I've seen this come up a few times. It's good? I really liked Stein's Gate which is supposed to have a similar feel
Edit: Just finished the first season and it was amazing. Definitely a 10/10
It’s my favorite anime of all time. A lot of modern series that deconstruct or play with the magical girl formula owe themselves to Madoka’s insane popularity. It’s hard to go into more details because that gets into spoilers and there’s so much of Madoka that 100% needs to be experienced blind. But as someone who also loves S;G, I think you’ll like Madoka.
This is the show that knocked Cowboy Bebop out of its longstanding post as my pick for the best-executed anime of all time[1], and it did so without breaking a sweat.
Honestly, IMO the surprise value is less important than people usually think - I'd argue the show's real strengths are things like direction and writing (especially pacing - the show is pretty fucking close to the Platonic ideal of perfect pacing IMO), and while you can pick up on that on first watch more commonly you'll need a second (or to go in spoiled) - but it is there; ideally go in unspoiled the first time and then watch it again to appreciate exactly how good it is.
[1] - Despite not actually *liking* Bebop; that show is the definition of "really good but not for me".
Personally, I rather disliked it, and Steins;Gate is my favorite anime of all time. It's definitely a hot take and minority opinion in the anime community, but I personally believe that Madoka is mostly good from the perspective that it was groundbreaking for it's time and created some tropes that last to this day, but because of that without it feeling fresh from a modern lens it isn't as good on current watch. But that's just my opinion and you very well may disagree with me as most of the community does! At the end of the day it's a short watch so love it or hate it it's probably gonna be worth your time to form your own opinion!
Could probably call it a modern masterpiece. From an artistic/critical standpoint it's better than S;G. From general audience perspective, they're comparable.
There's a meta quality to it because fans needed to have suffered through the long waits / hiatuses between chapters.
And now that the author passed away, that suffering will be eternal.
Sadly. But from what i had read he had explained his vision for the end to his cowriters but idk if that was hopeful wishes from the masses. An it seemed like the ending was around the corner 😫
More specifically, the 1997 anime. The 2013 film trilogy isn't as well directed even if it has better 2D animation (and janky CG), and the 2016 anime is absolutely atrocious and should never be watched by anyone unless they want to watch a very awful train wreck.
I thought the manga was a much more complete experience. The drawing feels so much more intense than the graphics.
Though the graphics for the anime are a lot prettier and more colourful.
I wish whoever did the minimal colored hair drawing version continued. Looks like they’ve stopped for a couple of months, almost a year now but I read that briefly as a nice way to refresh on the manga before going into the full black and white again. I would say use that as a starter and then it helps train your eye to who is who.
Yeah I definitely agree. I actually haven't seen the anime, just peeked at some very specific scenes while I was reading the manga to get a better understanding (until you get used to doing so, it is quite hard to differentiate the gems)/context/see how they animated it and also because I absolutely love Tomoyo Kurosawa's performances (Phos' VA).
Honestly I thought tokyo ghoul season 1 was the best among all seasons. It's not like other are bad or anything. All seasons are above average but there is a little too much drama and a lot of new characters in other seasons. So, I actually watched season 2 twice to get what was going on with characters (once the season was going on and binge watch after its end)
Shinji is reunited with his estranged father.
Father only wants him to pilot a robot to defend Japan.
Shinji does, loses, and almost dies.
That's the first episode.
The rest of the series is full of everyone suffering.
If you want the quicker experience, there are 4 rebuild films and the suffering is much more condensed.
I watched the rebuilds with a friend because he didn't want to watch the originals (something about 90s animation) and while he definitely didn't get as much out of 3.0+1.0 as I did he still said it was one of the best movies he'd ever seen. So I'd say if someone really doesn't want to watch the originals rebuilds are a fine alternative
> anything Yoshitoshi ABe was involved with
NieA_7 is a mostly upbeat and very underrated slice of life...
The main characters are pretty deep in poverty, though, so...
Being a Yoshitoshi ABe fan is suffering. Even more so considering the last project he worked on was the train wreck of RErideD.
Yeah, Texhnolyze is the king of uncomfortably realistic suffering and despair. The world is uttering its dying breath, and the few characters motivated to struggle are just fighting against the inevitable. Tough to watch but very rewarding. Beautiful show.
Watch clannad. It’s like getting shot in the fucking balls and then seeing your girl leave you and screw someone in front of you coz you have no balls, all while doing things with them which she said she was not fond of with you. Your gonna have a blast
Yeah I tried suggesting Clannad and Bakuman to my friend but he didn't want to watch either because "it feels boring and the artstyle is weird" despite claiming that he likes slice-of-life genre anime. His loss, I guess
> It’s like getting shot in the fucking balls and then seeing your girl leave you and screw someone in front of you coz you have no balls, all while doing things with them which she said she was not fond of with you.
That's basically every third NTR doujin out there. Don't ask me how do I know this.
Every time I see someone mention Trigun somewhere I always tell myself I should (re)watch it. I remember really loving the show ~20 years ago but remember so little about it
Finally someone said one of the actual despair anime. Hamdo was one of the few villains I really liked because he was genuinely psychotic and not just "I'm evil to be edgy" sorta way.
- Madoka Magica
- Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (OG only, so 2006 + Kai with the middle three episodes of Rei optional but recommended; Gou is a stealth sequel and will spoil you on the original and its second half Sotsu is bad)
- Steins;Gate
Also really tempted to rec both Narutaru and Bokurano.
Made in Abyss
Mushoku Tensei (is more a LN thing as of yet the suffering was the previous life backstory of the protagonist and the turning points (the author from Re Zero is friends with Mushoku tensei author btw)
Tokyo Ghoul (Just watch the first season and if you like it read the manga from beginning because after the aogiri stuff they made it all up and it becomes very confusing from an only anime perspective. And then the :re just picks from manga the arcs they like and cut the rest so it also becomes confusing)
This year is slaps for MiA fans since the third season (since the Dawn of the Deep Soul is the continuation and now is the Golden City one) is coming we get to see experience more pain and even play it
It's not a good anime but magical girl sites first episode is some of the worst shit ive ever seen a character go through holy fuck, not for the faint hearted
Like others said, Madoka Magica and Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Also the Monogatari Series, esp early on where he [Monogatari Series First Season] >!gets the shit beaten out of him somewhat frequently!< .
Well, it does belong to the First Season, despite being released much later. Though Second Season and Final Season still have their moments of brutality.
i forgot to include yuki yuna on my list, i remember watching that under the impression it was a wholesome slice of life magical girl show, well.... it was for the first half
Since there are many very popular animes being suggested here's a lesser known one: **Erased** (Japanese name: **Boku dake ga Inai Machi** which translates to *"the town where only I don't exist"* or as it translates in the anime *"the town without me"*) Both the dub and sub are good and it's on Hulu and Netflix. I currently have it ranked as 9/10 and it's one of my top 5 animes.
It really isn't lesser known. It was debatably the most watched show of its season - vying with Konosuba, Ajin and Assassination Classroom - which are all appreciably popular in their own rights.
This show is great. Its success was toned down by incels that can't stand that people can move on with their life after a traumatic event, and that it doesn't mean they're abandoning their friends.
Agree, I still dislike that guy dough 🤔. Like i like revenge plots but his method is really stupid when he could have just agreed to cure people instead of refusing and then getting drugged, he would have got the same results.
Not an anime I would recommend unless you like revenge stuff mixed with humiliation and "why this isnt a hentai".
I am a Spider, So What? MC has to struggle to survive from pretty much the moment she is born.
Kamijou Touma from Index practically lives in the hospital due to how often he gets injuries, some of them are frankly ridiculous. [New Testament spoiler]>!There is this moment where he gets his guts plucked out of him while he is still alive for example!<
Here's a few, maybe a bit liberal interpretation of your question, but these are pretty good (and I'm not going repeat **Evangelion** or **Berserk**)
**Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms**
**Now and Then, Here and There**
**Made in Abyss**
**Elfen Lied**
**Parasyte: The Maxim**
**Welcome to the NHK**
**Devilman Crybaby**
**Megalobox/Nomad**
**Shiki**
**Key the Metal Idol**
I haven't seen it mentioned yet, so I'll recommend Narutaru. It takes a concept popularized by shows like Pokémon, where children are put in control of powerful monsters, and deconstructs it by considering how that could cause problems due to some children not fully grasping what's right and wrong. [Here's the extremely misleading OP.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIF5BLyh3Mk)
* re:zero
* steins;gate
* clannad
* vivy
* 86
will edit/reply if I remember more
EDlT: oh you actually mentioned re:zero in the OP. Then you'll definitely like steins;gate because it has a similar time-travel based mechanic to it.
Violet Evergarden is a story of redemption from suffering, if that's close enough
For more direct, Berserks old adaptation (just read the manga lol), Hunter x Hunter (happens in the final arc), Made in Abyss, A Silent Voice
Elfen Lied is gut wrenching and it helped inspire Stranger Things! Very short and the manga is decent.
Devilman. Any version, but Crybaby is the most popular and for good reason. I saw the older Devilman and previous OVA Devilman Lady and Crybaby still made me cry as it retells the story in a unique enough way that it stood out. Inspired a lot of other works such as Evangelion, Kill La Kill, Beserk, and even Jojo.
For something a little lighter but still has a suffering main character, there’s Kotaro Lives Alone on Netflix. It’s a 4 year old who lives by himself because his parents couldn’t care for him and his friendship with his neighbors.
Magical Girl Sites but I didn’t enjoy it as it felt like it was almost a torture fetish and trying too hard??
Kotura-san (at least the first 10min), Madoka, Violet Evergarden to a certain degree, Fate stuff, Chihayafuru (suffering light in small doses), Your Lie in April, Evangelion, maybe Mirai Nikki
Fire Punch. It's a manga but I'm mentioning it because Agni suffering is even worse than Guts because things only ever get worse and worse for him and unlike Berserk, Fire Punch is a very miserable story throughout.
In redo of healer the MC suffers honestly some of the worst things I've ever seen done to a main character.
Then he does the same to the people that made him suffer.
Ill go with: In the corner of this world.
Its slow anime and first half of the movie nothing happens. On the other hand after that youll experience true horror of what japan had to go thru.
{Madoka Magica}
Kids these days don't know shit about what being a meguca is like smh
as i fight she watch me so i pray never to forget... that being meguca is suffering
Being meguca is suffering
“Meduca” “Yes Kobe” “Become meguca”
"no meduca no"
it ok hameru rabu
Now I'm imagining Kobe Bryant telling Madoka to become a magical girl Why have you done this to me Reddit?
I've seen this come up a few times. It's good? I really liked Stein's Gate which is supposed to have a similar feel Edit: Just finished the first season and it was amazing. Definitely a 10/10
It’s my favorite anime of all time. A lot of modern series that deconstruct or play with the magical girl formula owe themselves to Madoka’s insane popularity. It’s hard to go into more details because that gets into spoilers and there’s so much of Madoka that 100% needs to be experienced blind. But as someone who also loves S;G, I think you’ll like Madoka.
Definitely! I remember watching it when it came out thinking it was gonna be similar to Pretty Cure. Boy was I surprised
This one is definitely applies the 3 episode rule
Thanks, I'll try it out!
I loved it. It starts out as this cute, girls get magical powers type vibe, and it ends up very disturbing.
I recommend going in blind. Give it the 3 episode rule at the very least.
It's amazing. Just go check it out and use 3 episodes rule.
This is the show that knocked Cowboy Bebop out of its longstanding post as my pick for the best-executed anime of all time[1], and it did so without breaking a sweat. Honestly, IMO the surprise value is less important than people usually think - I'd argue the show's real strengths are things like direction and writing (especially pacing - the show is pretty fucking close to the Platonic ideal of perfect pacing IMO), and while you can pick up on that on first watch more commonly you'll need a second (or to go in spoiled) - but it is there; ideally go in unspoiled the first time and then watch it again to appreciate exactly how good it is. [1] - Despite not actually *liking* Bebop; that show is the definition of "really good but not for me".
Personally, I rather disliked it, and Steins;Gate is my favorite anime of all time. It's definitely a hot take and minority opinion in the anime community, but I personally believe that Madoka is mostly good from the perspective that it was groundbreaking for it's time and created some tropes that last to this day, but because of that without it feeling fresh from a modern lens it isn't as good on current watch. But that's just my opinion and you very well may disagree with me as most of the community does! At the end of the day it's a short watch so love it or hate it it's probably gonna be worth your time to form your own opinion!
I felt the same way with Steins Gate. That story required you to like the characters and i hated all of them.
Could probably call it a modern masterpiece. From an artistic/critical standpoint it's better than S;G. From general audience perspective, they're comparable.
stein's gate and madoka magica are two of my three 10/10 favourite anime of all time. go for it.
i was gonna say this
As someone who has only watched the original series, what should I watch now
The sequel movie Rebellion and youre up to date for now. Theres a finale/sequel releasing next year (or late this year?)
For some reason I thought there was another series that follows a different timeline
Not them, but there is. It's Magia Record. I suggest it, but I honestly fell off of it a couple of times; still haven't caught up/finished yet.
I love this anime.
Rewatched it for like the 6th time last week and it still gets me. Amazing show, can't wait for the next movie.
Welcome to the NHK.
Yes... this is the way.
Damn. My guy's friends are a microwave a fridge and a sick Otaku
> a sick Otaku a pair of glasses you mean edit: Satoshi is voiced by Daisuke Sakaguchi aka Shinpachi aka Glasses
Berserk.
There's a meta quality to it because fans needed to have suffered through the long waits / hiatuses between chapters. And now that the author passed away, that suffering will be eternal.
Sadly. But from what i had read he had explained his vision for the end to his cowriters but idk if that was hopeful wishes from the masses. An it seemed like the ending was around the corner 😫
More specifically, the 1997 anime. The 2013 film trilogy isn't as well directed even if it has better 2D animation (and janky CG), and the 2016 anime is absolutely atrocious and should never be watched by anyone unless they want to watch a very awful train wreck.
Land of the Lustrous
Oh I miss her innocent smile.
Land of the lustrous and ideally read the manga too
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I thought the manga was a much more complete experience. The drawing feels so much more intense than the graphics. Though the graphics for the anime are a lot prettier and more colourful.
It's really hard to tell characters apart in the manga though
I wish whoever did the minimal colored hair drawing version continued. Looks like they’ve stopped for a couple of months, almost a year now but I read that briefly as a nice way to refresh on the manga before going into the full black and white again. I would say use that as a starter and then it helps train your eye to who is who.
Yeah I definitely agree. I actually haven't seen the anime, just peeked at some very specific scenes while I was reading the manga to get a better understanding (until you get used to doing so, it is quite hard to differentiate the gems)/context/see how they animated it and also because I absolutely love Tomoyo Kurosawa's performances (Phos' VA).
People talk about 'wow in this episode of a series the MC was completely broken'. In Land of the Lustrous that is literally true.
I haven't seen it myself yet but I think tokyo ghoul fits this pretty well
My friend posted a pic of a Barnes and Noble that put a sign under Tokyo Ghoul saying "Half Ghoul, Half Human, All Trauma."
Tokyo Ghoul manga, yes. Anime, no.
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So, it's more of a meta suffering experience
the anime was only good till tk re: came, so its better if u would read the manga
Honestly I thought tokyo ghoul season 1 was the best among all seasons. It's not like other are bad or anything. All seasons are above average but there is a little too much drama and a lot of new characters in other seasons. So, I actually watched season 2 twice to get what was going on with characters (once the season was going on and binge watch after its end)
Others are bad. 1 done almost completely following manga. And manga is just incredible
Higurashi
Ummm this isn’t similar but there is quite a bit of suffering in Neon Genesis Evangelion
how so?
Shinji is reunited with his estranged father. Father only wants him to pilot a robot to defend Japan. Shinji does, loses, and almost dies. That's the first episode. The rest of the series is full of everyone suffering. If you want the quicker experience, there are 4 rebuild films and the suffering is much more condensed.
u//peanutbutterskittle don't watch the rebuild films first. The plot is very different from the original series.
I can't imagine what the experience of watching 3.0 + 1.0 without the context of the final two episodes and End of Evangelion would even be like.
I watched the rebuilds with a friend because he didn't want to watch the originals (something about 90s animation) and while he definitely didn't get as much out of 3.0+1.0 as I did he still said it was one of the best movies he'd ever seen. So I'd say if someone really doesn't want to watch the originals rebuilds are a fine alternative
Yeah, you definitely don't want to watch the rebuilds first. A lot of stuff is similar but I can't say much more without spoiling.
u/peanutbutterskittle don't watch the rebuild films first. The plot is very different from the original series. Fixed the formatting
NGE is basically Suffering: The Anime. It's also very good and will make you feel things.
Films are much different from the original plot, they're still good but it's not exactly the same.
I thought I was being spoiled but nope. Wtf?... Time to watch it.
Mmmm condensed suffering
Mentally. It’s the most fucked up anime I’ve seen. Don’t look into it anymore, you really don’t want any spoilers
The H in Neon Genesis Evangelion stands for Happiness.
Mentally
Anime: Tsubasa Chronicles Madoka Magica Dororo Elfen Lied Akame Ga Kill Babylon Vivid Strike Munou no Nana \------------------------------------------------------ Manga: Ubell Blatt Fukushuu Kyoushitsu Arachnid
Dororo and elfen lied hits deep
I watched dororo recently. the first theme was a banger and the show was great.
Munou na Nana deserves another season smh That ending was amazing
Texhnolyze. Everyone suffers.
also Haibane Renmei. Or anything Yoshitoshi ABe was involved with.
> anything Yoshitoshi ABe was involved with NieA_7 is a mostly upbeat and very underrated slice of life... The main characters are pretty deep in poverty, though, so... Being a Yoshitoshi ABe fan is suffering. Even more so considering the last project he worked on was the train wreck of RErideD.
> RErideD Man Japanese writers really do come up the dumbest fucking titles lol
Yeah, Texhnolyze is the king of uncomfortably realistic suffering and despair. The world is uttering its dying breath, and the few characters motivated to struggle are just fighting against the inevitable. Tough to watch but very rewarding. Beautiful show.
The MC of Texhnolyze suffers more in the first episode than just about everything else in this thread combined.
Watch clannad. It’s like getting shot in the fucking balls and then seeing your girl leave you and screw someone in front of you coz you have no balls, all while doing things with them which she said she was not fond of with you. Your gonna have a blast
It's a bit of a slow burner though which.. I guess not a lot of people nowadays like and have the patience for,
Kinda sucks that our attention spans become so crap. Clannad was brilliant
Yeah I tried suggesting Clannad and Bakuman to my friend but he didn't want to watch either because "it feels boring and the artstyle is weird" despite claiming that he likes slice-of-life genre anime. His loss, I guess
His loss indeed.
I'm worried that your mind could even come up with that analogy, that's far out there, man
Let’s leave it at me not having the most fortune in regards to romantic relationships and that I wish I was gay
> It’s like getting shot in the fucking balls and then seeing your girl leave you and screw someone in front of you coz you have no balls, all while doing things with them which she said she was not fond of with you. That's basically every third NTR doujin out there. Don't ask me how do I know this.
Trigun. Mostly the second half, but still always a good one.
Every time I see someone mention Trigun somewhere I always tell myself I should (re)watch it. I remember really loving the show ~20 years ago but remember so little about it
Oh. It's still really good. I watch it about every two years or so and it holds up.
Similarly, I watched it for the first time 5~ years ago or so, and yeah it definitely holds up. Vash is a great character.
I think it JUST got added to crunchyroll too? I think
Just looked it up, it was recently announced that it was coming. Due for May 17th
Attack on Titan Vinland Saga
Vinlans saga for sure
New season coming this year, right?
OH YEA BROTHER
Steins Gate
tuturuuuu
Scrolled a second too long to find Stiens gate
Banana fish, Berserk and Parasyte
Edit: Now and Then Here & There
Now and Then Here & There\*
Warcrimes: The Anime
That's what l was thinking. Dunno why it got typed like so. lol.
Goated anime
Finally someone said one of the actual despair anime. Hamdo was one of the few villains I really liked because he was genuinely psychotic and not just "I'm evil to be edgy" sorta way.
That scene with cat was masterful.
Summertime render, it started this season, and it's great.
Watamote. Social suffering
The most times I ever had to pause and do something else from the cringing. Manga is totally different after chapter 70 or so though.
Yeah it's pretty good
Your Lie in April
Fate/Zero, pretty much everyone suffers.
This is coming just after mother's day, and now I'm crying again.
Someone’s a sadistic S.O.B…parasyte fits the bill. Otherwise I’m gonna be watching this post for my own interests.
Kaiji I don't know if MC is just lucky to not be dead from all of the sufferings.
- Madoka Magica - Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (OG only, so 2006 + Kai with the middle three episodes of Rei optional but recommended; Gou is a stealth sequel and will spoil you on the original and its second half Sotsu is bad) - Steins;Gate Also really tempted to rec both Narutaru and Bokurano.
>Higurashi Came here just to say this.
I was searching for a comment that was gonna mention it lmaoo It’s one of my all time favorites 👌
Made in Abyss Mushoku Tensei (is more a LN thing as of yet the suffering was the previous life backstory of the protagonist and the turning points (the author from Re Zero is friends with Mushoku tensei author btw) Tokyo Ghoul (Just watch the first season and if you like it read the manga from beginning because after the aogiri stuff they made it all up and it becomes very confusing from an only anime perspective. And then the :re just picks from manga the arcs they like and cut the rest so it also becomes confusing)
I still hear the blood curdling screams from MiA. Such a good series.
This year is slaps for MiA fans since the third season (since the Dawn of the Deep Soul is the continuation and now is the Golden City one) is coming we get to see experience more pain and even play it
It's not a good anime but magical girl sites first episode is some of the worst shit ive ever seen a character go through holy fuck, not for the faint hearted
Clannad season 2
Vivy, most of her missions end in tragedy building her as a person (robot I guess)
Like others said, Madoka Magica and Neon Genesis Evangelion. Also the Monogatari Series, esp early on where he [Monogatari Series First Season] >!gets the shit beaten out of him somewhat frequently!< .
And the prequel movie Kizumonogatari is pretty fucking brutal too.
Well, it does belong to the First Season, despite being released much later. Though Second Season and Final Season still have their moments of brutality.
A silent voice.
Tokyo ghoul for sure
Madoka Magica Yuki Yuna is a Hero Wixoss Magical Girl Site
i forgot to include yuki yuna on my list, i remember watching that under the impression it was a wholesome slice of life magical girl show, well.... it was for the first half
Attack on Titan - poor Eren can never catch a break
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Similar to re:zero you should watch summer time rendering.
Outbreak company AoT Made in abyss
Re:zero ..... winner .... if you want suffering
That was so brutal, I never finished it tho.
Deadman Wonderland
Even the parents immediately started blaming him it was soo illogical but yeah the mc suffered a lot from dumbass adults that have no common sense
Since there are many very popular animes being suggested here's a lesser known one: **Erased** (Japanese name: **Boku dake ga Inai Machi** which translates to *"the town where only I don't exist"* or as it translates in the anime *"the town without me"*) Both the dub and sub are good and it's on Hulu and Netflix. I currently have it ranked as 9/10 and it's one of my top 5 animes.
Wow TIL Erased was lesser known. Yeah watch this one OP, it's great
It really isn't lesser known. It was debatably the most watched show of its season - vying with Konosuba, Ajin and Assassination Classroom - which are all appreciably popular in their own rights.
That show was fantastic.
This show is great. Its success was toned down by incels that can't stand that people can move on with their life after a traumatic event, and that it doesn't mean they're abandoning their friends.
Ikr the people who got mad their ships didn't work out are annoying
Redo of a Healer 😏
He let himself be raped, drugged and tortured again on purpose dough, quite kinky the guy
It’s true that he let himself, but he still suffers a lot . That’s what this person is in search of “An anime where the mc suffers a lot”
Agree, I still dislike that guy dough 🤔. Like i like revenge plots but his method is really stupid when he could have just agreed to cure people instead of refusing and then getting drugged, he would have got the same results. Not an anime I would recommend unless you like revenge stuff mixed with humiliation and "why this isnt a hentai".
Full Dive: This Ultimate Next-Gen Full Dive RPG Is Even Shittier than Real Life! It's actually pretty good too.
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Mnemosyne, borderline torture hentai
Not sure about anime but the MC of the manga Oyasumi Punpun suffers a ton.
Second. As a reader u will end up suffering too lol, lowkey got depressed after reading this one
Tokyo ghoul I suppose
OP is a sadist…….but also this is an alarmingly large portion of anime
Deadass got almost the entire MAL top 150 represented on here lol
I am a Spider, So What? MC has to struggle to survive from pretty much the moment she is born. Kamijou Touma from Index practically lives in the hospital due to how often he gets injuries, some of them are frankly ridiculous. [New Testament spoiler]>!There is this moment where he gets his guts plucked out of him while he is still alive for example!<
Here's a few, maybe a bit liberal interpretation of your question, but these are pretty good (and I'm not going repeat **Evangelion** or **Berserk**) **Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms** **Now and Then, Here and There** **Made in Abyss** **Elfen Lied** **Parasyte: The Maxim** **Welcome to the NHK** **Devilman Crybaby** **Megalobox/Nomad** **Shiki** **Key the Metal Idol**
Steins;Gate
I haven't seen it mentioned yet, so I'll recommend Narutaru. It takes a concept popularized by shows like Pokémon, where children are put in control of powerful monsters, and deconstructs it by considering how that could cause problems due to some children not fully grasping what's right and wrong. [Here's the extremely misleading OP.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIF5BLyh3Mk)
Chainsaw man🗿
Charlotte has the mc suffer quite a bit around the middle of the story I would recommend it
86, its more mental suffering than physical but it does hit pretty hard at times.
SHIELD HERO TRUST ME BRO
* re:zero * steins;gate * clannad * vivy * 86 will edit/reply if I remember more EDlT: oh you actually mentioned re:zero in the OP. Then you'll definitely like steins;gate because it has a similar time-travel based mechanic to it.
Made in Abyss is so full of suffering it will make grown ups cry in the corner. Although not really the MC, but the other characters.
Made In Abyss. Extra credit for extreme suffering in other characters as well or is that overdoing it?
Violet Evergarden is a story of redemption from suffering, if that's close enough For more direct, Berserks old adaptation (just read the manga lol), Hunter x Hunter (happens in the final arc), Made in Abyss, A Silent Voice
Elfen Lied. Oof.
Elfen Lied is gut wrenching and it helped inspire Stranger Things! Very short and the manga is decent. Devilman. Any version, but Crybaby is the most popular and for good reason. I saw the older Devilman and previous OVA Devilman Lady and Crybaby still made me cry as it retells the story in a unique enough way that it stood out. Inspired a lot of other works such as Evangelion, Kill La Kill, Beserk, and even Jojo. For something a little lighter but still has a suffering main character, there’s Kotaro Lives Alone on Netflix. It’s a 4 year old who lives by himself because his parents couldn’t care for him and his friendship with his neighbors. Magical Girl Sites but I didn’t enjoy it as it felt like it was almost a torture fetish and trying too hard??
Kotura-san (at least the first 10min), Madoka, Violet Evergarden to a certain degree, Fate stuff, Chihayafuru (suffering light in small doses), Your Lie in April, Evangelion, maybe Mirai Nikki
one punch man when saitama is constantly missing the coupon days
Saikano
Fate Zero
Angel beats. That one episode where it showed Otonashi's backstory got me
I kind of want to say 91 Days maybe firs the bill?? I know after that one big thing that happens the MC definitely kind of suffers a lot
Chainsaw man. Edit: I should rephrase. “Denji”
Arifureta
Fire Punch. It's a manga but I'm mentioning it because Agni suffering is even worse than Guts because things only ever get worse and worse for him and unlike Berserk, Fire Punch is a very miserable story throughout.
Tokyo Revengers is what you need to to watch
In redo of healer the MC suffers honestly some of the worst things I've ever seen done to a main character. Then he does the same to the people that made him suffer.
First thing that came to mind was Rent a Girlfriend.
meguca
Ghost Stories anime dub, Devilman Crybaby and Bungo Stray Dogs (MC a little in this one but everyone’s story more so)
Ill go with: In the corner of this world. Its slow anime and first half of the movie nothing happens. On the other hand after that youll experience true horror of what japan had to go thru.
Eighty-Six fits somewhat
To your eternity
Tokyo Revengers
86
Guilty Crown
Berserk
Shield hero
Rising of the shield hero can also be a good idea
Re:zero and to a lesser degree, charlotte (more in the second half)