Has depression hit you after finishing an anime series? You miss the way it gripped your attention and fanned your emotions. You can’t get the characters out of your mind. A good story will remain with you long after you finish it. The best stories will change your understanding of the world. And yes, anime can do that. Although it is mainly entertainment, anime–like all stories–can leave you with ideas you haven’t considered before. Characters can resonate with you and encourage you. They can also teach you when they face trials similar to your own. However, this can also leave you feeling a little depressed, a little emotionally overdrawn. It can leave you with an itch for more, and short of watching the series again, you may not be able to scratch it.
This feeling of emptiness and emotional exhaustion suggests your subconscious needs to digest the story and the characters. At the least, it tells you that you’ve found a type of story that means something to you. Either case, the end-of-an-anime blues can be uncomfortable. Some fall into deep depression. Of course, this type of reaction may be a sign of deeper mental health problems that need addressed by a professional. For most fans, the blues is a natural part of consuming engaging stories. As a librarian, I’ve seen readers with book hangovers that share the end-of-an-anime depression. They often don’t want to jump into a new book immediately.
With that observation in mind, this list of 5 ways to handle the end-of-an-anime blues won’t suggest you move on to the next anime or watch the anime again. Now, for some of you, this topic feels trite. After all, it is just anime or a book! There are more important things to worry about. I used to think the same way; I’m not the type to get emotionally invested in a story. I struggle to understand those who cry reading books or watching a film. But working as a librarian has changed my perspective. Stories matter. And the emotional impact they have on people can’t be disregarded.
1. Read the Manga
Okay, this one is a bit of a cop-out. It’s quite close to watching the anime again. However, manga often differs from an anime in the story, character designs, or character personalities. The changes can shift how you feel about a story and its characters. Reading manga also engages your brain differently compared to passively watching an anime. This engagement allows you to digest the story and see how its components links together. It allows you to use deep-thinking mechanisms that screen time doesn’t use. If you are anything like me, you will also compare and contrast as you read–one of those deep-thinking mechanisms. Manga reading can also be faster than watching the series again.
2. Take a Walk
Right after you finish a series that leaves you blue, take a walk. Make sure you leave your phone behind. This doesn’t work if you keep yourself distracted. In fact, you should be decreasing your smartphone and social media use anyway. Excessive use of both have strong links to depression, lack of focus, and other problems. As you walk, you will think about the story you just finished. It’s fine to indulge those thoughts a little, but don’t completely fall into them. The point of a walk is to spend time in the present moment and focus on what is going on outside of you. This allows your subconscious to take over the mulling process. This better allows the story to remain with you; particularly, when it has a deep meaning for you. A walk gives your emotions time to cool if you are the type that gets emotionally involved with a story–or angry if it ends poorly.
3. Work on a Hobby
Everyone needs a creative hobby. No matter what it is, make time for it. After binging on an anime, you’ve likely neglected your creative hobby. Now’s the time to return to it! You can use the story you’ve finished as creative fuel. Even if you aren’t into drawing anime characters, themes and other elements of the anime can offer inspiration. Sometimes I’ll find elements of an anime appear in my writing. And if you don’t have a creative hobby, take the time to experiment. Try different things until you find a hobby you enjoy. After bingeing (and who doesn’t binge nowadays?), the shift toward something creative will help the twinge of guilt you can sometimes feel after burning hours in front of a screen. Anime may inspire you to try a new hobby like an instrument or even playing a game like go.
4. Blog about It
Writing a review about an anime is one of otaku culture’s favorite pastimes, and it offers some outlet for creativity. Most reviews tend to become rants for or against an anime if you write it while you are still hooked on it. It’s a good way to purge your feelings and thoughts. The adage to writing is to write drunk but edit sober. So after you purge yourself of all your emotions, save it as a draft. Don’t hit publish! Do something else for awhile and come back after you are over the blues. Then edit and rewrite the post. You may find your thoughts have changed after your subconscious has chewed on the story for awhile. After you give it a revision pass, you should be able to safely click publish. Good writing requires some distance.
5. Read a Book
I’m a librarian, so I have to add this to the list. Reading a book lets you reset your mind or even dig deeper into something the anime brought up. Anime may be entertainment, but that doesn’t mean all of it is trite. Many touch on aspects of Japanese culture that may inspire you to read a book about it. After all, that is what got me interested in Japanese folklore and all the other stuff I research and write about here. However, I suggest you diversify your topics. I’ve encountered many teen and young-adult otaku who live for anime and manga almost exclusively. This shouldn’t be so. It’s better to be diverse in your interests. For example, although I spend a fair bit of time researching Japanese culture (I’m writing a mystery series with a geiko as a protagonist), I read history, fantasy, theology, and technology books. I usually have 2-4 books I’m reading in any given week. Every so often I finish reading 4-5 books in a single week. It depends on the books and how much writing I am doing. Broad reading helps you draw interesting parallels when you watch an anime. In turn, this helps you avoid the end-of-anime depression because you can fit the story in a greater context. It doesn’t feel “finished.” Rather, it feels like it is a part of a larger story archetype. But then, that just might be me!
The Struggle of Depression
Don’t feel silly for feeling the end-of-an-anime depression. Stories matter. They provide the best means of learning. It wasn’t until our modern period that stories lost their place as the main way of teaching values, skills, and perspectives. And that move has really hurt our ability to learn. Even stories that focus on entertainment can offer insight or resonance. When it comes to depression, even mild depression following a good anime, you have to act. Inaction allows depression to fester. It can be difficult to act, but depression can only be stopped by changing your inner and outer landscapes. If you feel stuck, then you aren’t acting. It takes time to find what works. These end-of-anime blues suggestions may not work for you. You may find exercise, video games, or dinner parties work better. But you have to act and keep acting. You must be patient; only persistent action over a long period of time can help depression.
I usually don’t get emotional when watching movies, but “AOT” changed that. I felt really down when it ended and couldn’t shake off the feeling for a while. Then I binge-watched “One Piece” until the latest episode, and I didn’t want the Wano arc to end because I was so attached to the characters. I hope I can overcome this feeling of depression soon.
On the positive side, learning how to sit with sadness and depression when your favorite stories end helps you learn how to cope when tragic life events happen. After-anime depression is a way to train yourself for resilience.
I also came here after finishing AOT. I don’t feel depressed but defenetly feel a bit empty. Maybe because the ending isn’t happy but more on the realistic side. Anyway, as we all know, this feeling of emptiness will soonly fade away as we go on with our lives
Всем добра <3
wow so many people here! its not a surprise that post anime depression is a very common thing. my story is with the anime ‘Nisekoi’. Now that anime doesnt have the most fans, infact many people were dissatisfied with it but the small fanbase it has is very dedicative and has been waiting for a season 3 for almost 7 years. I used to watch that anime before and after my school and it got deeply integrated into my life (hence the attachment with the characters). but after i got busy with curriculum, i missed the episodes on tv. I revisited the anime after 2 years and watched with all my delight, went into this same grief but came out of it. its almost after 4-5 years that i somehow had a dream which reminded of this anime. Another revisit that is for me, and watching it is always a great nostalgic and bittersweet feeling. I can say hi to my past self as i see a reflection of the childhood me, who used to love this anime for what it is. The episodes haven’t ended yet I am feeling this melancholy build up inside me because I know I will finish the anime (again) in a few days. Its crazy how much this anime did for me. WELP! I shall muster up the courage to read manga after i finish to combat the grief, thanks for anyone who has read this message.
It sounds like Nisekoi helped you in many ways which is great! Your comment about seeing your childhood self whenever you revisit the story struck me. Keeping your child’s heart is an important part of wisdom. Too often as we get older, we leave our child’s heart behind. I hope you enjoy the manga!
I have my own frustration with unfinished anime. Spice and Wolf, for example, has wonderful dialogue–the English dub is quite good–but was forgotten.
I just finished Attack on Titan which is my #1 anime nothing will come close to it and the ending was simply flawless and perfect and I have this empty feeling inside of me for some reason I mean it has been 6 years since I started watching and I loved it and got attached to it since min 1 and with each ep, you get closer and more attached to the story and most importantly the characters and with everything ending rn I feel like a big part of my life is over forever and the fact that it not even a happy ending which I get since the anime can’t take any other path but still this sucks, thank you attack on titan i ll never forget you
It’s hard be believe AoT has been going on for over 6 years! A lot can happen in that amount of time. Sometimes those life events merge with whatever we watch and read at the time to create nostalgia.
It’s easy to avoid feelings of depression at the end, I normally just check if the story has a happy ending before starting watching and then watch it for the character development and plot twists knowing that whatever horrible events may happen to them that it all ends well and they end up with their love interest or living happily ever after 🙂
I know of book readers who take the same approach. It’s not a bad idea if you know certain types of endings trouble you.
Thank you, you good soul @Chris Kincaid. Hontou Ni Arigatou Gozaimasu!
Thank you for writing this, sharing your tips and your knowledge on this. I am right now in the middle of this process of sorting out my after-anime emotions, but the road looked very long and observing inside was difficult. Your article feels like it just removed a lot of blur from the observations that I have been trying to make, and maybe helping me accept difficult things.
You have not just given us the article, but also have been so nice and helpful in the comments. It takes a lot of effort and patience to read through so many, reply to all of them and often repeat similar things. People have talked their hearts out. Ranted. Felt connected. Got some great advice. You even shared that important bit about Thank you for being such a kind soul.
You’ve recently posted a follow up – https://www.japanpowered.com/anime-articles/after-anime-sadness-emotion-validity-and-responsibility, so I know you’re active. And so, I want to let you know, again, how grateful I am to you for having written this.
Being someone who doesn’t actually feel these emotions so strongly, it is even more appreciable that you understand how many of us feel and are able to offer such good advice. As you said, different things work for different people. Exercise, watching some comedy, throwing oneself into work, hobbies, writing, nature, walk. But I think something universally effective is talking with friends, people who understand how we feel, and your article provides that! A very tough thing to deal with during this phase is the invalidation, fear and regret one feels – “why is this happening to me?” “It’s just a content piece, why am I getting so worked up?” “why am I weak”, “others are stronger”. And your article removes all of these by simply showing us that we are not alone.
A lot of things you said made so much sense –
– Emotions are temporary
– Emotions are a choice
– We can choose to focus on something else
– It is okay! And it is normal to feel this
– This feeling can snowball if we don’t deal with it.
I especially want to appreciate the last bit of your article – about awareness and separating oneself from their emotions. The awareness behind the mind.
I don’t know how you came to be this observant, this knowledgeable about something so core.
Thank you for writing this!
I’m glad you found the article helpful! Carl Jung wrote that when we fail to deal with emotions or push them aside, they fall into “darkness” or the subconscious where they can fester and influence under our awareness. When an anime or other fictional story pulls these feelings out of the darkness, we can then sit with them and listen to them. We don’t have to act on them. A muddy pool can’t clear when you keep stirring it, to borrow a Chinese idea.
I just finished Cyberpunk Edgerunners. Great Anime with good animations, actions, emotions. Feeling empty after completing it.
Feeling the same! Really depressed after completing it and can’t stop thinking about Lucy.
I dont know why but I watched again for the second time just to suffer.
Fuck man that why I’m here…
Can’t get the story out of my head..
Welcome to the team!
Sounds like I need to check out Cyberpunk Edgerunners. Can’t go wrong with Trigger, after all!
Same! I just finished the show last night and couldn’t sleep! It’s just too much pain to take…
Two weeks and still can’t get out of my head!
Same bro, same
(ب_ب)
Im here cause Im feeling depressed and frustrated over a manga, Its been days since Ive been feeling this and I hated how the storyline goes its still on going and I decided to drop it and wait for it to be completed maybe I will get back to it by next year around this month. By the way the title of this manga is “The Queen (Love is an illusion sidestory). Hoping to recover soon.
What direction would you like the manga to go?
The manga has a potential to have a good story but a lot of drama and misunderstanding is going on. I hate when the love interest is easy to sway and doesn’t have control over their feelings but in the beginning of the story we know how they are inlove with the MC. I know this is work of fiction but geezz its really getting on my nerves right now how am I suppose to stop this feeling?
Those are pretty standard tropes for that genre. It’s rare to find a story that handles them well. I prefer satirical romance anime like Ouran Host Club, which assumes you understand the tropes it pokes fun at, and Kaguya-Sama: Love is War. Some good, character-focused love stories are Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai (despite the title) and Horimiya, But these will all work at your nerves by the sounds of it.
Thank you for the recommendations, Ill check to it if I got time but for now Ill give myself a rest from reading. Thank you for your response it helps me to ease my frustration.
I am glad I’m not alone
You aren’t alone. Everyone deals with negative feelings like depression time to time. It will pass, and you can also work through it with effort and long-term practice.
I finished two animes. Back to back. I felt more and more depressed after each one of them. The two were “Classroom of the Elite” and “Horimiya”. Feels a bit awkward talking about this but is there any other way to cure my depression because the reasons above didn’t help.
I also get the feeling to never watch an anime ever again due to my depression so I am more lonely and even more depressed. (I sent the last comment and forgot to add this)
If you are feeling depressed, I suggest you take walks and take up a creative hobby that challenges you. The trick to overcoming depression is to dedicate yourself to the service of others in a way that taps into your nature. For me, it’s writing.
A few quotes come to mind too:
I know what you mean. I just did the same thing and watched two romantic anime’s and I’m feeling so depressed and empty. Hope I recover soon. I am probably going to rewatch it or find another one to watch just so I can feel empty again.
How you doing man?
I just finished Given…I did not expect to be so emotional over an anime, but it resonated with me cos I often feel like Mafuya not being able to put things into words. This story kind of broke me this weekend. I didnt even know this kind of depression/ blues was a thing. Thank you for this, it feels like theres meaning to my tears now🤗
I feel no more alone.
Every time i hear the op/en of the anime called Mysterious Girlfriend X it makes me really sad.
Well the anime is not that popular so you don’t know what anime i am talking about, and it was made back from 2012 so its been 9yrs.
Sometimes i cry and when i try to hide my emotion of sadness well it doesn’t work, my tears just came down from my eye, i tried to read the manga if it will help cause i thought i was in withdrawal of the anime cause i know that the ending wasn’t…. something, well i can’t describe it, and so i tried reading the manga, but no it didn’t help, it made it even worse.
My eye is literally dropping tears right now while typing this, sorry if my English is bad i’m a Filipino, but still thank you for this, i wish it will help me solve my problem
Sometimes it only takes time (and maybe some journaling) to work through the impact a story or event has.
I loved mysterious girlfriend X, i’m 19 now but i used anime to escape from a dysfunctional family and a messy childhood for years and even though those times are past now in some ways i wierdly feel nostalgia for those times because I was completely consumed by anime. i would sometimes watch two anime a day and i’ve probably seen over a thousand anime by now. I have ADHD meaning my emotions are greatly hightened and blown out of proportion to the extreme in either a positive or negative direction so my nostaliga for the past sometimes comes back and is very bittersweet. my version of this is a romcom called School Rumble and it still gives me a longing for the past whenever i hear the opening, i guess times were just simple back then. I often feel sad when something ends, like a good day out or a specific moment, these never go away. I’ve definately used anime as a way to escape from reality as did all of my friends and my girlfriend. With people that watch a lot of anime you usually find that it is a way to escape from their personal issues and mental health struggles and sadly when a group of those likeminded people is formed they usually make eachother worse. Being in a relationship for 4 years has taken me away from anime now because the majority of shows are meant to be watched and forgotten and just feel there to fill a void and to pass the time. i’ll still watch one now and then but you realise that the time you spent as a kid watching anime is something you can’t do when lifes responsibilities come at you head on.
Took time before my sadness for the anime was gone, all I did was play games, study, and watch some other anime’s like black clover, now my sadness is gone thanks for the suggestion of this site wish other people can get help of there sadness in this site, 7months from now i still feel sad about the anime but I’m okay now…. no more crying just happy old me.
Thank you Chris Kincaid, I really appreciate it
i am feeling this right now (though it is a manga i finished). this is the first time i am experiencing this kind of depression, or maybe this is the first time it is this bad. i am now here after googling how to resolve my issue.
after watching bunny girl senpai, something changed within me. it is now my favorite all time. it feels like i am connected or invested to characters that never existed. i am never fond of reading a book. my imagination is not good to not see a picture like manga. so i guess this is the same feeling readers feel when they read a book.
to my point, the story that made me depressed was domestic girlfriend. yes, someone may call it trashy but hey we have cannes festival shows unconventional as f stories i will not be interested in. for me it is a well written story that certain aspects of the story you can relate to. while agree with the end, the right girl marries the MC. i was sad on what happened to the 2nd best. it feels like she deserved something. i have somewhat come into terms with it. i accepted the fact that the characters were happy in their own way/ending. i may have applying a real life scenarios to the story that it screws up the intended happy ending by the author.
as attached and emotional was i watching bunny girl sempai at least, everything clearly went well for all of them. compared to domestic girlfriend (despite the author said it is a happy end), i am still having a hard time wrapping around my mind accepting it. my feelings will surely pass by time, but it is a hellfire going thru it.
You are touching on a cultural difference. In traditional Japanese stories, happy endings are rare. Usually, the stories end with some sort of death or separation. Happy endings in traditional storytelling are rarely what we in the West would call happy. The main character having a happy ending is often the best you can ask for. Bunny Girl Senpai is a good story!
I made the biggest mistake by reading Attack On Titan manga. A few days left before it’s anime final season. And the ending isn’t what I want it to be, and it left me a major depression until now. From season 1, I started to crush on Eren and I thought he would someday lives happily like he wanted to be. But after reading the manga, knowing the ending, it’s even hurt than broke up with your ex.
I’ve learned not to have expectations. I find I can enjoy stories for what they are by doing so. That doesn’t stop me from wishing a story was different :D. Bleach, I’m looking at you.
Yes I totally understand what you’re talking about. I was so devastated by knowing the end. I had so much hope for him to have a better life and all. It really is painful.
thanks alot of information
Tonight, I finished an anime called Magi.
There’s something about Magi that makes me sour whenever I remember that I’ve watched the whole show. You see, Magi is not a super complex anime, with superb writing or characters; nonetheless, Magi manages to spread important messages in its creative ways. Magi is a lovely show about children discovering the meaning of their lives, their purpose, and battling against their accursed fates and destinies, all the while making new friends, going on adventures, battling enemies, capturing dungeons, and, of course, learning magic! I had a similar bitter feeling after finishing Hunter x Hunter. I suppose it’s because I grew attached to the characters, and how easy-going (and entertaining) the stories were.
End-of-anime blues is something I’ve continuously struggled with, and I’m still searching for a fix.
I don’t believe end-of-anime blues need a fix. There’s nothing wrong with feeling a little sad time-to-time. We have this mistaken idea in society that we should always feel happy or elated, which can be as unhealthy has chronic sadness. Sadness and melancholy are healthy emotions in the right doses.
I just finished HoriMiya. I watched a few episodes the night before and finished before school started. I am not yet old enough (I could, but my parents would reject) to get married and be in a relationship. Don’t get me wrong, I love romance anime, but this one just hit me. There were some emotional scenes that made me cry. Over the past two weeks, I haven’t been able to get over it. I spend my time thinking about how I wish I had someone as loving as Miyamura, or that my life was somewhat like theirs. I haven’t ever felt this attached to an anime, and I would really love to read the manga or watch it again, but I can’t stop thinking about it and am afraid it will be worse if I do it all over again. I have been so stuck on this and it’s all I ever think about. I know I sound weird but I’ve been feeling very very depressed since. Anime can really leave a huge impact…
Horimiya is a good story. However, the males in the series are unrealistic, but it’s not a bad thing! Guys just don’t speak about emotions in the way they do in shojo and josei, particularly with each other. The romance is fairly healthy too. There are far worse examples.
Next time you watch it, perhaps you can try picking it part. Look at how the story is written and the characters behave. Contrast the way the guys speak of emotions against how guys actually do it. It might help you understand why and how the anime has such an impact on you.
I also really enjoyed HoriMiya, both the anime and the manga. Like all fiction, though, it falls apart quickly when compared to the realities of being in a relationship. Real people are just so much more complicated and unpredictable than fictional characters. Comparing your life to a story will always almost result in disappointment. So, enjoy it for what it is, and just live your life! (Hahaha – I know – easier said than done!)
I bet you feel depressed but don’t feel weird about it you,me and a lot others feel the same way so it is common you are not alone in this,and sometimes feeling this way is not bad😊
When I finished the last 2 seasons on Tokyo ghoul I was happy but sad because it was good (if others thought it was bad it’s because I only watched the last 2 seasons) so I came to this site to help but I’m not motivated to read the manga. Any suggestions on what I could do, I don’t like going outside, I’m not allowed to cook because I would make a mess and I don’t like writing online messages… btw I got a really good anime and manga I like called toilet bound hanako-kun its good. At least to me.
Learning to enjoy the outdoors has many health benefits, so I suggest you try visiting a park. You should also try teaching yourself a new skill, be it computer programming, a language, drawing, investing, astronomy, or something else. YouTube offers a good place to start.
I finished watching tokyo revengers and I have also finished reading the manga as well like 3 weeks ago and I have NEVER felt so emotional before. I never get emotional from reading and watching shows and books but ever since I got into anime that shit hit me in a way I never thought it would. Anime brought out the emotions that I would never usually ever allow myself to feel. Don’t get me wrong it feels good to cry and feel sad every once in a while but its been 3 WEEKS NOW! 3 MF WEEKS nd I feel sad every single day about the anime I watched. Especially tokyo revengers:( Watching anime has really changed the way I treat and see people and it really is no lie that it changes peoples perspective of the world. I love anime man.
Stories can change your perspective and stir your emotions. I finished Violet Evergarden: the Movie, and the story pulled at my emotions. Stories are our oldest form of teaching and understanding the world. Somewhere along the way, we’ve forgotten this.
I’ve just finished Violet Evergarden and here I am…
Violet Evergarden is quite a relevant story for our time period. I plan on writing another article about it soon.
I’ve been watching anime for 15 years ish and Tokyo revengers has had the biggest emotional impact on me. I feel you there 🙁
Yeah, AOT is a heartbreaker. Isayama literally kills everyone. If you don’t read the manga, you should, as it’s supposed to be Winter of 2022 when part 2 comes out. I’m waiting for the first few chapters to arrive, but I think that after them, I’ll just go to the last few chapters and get the rest of the series after. I highly recommend Attack On Titan to anyone who hasn’t read it.
I am searching the web literally to get this weird feeling off me after watching the anime & manga of Nisekoi: False Love
The ending of the Manga really left me to feel empty.
For the anime, the anime is almost like the Manga but uh, the anime is ended without the proper ending, for example, in the Manga, the girl continued his journey after speaking with his dad on how to confess. But in the anime it ended just like that, she talked about how to confess, and then the anime ended.
This got me so sad but then I read the Manga I finished it just 10 minutes ago and I am here to make me feel OK.
(spoiler, skip if you are planning to watch this anime!)
At the end of the Manga, the girl reached where the guy and the friend of this girl made a promise to marry, the girl was crying because she found out it wasn’t she who made the promise to marry him but then the guy rejected the promise girl and got to him and then the girl and they got married.
It went like that.
(end of the spoiler!)
I am sad even though it ended with a happy ending. I guess it doesn’t matter for me if it was a bad or a happy ending, I will always feel the same once an anime ends.
Anime seriously changed my point of view in life and the surroundings around me.
I was really never an anime guy but when I accidentally saw an anime in a meme and got interested I started watching it. This same feeling got into me when it ended like that then I watched this anime and I felt the same.
Now I am a true anime guy, even though I always feel so sad when an anime ends, I just keep doing the same, knowing the outcome of it. Because anime is just not like the films that end in 1 hour or 2 hours or even in series, anime is just something else, if it’s a very good anime then it can even change your life!
But know what it is, this anime will remain my 1st favorite anime no matter what.
The sadness in me may cool down a bit but it won’t go away, this feeling won’t just go away.
Please give me some advice…
Feelings of sadness are natural and will pass on their own as long as you don’t feed them. It’s a mistake to think we shouldn’t ever feel sad. Do something creative. Learn something new. Hike. Read a book (I recommend Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations). And without realizing it, you won’t feel sad anymore.
I got so sad about the ending of darling and the frnxx and it’s so weird to me for it to sadden me but it meant a lot like all the team work and everything
i feel the same thing after watching darling in the franxx, i am kinda depressed. Now i don’t know what is even going through my mind . I have never felt anything like this before finishing any anime series or movies. I am feeling so bad, its feels like i have to see a doctor.
oops i didn’t mean to put that emoji
I removed it for you : ) <---intentional emoji 😀 I recommend you spend some time disconnected from media and spend time walking in nature, reading, and doing something creative. It helps to unplug from media completely on a regular basis.
tokyo ghoul hits different, i am literally crying at the moment
bro im here after watching tokyo ghoul too.
bro im here after watching tokyo ghoul too.
I recently just finished both the manga and the anime of Koe No Katachi and the story really resonated and affected me on a personal level. Keep in mind that I also have watched Anohana and other great anime, but this is the first time that it hit me really deeply. It made me reflect and rethink about something in my life and changed my perspective on some aspects. It has been a few days since I finished it and I still keep thinking about it. Something about the theme, the story, and the characters feel so real to me, and I could relate to them so much. The theme of forgiveness, acceptance, and redemption and seeing how the characters grew and bonded during their journey from the start to the finish, from blaming themselves for what happened in the past and hating themselves and coming to a place of acceptance and forgiveness and trying to make up for their past made me feel all kinds of emotions. The ending of the manga made me feel really bittersweet when both of them held their hand together and walked toward the door full of light which symbolizes that it’s the end of the beginning and that their journey is not over yet. It makes me kind of sad that I couldn’t be part of their journey anymore and see it till the end. Meanwhile the ending of the anime made me feel heartbroken that Ishida had to endure so much, and it made me feel proud that he was able overcame his self-hatred and guilt and started to open up to other people’s voices.
I was really invested in the characters, so when I finished it, part of me was taken away or someone close to me left me. It didn’t help that the ending was kind of open, which makes me anxious and keeps me thinking about the future of the characters. Will they end up together? Even though there were some really good evidence that they will end up together but since the ending is open, and it’s not confirmed that they will, there’s this part of me that is worried that they might not which kind of troubles me.
I have started meditating and gaining awareness and distancing myself from my emotions, but it feels comfortable to indulge in those emotions and let them sink in, and yet at the same time I want to stop letting them affect me. It’s hard to not let them control me. The simplest way that I can explain what I’m feeling right now would be the feeling of emptiness and overwhelmed. I might even say that I may be depressed even though Koe No Katachi is not really that sad compared to some other anime and the ending was bittersweet, it sure does make me feel this deep feeling of emptiness.
It has been affecting my focus and motivation to do things. I feel like I don’t want to do anything. I have tried watching other anime to cheer me up, but so far it’s not working. I don’t know how long this will affect me, and I’m getting worried that this void might last a very long time.
I apologize for the long comment and wall of text and some bad grammar, since English is not my first language. Writing this has made me feel a bit better. Any thoughts are welcome.
Meditating and learning how to accept and feel your emotions without grasping them is a good start! It takes a long time, sometimes years, for you to see the benefits of meditation.
Open-endings are fun and frustrating. Part of us wants the story to wrap up. Another part doesn’t want the story to ever end. My articles about Samurai Champloo’s ending remain popular because of the anime’s open ending. In fact, open endings to good anime gives a longer life to the story. People keep discussing the possibilities.
I’m glad writing the comment helped : ).
@livz :
“I have started meditating and gaining awareness and distancing myself from my emotions, but it feels comfortable to indulge in those emotions and let them sink in, and yet at the same time I want to stop letting them affect me. It’s hard to not let them control me. The simplest way that I can explain what I’m feeling right now would be the feeling of emptiness and overwhelmed. I might even say that I may be depressed even though Koe No Katachi is not really that sad compared to some other anime and the ending was bittersweet, it sure does make me feel this deep feeling of emptiness.”
That is ditto me with Violet Evergarden. Yes, there is sad parts. But the author, in her own words, has structured every episode as a jewellery box. The whole point of the Anime is to find purpose and meaning after having to go through something that’s depressing. And yet, this feeling just won’t leave me.
I am not even sure if I should call it depression, sadness, fear or emptiness. The only way I can describe it is – uncontrollable, persistent, heavy feeling originating from my heart.
Am just hoping to get the season 2 of ny fav anime 😶. Waiting for 5years. Still no official news bout it. I think I am loosing hope for it. I wish it will be back in these days
What anime are you referring to? Unfortunately there are a lot of one-season wonders out there!
See Anime Your Name
Your Name is a good film.
It sure is! I was a little disappointed by Weathering with You, though. Looked great, same director, but the story just wasn’t compelling IMO.
I have seen Anime Your Name and this story fallen me into deep thinking due to which I get headache pls…. tell how I will overcome this I able to pay focus in anything and I only thinking about story and character of Anime-Your Name pls… tell me the solution…………. 😟😟😖😰
Prince Kumar – Yes, it is a mind-bender for sure! I recommend re-watching it until your headache goes away. Hahaha…
Waiting for season 2of an anime from like past 2-3years still no season 2 . I don’t think that they will release any season 2 of the anime.
Am waiting and waiting searching like daily about it’s any official news. am loosing my hope for it. And think I will be depressed
Wish it will be there in 2021.
I also have a few anime that I wish would see another season. However, after so many years after their last seasons, it isn’t likely.
I just finished banana fish around a month ago and angel beats around 3 weeks ago and I finished watching given a couple days ago, and I am absolutely heartbroken. I have cried my eyes out so much over them that when I think abt them I can’t even cry anymore I just get a horrible depressing, sad, empty feeling. I honestly don’t know why I do this to myself. And even tho I watched banana fish around a month ago I still can’t seem to shake that feeling of sadness. I swear I have never been this sad except for when like my cat died. Sorry for venting, when I talk to my friends abt it they don’t rly get it.
Those stories must have resonated with you. Many readers will cry over a book. In fact, Nicholas Sparks has made a career around getting readers to do that! So crying over anime isn’t any different.
hi there lily!
i’m on the same boat with you here. i finished Banana Fish and Garden of Light just immediately after finishing Given. wrong move, i know. and honestly i am at a loss for words. was wondering if you’d like to share this sadness together? reading to reddit commentaries just hasn’t pacify the spot just yet 🙁
Attack on titan make me really sad i really want to comming out season 4 part 2 soons possible 🙁
I also look forward to the ending of the series.
Me too! I wish the final season would complete as soon as this year 😪
I’m really sad after watching Angel Beats ep 10 , still not finished the anime but I’m scared that I’ll be more sad after I complete it. How to deal with it, do I watch till the last, please help me
As I’ve mentioned before, sadness is a good emotion to experience before a truly sad event happens to you. Fiction helps you understand your emotions and how to cope with them in a safe environment before life’s sorrows (and joys!) strike you. Be aware of your feelings but don’t dwell on them. Emotions don’t live long. They only seem to live a long time because we dwell on them and feed them.
so i finished MHa but I want to get away from it because it makes me feel, well, feelings, and I can’t stop crying over nighteye’s death. I can’t get on with it, i mean-
I just finished clannad after story and my favorite anime is fruits basket but the next episode hasn’t come out yet😭😭😭 it feels like my heart is empty these 5 things helped me slightly till I watch anohana 🤧😢😢.
Anohana even made my stone-heart melt a little. It’s a rare story to move me even a little.
I just finished clannad after story and it feels like my world is falling apart I wish they would make more anime but these five ways helped me a bit.
I just finished the Tokyo ghoul anime. Am not being able to move on from it. The characters of this anime can never be removed from my mind. Now that this is over, I feel like I have nothing to do. I feel depressed all the time. In my life, there is no place. I didn’t find anything interesting. I feel lonely all the time. I don’t care about anything. what should I do?
First, remember that emotions are temporary. They only last as long as you feed them. You will have moments when you don’t feel depressed or lonely. Notice these moments. This will feed them. Next, indulge in a hobby separate from anime and manga. Hike, fish, draw, read, visit with friends, paint, or learn a new skill like Python programming or wood carving. When you are depressed this can be difficult. But as my 94-year-old grandmother tells me, do it anyway and keep doing it. Third, learn to meditate. Learn to sit with your thoughts and emotions without getting trapped in them. Over time, you will see a shift in your psychology. And then you can watch anime without being negatively influenced.
Really Oregairu was my 2nd Anime which just took my whole attention and made me really sad by many reasons.
I couldn’t control and understand anything just thinking about it every time.
Story ended real quick at last after yukino’s confessions as I wasn’t able to see what happened next.
I was just comparing it with my life.
I just finished watching “Plastic Memories”,and it really made me cry.I was kind of heartbroken,so i decided to watch another anime.So i’m watching “Darling in the Franxx” ,still in the midway,but i just regret it.Because i’m scared that i will be more heartbroken than before,after completing the anime,i.e.. “Darling in the Franxx”.I really don’t know what to do,I’m scared to get hurt.Should i complete the anime?Any suggestion.
Sadness caused by a story that speaks to you is a good thing. Sadness and other uncomfortable emotions are natural. Don’t avoid them. Stories give you a chance to learn coping skills. Avoiding uncomfortable emotions only makes it harder for you to deal with them when life events arrive. Death, for example. is inevitable. It is best to learn how to deal with sadness before something as terrible as a death happens.
dude i just finished hxh man and- i couldnt get to finish it i tried i didnt work dude 😐
sorry but it atleast helped me not be sad all the time just when i wasnt happy i thought how sad it was
i cant- im litterly so sad bc i didnt finish an anime 😭 whyyy
Everyone forgets that emotions are a choice. You can feel sadness but you can choose to indulge it or not. It sounds weird (after all, this comes from Zen), but if you mentally say “Hello again, Sadness. I’m sorry, I don’t have time to listen right now” and then later on make time: “Okay, Sadness, I can listen to you for a little bit.” And then you listen without wallowing in the feeling. With practice you can find patterns and insights to yourself. I know it is strange, but I find it works.
I just read your article I really think is a good way for me. I guess I have an other kinds of feelings for this depression. I just watch Darling from the Franxx, it is so good that I pay so much attention for it, this anime made me learn more deeper about life and LOVE. I found out I not just fall in love with this anime, I fall in love with Zero Two too ( the main female character ) After this anime, I think about her so much and imagine things we do, it’s really crazy and my mind is about to explode. I’m so sad that this character is not real I tell it to my anime lover friends but they didn’t take it seriously. This kind of feeling make me wanna burst my tears all out but I can’t, cause I mean I’m already 14……I feel hopeless without anyone to help me. Even though the character is not real, I wish they make season 2 out quickly. That’s my only wish that I can see my waifu again lol. ありがと！
It’s fine to enjoy a character, but be careful not to use anime to escape reality. Some escapism is fine. It helps you relax, but waifuism can be bad for your psychological maturation.
Same here as well. I’ve been an anime fan since years ago. But nothing really hits me hard as much as Darling in the Franxx. The feeling is almost the same as what Sean Lim described, and its still here. I don’t know how to get rid of this feeling. Anyway, I’m so glad that I found out this page. So I know that I’m not alone = ))
Recently , I got hooked up by different genres of anime and out of curiosity and search for new contents . I started watching one specific anime titled: Domestic no Kanojo, Reasons why I wanted to explore a new anime, which i can simply classify from the rest as somehow unique and far between others. I cant understand the feeling that I got after I watched it, it was probably different and I cant move on about it, there was a time that my tears just incidentally fled out of me and this may sound strange but I can’t literally move on about it. There was a lot of negative feedback about it and the story is definitely for mature readers, and as for me this is what makes it interesting, the anime is spicy yet filled with agony and back and forth of questioning emotions and right or wrong decisions. But i want to share that this kind of anime’s are the greatest, these are what I called unique and golden. Hurting your readers are just one characteristic that might brought an inevitable feeling and realization on your readers. but notall eventually.
Ps. i actually try the 4th tip which is to blog or something in this definitely helped me thankyou!
I’m glad blogging helped you!
Hey…Just read your motivational thought.I just finished Sword Art Online and Iam a school student who is nearing higher grades….I just watch anime to cool my mind off but this anime got me…..There is a itch in my heart as th characte actually taught me how to love a person but the series ended and i realised it woul take 4 years from now for the series to return again and it feels like a eternity and Iam sure the five steps above can be followed but when i go to walk while leaving my mobile….it stilll comes in my head,the characters,story,dialogues and expression keeps me revolving like I lost a real loved person in my life but please help me to overcome this….Please…..Give me your tips as a human…not a librarian
I recently lost my grandmother to COVID-19, so I will tell you how I worked through that. Perhaps the approach will help you too.
1) Accept you feel bad. It is fine to feel troubled or anxious or sad. Accept this fact and endure.
2) Emotions are temporary. All emotions and thoughts last only a short time. They seem to last longer because we revive them by holding onto them or denying them. Notice the moments when your mind wanders from what troubles you. Don’t hold onto thoughts, nor deny them. Let them come and let them go.
3) Realize you are not your thoughts or emotions. If you meditate, you will soon notice an awareness that floats between and above thoughts and sensations. That awareness, separate from all thoughts and watching all thoughts, is the real you. It is expansive and comfortable and unmoved.
These realizations have helped me through terrible times. They should help you with your feelings, but it takes time and practice. You need to notice and ask how you are feeling. Ask yourself where the feelings come from? Your belly? Your toes? Then, mentally touch that area and watch it. Don’t fight it or act on the feeling. Just watch it and let it pass on its own.Tell it “Hello, thank you for visiting again, old friend. Let me listen to you for a minute. But only for a minute! I am busy, so please understand.” Strangely, mental dialogue like this toward painful emotions and thoughts works.
We are the same then. I am also a student approaching higher grades who has just finished Sword Art Online’s final episode, today in fact. I love the show to the bottom of my heart and aches me that there is nothing more for me to watch until something new happens. The show has taught me life lessons, the way I act around others, love, hope, and even made me think about my future, and how much I want that life of Kirito and his others. It doesn’t get out of my mind in fact, of how I wish I could just have the same story as Kirito’s, to be surrounded by friends who don’t jerk you around and are genuinely the best to you and love you all the same, and to have relationships with those same friends, it’s all I want in a life. Though, I had too accept that it isn’t how life works, that we’re not living inside an anime. We’re living on Earth, where things aren’t as glamorous or glorified as anime, or more specifically, Sword Art Online. But I have to learn to accept the world we live in and that I live in. Even if I can’t have a group of friends such as Kirito’s, or such a interesting life he has, or skill he has, I can at least strive to be all those. I can at least know that I have something to look up to in life, that whenever I need help or something to strive for, I have SAO. I understand your emotions all too well, for I am going through them right now at this very moment. I love the anime more than anything and don’t care what anyone else says because it has given me these emotions. I’m glad to know that at least someone is out there sharing my same feelings on the show. I had no idea that anyone was like this for SAO, besides me I thought. I don’t know if it will help, but you and I can discuss our favorite characters if you want! Or our favorite events throughout the series, anything we want.
Apologies for my reply, I intended to reply to the comment above, but it so happened to send it under your comment again. Again apologies, and I am sorry for the loss of your grandmother🙏
Sometimes the comment system is goofy. No worries! And thank you :).
To all SAO finishers (people who have finished the anime) I have discord if you wanna chat about it. I finished it just a few weeks ago, and it left a huge hole in my heart. If anyone wants to rant or talk about it I would love to have someone to talk to who is experiencing the same thing as me. (my discord is Malk#9289 if you wanna talk 🙂
Same here, Just I can’t move on and whenever I think of it, it makes me sad and I can’t explain may emotions like I want to cry.
This was such an awesome piece of writing. Really needed this. Thank you for posting this! Love from India
Thank you! I am glad you found it helpful.
I recently finished Dororo and the anime encaptured me with its plot and characther driven motives. The ending was a bit unsatisfying beacuse it ended with an open ending, thus i cant anchor the feeling that the main characters sticked togheter in the end and it makes me depressed that there wont be any continuation.
Open endings are quite common in anime. Such endings encourage fan fiction writers or leaves the mangaka with future writing options.
Bro I just finished Inuyasha and started crying because it was my go-to sit down and escape show. Thanks for this man. I feel like it really does feel like you lost something when a show ends, whether it’s good or not, because you get so invested in each character dude. Sounds silly because it’s just a show but people get super attached to books too so…
Yes, people do get attached to books or even sports teams. How many fans cry when their teams are defeated in a big play off? Anything sports related is more socially acceptable, but the psychology is the same. Inuyasha is a good time. I recommend you check out Yashahime too.
Same. I cried. I love Inuyasha and it affected me so deeply. I cried and feel sad. I don’t know. I have an intense longing in my heart after finishing it.
Since I was a kid, I’ve always been prone to escapism, and voraciously consuming books and movies as a part of it. I had a vivid and imaginative inner life, and I saw so much magic in the world around me. Without mincing words, I grew up way to fast, and this led to a host of mental health issues. Now, at 24, I look back on so much lost time and freedom and my heart aches. That desire to escape into stories is overwhelming, and I struggle to return to the real world, particularly now with life being what it is. It is beginning to feel like it is irresponsible for me to consume certain types of media, as I get so caught up in it and so heartbroken after. I’m glad I saw your article, but I still don’t know how to reconcile my real life with stories sometimes. It genuinely aches. I started watching Kamisama Hajimemashita just on a whim, just to fill the days, and finishing it today I was completely heartbroken. I was sad about the story, sad about my life, questioning my choices and my relationship. I know that all sounds so absurdly dramatic, and is probably in part due to the incredibly drastic circumstances that we’re all living under, but it makes me sad and embarrassed that this is something I’m struggling so much with. Life is never going to be like these stories, and people will never be like these characters, no matter how much I want it. Anyway, it’s good to know that other people also struggle with this experience.
We all need to be careful about the media we consume and how much we consume. Stories were originally meant to be teaching methods, and good ones will make us reconsider our lives. We don’t necessarily need to act on that consideration, but it is a healthy practice.
Our circumstances may not be similar, but our thoughts definitely are. I am also prone to escapism and I am always wondering about characters we so emotionally get invested with. I try so much to bring such characters and what they stand for to life in what I see around me but they are just the imagination of the author and I play around that concept for a while, as well as what they would do in the present world but I can never wrap my head around it and move on. I have left many good books and stories because of my emotional investment. I yearn to see them in reality or have similar experiences, but I just can not for some reason. Something in me stops me from escaping completely into that reality and it aches. Some responsible part in me restrains me from going into it completely and to neither be there nor in the present aches my heart and consumes my mind. I am left in a daze belonging to neither of the worlds for when I am in the present I cannot stop thinking about that, yet I do not consume it. It is just there in my mind, while I am passing time. Ahh yes the present situation I am in too makes me question my choices in life but I am so disconnected from reality, wasting away in dreams. Though I find brief moments of inspiration at times, unless there is a strict framework in my life, it all fails. I can neither drown my self in alcohol or any other self detrimental habits, nor immerse my self in reality as there is some part in me that will not let me drown to the bottom, neither will it inspire me. Good luck and I hope you are able to solve your problems !
Same man I finished 7ds a couple of days ago and I’m in high school and when I found out my favorite character died it felt a bit depressing and I know most people cry when there favorite character dies, but this was on a totally different level and still I get sad and I can’t get it out of my mind to the point where the things I used to love I don’t love anymore, it doesn’t fell the same because I’m constantly being saddened that the facts that the character I love is now gone and I hate the feeling it makes me question the things I do and the way I do it. It also scares me because I already knew what I wanted to focus on when I get older, but theses thoughts make me question weather or not I want to to it.
LOL. You sorry losers need to get lives…ffs
I’ve seen sports-oriented people get just as upset when their teams lose. Footballers even riot.People can become vested in anything.
Then what are you doing commenting on this awesome post? Lol. First get a life yourself. 🙂
Im here from rascal doesn’t dream of a bunny girl senpai,I know it has a good ending but I just can’t get over with it.This level of emptiness is just huge and I don’t think that a simple sleep will not solve this.
What about the story has you unsettled? I enjoyed Rascal quite a bit; I revisited it last month, actually.
Same here buddy I mean if u watched the movie as well then it gives my very empty feeling so don’t feel like you’re the only one suffering we are in this together though I don’t know if I’ll recover
Damn, there are so many comments on this topic. I am here fresh after finishing Shokugeki no Soma (I know I am late). I used to watch a lot of anime before and somewhere along the lines, I stopped frequenting them and became a “casual viewer”. Shokugeki no Soma was one of the few animes I had never stopped watching since its very first episode. And now that everything is over, I just don’t know how to feel. I have gotten over this post-anime depression state countless of times before. But many of them were the one season, 12-24 episodes ones where it was easier to get over from as there were likely more work coming soon. In this case, it is truly all set and done. I really loved everything about this anime(except the skipping of cooking procedures and fights as told by my friends who have read the manga). Argh! I cannot get over its characters!!! (the OST is playing in my head right now!) I guess I’ll check its manga out. I hope I can bounce back from this ;(
I’ve just come to this site right after finishing “Darling in the Franxx”. The show was so intriguing, and every night i would go to bed excited to continue watching the next day. When i finally reached the end it felt like something inside of me was missing. I doubt i will become depressed over this but it was a great anime and i may be sad about it for quite a while. I’m going to take your advice and go for a walk. Don’t worry, i won’t bring my phone 🙂
I also came from darling in the franxx and felt empty afterward still stuck in that world I guess you could say. I love cars and shoes and other things but after watching/finishing the anime I had no care for them or anything it was weird, I’ve felt the emptiness after finishing an anime before but not like that. I’ve heard of other people having the exact same feeling after watching darling in the franxx. That show was just something else esp the ending. Anyway the best thing to do is to watch another anime honestly. I read the manga for darling in the franxx (didn’t finish it) but still felt that empty feeling so I started watching SAO. I watched it before but years ago and forgot basically everything so thought it might help fill the void I had and distract me with another story. I’m glad I did cause it really really helped im almost back to my normal self, into shoes and cars and everything and having fun watching sao (doesn’t compare to DITF but its alright). Its the best thing you can do for yourself. Also give it time, I felt empty for about a week after watching DITF but you’ll get back to your usual self it just takes time to accept its over and that’s not your world and you have a whole life here. Thanks for letting me rant lol.
I want sakorasou no pet na kanjoro…I don’t get it I’ll become an animation developer and go to company and write the season 2…it’s been 8 years but still I won’t give up….it’s my dream…..I can’t leave anime….it’s my life…..I left all my friends and classmates for this and I want to live in anime ..if any one is getting this message plz let me know
Well, companies make anime that generate profit. If it doesn’t make profit, it doesn’t get made, so if you want a second season, you can work to encourage people to buy and watch the first season.
I see a lot of people talking about DITF… I have also seen it and indeed it left a hole in my heart that was not easy to fix but in the end It was ok. However, some days ago, I saw 5 centimeters per seconds and hell no, it left me broken, in part because I feel identify with some situations and specially, the painfull ones. I would recommend this anime movie (only 1 hr duration) under your own risk. I think what make it painful is because it talks about life situations, how because of distance, people torn apart and often, it doesn’t always end up with a happily ever after. I would say that is the sad version of the Bunny Senpai Girl anime (LOL). If it help to anyone who is also struggling witrh this, I recommend to embrace your feelings. It’s ok to feel bad or despressive as long as you find a way to let it out. As silly as it may be seen, I spend 2 days depress and crying abour the outcome of 5cm per second. I try reading the manga, watching video reviews and eventually it helps a little but it was not the solution. I think, the important is to identify your flaws and if you feel somehow identify with the character, ask yourself why and try to asimilate that feeling and resolve it. Use all this feeling in a how, it can release so much the pain. In my case, as I’m writing this, I’m learning “One more time, one more chance” in guitar and so far it feels good to use this energu to do something productive. I’m planning also to write down my thoughts about the movie. I think is a good way that our subconscious asimilate the story. Anyway, if someone get to watch this movie, I will be happy to discuss it with someone, it is also a nice way to release the depressive feeling. Stay safe!
Writing is a good way to process your feelings and thoughts about a story. It forces you to consider them deeply.
while reading everyone`s reply for what anime cause them to be like this, i realized that i handle after-anime blues with more anime that most likely cause it. I watch Seishun Buta Yarou, and then Your Lie in April, then SNAFU, and i just finished Steins;Gate. Talking about spreading salt on open wound.
Your Lie in April and SNAFU are good watches. Your Lie is a sad one.
I watched the entire season on the original anime “Deca-dence” yesterday. I already experienced that kind of emptiness after finishing great series, animes and video-games, but I am amazed about how this anime took such a great place in my heart and resonated witn me in just one day. My life is feeling empty and boring now X’D
Some stories can really resonate. I find myself still thinking about Final Fantasy VI, for example, despite first playing the game 25 years ago.
Im here because of Darling in the Franxx and Twin Star Exorcists i want more … it put emotional scar on me even tho im not that emotional person . . . i recommend you to watch TSE its really good.
I just finished Darling in the Franxx as well. I would suggest reading the manga to help, especially after that ending. The manga has a better ender I have been told so thats what I am doing and it is helping.
evreryones crying over darling in the franxx I’m here balling my eyes out over haikyuu manga ending because I remember all the laughs it gave me and all the happiness in the world I I started to read the manga because the anime was on hitus and the manga ended and i have absulutly no idea what to do because i know ill never find an anime that will give me this much joy again and i know that one day in the future ill forget about them and it makes me sad.
can you tell I’m sad
If a story left such an impact on you, you will likely remember it. You might even seen subtle ways the story has influenced your thinking.
I think that darling in the franxx can take down person with weak heart, im here for the same reason + Twin Star Exorcists these shows put big amount of depression and stress on me if you didnt watch Twin Star Exorcists its really good anime.
Twin Star Exorcists is a good watch. It has good relationship dynamics.
Watch anime Baki or Kenichi The Mightiest Disciple i cured my depression from Darling in the Franxx and Twin Star Exorcists with these martial arts animes i recomend you watch Twin Star Exorcists its really good.
There is an anime kind of like Haikyu!! that I found on Netflix. theres 2 or 3 seasons but only the first is on Netflix. The name of it is Kurokos Basketball and almost identical to Haikyu!! except basketball. I have not yet finished it but I bet I’ll feel the same
Hey . Yeah I feel you . You should check out my comment aswell . I still can’t get over it , you’re not pathetic , I also feel that way . The manga didn’t ease up any of my despair , I’m still constantly thinking of Hiro and ZeroTwo aswell as the other characters , because they all have really gotten attached to me . Alot of people can relate to this , I’m sure you can too and you have . I pray they make a new season where they fix everything from episode 15 onwards , I’m sure you can agree . If they make a season 2 with reincarnated Hiro and ZeroTwo then I think I would plummet into more depression . It wouldn’t feel the same without the two of them . I hope Studio Trigger and Cloverwork realise there’s a lot of people out there waiting for a second season , and I pray they don’t mess it up like they did in the last few episodes . All the best , Hope you’re feeling better . Never give up hope on a second season . And thanks for understanding what myself and others are going through . Stay safe.
Ryeback, you’ve expressed my exact feelings in words.
Great to know there’s other people who feel the same as me 😉
I’ve finished K-On!
That anime gave me little depression.
Good stories can leave you feeling reflective.
I only got into anime not to long ago… My first was AOT and I really enjoyed it, so i delved a little deeper. A lot of my friends wanted me to watch Darling in the Franxx, so I did, though only after spoiling the whole story because I didn’t want to watch it at the time. When I watched it, there was this wierd light feeling in my whole body, and even though I knew how it was going to end, the whole time in my head I was like; “there’s no way they die… there’s no way zero two turns into a massive robot” and I think thats why it hurt me so much in the end. Every time i’m scrolling through animelab and see Darling in the Franxx, I have to stop and take a breather. I feel as though I have a hole in my chest, and every other anime I watch to try and heal the wound, feels like filling it with sand. I have been watching anime for around 5 months now, have watched at least 200 shows, but none of them have given me the same feeling I got from Darling. I read the manga as well, but all I could think when reading it was “why didn’t the anime go like this” (at the time I didn’t know that the manga was finished after the anime) and it just hurt me more… I keep rewatching it to see if it helps with the pain, but every time it just feels more painful. I honestly just don’t know what to do anymore, have yet to have watched Eureka Seven (I saw you recommend it to someone in another comment) so will try that next. It’s gotten to the point where if you gave me the choice between getting ten million dollars, or a darling in the franxx season 2, I would choose the darling in the franxx.
The first anime you watch sticks with you. I still have a soft spot for Inuyasha. Two hundred shows in 5 months is quite a lot. Sometimes it’s a good idea to take a break and pursue a creative hobby and let time ease your feelings.
Same. I first saw InuYasha when I was 11 years old on our local channel and wasn’t able to watch half it and then after 19 years, it came up to my mind to watch it again and finish the entire series. After finishing it, I felt so sad and I cried. I had an intense longing in my heart. I am so attached with InuYasha. It will always be my favorite anime.
If you haven’t given it a watch, I suggest looking into Yashahime. It has a good Inuyasha feel, and it is fun to see what our favorite characters did after the original story of Inuyasha.
Dude, I totally feel you. The anime that gave me the exact feeling after I finished watching it was “Guilty Crown”. And just like you, I felt like I had a hole in my chest, and I tried to watch other anime to kinda cover up that wound. But even after like a year, I still feel that wound. Any time that anime is mentioned or I see it anywhere, the wound just reacts. It’s the mixture of nostalgia, and that feeling you have after you finish an anime. To be honest, the anime I was watching got spoiled too. While I was half way with the anime, my friend spoiled me the ending. But because I was so hyped for the anime, I ignored what he said and kept watching it. I remember the final episode of me saying “This won’t happen, he gotta be lying….”, but it did happen, exactly how my friend told me it would end. After that I was so broken. Not to mention, whenever I heard the opening song or ending song again, it just brought me to tears. This feeling of of a hole in a chest. I gotta admit, you described it more than I could. I think this feeling of a hole in a chest and etc, is the result of you watching your first emotional anime that really hit you hard, plus because it was spoiled you didn’t want to accept the reality (what has been spoiled). I am sure if my friend haven’t spoiled it to me, I wouldn’t be like this now. An advice, instead of trying to run away from this wound or avoid it, you should try to cope it somehow. The choice is yours.
I’ve stopped trying to run away. i’ve accepted it… though it still hurts, just in a different way. and this isn’t to say that i wouldn’t still give every single thing that I own to get a darling season 2… i think your thought about the spoiling and not wanting to accept the reality is completely true. in fact, since your reply, i have done an experiment with one of my friends. I told him to spoil Iron blooded orphans (I got really attached to the characters because i felt that i related to them a lot, the MC especially.) And the same thing happened, though thanks to the shows more morbid manner, It didn’t hit as hard and it actually FIT WITH THE REST OF THE STORY *ahem ahem* darling in the franxx.
Dude I feel exactly the same … Everything you’ve just said now , I am experiencing . I finally got a chance to watch ditf this year and man oh man , it’s something else . I’m still hurt . Just like you I read the manga straight afterwards and yet somehow still felt the same despair. I absolutely agree with your last statement about choosing a season two over anything else , I told myself the same thing. I hope a second season does come , where they remake the first season by giving it a better ending . They can remake everything from episode 15 onwards . I don’t want a new story with reincarnated Hiro and ZeroTwo . I hope your doing fine , and everyone else who sees this reply and are waiting for a second season of darling in the franxx , all the best and I pray for a second season , either this year or early next year .
To be honest, at this point, I wouldn’t mind a story that follows them when they are reincarnated. It could start off episode 1, where the new Zero Two and Hiro are dating, like any teenage couple, when the virm attacks and the city they are in is almost destroyed. Zero Two still has her daring, dangerous manner, so when one of the frannxx (which is strelitzia, though is painted a different colour) crashes in front of them, the cockpit opens and both of the pilots are dead, Zero two grabs Hiro’s hand and pulls him in. (The franxx has since been modified to not require a parasite suit) They then link and get their memories back, the episode ends on Zero Two looking back and saying “Darling”
Idk though, sounds kinda cheesy, but even if Trigger or A1 (now cloverworks) decided to go with something like that I wouldn’t mind. At this point i Just want, no, NEED more darling in the franxx. AS LONG AS ZERO TWO AND HIRO ARE THERE
I wasn’t much of an anime person before, but when I decided to watch Darling in the Franxx on Crunchyroll , it was a gigantic emotional ride for me. This was because I heard plenty of my friends’ opinion on the anime and on how it ended. So before watching I was somewhat familiar to who Zero-two and Hiro was, and I also knew about how it ended what their tragic fates were. When I started watching the anime I wasn’t really interested that much, but after episode two this was when I got hooked and attached to the characters. Now the first day of watching, I got to episode 19 and then I decided to stop and continue tomorrow, and this is where I had the first part of my crippling anime depression. Now I was still not at the very end of the anime(24 episodes in total) BUT I was just laying on my bed that day thinking about Zero-two and Hiro, knowing how the anime ended and what happened to them, It put a lot of strain on my chest because I very rarely get attached to shows or movies, but when I DO it takes me an absurd amount of time to emotionally recover form it. Part of the reason was the BEAUTIFUL ROMANCE it had and the WONDERFUL STORY LINE, but what really gave me the depression that hit me like a truck was the HORRIBLE ENDING. Sorry to say this but, the ending left me in a crippling state of sadness, because it was a waste, just an utter waste to a such a precious show. It has been three days ever since I watched it and still can’t sleep and I don’t know if I ever will now. I can only be satisfied if they continue a season 2 that fixes it. And sorry, but reading the manga didn’t do anything for me, that’s just how broken I am due to the decisions the producers made. Sorry to rant like this but I just can’t get my mind off of it and I don’t know when I can recover from this attachment I developed to the show, call me pathetic but I don’t really mind, I actually will agree with you. Thank you for spending your time reading this and I hope I can see some replies from you guys on what you think. <3
If you want a similar love story, one that stays focused, give the original Eureka Seven a watch. The show is better put together than Darling in the Franxx. Anime often has tragic or nonsensical endings. In ancient Japan’s literature, happy endings are rare. Anime will sometimes channel this tradition. Since you are new to anime, it might be a good to keep this in mind. I hope your emotions will ease soon. Give it some time. Emotions are fickle.
Can’t of said it better myself…
*Reads again to see if there’s anything I disagree with*
Nope… I agree with you on all fronts
I started to watch anime recently, and after I finished the first I felt this emptiness (that’s pretty normal). There’re a lot of good stories out there that can obviously teach you something, but when you compare them to the reality, for me it was heartbreaking (literally). I have always been clear about the things I want In life, but after this, I saw life as something too ordinary (and ofc it can be) but it took away the sense or the vision I was giving to my life, and I’m afraid i might not get that excitement back. Also bc there’re a lot of experiences in the anime that are actually possible in this reality, so I started overthinking about It, how hard I wish those things happen to me one day, so it gives me anxiety and I don’t have idea of how to fix it
It helps to remember you are at the place in your life you need to be within at this moment. Anxiety isn’t something to fix; it points out a problem in your perspective and thinking.
very informative content ,it helps us to get rid of depression ,I will read this very soon.
I hope you find the article helpful.
I finished Chūnibyō Demo Koi ga Shitai! not too long ago and I was also affected by the end-of-anime-depression. It started affecting my life and how I could be living and enjoying nature and stuff. It’s a little relaxing to see that there are other people that have felt this way so it’s a little less embarrassing to share my story. It really does make you think how the real-life is so political and not fun but it is what it is and you can’t do much but deal with it. The depression through me over the imagination of how enjoyable life would be without the heavy politics and all the rough events that are out there. It really would be fun to live in one of those slice of life and romance animes.
It’s also pretty interesting to see people going thought this almost at the same time by looking at the comments and when they were posted. I forgot the say this on my comment but I really hope my comment doesn’t trigger people’s depression by comparing anime to real-life. If it does I’m so sorry I really didn’t mean to just want to share my thoughts somewhere out there.
Stories that provide such an escape as you describe give people a place to rest. Sadly, most of our problems are self-inflicted. But stories can helps us minimize this by exploring decisions and consequences in a safe area. Depression is a problem because it creates a loop that’s difficult to break. It is possible to break it with lots of uncomfortable inner work. Anime and stories can offer a place to rest from that too.
Darling in Franxx though…..
I know right. I was feeling hella depressed after watching it. Cant get ovet the fact Zero two and Hiro died.
Finished “Nisekoi” at the start of June, the anime around May 31 (2 seasons and 4 OVAs) and the manga on June 2. I got end-of-anime-blues not directly after finishing it but after a while had gone by, around last week or so. I feel I got affected so much because it hits my age group (Currently 17 as of this post), and the story is an absolute bomb. It immediately hooks you, whether you started with the anime as its visuals and most especially, ITS MUSIC, catch you or the manga as its most obvious feature, its art, absolutely piques your interest. I was going into it with the sense it was your usual Rom-Com series and it was, but it was so much more than JUST a Rom-Com. I can’t put it into words that can justify how good the series really is, the characters are as if they’re family to me since I was so hooked into it and now I’m saddened since I just finished reading the manga and I know a season 3 is less than likely to happen, meaning I can’t fully see it finish in the form of its anime counterpart. I don’t know what this post of mine is, but I want to vent out so here it is. A sad, lonely teenager who can’t move on from a Rom-Com story.
Sincerely,
A stranger from the Pacific
I’m glad the story resonated so well with you! It’s great to find stories that speak in that way. It can be frustrating when an anime doesn’t continue. If you want another rom-com (one that is more com than rom), I recommend Kaguya-sama: Love is War.
I feel you bro , after watching Nisekoi i was depressed that the manga & anime has stopped for some reason since there’s something special about the story i cant even tell tbh, Chitoge the woman i cant even met i will miss you.
Zawsze In Love.
Same here m8….. Ending really got to me. After seeing everything the characters have been through together but the thing that really got to me was Chitoge and Raku’s development. Seeing her trying so hard to get noticed by Raku and seeing the gentleman Raku taking care of Chitoge who is although looks so confident on the outside but she’s kinda broken on the inside cuz of the life she has. It was so sad when she was telling Raku how bad she was of a person and yet Raku didn’t mind. It was so touching and now I have the same problem with everyone here 🙁
There’s stuff like Angel Beats that destroys you for a week, then leaves you with a feeling of growth
and then there’s Grave of the Fireflies that just gaives you a senseless 3 weeks depression period, doubting all you got taught about life.
Good stories should leave you feeling reflective. The medium of those stories isn’t important. They can be anime, manga, films, or books.