Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context TearJerker / ZatchBell

Go To

1While the melodrama of ''Zatch Bell'' may be offputting for some, the series is full of extremely heartrending moments- just about every major character gets some kind of tearjerking moment, and it can often come from unexpected places.
2----
3* Just about '''''everything''''' involving Kolulu, particularly in episode 8 of the anime version. She was originally a kind Mamodo, but she had a SuperPoweredEvilSide forced upon her so she would fight in the tournament. She eventually encountered Lori, a compassionate girl who took her in. But then Lori read from the spell book, awakening [[SplitPersonality Kokulu,]] who attacks several people. Kolulu eventually went back to normal, but Kokulu warns Lori that she can't escape from the fight. The next day, Lori is forced to read from the book again to keep Kolulu from getting hit by a truck. After fighting against Zatch, Kolulu returns to normal and [[ICannotSelfTerminate asks for him to destroy her spellbook.]] Zatch refuses, however, so Kiyomaro has to trick him into doing so. ''Damn''.
4-->'''Kiyomaro:''' Zatch... look at her book. Look at it closely.\
5'''Zatch:''' Why? What about it?\
6'''Kiyomaro:''' ''[reluctantly]'' She's good, and nice. And she's the strongest one of us all. To sacrifice everything... I don't know if I can do it... [[MercyKill ZAKER!]]
7* [[spoiler:Gem's final words to Yopopo in episode 22 of the anime. Followed by Kid saying good-bye to Professor Riddle before going out in a blaze of glory in episode 73]].
8* [[spoiler:Kiyomaro's]] apparent death at the hands of Leo. Full stop.
9** [[spoiler: His]] final thoughts being [[spoiler: a wish for Gash to find a good partner who will help him become king.]] This series ''runs'' on tearjerking and heartwarming.
10* Poor Won Lei and Lee Yen's relationship seem to be chock full of such moments. To begin with, there's the little fact that they would have to split up sooner or later when Won Lei returns to his own world. And then there's the fact that Lee Yen's Mob leader of a father did everything he could to break them up, at first. And then there are the multiple occasions when Won Lei fights to the last ounce of his strength and then some, to protect Lee and her friends from unstoppable opponents in one man stands that are nearly as epic as they are heartbreaking. Of special note, is his final battle against Unko Tintin, where they fight together even though they can't even communicate via any way except for their innate understanding. [[spoiler:In the end, Won Lei shields Lee, Megumi and Tio from Unko Tintin's strongest attack even though his book is already burning, and he is running on a completely empty tank.]]
11** [[spoiler: The most heartbreaking part of it all is that Won Lei manages to leave behind a single bracelet that reads: "We will always be together".]]
12* [[spoiler: The burning of Nya's book]] in an anime filler arc, during episode 34. Sadder in the original than in the English dub, which had more dialogue that bordered on [[{{Narm}} melodrama.]] [[spoiler: In the original, most of the dialogue consists of Shion repeating her friends name, on the verge of a HeroicBSOD.]]
13** What immediately follows is also one. [[spoiler: Gash and Kiyomaro cry out "how could you do that, YouMonster!?" to the villains who burned Nya's book. The MadScientist finds this reaction uncalled for since burning books is a rule of battle and even Kiyomaro and Gash themselves have burned opponents' books in the battle to become king. To which Gash tearfully replies that's ''not'' what he meant: their anger is over the fact that Shion and Nya ''trusted'' these guys in helping to keep them together, but knowing exactly how much Nya meant to Shion, the bastards lied to her and Nya, toyed with their feelings, and then ended up making what Shion had been trying to prevent from happening happen! They deliberately made a false claim AND did the exact opposite of what they claimed they would do. And to Kiyomaro and Gash, ThisIsUnforgivable.]]
14* The end of the Zofis arc, seriously. First, there's [[spoiler: Sherry and Koko's reunion with the latter thanking the former from the bottom of her heart. When Sherry leaves the room, even her ''butler'' is bawling like a baby. And, as if that moment alone wasn't enough to make us cry, we have Sherry, in tears, pledging her loyalty to Brago, swearing to make him the king while we see shots of how he developed through the story and become someone who genuinely cares about Sherry and other people, not just himself and his desire to be king]]. I mean, seriously. Even thinking about it would make someone's throat go dry....
15** Speaking of Koko, there's all of episode 85. [[spoiler: Koko gives Sherry a drawn-out, cruel MindRape by revealing the BrokenPedestal Sherry has put her on; that she is NOT mind-controlled by Zofis and has actually always been a cruel person who hates and resents Sherry and even stole from her when they were kids. Sherry loses the will to fight, and Brago fights on anyway, getting absolutely trashed by Zofis, and Sherry can only watch helplessly while breaking down crying. And then Sherry notices the sun and moon rings she's wearing, that Koko made for her when they were kids. She realizes that Koko is still wearing the matching sun and moon earrings, and that Koko, in the midst of her sadistic taunting, had been subtly telling Sherry to notice this. As clear as day, Sherry realizes that it all has been a trick of Zofis' all along, and that the real Koko who is her friend is still buried beneath the mind-controlled personality, begging to be saved. Sherry finally regains her HeroicResolve and helps Brago recover, the two of them going on to defeat Zofis and save Koko.]]
16** Another moment during the Zofis arc is when Patie and Byonko see Leila cry in fear of being turned back to stone, causing them to realize how much they're making the Millennial Demons suffer by forcing them to work under Zofis, not to mention having Zofis brainwash their human partners (or rather, their descendants) and ordering them to carry out their dirty work by forcing them to fight a battle that they don't want to fight in the first place. Patie herself breaks down in tears when she realizes how selfish and awful, she was towards everyone, especially Gash, the one she loved the most. This results her attempting to commit a HeroicSacrifice when she destroys the Moonlight Stone by trying to take Demolt's attack in Ururu's place, believing that he deserves to live after all he went through and that she doesn't deserve to go back home to the Demon World after all the horrible things she's done. Luckily, Gash and Umagon save her just in the nick of time. Afterwards, Patie begs the others to befriend Byonko when the new ruler of the Demon World is decided and everyone goes back home, stating that she doesn't deserve to be their friend after what she did to them. Gash declares otherwise, stating that both Patie and Byonko are their friends and expresses their gratitude for destroying the Moonlight Stone, effectively freeing the Millennial Demons and their human partners from Zofis' control, causing Patie to tear up and thank Gash for his sentiment before her book is completely burned and she goes back home to the Demon World forever.
17* We discover that beneath the [[SadClown preppy exterior, Folgore is a man filled with regrets.]] [[spoiler: He was a dreaded delinquent, who beat up anyone in his way. This was to the point where his hometown feared him and was often alone. He was eventually kicked out home by his parents at ''gunpoint.'' His total change from that to the Italian idol we all know was a deliberate action to not be so frightening. Despite his success in fame and change, his parents are still too scared to speak with him.]]
18* Rodeux's goodbye to his partner Cheeta is a touching moment from someone who's otherwise been painted as a remorseless bully.
19* Barry [[spoiler: giving his life so Zatch can win the battle against Zeon is the completion of his character development and shows that the {{Jerkass}} he once was, has been replaced by a noble defender of the weak. Even Gustav, his TheStoic partner, sobs at his farewell, congratulating his demon partner on becoming a true man.]]
20* While carrying Gash and Kiyomaro to the final battle, [[spoiler: Ponygon]] looks back at his memories in the demon world: his parents explaining to him the meaning of their clan’s pride; he and Gash saving his father from dying of poison; and his mother telling him how he can find happiness in life. In that moment, just before his book is burned, the entire meaning of his character is established to that of a loyal and best friend to Gash, just like he was since the beginning.
21* Towards the end of the manga [[spoiler: Papipurio, one of the closest characters you'll find to [[TheScrappy a scrappy]] in the series, gets a surprisingly touching moment when his partner nearly sacrifices her life to ensure his safety, acknowledging that she always treated him like her own son who had died years ago. They get a temporary reprieve but end up getting bumped off shortly afterwards along with Kanchome. (Which is one hell of a TearJerker on its own)]]
22** [[spoiler: Kanchome's goodbye is incredibly depressing. The way that Folgore and Kanchome scream each other's name and break down sobbing just goes to show how close the two really were. It's heartbreaking.]]
23* Gash's past is just depressing. He was sent off to live with a horrible old woman, who at least started abusing him when he was THREE. He had little friends and was made fun of a lot for being weak, the old woman would beat him and force him to do all of the chores, which included cooking and cleaning. She outright lied to him by telling him he had no parents. He pretty much went catatonic until he heard he had a real family, and he became a StepfordSmiler. Then he finally meets his twin brother, who then erases his memory.
24* Episode 108, full stop. Gash's desire for a mother is so pure and heartfelt, and the ending...
25* Ted, despite being already fighting a really powerful rival, keeps receiving the attacks of [[CoolBigSis Cherish]], claiming they don't hurt and still smiling at her, which makes her realize how brave he is and how much she touched his heart. This is enough for her to stop fearing Zeno's electric powers and fight back.
26* The first five episodes alone have enough crying to drown a whale and hide the city of Atlantis.

Top