History TearJerker / Aggretsuko

* After the first meeting with her stalker, Retsuko goes to the bathroom and washes her hand while looking on the verge of tears, clearly feeling violated.

* The focus of Retsuko lamenting how while it's good she wants to drive..[[AndThenWhat she doesn't know what she'll do after that]]. A [[RealitySubtext very fitting feeling anybody can relate to..]].

* Perhaps the most heartwrenching thing about Retsuko's life is that for all rights and merits, Retsuko's mom ''was'' [[StrawmanHasAPoint correct about what was best for Retsuko]], as she in the end ''does'' want to be married and was upset when Shirota, the first person her mom set her up with, had moved on.

* In “Unavoidable Impact” Kabae’s quiet “I guess I’ll go home now” when Retsuko walks away from her while she’s talking. It’s a minor one but it’s clear how disappointed Kabe is.

** When they see each other again after an entire month, Haida notices that Shikabane is in a really bad shape, covered with dirt, showing ExaustedEyeBags, and clearly starving. He understandably tries to encourage her to leave her Internet cafe refugee’s life behind, and finding a new job and a real apartment, but she (at first) rejects his offer out of believe that it won’t improve her life anyway.

* The Season One finale has multiple instances of this. One being [[spoiler: Retsuko becoming heartbroken at Boss Ton's words on how (through the metaphor of accounting) one can't keep giving and giving if the other doesn'to give in return, a parallel between her and Resasuke. It hits her ''hard'' and even begs Ton to allow her to do something after the company's ledgers began dropping.]]
** As an extension of this, how badly ''everyone'' around Retsuko notices something is wrong with her [[spoiler: relationship with Resasuke. While her friends try to be supportive of her, Washimi and Gori try and fail to convince Retsuko that Resasuke's not treating her well and even Tsubone asks her if she's alright when her work starts slipping. Even when Retsuko briefly has a moment of anger during a date (after several scenes of her ankles being worn down), she represses her anger to the point of going to a HeroicBSOD in the bathroom while she [[SurvivalMantra convinces herself that she'll be a happy girlfriend]]]]. The fact it's [[FatBastard Ton]] saying something finally gets across how bad things are to Retsuko.
* The worst one has to be where [[spoiler: Retsuko takes Resasuke to her karaoke room to let out her rage at his plainness through Death Metal screams...only for ''[[EmotionlessBoy Resasuke to not realize what she said and simply approving of her singing]]'']]. The expression [[spoiler: Retsuko]] gives is hard to see, especially when [[spoiler: she quietly says "It's over".]]
** It's actually more painful afterwards where [[spoiler: we're shown Resasuke's plant-filled house and he lets out a quiet, and ''surprisingly'' somber "I'm home" when it hits him that his relationship with Retsuko's over]].
** [[spoiler: Resasuke's relation to Retsuko]] as a whole is this. He ''is'' a NiceGuy and can hold conversations with someone, [[spoiler: but the problem is that he has NoSocialSkills and thus when he's told that [[ObliviousToLove Retsuko likes him]], he's confused and only asks her out because his colleague told him to, was only doing what he was told to do, and has no idea how to treat Retsuko properly. He's just as clueless to romance as Retsuko is]].
** [[spoiler: This is actually prevalent if you see his interactions with Retsuko in his introduction episode: Resasuke literally has a decent and calm chat with her (granted on their phones, but still!) and even goes to check on her after she went to the bathroom during the Single's Night trip. It's even implied ''he took her to her apartment since she was too drunk to go home herself''. Which makes this ObliviousToLove relationship with Retsuko saddening.]]
* Haida's predicament in the second half of Season 1 can hit a lot of people hard: He ''genuinely'' loves Retsuko and struggles to ask her out because he CantSpitItOut. There's even a scene from Episode 6 where Fenneko offhandedly mentions hearing him rant about her not being with them and drinking himself into oblivion because of it. When he learns about Retsuko is dating Resasuke, he's devastated and even goes as far as to [[GrayRainOfDepression walk in the rain in his sad state]] and [[spoiler:''[[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome catches pneumonia]]'' as a result!]]
--> spoiler: '''Haida''': *laying in the sidewalk, the rain hitting him* Could I be more pathetic...?

* Seeing Retsuko suffer ''much worse'' in the beginning episodes of Season at the hands of [[spoiler: [[CantTakeCriticism Anai]] is both this and NightmareFuel, since it comes off as someone bullying another co-worker just because they can't handle people saying they're wrong]].

* [[spoiler: Retsuko learning Shirota found a partner is...heartbreaking, especially for anybody who waits for a special someone...only to learn they're with someone else]].

* [[spoiler: The focus of Retsuko lamenting how while it's good she wants to drive..[[AndThenWhat she doesn't know what she'll do after that]]. A [[RealitySubtext very fitting feeling anybody can relate too..]]]].
* The Season Two finale: "Wonderful Life", ''all of it'': [[spoiler: Retsuko reveals her desires to Tadano about wanting to be married ala Metal Music, in comparison to him feeling that marriage is pointless...and the next scene has him walking out of the karaoke bar with a look of heartbreak and then a shot of a crying Retsuko being comforted by Washimi and Gori]].
** The scene with [[spoiler: Tadano]] and [[spoiler: Haida]] after he leaves the karaoke bar. [[spoiler: Haida asks if he's alright, but Tadano just looks him, gives a ''small'' [[StepfordSmiler fake smile to hide the pain he has]] and walks away and activates his AI once more]].
** The scene before it is even worse: [[spoiler: After she confirms her feelings through metal music, Retsuko, while tearing up, tells Tadano that [[YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre she knows he'll change the world and she'll always support his choices]], even saying "Go and change the world, Tadano". Tadano's expression? The same emotional eyes he gets when he's in deep thought...except here it's close to tears because he knows that despite loving Retsuko, he ''can't'' give her what she truly desires]]. And it hurts them both.
* Perhaps the most heartwrenching thing about Retsuko's life is that [[spoiler:for all rights and merits, Retsuko's mom ''was'' [[StrawmanHasAPoint correct about what was best for Retsuko]], as she in the end ''does'' want to be married and was upset when Shirota, the first person her mom set her up with, had moved on]].

* Haida, absolutely gripped with fear that his best friend is [[spoiler:about to be murdered]], having to save [[spoiler:Retsuko]] from being [[spoiler:stabbed by her stalker]]. Worse, he's so preoccupied with preventing [[spoiler:her would-be murderer]] from getting away that he doesn't even notice her lying on the ground, lifeless and [[spoiler:with blood on her]], a few feet away for several seconds, and when he does, he cries and [[SayMyName screams out her name]] when he truly believes for a moment that she's dead.
--> '''Haida:''' ''(through his tears)'' But there's [[spoiler: blood on her...]]
** Inui points out that [[spoiler:Retsuko isn't actually bleeding. Haida managed to block the stalker's attack with his own hand and was so shaken by everything that was happening that he didn't even notice his hand had been cut open, let alone that his blood had gotten on Retsuko]].

---> '''Haida''': ''Honestly, did I? Because I uh... if I thought it through, then I would choose... her.''

* Retsuko venting out to [[spoiler: Haida]], revealing just how angry she that her already lousy life just became a million times worse.
--> '''Retsuko''': '''LEAVE ME, LEAVE ME, LEAVE ME, LEAVE ME ALONE! I DIDN'T ASK FOR ANY OF THIS! IT'S ME AGAINST THE WHOLE DAMN WORLD''' '''''AND THEY PUNCHED FIRST--'''''

* In “Unavoidable Impact” Kabe’s quiet “I guess I’ll go home now” when Retsuku walks away from her while she’s talking. It’s a minor one but it’s clear how disappointed Kabe is.

* The circumstances that lead to Kabae quitting. Her son catches a fever while at school, necessitating her to go get him, but Director Yagyu keeps insisting "alternatives" just so she doesn't have to leave. She only manages to do so when Fenneko, Retsuko, and Haida promise to get her work done for her. However, the next day Kabae's son still has a fever, meaning she can't come into work at all...and Director Yagyu scolds her for her "prorities." Between this and her previous meeting about resigning, Kabae decides to just quit.

* Kabae desperately asks Director Yagyu to leave work early to tend to her son, only to be nonchalantly refused.
* Anai crying after Kabae gets forced into quitting her job.

* Haida getting reduced to a sobbing mess after getting slapped by Retsuko during his rant in the karaoke bar showed how broken he was between the stress his job gave him thanks to Himuro's schemes and his own inferiority complex that made him have cold feet from pursuing a relationship with Retsuko weighing heavily on his shoulders.
* Haida quit his job at the end of the season.