Interest
Japanese Manga Readers Recount Series That Made Them Cry
posted on by Lynzee Loveridge
The My Navi Woman website asked 362 readers about manga, specifically if they ever cried while reading a series and what series made them cry. Most of the readers (81.8%) never cried while reading manga because they have hearts of steel, but 66 respondents admitted to shedding a few tears.
The number once choice was One Piece (18.2%), with one participant saying she cried when Luffy and his friends watched Going Merry sink into the sea. This particular scene got its own anime special, which was pretty sad judging by the characters in the poster.
Another woman said she cried at the end of Chopper's chapters. His sad past is told in Chapters 141-145, as part of the Drum arc. A 24-year-old woman found Nefertari Vivi's farewell to the Straw Hats crew as particularly sad, and one male participant referenced a scene when Sanji says, "Kuso Osewaninarimashita." ("Thanks for all the shit.")
The second most popular choice was Slam Dunk by Takehiko Inoue. Some of the tear-jerking scenes mentioned include Rukawa and Hanamichi high-fiving in the last volume, Kiminobu Kogure making the three-pointer against Ryonan, the silent scene during the match against Sannoh, and when Hisashi Mitsui rejoins the Shohoku Basketball Team.
The third most popular choice was actually the children's comic Doraemon. A 41-year-old woman said she remembered reading Doraemon as a child and crying when the robot cat returned to the future.
Marimo Ragawa's Baby & Me shojo manga was also noted for causing a few readers to cry, like when Minoru gets into an accident.
Other series mentioned by readers include Parasyte, Gakuen Alice, Tokimeki Tonight, Lemming no Yukue, The Rose of Versailles, Neighborhood Story, NANA, Major, Tenshi Nanka ja Nai, and Kimi no Te ga Sasayaite Iru.
Are there any manga that made you cry? If so, what scenes from the series were the saddest?
