Not every anime character lives a good life, full of happiness and love. Some of them have experienced events that can only be described as tragic and heartbreaking.

Some characters find happiness at the end of a series, while others don't. Get your tissues ready before you go in because these 17 anime characters will make you cry with their sad and tragic pasts.

1. Itachi Uchiha (Naruto Shippuden)

Itachi is known as a rogue ninja from the Hidden Leaf and the perpetrator of the Uchiha Massacre. The event where he killed his own clan member and joined the worst criminal group in the series, Akatsuki. But the truth is a little different than what is known.

Itachi grew up witnessing the horrors of war as a child. He never wanted anyone to experience the same thing he had. So when the Uchiha clan, dissatisfied with their treatment, planned a coup, he had to make a choice. Protect the village or his family.

Fearing that a war would break out if the Uchiha were not stopped, Itachi decided to stop his brothers by executing them. He bore the cross as a clan murderer and a heinous criminal in the process, while accepting Sasuke's hatred.

2. Hyakkimaru (Dororo)

Hyakkimaru was destined to suffer even before he was born. His father, Daigo, sacrificed parts of his newborn son's body, including his eyes, limbs, skin, and voice, to demons for the prosperity of his domain. He then abandoned his own son to die.

Happily, Hyakkimaru is found by a kind doctor named Jukai, who makes prosthetics so that he can live. But imagine living without sight, sound or taste since childhood. All of this was forced upon you at birth by your own parents.

How tragic is that? Hyakkimaru's only choice is to fight and reclaim his body from the demons. Even then, it will be his family who stands in his way.

3. Ray (The Promised Neverland)

The Promised Neverland is full of characters with tragic stories, but Ray has arguably suffered the most.

It would have been better if Ray had been less intelligent and oblivious to what was happening like the other children. But he knew that the dorm mother, Isabella, was feeding the children of the orphanage to the demons. And he had to endure knowing that they were sacrificed. There was nothing he could do but plan his own death and take Gracefield House with him.

Worst of all, because of hyperthymesia, Ray knew from the beginning that Isabella was his biological mother. That's definitely a tough pill to swallow, especially for a boy his age.

4. Guts (Berserk)

Guts' story is both tragic and emotional. He was found as a child under his mother's corpse by a mercenary group. You'd think he would be raised with love. But the world of Berserk isn't easy. Instead, Guts was raised as a soldier and is often tainted by his guardian.

Like a wandering swordsman, Guts meets a mercenary group called the Band of the Hawk. He ends up joining them after being defeated in a battle. But Guts soon feels comfortable with the group until the most tragic event of his life. His friend Griffith sacrifices his friends to demons and eventually defiles his lover Casca in front of him.

5. Nico Robin (One Piece)

As a child, Robin was abused by his aunt. But that was just the tip of the iceberg of the tragedies that were to come.

She loses her mother, Olivia, her friend Saul, and everyone from her homeland due to a Buster Call. It was because the World Government feared her knowledge, especially her ability to read Polyglyphs. So, they destroyed Ohara. Robin had been on the run since she was nine years old.

She was betrayed repeatedly by people she trusted. As an adult, Robin no longer trusted others. That changed after her fateful encounter with the Straw Hats.

6. Lucy (Elfen Lied)

The mental trauma Lucy went through is beyond tragic. Lucy grew up in an orphanage, where she was constantly bullied by other children. Her only solace was a puppy that she secretly cared for. But after the bullies found the puppy, they beat it to death right in front of her.

The event caused Lucy to lose all empathy for humans as she slaughtered the attackers in cold blood. Worse still, a research institute captured her and performed all sorts of experiments on her for years. You can't blame her for her hatred of humans and for turning into a killing machine.

7. Ciel Phantomhive (Black Butler)

Ciel Phantomhive is a young teenager with adult behavior. He was once an innocent child, but was forced to become an adult due to his tragic past.

When Ciel was ten years old, he lost his parents to an unidentified assailant. If that wasn't enough, a demon-worshipping cult kidnaps him and his brother, where they are tortured and defiled for over a month. Worse still, Ciel watched as his brother was stabbed and sacrificed to summon a demon.

So it was no surprise when he made a Faustian contract with the devil to get revenge on those responsible for the loss of his family.

8. Yuuji Kazami (The Fruit of Grisaia)

You wouldn't expect Yuuji to have one sad backstory when he was first introduced. Most of the time, we see him as a calm and reserved character. But he had quite a life before becoming a student at Mihama Private Academy.

As a child, Yuuji was neglected by his parents because of his lack of talent, unlike his older sister Kazuki. After Kazuki's supposed death, his father becomes a violent alcoholic. To escape his outburst, Yuuji and his mother move to a different place.

But they are soon found by Ryouji, who tries to rape Satoko. To protect his mother, Yuuji breaks a wine bottle over his father's head, killing him.

It doesn't stop there. His mother, tired of everything, kills herself, leaving Yuuji alone. Soon after, he is recruited by an arms dealer, who trains him to become an assassin. Worse still, Yuuji has to kill the only friend he has made as a final test to become an assassin.

9. Kyo Sohma (Fruits Basket)

It's usually a good thing when an anime character transforms into an animal. But it's different for Kyo Sohma. He's a high school boy who's been through a lot because his zodiac beast is the cat, the most hated zodiac animal in the series.

Kyo has always been isolated and despised within the Sohmas because of his lineage. His mother is the only one who loved him. But she was always nervous and constantly checked to see if the beads on his wrists were okay.

Unable to bear the pressure and love for her son's horrible form, she took her own life. To top it all off, everyone, including her father, blamed five-year-old Kyo for her death.

10. Kakashi Hatake (Naruto Shippuden)

Kakashi is one of the most beloved anime characters, with a tragic story that will bring anyone to tears.

Hailed as a child genius, Kakashi has had to fend for himself since he was a young boy. It all starts when his father, Sakuma, commits suicide due to ostracism from the villagers. It turns out that he abandoned an important mission to protect his comrades, going against the village rules.

The second tragedy occurred when he lost his friend and rival Obito, who left Kakashi with his Sharingan. Soon after, he lost his second companion Rin, who was forced to become a jinchuriki. Kakashi lost everyone he loved growing up, leaving him with irreparable scars. But that didn't stop him from becoming a Hokage.

11. Lelouch vi Britannia (Code Geass)

Lelouch is one of the smartest anime characters out there. Smart enough to conquer the world fueled by his tragic past.

Born as the Eleventh Prince of the great Holy Britannian Empire, one would expect Lelouch to have an easy life. But he is proof that nobility does not always live a happy and luxurious life. His mother was murdered, which left his sister Nunnally crippled.

The all-powerful father he thought he could trust abandoned his brothers and banished them to Japan, transforming them from royalties to commoners overnight. After his encounter with CC and receiving the power of Geass, Lelouch vows to change the world.

12. Seras Victoria (Hellsing)

As a former human turned vampire, Seras is a courageous character with a positive and carefree nature. For most of the series, her past was shrouded in mystery until it was revealed that she had been through many hardships.

Seras's police officer father got in over his head while chasing an undercover criminal group. The criminals discovered her identity and tracked her down. They then killed Seras's parents. She watched the whole thing as her mother hid her in the closet. Worst of all, those criminals violated her mother's corpse afterwards. To this day, Seras still has nightmares about this event.

13. Edward and Alphonse Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist)

Edward and Alphonse grew up without the love of their father, who was always absent. But they did not feel alone thanks to the presence of their mother, Trisha. But soon a tragedy struck, leaving the two brothers with unimaginable pain.

Trisha died shortly after contracting an illness. Left alone and distraught, the two brothers attempted to bring their dead mother back to life using the forbidden act of alchemy, human transmutation. The result was a failure with terrible costs. Edward lost an arm and a leg, while Alphonse was left with only his soul.

14. Eri (My Hero Academia)

The amount of time Eri has lived is awful, but Eri has lived a tragic life even in this short period. Her quirk, Rewind, is a powerful quirk that can reverse the time of a person or object.

She accidentally uses this ability to make her father disappear when she was just a child. As a result, her mother disowned Eri. After that, she was taken in by her grandfather, who also falls into a coma, courtesy of Overhaul.

The rest is history. Overhaul used Eri for human experimentation and created a drug with her blood to make her quirks disappear. Essentially, killing her and resurrecting her over and over again. The event traumatized her so much that she forgot how to smile and blamed herself for everything.

15. Killua Zoldyck (Hunter x Hunter)

As the son of the renowned Zoldyck family, Killua was born to be a killing machine. He endured several life-threatening situations and tortures when he was just three years old. At the age of six, his family ordered him to reach the 200th floor of the Heavens Arena. He was not allowed to return home until he achieved this goal.

The family Zoldyck was, at her core, a cold-blooded killer. They had compassion for each other. Killua never received any form of love from his parents or siblings. Tired of it all, at the age of eleven, Killua left home while attacking and injuring his family members in the process.

16. Koro-Sensei (Assassination Classroom)

We know Koro-sensei mostly as a silly and funny character. But when his mysterious past came to light, it left most anime fans in tears.

As a human, Koro-Sense grew up in battle, alone, with no one to trust. His “kill or be killed” attitude made him the strongest assassin. He took a disciple only to be betrayed and imprisoned for human experimentation.

During his confinement, Koro-sensei met Aguri, with whom he fell in love. However, their romance was short-lived, as she soon died in his arms.

17. Raphtalia (The Rising of the Shield Hero)

Raphtalia first appears as a slave locked in a cage. Some time later, her painful past before meeting Naofumi was revealed.

Her village becomes the first victim of a wave where her parents die protecting her from a Cerberus. Soon after she is orphaned, knights of Melromarc attack the village and kill the adults, while selling the minors into slavery.

If that wasn't enough, her friend is tortured to death by an abusive noble. It takes a significant amount of time before Raphtalia can move on from her traumatic experiences.

Do you have a tragic character we missed? Let us know in the comments below.