History TearJerker / TheRing

--> '''Ryuji:''' Why, because I'm already not right in the head?! If that's the case, why not have all three of us die? Yoichi was a mistake, anyway.
--> '''Reiko:''' (ducking away in a TroubledFetalPosition): STOP IT!

* The discovery of Sadako's corpse in the original (even though the sight of her skeleton - with her rotting skin slowly falling away from her skull - is very unsettling).

* ''The entire film''. Sob. Even though the viewer ''knows'' what's coming, it is still completely and utterly heartbreaking.
* The aftermath of Sadako's RoaringRampageOfRevenge. Her adoptive father, Dr. Ikuma, finds her, having temporarily gone back to her old self, lying on the floor, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone guilt-ridden and frightened, sobbing uncontrollably]].
* Just before the already heartbreaking final scene - after attacking Sadako and throwing her down the well, Dr. Ikuma breaks down sobbing, begging Sadako to forgive him.
* The ending is just cruel. Sadako wakes up in Toyama's house, with her smiling lover standing over her, telling her it was all a dream. She goes to reach for him, only to touch the cold wet wall of the well. Realising where she is, Sadako screams for Toyama, and then looks up. The shot changes to looking over Sadako, who can only look up in scream in terror as she is sealed in darkness.

* The BittersweetEnding. Yoichi and Mai escape Sadako's curse, but both of Yoichi's parents are dead. And poor Sadako is still stuck in the well.

* Finding Samara's corpse, much like the above Japanese version.
* Samara's death. What makes it so sad is how Anna seems regretful of killing Samara, considering she ''wanted to have a daughter'', but Samara was just such a horrible influence on hers and Richard's lives...

* Reiko's DespairEventHorizon while staying at the inn. During which she begs Ryuji to be with her when she dies, and use whatever knowledge they gain to save Yoichi. Ryuji responds by pointing out that Masami went insane from seeing Tomoko's death, and expresses fear of what'd happen to him. When Reiko insists he'd be fine, Ryuji takes this as an insult:

* Reiko's DespairEventHorizon while staying at the inn. During which she begs Ryuji to be with her when she dies, and use whatever knowledge they gain to save Yoichi. Ryuji responds by pointing out that Tomoko's friend went insane. Then going on to state that both of them and Yoichi (who he says they never should have had), might as well just die. Not helping is the music playing in the background as this happens.

* The novel's subtle usage of UnreliableNarrator. 90% of the novel is from Kazuyuki's perspective and from what we hear of him, he is a great father who loves his wife and daughter dearly and would do anything to keep them safe. But when we switch to Shizu's perspective...it turns out that Kazuyuki is rather deadbeat (he'd rather work on the newspaper than attending his niece's funeral) and is also implied to be emotionally abusive, refusing to tell her about the tape and chastising her when she asks why, which, by the way, [[StreisandEffect ends up causing her to carelessly watch the tape anyway]].
* Sadako's backstory. At the age of nine, her parents' lives were destroyed when the media continued to harass them after a botched demonstration of Shizuko's powers. Shizuko eventually committed suicide, while Ikuma, half-insane, tried to unlock powers of his own by meditating in a remote mountain, which ended up causing him to contract tuberculosis and spend the rest of his life in a TBC ward, leaving Sadako in the care of relatives in an isolated island. When she was a teen, Sadako moved to the mainland to try out new things, but she just couldn't escape the shadow of her family's fate, not to mention having to hide the powers that claimed her mother's life. She had to abandon her dream in theater and ended up taking care of her ailing father. It's then than she was raped by Jotaro Nagao, who, upon finding out that she was intersex, tossed her down and trapped her inside a well. Only then she decided to take her revenge against the world.

* The book kills off Kazuyuki and his family: Shizu and Yoko both die of the ring virus while the family is driving, causing to lose control in his panic, crash his car, and be rendered catatonic, before dying several weeks later.

** In the aftermath of his autopsy, it is revealed that Kazuyuki is one of the few people to have survived the virus, because he [[NiceJobBreakingItHero unwittingly helped it mutate into a new media]]. And judging by what his doctor told Ando earlier, Kazuyuki could have recovered from his condition any time, since the crash wasn't that damaging. But it didn't matter. Shizu and Yoko were his entire world and when they died [[DeathByDespair so did he]].

!!The Novels

* Sadako being abandoned by her mother who commits suicide rather than deal with her depression and humiliation from the media after a botched demonstration of her PsychicPowers.
* [[spoiler: Sadako is raped by Jotaro Nagao, who discovers she is intersex and tosses down the well.]]
* Tomoko's death in the first chapter of ''Ring''.
* [[spoiler: Ryuji Takayama's death. He realizes there are people outside his world(the virtual world known as the Loop) watching the events happening to him, and then telephones them begging for them to take him to where they are(the real world), before dying of a heart attack.]]
* ''Spiral'' sees [[spoiler: Kazuyuki's family die in a car crash but it is implied his daughter Yoko died from the Ring Virus beforehand. Kazuyuki then dies in hospital several weeks later.]]
* [[spoiler: Mai's FamilyUnfriendlyDeath in ''Spiral'' when she gives birth to the reincarnated Sadako and her body is found crammed into a ventilation shaft on top of her apartment building.]]
* [[spoiler: Ryoji's suicide in ''Loop''. After seeing Kaoru sleeping with his mother Reiko, Ryoji felt betrayed by both and ended his young life by leaping out of a window in front of both.]]

* In ''Birthday'', Toyama, Sadako's lover, reunites with Sadako before he dies.

!!TV Shows (''Ring: The Final Chapter'' and ''Rasen'')
* [[spoiler: Ryuji's death in the well, dying in Kazuyuki's arms.]]
* Ando's story arc in ''Rasen'', dealing with the loss of his son Takanori. [[spoiler: Sadako resurrects Takanori via cloning and offers Ando to keep his son alive in exchange for spreading her curse. Ando refuses and Takanori dies a second time in the same place he died before.]]

!! Japanese Films
* The death of [[spoiler: Reiko]] in ''Ring 2''.

* ''Ring 0: Birthday''. Sob. Even though the viewer ''knows'' what's coming, it is still completely and utterly heartbreaking.
** The aftermath of Sadako's RoaringRampageOfRevenge. Her adoptive father, Dr. Ikuma, finds her, having temporarily gone back to her old self, lying on the floor, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone guilt-ridden and frightened, sobbing uncontrollably]].
** Another example from ''Ring 0'', just before the already heartbreaking final scene - after attacking Sadako and throwing her down the well, Dr. Ikuma breaks down sobbing, begging Sadako to forgive him.
** The ending of ''Ring 0'' is just cruel. Sadako wakes up in Toyama's house, with her smiling lover standing over her, telling her it was all a dream. She goes to reach for him, only to touch the cold wet wall of the well. Realising where she is, Sadako screams for Toyama, and then looks up. The shot changes to looking over Sadako, who can only look up in scream in terror as she is sealed in darkness.
* During Ring 2, there's a scene where Mai looks out from the train she's in, and notices a place where Ryuji would sit to do his work. It's minor, but does show how much his death affected Mai.
* [[spoiler: The HeroicSacrifice of Reiko's father in ''Ring 2''. Even though it was in vain.]]
* [[spoiler: Masami's unfortunate death during Dr. Kawajiri's experiment to remove the psychic energy in her head.]]
* The ending of ''Ring 2'' is a BittersweetEnding. Yoichi and Mai escape Sadako's curse, but [[spoiler: both of Yoichi's parents are dead. And poor Sadako is still stuck in the well.]]
* Akane's backstory in ''Sadako 3D''.
* The pretty heartwrenching scene in ''Sadako 3D 2'' where Fuko considers throwing her niece Nagi over a bridge, believing she is responsible for numerous murders and is Sadako's child. Nagi wakes up and starts crying, asking if Fuko hates her. They end up hugging, and Nagi reveals she can see how people will die, and hates being afraid, isolated, and unable to see her mother.
* [[spoiler: Akane's death in ''Sadako 3D 2'' at the hands of a deranged policeman whose wife was killed by Sadako's curse.]]
!! American Films
* Finding Samara's corpse in ''The Ring'', much like the above Japanese version.
* Samara's fate at the end of ''The Ring Two'' where Rachel drugs her and seals her back in the well - and just as she was finally got what she always wanted; a mother who could care for her.
* Nobody ''seems'' to mention [[spoiler: Samara's death in the first remake]]. What makes it so sad is how [[spoiler: Anna seems regretful of killing Samara, considering she ''wanted to have a daughter'', but Samara was just such a horrible influence on hers and Richard's lives...]]
--> [[spoiler: '''Anna:''' ''(tearfully)'' All I ever wanted was ''you''...]]

* [[spoiler: Noah and Aidan's talk in the car, where it's revealed Noah's his father. The talk is pretty depressing, especially when Noah reveals the reason he basically became a "deadbeat dad" was because he felt he wouldn't make a good father. Doesn't help that even though [[HopeSpot it seems Noah and Rachel are going to get back together again, he dies]]]].
** Noah's death in general along with Rachel's reaction.

* [[spoiler: Noah and Aidan's talk in the car, where it's revealed Noah's his father. The talk is pretty depressing, especially when Noah reveals the reason he basically became a "deadbeat dad" was because he felt he wouldn't make a good father. Doesn't help that even though [[HopeSpot it seems Noah and Rachel are going to get back together again, he dies]]]].

* The ending of ''Ring 2'' is a BittersweetEnding. Yoichi and Mai escape Sadako's curse, but [[spoiler: both of Yoichi's parents are both dead. And poor Sadako is still stuck in the well.]]

--> [[spoiler: Anna: *tearfully* All I ever wanted was ''you''...]]

!!Films

* Finding Samara's corpse in ''The Ring''. The discovery of Sadako's corpse in the original also counts (even though the sight of her skeleton - with her rotting skin slowly falling away from her skull - is very unsettling).

* [[spoiler: Ryuji Takayama's death. He realises there are people outside his world(the virtual world known as the Loop) watching the events happening to him, and then telephones them begging for them to take him to where they are(the real world), before dying of a heart attack.]]

* Reiko's DespairEventHorizon while staying at the inn. During which she begs Ryuji to be with her when she dies, and use whatever knowledge they gain to dave Yoichi. Ryuji responds by pointing out that Tomoko's friend went insane. Then going on to state that both of them and Yoichi (who he says they never should have had), might as well just die. Not helping is the music playing in the background as this happens.

* [[spoiler: Noah and Adien's talk in the car, where it's revealed Noah's his father. Adien. The talk is pretty depressing, especially when Noah reveals the reason he basically became a "deadbeat dad" was because he felt he wouldn't make a good father. Doesn't help that even though [[HopeSpot it seems Noah and Rachael are going to get back together again, he dies]]]].

* [[spoiler: Sadako is raped by Jotaro Nagao, who discovers she is a Hermaphrodite and tosses down the well.]]

* [[spoiler: Noah and Adien's talk in the car, where it's revealed Noah's his father. Adien. The talk is pretty depressing, especially when Noah reveals the reason he basically became a "deadbeat dad" was because he felt he wouldn't make a good father. Doesn't help that even though [[HopeSpot it seems Noah and Rachael are going to get back together again, he dies]].

--> [[spoiler: Anna: *tearfully* All I ever wanted was ''you''...]]

* Samara's fate at the end of ''The Ring Two'' where Rachel drugs her and seals her back in the well - and just as she was finally got what she always wanted; a mother who could care for her.

* [[spoiler: Ryuji Takayama's death. He realises the tape must be copied, and then telephones his girlfriend Mai Takano, before dying of a heart attack.]]

* [[spoiler: Akane's death in ''Sadako 3D 2'' at the hands of a deranged policeman whose wife was killed by Sadako's curse.]]

!!Japanese Films
* ''Ring 0: Birthday''. Sob. Even though the viewer ''knows'' what's coming, it is still completely and utterly heartbreaking.

* Finding Samara's corpse in ''The Ring''. [[spoiler: Until Aiden gives his mom the mother of all WhatTheHellHero's.]] The discovery of Sadako's corpse in the original also counts (even though the sight of her skeleton - with her rotting skin slowly falling away from her skull - is very unsettling).
* The aftermath of Sadako's RoaringRampageOfRevenge in ''Ring 0''. Her adoptive father, Dr. Ikuma, finds her, having temporarily gone back to her old self, lying on the floor, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone guilt-ridden and frightened, sobbing uncontrollably]].
* Another example from ''Ring 0'', just before the already heartbreaking final scene - after attacking Sadako and throwing her down the well, Dr. Ikuma breaks down sobbing, begging Sadako to forgive him.
* The ending of ''Ring 0'' is just cruel. Sadako wakes up in Toyama's house, with her smiling lover standing over her, telling her it was all a dream. She goes to reach for him, only to touch the cold wet wall of the well. Realising where she is, Sadako screams for Toyama, and then looks up. The shot changes to looking over Sadako, who can only look up in scream in terror as she is sealed in darkness.

* The end of ''Ring 0: Birthday''. Sob. Even though the viewer ''knows'' what's coming, it is still completely and utterly heartbreaking.

The end of ''Ring 0: Birthday''. Sob. Even though the viewer ''knows'' what's coming, it is still completely and utterly heartbreaking.
* The death of [[spoiler:Reiko]] in ''Ring 2''.