Reveries of Melancholy
Anime
A stack dedicated to anime which, while not necessarily being sad, combine all of their elements to create a world, atmosphere and story that transmits a deep feeling of melancholy to the audience.
Many of these anime are quite similar in feel, even though their plots, characters and else might be entirely different. Many are set in small(er) towns with lots of natural beauty, they have touching soundtracks, lots of character development, many bittersweet moments, beautiful visuals and an overall heavy, well-built atmosphere.
These are highly recommended for those who like stories that rely on more than just cheap tear-jearking sadness to cause an emotional reaction on the viewer; these will make you feel nostalgia, melancholy, sadness, and an odd sense of solace, and they're likely to stay in your memory for a long time after you finished them.
Many of these anime are quite similar in feel, even though their plots, characters and else might be entirely different. Many are set in small(er) towns with lots of natural beauty, they have touching soundtracks, lots of character development, many bittersweet moments, beautiful visuals and an overall heavy, well-built atmosphere.
These are highly recommended for those who like stories that rely on more than just cheap tear-jearking sadness to cause an emotional reaction on the viewer; these will make you feel nostalgia, melancholy, sadness, and an odd sense of solace, and they're likely to stay in your memory for a long time after you finished them.
TV, 2011,
11 eps
Me:-
Author:8
A story about loss, coping and reconciliation. Set in a somewhat small real town called Chichibu, this anime has some really beautiful visuals and deals heavily with the melancholy of loss and remembrance of innocent times.
TV, 2007,
23 eps
Me:-
Author:10
Set in a small fictional town which has now been characterized for some of its extremely beautiful visuals by Kyoto Animation, Clannad is undeniably one of anime's greatest dramas, and one of the most melancholic and emotional pieces of media out there. Beautiful visuals, touching characters, a long, emotional plot, and an astonishing soundtrack, Clannad deals with heavy topics while trying to carry a message of resilience in the face of hardships.
TV, 2008,
24 eps
Me:-
Author:10
A continuation of the story of 2007's Clannad, After Story picks up where the first season left off and improves on pretty much every aspect, providing us not only with even more beautiful visuals and music, but also with some of the most heart-wrenching, tear-jerking arcs anime has ever seen. This is the second part of a plot that is bound to make even the strongest person cry, and one which will surely leave an impact on you for a while after its last episode ended.
TV, 2011,
26 eps
Me:-
Author:10
A beautiful, light-hearted story that is upbeat on the surface, but which carries a whole deal of emotions. Set in a small hot spring resort in the countryside, and occasionally in Tokyo, Hanasaku Iroha provides some extremely beautiful scenarios and a melancholic soundtrack. The anime takes its time to delve into each characters' personal struggles, their dreams and ambitions, as well as their complicated relationships with the rest of the cast. While Hanasaku Iroha might not necessarily make someone cry, it is an anime certainly designed to be a rollercoaster of emotions, nostalgia and melancholy.
TV, 2020,
12 eps
Me:-
Author:7
While perhaps being an anime that lacks depth or quality in its plot, Kamisama ni Natta Hi doesn't lack in beauty in other areas. With a beautiful animation and touching soundtrack, this is an anime that's bound to make you feel at least a certain degree of melancholy through its characters' stories and relationships, as the plot puts a big importance on the meaning of family, and tries to make the characters be appealing and likeable.
TV, 2014,
22 eps
Me:-
Author:8
A heavily emotional anime with beautiful animation and a touching soundtrack which consists of classical music. The anime deals with heavy topics such as loss, trauma and the acceptance of the hardships of life, as well as the idea of making the most out of one's unique stay in this Earth. Some of the scenes in this anime carry a heavy dose of melancholy, and even in its upbeat moments, one cannot help but to feel the thick emotional, bitterseet atmosphere Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso carries from its first to its last episode.
Movie, 2018,
3 eps
Me:-
Author:7
Three stories about past, present and future, about nostalgia, family, love, dreams and hopes. Shikioriori focuses heavily on these topics and puts a lot of emphasis on its audiovisual aspects to help get its stories across, as it reminds us of the inevitability of time moving forward, and that memories are to remain memories while we look forward into the future.
TV, 2018,
13 eps
Me:-
Author:10
An anime that mystifies and beautifies what's basically the world's greatest piece of barren land: Antarctica. Sora yori mo tooi Basho deals heavily with the main characters' hopes and dreams, as they seek their path into the future, and in this uncertainty, they decide to make a trip to a place further than space itself. Along with a beautiful soundtrack and some incredible visuals, this anime carries a heavily emotional plot even though it is, at most times, upbeat. The melancholy this anime transmits increases as it progresses, and by the end it is bound to leave the audience feeling touched and melancholic.
TV, 2012,
13 eps
Me:-
Author:9
Set in Fujisawa and Kamakura, Tari Tari is an original anime set by the beautiful coast that leads to the Sagami Bay and to the Pacific Ocean. The plot deals with the struggles of a group of students who split off the main choir club to form their own, and about how their rather-mundane daily lives and experiences shape their personalities and helps them grow up. The entire anime is heartfelt and carries an atmosphere of nostalgia and melancholy, specially as the plot progresses.
TV, 2008,
13 eps
Me:-
Author:8
Out in some small town between the tall mountains of the Toyama Prefecture, True Tears takes place. This old, classical town carries a very strong sense of isolation and melancholy, as the cold, snowy days pass and the four main characters try to deal with their feelings and problems. The atmosphere of this anime feels desolate, highly nostalgic and closely personal.
TV, 2018,
13 eps
Me:-
Author:9
A tale about living after your life is over, as you try to understand what it means to be human. Maybe it's the anachronistic sci-fi late 1910s setting, maybe it's the deeply humane characters and stories showcased throughout the anime, or perhaps it's the extremely beautiful visuals which, years later, still remain unmatched. Regardless, Violet Evergarden really touches your heart in a way that's unique.
TV, 2024,
10 eps
Me:-
Author:9
A quiet life, in a quiet city. Shoushimin is very lowkey in the sense that it never breaks off its slow pace, and it tries really hard to just showcase the daily life of two students in the rather-quiet city of Gifu, even though they find themselves implicated in odd situations which, nevertheless, are as mundane as they come. The beautiful visuals, the cinematic black bars, and just the calmness of its normalcy will make you feel strangely melancholic.
TV, 2024,
12 eps
Me:-
Author:7
A daily routine and conflicting feelings intertwined with a sense of nostalgia. Gimai Seikatsu is very peaceful and slow; it takes its time as it lets you breathe in the beauty of its visuals and as it lays out its simple, emotion-oriented plot of unrequited love.
TV, 2024,
13 eps
Me:-
Author:8
Enter a world at the edge of disappearing to the oceans. This in an intimate look at the daily life of people living in the misery of a near-apocalypse, from the eyes of an emotionally-hurt disabled man who traded his dreams and aspirations for a failed attempt at finding solace in solitude, until a peculiar character comes into his life. It is perhaps in the depiction of such a decaying Earth that Atri: My Dear Moments finds its melancholy, or maybe just in the way everyone tries to find semblance in the eroding ruins of a dying civilization; either way, it is one piece of media that doesn't shy away from tugging at your emotional strings.
TV, 2016,
22 eps
Me:-
Author:8
This is what living by inertia feels like. Life through the eyes of someone whose colors have disappeared, leaving only different scales of gray left to perceive. Perhaps Sangatsu no Lion doesn't try to be outright sad, but it builds an atmosphere which sucks you in and almost makes you feel like the protagonist does, as the lights of Tokyo illuminate another night of a deep-seated depression.
TV, 2024,
12 eps
Me:-
Author:9
How do you live life, knowing there's little life left to live? NegaPosi Angler puts this question forward, and then shows you how the protagonist finds himself steering his life in a different direction as he's forced to confront reality and meets people who slowly make him appreciate his existence, bit by bit. Maybe the great visuals of Tokyo's bays, mixed with the existential dread and the bliss of the human experience, will make you feel a wide range of emotions yourself.
TV, 2017,
12 eps
Me:-
Author:10
Life, death, a Kettenkrad, and two girls traveling a post-apocalyptic brutalist dystopia, trying to make sense of a world they've never known. Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou turns desolation into a kind of peaceful melancholy which makes you wonder, and appreciate the understated simplicity and fragility of life as you immerse yourself in the story and feel like you're also one of the last humans left on the barren wasteland Earth has become, and try to get along with the feeling of hopelessness.