, he was the one who deserved to live the most.