What are your favourite depressing stories?

[CheertheSecond]

Asking for myself. I am in the mood for being drown in depression for a while.

 

[Corty]

My life.

But Your Lie in April and Kira-Kira because I was an idiot and got the dramatic ending. And there are more... I like a good tragedy... Help.

 

[Syringe]

Anything made by Key. Little Busters (if that counts?), Angel Beats, Anohana. Clannad in a way.
Plastic Memories.
Elfen Lied.
Girl's Last Tour (Highly, highly recommended).
Madoka Puella Magica (Best depressing anime out there by FAR. Don't be fooled by how cute it looks. The less you know the better).
Shin Sekai Yori (Another super underrated but depressing AF world of magic. Good characters that need to make morally ambiguous choices).

 

[Paul_Tromba]

The kind that give ideas on how to defeat depression. IE, happy character becomes depressed and rediscovers happiness through some means, actively working towards that happiness even if they are still depressed and suffering through it till the end. These are usually redemption stories of stories of unfinished(ever continuing) personal growth.

 

[melchi]

Brynhildr in the Darkness​

Hell Girl​

 

[Corty]

The Day I Became a God
Air
Charlotte
Erased
Heaven's Memo Pad
Kanon

A few more I remember I liked and had drama in it or head-on drama from start to finish.

Edit: If you want non-anime titles, sorry, I have none.

 

[SailusGebel]

Shamo.

 

[Tempokai]

Clannad.

 

[K5Rakitan]

Just watch the news. Tell Facebook that you just had a baby, and they'll start putting stories about how babies and young children died in your news feed.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/4-year-old-kache-wallis-of-hurricane-city-utah-found-dead-in-his-toy-chest

https://nypost.com/2022/12/23/arkansas-boy-found-under-floorboards-was-allegedly-drowned-in-toilet/

 

[Kitty]

Seconding Your Lie in April.

Kimi no Nawa. Weathering into You. Beautiful yet with melancholic undertones.

The Pearl by John Steinbeck. Short, beautiful prose, and depressing.

The Colour Purple by Alice Walker.

I feel like I have read a lifetime's worth of depressing literary novels, but I can't call them all favorites.

Hope you feel better.

 

[georgelee5786]

Berserk and All Quiet on the Western Front

 

[Kitty]

Berserk and All Quiet on the Western Front

Certainly can't beat All Quiet on the Western Front for depressing

 

[TotallyHuman]

Stein's;gate

 

[ManwX]

Stein's;gate

Not a mad scientist. Just a sad scientist.

 

[TotallyHuman]

oh, there is also the brilliant "what do you do at the end of the world?" Series. I have only watched the anime but it was heart-wrenchingly good.

 

[Zanafar]

Any anime with bad CG is depressing to watch for me.

Oh...depressing stories... uh, there's quite a few. I'll pick Girl's Last Tour for today.

 

[Sabruness]

 

[Lloyd]

Bokurano, narutaru, and obviously firepunch

 

[ulatekh]

Here's one I wrote some time ago, inspired by this news story.

Her tongue stuck out slightly from her mouth as she labored on her watercolor painting. After a few short dabs near the cheeks, she cleaned her brush in the mud-colored rinse bucket, then swirled some orange paint onto her bristles. With neat strokes, she added a second layer of beams around her rendition of the sun.
She stepped back to behold her work. It depicted her and her parents, frolicking in a grassy field, flowers at the edge, a happy sun shining down on all of them. The paint had run in a few places, but she didn’t think her parents would mind. She was sure they would love it all the same.
She looked at the time. They would be here soon! She hurried off to the bathroom to clean herself up; thirty minutes later, she emerged showered and primped, wearing clean clothes and the necklace her mom gave her. The last minute counted down; she eagerly watched the clock approach the time. Finally, it was here! She stared expectantly at the door, a wide grin on her face.
A minute passed. Then another. She began to look worried. What was keeping them? They’d never been late before.
Ten minutes passed. Uncertainly, she pressed the intercom button. “Mommy? Daddy?” she called. “Where are you?”
A moment later, the door opened, and the headmistress, a primly-dressed, bespectacled older woman, walked through and looked down. “Darla?”
She bounced with joy. “Yes! I’m waiting for mommy and daddy! Do you know when they’ll be here?”
The headmistress smiled sadly. “I have some bad news.”
Darla’s face fell. “What’s wrong? Where are they?”
“I’m afraid they didn’t renew their subscription.”
Darla paused before speaking. “Can I get a new mommy and daddy?”
The headmistress grimaced. “That’s not very common. Most users like to create their child from scratch, based on their own preferences.”
Darla was near tears. “But why?”
The headmistress swept her hand; the child-creation screen appeared on the wall. “See how many choices they have? Hair, eyes, size, shape, and any number of personality traits! And then they get to raise the child with their own interaction. Most people don’t want to adopt someone else’s child.”
“But don’t they love me anymore?” She started to cry.
“Oh, stop that,” the headmistress scolded. “You can stay here for as long as you like.”
Darla looked up, suddenly hopeful. “Really?”
The headmistress frowned. “Of course, you can’t keep this room. You’ll have to join the other…orphans.”
In an instant, the scene around her changed. She found herself on a nearly endless playground, with all manner of slides, see-saws, jungle gyms, and other distractions. Other children huddled in groups nearby, engaged in some sort of argument.
Some nearby kids spotted her; vicious smiles washed over their faces. “New meat!” one girl catcalled. A mob of children closed in on her, their expressions intense.
Darla looked up into the sky. “Mommy? Daddy?” They were almost upon her; tears streamed from her eyes. “But…I love you…”

 

[georgelee5786]

Parts of 86 and Violet Evergarden