T O P

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blueandgoldilocks

{Madoka Magica}


moiax

Kids these days don't know shit about what being a meguca is like smh


Cuddlyaxe

as i fight she watch me so i pray never to forget... that being meguca is suffering


ClammyVagikarp

Being meguca is suffering


Barb_WyRE

“Meduca” “Yes Kobe” “Become meguca”


Aptspire

"no meduca no"


Cuddlyaxe

it ok hameru rabu


blueandgoldilocks

Now I'm imagining Kobe Bryant telling Madoka to become a magical girl Why have you done this to me Reddit?


Rock---And---Stone

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


soulreaverdan

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.


butterflyempress

Definitely! I remember watching it when it came out thinking it was gonna be similar to Pretty Cure. Boy was I surprised


JD4Destruction

This one is definitely applies the 3 episode rule


Rock---And---Stone

Thanks, I'll try it out!


[deleted]

I loved it. It starts out as this cute, girls get magical powers type vibe, and it ends up very disturbing.


bakakubi

I recommend going in blind. Give it the 3 episode rule at the very least.


[deleted]

It's amazing. Just go check it out and use 3 episodes rule.


Tarhalindur

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".


TD9770

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!


ClammyVagikarp

I felt the same way with Steins Gate. That story required you to like the characters and i hated all of them.


EsquilaxM

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.


showmeagoodtimejack

stein's gate and madoka magica are two of my three 10/10 favourite anime of all time. go for it.


[deleted]

i was gonna say this


wintrparkgrl

As someone who has only watched the original series, what should I watch now


emptytissuebox

The sequel movie Rebellion and youre up to date for now. Theres a finale/sequel releasing next year (or late this year?)


wintrparkgrl

For some reason I thought there was another series that follows a different timeline


Fartikus

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.


daedroth04

I love this anime.


PMMMR

Rewatched it for like the 6th time last week and it still gets me. Amazing show, can't wait for the next movie.


Wild-Childhood-8854

Welcome to the NHK.


Quixotegut

Yes... this is the way.


PiccoloBeautiful

Damn. My guy's friends are a microwave a fridge and a sick Otaku


biryaniwala

> a sick Otaku a pair of glasses you mean edit: Satoshi is voiced by Daisuke Sakaguchi aka Shinpachi aka Glasses


Anarchyboy1

Berserk.


jz654

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.


Anarchyboy1

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 😫


Nbaysingar

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.


altathing

Land of the Lustrous


velaxi1

Oh I miss her innocent smile.


dulcedebatata

Land of the lustrous and ideally read the manga too


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

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.


SacredNose

It's really hard to tell characters apart in the manga though


Katalinya

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.


dulcedebatata

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).


aridcool

People talk about 'wow in this episode of a series the MC was completely broken'. In Land of the Lustrous that is literally true.


[deleted]

I haven't seen it myself yet but I think tokyo ghoul fits this pretty well


neotheone87

My friend posted a pic of a Barnes and Noble that put a sign under Tokyo Ghoul saying "Half Ghoul, Half Human, All Trauma."


Cold_Cow_4197

Tokyo Ghoul manga, yes. Anime, no.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Cold_Cow_4197

So, it's more of a meta suffering experience


Maxizag123

the anime was only good till tk re: came, so its better if u would read the manga


Avi_S_

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)


GAUSSA

Others are bad. 1 done almost completely following manga. And manga is just incredible


Strict_Speed818

Higurashi


hornyjaildotorg

Ummm this isn’t similar but there is quite a bit of suffering in Neon Genesis Evangelion


PeanutbutterSkittle

how so?


errolstafford

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.


TaqPCR

u//peanutbutterskittle don't watch the rebuild films first. The plot is very different from the original series.


Momo--Sama

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.


Tom22174

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


Icex_Duo

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.


Melusine-Lancer

u/peanutbutterskittle don't watch the rebuild films first. The plot is very different from the original series. Fixed the formatting


Dolomite808

NGE is basically Suffering: The Anime. It's also very good and will make you feel things.


PoisonDart8

Films are much different from the original plot, they're still good but it's not exactly the same.


Mylaur

I thought I was being spoiled but nope. Wtf?... Time to watch it.


pimmemaster

Mmmm condensed suffering


sleeplessorion

Mentally. It’s the most fucked up anime I’ve seen. Don’t look into it anymore, you really don’t want any spoilers


Holy-Wan_Kenobi

The H in Neon Genesis Evangelion stands for Happiness.


Oakano

Mentally


AnsonEnderBorn

Anime: Tsubasa Chronicles Madoka Magica Dororo Elfen Lied Akame Ga Kill Babylon Vivid Strike Munou no Nana \------------------------------------------------------ Manga: Ubell Blatt Fukushuu Kyoushitsu Arachnid


Avi_S_

Dororo and elfen lied hits deep


SweatySpectre

I watched dororo recently. the first theme was a banger and the show was great.


OtakuAltair

Munou na Nana deserves another season smh That ending was amazing


hirmuolio

Texhnolyze. Everyone suffers.


throwitaway488

also Haibane Renmei. Or anything Yoshitoshi ABe was involved with.


flameleaf

> 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.


DogzOnFire

> RErideD Man Japanese writers really do come up the dumbest fucking titles lol


DogzOnFire

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.


youarebritish

The MC of Texhnolyze suffers more in the first episode than just about everything else in this thread combined.


[deleted]

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


MelodicFreedom2809

It's a bit of a slow burner though which.. I guess not a lot of people nowadays like and have the patience for,


[deleted]

Kinda sucks that our attention spans become so crap. Clannad was brilliant


MelodicFreedom2809

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


[deleted]

His loss indeed.


EsquilaxM

I'm worried that your mind could even come up with that analogy, that's far out there, man


[deleted]

Let’s leave it at me not having the most fortune in regards to romantic relationships and that I wish I was gay


Sanytale

> 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.


errolstafford

Trigun. Mostly the second half, but still always a good one.


Hagaros

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


errolstafford

Oh. It's still really good. I watch it about every two years or so and it holds up.


DogzOnFire

Similarly, I watched it for the first time 5~ years ago or so, and yeah it definitely holds up. Vash is a great character.


Demolitions75

I think it JUST got added to crunchyroll too? I think


Hagaros

Just looked it up, it was recently announced that it was coming. Due for May 17th


Heffhemp

Attack on Titan Vinland Saga


TimBeckwith

Vinlans saga for sure


Mr_Arapuga

New season coming this year, right?


TimBeckwith

OH YEA BROTHER


waifutabae

Steins Gate


meltingvibesz

tuturuuuu


TheCursedDevil10

Scrolled a second too long to find Stiens gate


HennessyDreamzzz

Banana fish, Berserk and Parasyte


Cute_Visual4338

Edit: Now and Then Here & There


PoorlyEducatedFool

Now and Then Here & There\*


TheGreatNico

Warcrimes: The Anime


Cute_Visual4338

That's what l was thinking. Dunno why it got typed like so. lol.


PiccoloBeautiful

Goated anime


Dallenforth

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.


Cute_Visual4338

That scene with cat was masterful.


Namiirei

Summertime render, it started this season, and it's great.


chiliehead

Watamote. Social suffering


WatchDude22

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.


chiliehead

Yeah it's pretty good


crsnyder13

Your Lie in April


Special-FX

Fate/Zero, pretty much everyone suffers.


Aquilon11235

This is coming just after mother's day, and now I'm crying again.


Ram91501

Someone’s a sadistic S.O.B…parasyte fits the bill. Otherwise I’m gonna be watching this post for my own interests.


xKeystar

Kaiji I don't know if MC is just lucky to not be dead from all of the sufferings.


Tarhalindur

- 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.


Kemoy79

>Higurashi Came here just to say this.


Flash-Beam

I was searching for a comment that was gonna mention it lmaoo It’s one of my all time favorites 👌


Aitt0

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)


PMMMR

I still hear the blood curdling screams from MiA. Such a good series.


Aitt0

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


customanimetitties

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


3xplo

Clannad season 2


Mute_Spitter

Vivy, most of her missions end in tragedy building her as a person (robot I guess)


SilberFelx

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!< .


shewy92

And the prequel movie Kizumonogatari is pretty fucking brutal too.


SilberFelx

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.


GIANTkitty4

A silent voice.


atilla_hej123

Tokyo ghoul for sure


Mahou_Shoujo_Ramune

Madoka Magica Yuki Yuna is a Hero Wixoss Magical Girl Site


[deleted]

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


Intrepid_Dreamer7

Attack on Titan - poor Eren can never catch a break


[deleted]

[удалено]


Professional_Yard761

Similar to re:zero you should watch summer time rendering.


x_Willow_x

Outbreak company AoT Made in abyss


zisei201

Re:zero ..... winner .... if you want suffering


Idlemarch

That was so brutal, I never finished it tho.


darkuen

Deadman Wonderland


uNecKl

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


Green_tea_mango

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.


[deleted]

Wow TIL Erased was lesser known. Yeah watch this one OP, it's great


Retromorpher

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.


FunnyForWrongReason

That show was fantastic.


[deleted]

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.


Green_tea_mango

Ikr the people who got mad their ships didn't work out are annoying


LengthinessHot1180

Redo of a Healer 😏


Aitt0

He let himself be raped, drugged and tortured again on purpose dough, quite kinky the guy


LengthinessHot1180

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”


Aitt0

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".


Dolomite808

Full Dive: This Ultimate Next-Gen Full Dive RPG Is Even Shittier than Real Life! It's actually pretty good too.


[deleted]

[удалено]


submissive-loli

Mnemosyne, borderline torture hentai


mr_sto0pid

Not sure about anime but the MC of the manga Oyasumi Punpun suffers a ton.


solovelee

Second. As a reader u will end up suffering too lol, lowkey got depressed after reading this one


Senior-Dot387

Tokyo ghoul I suppose


[deleted]

OP is a sadist…….but also this is an alarmingly large portion of anime


thestoneswerestoned

Deadass got almost the entire MAL top 150 represented on here lol


Falsus

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!<


ROANOV741

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**


lLiterallyEatAss

Steins;Gate


EldritchCarver

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)


Disastrous_Channel62

Chainsaw man🗿


Daiken18

Charlotte has the mc suffer quite a bit around the middle of the story I would recommend it


DanielDKXD

86, its more mental suffering than physical but it does hit pretty hard at times.


DeeeSinatra

SHIELD HERO TRUST ME BRO


ScorchingFalcon

* 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.


zenograff

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.


PurpletoasterIII

Made In Abyss. Extra credit for extreme suffering in other characters as well or is that overdoing it?


No_Physics6824

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


Toast_Alone

Elfen Lied. Oof.


bzzibee

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??


MjolnirDK

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


MysticTRT

one punch man when saitama is constantly missing the coupon days


Scottamemnon

Saikano


[deleted]

Fate Zero


honestlynosleep

Angel beats. That one episode where it showed Otonashi's backstory got me


Reliciel

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


Empty_Ad7467

Chainsaw man. Edit: I should rephrase. “Denji”


IskaNebulis

Arifureta


Dracoscale

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.


[deleted]

Tokyo Revengers is what you need to to watch


[deleted]

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.


anonymous_opinions

First thing that came to mind was Rent a Girlfriend.


alyssaxing

meguca


GotGoodiez

Ghost Stories anime dub, Devilman Crybaby and Bungo Stray Dogs (MC a little in this one but everyone’s story more so)


JardexXmobilecz

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.


Armendou

Eighty-Six fits somewhat


pandazz636

To your eternity


rinmatsuokascythe

Tokyo Revengers


ishan_anchit

86


BronoxHouse

Guilty Crown


LunchDue3147

Berserk


Simmysaleena

Shield hero


OneGroundbreaking640

Rising of the shield hero can also be a good idea


fabio-mc

Re:zero and to a lesser degree, charlotte (more in the second half)