13 Emotional Anime Fights That Devastated Us

There are so many emotionally devastating Naruto fights that it's hard to say which is truly the saddest. For now, we're going to spotlight Sasuke vs. Itachi. 

Sasuke has been preparing to get revenge on his brother for destroying their clan since the start of the series. He even abandoned his village in the hopes of making it happen. But what should be a triumphant moment is altered by the outpouring of emotion from both parties. Sasuke is devastated by his brother's betrayal, while Itachi accepts Sasuke's feelings and returns them with love. 

At the end of the fight, he passes away, still making it clear how much he loves his brother. But Sasuke doesn't find out the real reason that Itachi slew their clan until after it's too late to reconcile, making the fight that much more painful in retrospect. 

Spike and Vicious' long-time rivalry is one of the saddest and most powerful elements of Cowboy Bebop, and their final fight is no exception. The two first met in the Red Dragon Syndicate, which Spike defected from and which Victor now controls. Their friendship fell apart for many reasons, one of which was Spike falling in love with Vicious' girlfriend Julia. Vicious' cruel response sparked a series of events that led to the end of Julia's life. 

Spike has been attempting to outrun his past, but in his final confrontation with his long-time rival and ex-friend, he's finally able to free himself from his painful memories. It's a beautiful moment, but also a painful one - a perfect cap off to a legendary series. 

It's always hard to watch close friends fight, which is why the showdown between Luffy and Usopp hurts so much. The two can't agree on what to do about their beloved ship, Going Merry. Luffy realizes that it's impossible to repair the ship, and decides that they need to get a new one. Usopp can't stand the idea and threatens to leave the crew. The two end up duking it out over ownership of the Going Merry. 

Usopp has always been much weaker than Luffy, but he's smart and strategically minded, not to mention familiar with Luffy's moves. He manages to hold his own against his captain, but Luffy wins in the end. Despite winning, he lets Usopp keep the ship, but ends up sailing away without him. Losing their close friend and ally is devastating for the entire crew - and being left alone is just as painful for Usopp himself. 

Mother Spider doesn't want to fight anyone, but thanks to her "son" Rui, she has no choice. After she became a demon, he forced her and several other demons to band together as a fake "family." Within that family, she endures intense abuse and ridicule. Driven by desperation to avoid that, she attacks Tanjiro using her "dolls" - the bodies of former demon slayers that she controls with Spider Threads. 

Her absolute terror when she realizes she can't beat Tanjiro, and that perishing at his hands would be preferable to facing Rui afterward, is painful. So is the fact that her pain is so palpable to Tanjiro. He doesn't want to hurt someone who is suffering so much, but he doesn't have a choice. He ends up using Water Breathing: Fifth Form - Blessed Rain after the Drought, a move that will end her life as painlessly as possible, out of mercy. 

Junpei and Yuji's friendship seemed like it was going well, but unfortunately, it didn't last long. That's because Mahito manipulated Junpei into villainy, then viciously destroyed him in front of his new friend.  

The fight begins when Yuji tries to stop Junpei from annihilating Shota, who he believes is responsible for his mother's demise. He's eventually able to get through to him and convince him that he can have a life filled with happiness and friendship. But just as it looks like things are going to be okay, Mahito shows up and uses Idle Transfiguration to mutate Junpei's body and force him to fight Yuji. Yuji tries to get help from his inner Curse Sukuna, but Sukuna refuses and Junpei ends up passing away. 

This would have been painful no matter what, but the fact that it seemed like Junpei's problems would be resolved and then they suddenly and brutally were not made it even more. 

Defeating a villain is usually a good thing, but Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood goes out of its way to show how devastating victories can be. After Envy ended Maes Hughes' life, Roy Mustang has loathed the homunculus from the very bottom of his soul. He unleashes torrents of fire on Envy, causing far more pain and suffering than necessary out of utter hatred. He's stopped by Ed, Riza, and Scar - none of them want Roy to descend into this kind of behavior. 

Envy is amazed that Scar and the Amesterians can work together towards a common goal despite their former hatred towards one another. They're also disgusted with themselves, and deeply, deeply envious of what humanity has that they lack. They crush their own philosopher's stone and turn into a tiny, cowering worm before eventually falling apart completely.