Tear Jerker / Persona 4: The Animation

As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.

The one person we couldn't save, and it had to be her...

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• The small details the animation team added to the relationship between Yosuke and Saki really do help to make the latter's death all the more heartbreaking. For one, there's the fact that Yosuke had actually gone as far as to ask Saki out on a date, and there's the scene at the beginning of #2 where after being turned down by Yukiko, he perks up and says that Saki is the only woman for him. And then there's the crestfallen expression when Saki's death is announced and it's hard not to feel sorry for him in light of the context.
• The anime does an excellent job with the Shadow Yukiko bossfight, with the first part being an almost Lampshade Hanging of how it was That One Boss, and the second part being pure Tear Jerker.
• Much like with her Social Link, the moment where Rise learns that her manager is replacing her with another Idol Singer. Narukami's Armor-Piercing Question doesn't do much to help Rise with her identity crisis, resulting in her running away and getting kidnapped by the Murderer.
• Narukami's crestfallen look when it appears that the mystery has been solved and that there won't be a need for the Investigation Team to hang out anymore.
• In the next episode, Narukami suffers a Heroic BSoD and shows his nightmare: a world in which the investigation is over and one by one the team members distance themselves from him. It's a very sad and heartbreaking deconstruction of Fire-Forged Friends.
  • Yosuke's casual remark about how "it just goes to show that we were the only ones who thought we were friends," — followed immediately by Yu overhearing Kanji complaining about the group still meeting up for no reason and having to act friendly — hits particularly hard. At the end of it all, Narukami is completely alone, unable to summon any of his Personas to defend himself because he has no connections to anyone anymore.

• Episode 16. The anime rendition of Naoto's confrontation with her Shadow. Setting aside the possible issues about the character for a while, it's rather... well, heartbreaking to see the until-then coolheaded Naoto have a breakdown when she's at the end of a visceral "The Reason You Suck" Speech about her identity as a whole.
  Naoto: I'm not... I'm not even a boy!
• Episode 18
  • It's a Nanako and Dojima-centered episode, maxing out both of their S-Links. Even /a/ couldn't help crying at the livestream.
  • The insert song / special ending theme, "True Feelings" is arguably the most heart-wrenching part about the episode, and maybe the entire show. It's a song about Nanako yearning to visit her mom in heaven and telling her dad that she will always love him.
• Episode 21. Nanako's kidnapping, and Yu's subsequent breakdown.
• Episode 22. Nanako flatlining. To rub salt in the wound, Dojima rushing desperately to reach Nanako's room in time, only to arrive too late.
• Episode 23:
  • The episode opens with the entire team crying over Nanako's death and Dojima trying to get to Namatame's room.
  • Narukami breaks down in tears in the snow after Nanako dies. He asks Yosuke if he did the right thing letting Namatame live, who doesn't say anything, just gives him a shoulder to cry on. And the poor dude does. The dub makes this scene even more depressing thanks to JYB's damn good acting.
  • While Namatame is a really crazy person, the scene in which he fails to save Mayumi from dying in the Midnight Channel is surprisingly effective in these regards.
  • Teddie vanishing into the fog, broken and depressed.
• Episode 25. Narukami's departure. It's both sad to see him go, but also happy since it's not necessarily goodbye forever, and it's clear how much he valued his time in Inaba. The last shot of him still holding his glasses is particularly effective.
  • Less of a tear-jerker if you look at Persona 4: Arena.
• Episode 26. After everyone seemingly dies at the hands of Izanami, Narukami goes into a Heroic BSoD crossed with a "Groundhog Day" Loop and almost goes insane. It takes a battle with Margaret and facing his own Shadow to snap him out of it all.
  • Even worse? As you likely know from the game, after a certain point, Izanami begins having the party swallowed into the shadows. Narukami is forced to watch as they're all dragged under, one by one. Whether in Japanese or in English, his agony at the horrific scene before him is palpable.
    Narukami: Don't do this...please, stop! I DON'T WANT TO SEE THIS...!!!
  • The ultimate kicker for this comes when you finally learn what Narukami's hidden emotions were. He was terrified at being all alone again, like he'd been before coming to Inaba. When Izanami did as she did, she was bringing that deep-seated fear to bear and making it a reality.

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