T5W#144-Top 5 Tears of Joy Moments in Anime

When life throws you a curveball you never see coming, it can leave you in the dark, sad and unsure.  I learned that last week dealing with some sad news…and then I went to see My Neighbor Totoro right after and at one point, I just started tearing up.  Sure I was dealing with bad news but also, I was reminded of just how much Anime can touch the heart and be that big warm hug you need in the darkest of times (a feeling that also translates beautifully to conventions).  So for this weeks Top 5, im giving you five of those special kinds of moments, one that will make you tear up but that also overwhelm your heart with feelings of hope and joy.  These are my Top 5 Tears of Joy Moments in Anime.

#5-Making the Trees Grow (My Neighbor Totoro)

The moment that kicked off the idea for this list.  This scene, where Totoro and his comrades, along with sisters Satsuki and Mei, birth a majestic garden in the girls backyard is the ultimate feel good moment.  There’s something about seeing this mythical plushie prance around with an umbrella and a goofy smile making the impossible possible.  The addition of Satsuki and Mei’s wide eyed looks of wonder, the music and the fluid animation make a perfect blend.  And when theyre flying with Totoro?  You’ll feel like you can fly too and you’ll cry in the process. 

#4-Final Relay (Free)

For 13 episodes I watched the resurrection of the Iwatobi Swim Club and the trials and tribulations of Haru and Rin with much investment.  Seeing Rin finally hit his low point during a critical race was heartbreaking but it was what came next that made all the grief worth it.  Haru, Rin, Mako and Nagisa risk it all, from championships to their positions on their respective teams to swim together one more time, just like in the old days.  Sure they are forced to disqualify cause what they did was against the rules, but still seeing the OG 4 friends win their race as friends and brothers squeezes the heart with the right kind of grip.  These are the kind of family bonds Anime does best.

#3-The Final Walk (Dragon Ball GT)

Let me make it clear: Dragon Ball GT is a terrible show, it’s just horrible.  But damn if the last few minutes don’t instill the ultimate nostalgia trip.  Seeing as how this was the end of Dragon Ball, until Super came around almost two decades later, GT decided to get one thing right and present us with a montage of every major moment from Dragon Ball thru Dragon Ball Z and (sadly also) Dragon Ball GT.  If you were a long time fan of this franchise and even bore the terribleness of GT, theres something to be said about watching all of this history pass by to the awesome GT theme “Dan Dan”.  In a way, it’s a fond farewell to an old friend with a lot of fond memories…but also a hint of a promise that as long as we remember it, Dragon Ball isn’t going anywhere.

#2-“I Love You” (Your Name)

By the time you get to the big climax of Makoto Shinkai’s “Your Name”, you’ve gotta be feeling some kind of emotion.  If not, then your heart gets racing proper when Mitsuha and Taki lose their twilight connection and Mitsuha is in a race against time to save her towns population form annihilation.  But when Mitsuha trips, collapses and has to face the reality that she’s losing her memories of Taki, it feels like history wont be averted…and then she remembers “Lets write our names down so we don’t forget”.  Mitsuha didn’t get to write her name on Taki’s hand before Twilight ended…but Taki wrote something, three simple, little words, “I love you.”……AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH THE FEELS ARE REEEEEEALLLLLL!!!!!!!  Seriously, see this movie if you haven’t already.

#1-150 Million Wishes (Summer Wars)

This one gets me every single time.  It looks like Natsuki and the Jinouchis are going to lose the battle for the fate of the world when they have insufficient funds to continue Honofuda against the AI Love Machine.  But then, the low counter adds an additional account…and we see in the distance a tiny little avatar who asks Natsuki to take his account and use it for a wager.  He’s then followed by millions of other OZ accounts as the world unites to save itself and place its fate in Natsuki’s hands.  The pacing and build up to this moment and beyond is beautiful.  Whenever that choir starts singing when this scene begins I always start crying.  If only there were more moments like this in life in general.  It’s one of the reasons Summer Wars is still my all time favorite Anime Film of all time.