Anime is a unique medium that can tell an entire story in as few episodes as one-a wide range of emotions and feelings, from the lighthearted to the heavy. Depression is a word we see frequently associated with our favorite anime characters; but why are they so depressed? Perhaps it’s because they’re feeling lost or alone or just not accepted by society. Fans have picked up on this theme and developed many ways to help these character find happiness in their struggle. Meet some of those 7 compassionate protagonists!
The “depressed anime characters” are a group of anime boys that have been through some tough times. They are all very inspirational and can help you get through difficult times.
When it comes to mental health and psychological issues among its citizens, Japan is recognized for its lack of care. In this society, there is a huge stigma around mental health, and the issue of Hikikomori (social recluses and shut-ins) is widespread. Regardless, anime comes to the rescue once again!
Various tales and characters dealing with depression and other mental diseases have appeared in the anime world. The lives of people who suffer from this painful mental disease, as well as how it impacts their personal lives, social lives, and the lives of those around them, are shown in these gloomy anime boys and girls. Because so many people identify with these characters and anime, you’ll find melancholy anime quotes, GIFs, and wallpapers all over the internet.
In this essay, I’ll go through some of the most well-known sad anime males, as well as how they’ve helped to remove the taboo around mental health in Japan. So hurry up and prepare to meet some of the most well-known sad anime lads who are tearing down the barriers that exist in this traditional society around psychiatric diseases!
Top 7 Anime Boys Who Are Depressed
Given’s Yuki Yoshida
Yuki Yoshida, while being a minor character, has aroused a lot of emotions in the hearts of viewers from his first appearance in the program. Yuki appears as a childhood friend and lover in the past of one of the major characters, Mafuyu. However, the narrative of this melancholy anime youngster is tragic, as he is revealed to have committed himself before the series even began.
Yuki was a very impetuous person (as revealed by his mother in the Given manga) who was enamored with Mafuyu and vice versa. As shown in Mafuyu’s memories, he murdered himself in a drunken rage after a violent confrontation with him. Mafuyu lost his voice and was unable to communicate with others as a result of this horrific event. He appears in Mafuyu’s dreams on a regular basis and lives in his recollections and flashbacks.
Orange’s Kakeru Naruse
The primary protagonist of the melancholy anime Orange is this sad anime guy. The narrative concentrates around him and his destiny, with the other characters doing all they can to preserve his life by following the counsel offered in the letters from the future. He was depicted as an introvert and quiet person who kept to himself and was unable to express his actual sentiments.
Kakeru seemed to be despondent as a result of his mother’s suicide, which he blamed on himself. Throughout the series, he had suicidal tendencies, and in an alternative reality, he dies in a bicycling accident. In the main timeline, however, he may be able to overcome his despair and enjoy a happy life with Naho, his beloved.
A Silent Voice’s Shoya Ishida
This unhappy anime character appears in Koe no Katachi or A Silent Voice, a famous depression anime film. Shoya seemed to be a bit of a loner at first, going on solo expeditions and playing a lot, but as Nishimiya moved to their school, he began tormenting her for her speech and hearing impairment. However, he was bullied by all of his peers, who isolated him, and he became shy and miserable as a result.
He felt resentful of others as a result of his actions against Nishimiya. However, he despised himself the most for harboring such hostile feelings against his peers. In the film, he attempted suicide due to his terrible sadness.
Neon Genesis Evangelion’s Shinji Ikari
He is, without a doubt, one of the most well-known melancholy anime males in anime history. Shinji Ikari seems to be a laid-back, meek character who has major father problems. His despair and anxiety stem from the loss of his mother at a young age and the abandonment of his father when he was young. As a result, he develops severe abandonment difficulties as well as emotional complications about his self-worth.
Shinji is revealed to be separated from physical reality as a result of his childhood lack of building inter-personal bonds. He also suffers from severe social anxiety, and his adult interactions with other people are unstable and turbulent as a result of his unwillingness to let go of the past. He is seen to use music to escape reality and deal with his jumbled emotions. He was bullied as a kid as well.
Tokyo Ghoul’s Kaneki Ken
Kaneki Ken is the main protagonist of Sui Ishida’s famous series Tokyo Ghoul. He is one of the most popular melancholy anime characters. Kaneki Ken is characterized as an introvert who spends the most of his leisure time reading. He seems to be nice and caring at first, but it is later revealed that his shy and subservient demeanor stems from his mother’s physical abuse when he was a youngster.
Kaneki’s demeanor undergoes a major shift once he transforms into a ghoul and undergoes intense torture at the hands of Jason. He becomes a cold and aggressive entity. It’s reasonable that his early trauma, along with the trauma of the torture, resulted in depression and other mental health issues. Due to his poor self-esteem problems at the time, he was bullied and exploited in a number of circumstances.
Seita Yokokawa is a character in Grave of the Fireflies.
Seita is one of the major characters in Studio Ghibli’s melancholy animation film Grave of the Fireflies. He seems to be a hardworking and humble youngster at the start of the film, but everything changes when his mother is killed by American forces in a bombing incident, leaving him homeless and responsible for his younger sister Setsuko.
Even though he had just seen his mother succumb to her injuries and lost her life seconds before, Seita does not lose faith and even attempts to cheer up his sister. After losing his sister, he becomes pessimistic and succumbs to hunger and famine towards the conclusion of the film.
Banana Fish’s Ash Lynx
Out of all the melancholy anime males, Ash Lynx from Banana Fish has the most tragic past. He was sexually molested and abused as a youngster by a trusted adult, whom he shot to death when the abuse became untenable. When his father attempts to send him away to live with his aunt, he flees. Soon after, he is kidnapped by shady characters and forced into prostitution. He ends himself at Mafia Don Dino Golzine’s child sex trafficking operation. He is repeatedly raped there by “customers” and Golzine himself. He was also videotaped while being sexually molested, and the footage has since been posted on the dark web.
Ash Lynx’s traumatic past has left him incredibly resilient to both emotional and physical hardship. Despite coming out as powerful, tough, and charming, he clearly suffers from depression and a variety of other mental ailments throughout the series. Only Eiji saw Ash’s vulnerable side and provided him with a safe haven to express himself.
Last Thoughts
Anime is recognized for depicting melancholy and unhappy people, yet most of the time (with a few exceptions), they fail to do it accurately. Sure, anime often displays unhappy anime boys and girls and shows people struggling with mental illness, but most of the time, they just convey a stereotyped picture of mental illness, often from the viewpoint of an outsider rather than from the perspective of a survivor. Given Japan’s reputation for dealing with mental illness and behavioral issues, I feel anime can do a lot better in this area.
Which melancholy anime kid has been a source of inspiration for you throughout your difficult times? Let us know what you think in the comments!
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The “depressed anime boy meme” is a type of image that has been circulating on the internet in recent years. The trend has continued to grow, and it is now one of the most popular memes on social media.
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