History TearJerker / SpiritedAway

* The bit when Haku has just taken Chihiro/Sen to see her parents in the pig stable, and he gives her a rice ball to eat, and she starts tearing up as she takes the first bite, and then halfway through finishing, just begins ''bawling'' from all the trauma she has accumulated over the past 16 hours or so. The music at that point certainly helps.

* Meta-examples:
** Yasuyoshi Tokuma died ten months before the film's release, making this his last Ghibli film.
** Yubaba and Zeniba were Suzanne Pleshette’s final film roles before her subsequent television appearances on ''Good Morning, Miami'', ''Will & Grace'', retirement from acting and death in 2008.

[[caption-width-right:350:Don't cry, Chihiro…]]

'''As a Moments subpage, [[Administrivia/SpoilersOff all spoilers are unmarked.]] Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned.'''

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* Chihiro and Haku's reunion, mainly because of the background music that swells up with emotion. Chihiro asks Zeniba if Haku will be okay, and they hear a knock at the door. When Chihiro opens it, a healed Haku stands before her, confident and happy. She unsurprisingly hugs him and starts crying in relief that he's okay. He returns the gesture, nuzzling her. Zeniba approaches them smiling; she tells Haku she forgives him, knowing he was brainwashed by her sister. Haku whuffs in response, showing no hard feelings.

* She may act immature at the start, but Chihiro is ten years old, around the age when most children start to desire autonomy from their parents. She calls them 'Mom' and 'Dad' instead of 'Mommy' and 'Daddy', and she has no trouble walking off alone. However, when they turn into pigs, she runs into the street and starts desperately calling out for them because she refuses to believe that those were really her parents. It's even worse in the English dub, where she starts hyperventilating and crying, and just ''screams'', '''''"MOMMYYYY!"''''' It's absolutely gut-wrenching to think of how terrified she must be in that moment.

* A meta-example: Yasuyoshi Tokuma died ten months before the film's release, making this his last Ghibli film.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/spirited_away_24_e1338921304843.png]]

* The moment when Haku/Kohaku River bids goodbye to Chihiro, telling her not to look back once. He's brave and happy for her--to go home to her own parents-- but when she lets go his hand and starts down the stairs, his outstretched hand lingers. The parting hurts him more than he shows.

* The moment where Chihiro figures out Haku's real name, and he returns to human form.

* She may act immature at the start, but Chihiro is ten years old, around the age when most children start to desire autonomy from their parents. She calls them 'Mom' and 'Dad' instead of 'Mommy' and 'Daddy', and she has no trouble walking off alone. However, when they turn into pigs, she runs into the street and starts desperately calling out for them because she refuses to believe that those were really her parents. It's even worse in the English dub, where she starts hyperventilating and crying, and just ''screams'', '''''"MOMMYYYY!"''''' It's absolutely gut-wrenching to think of how terrified she must be in that moment.

* In a way, No Face’s interactions with Chihiro. He offers her a series of gifts in the hopes of seeing her smile and maybe earning her affection. However, he gets a little pushy with the gift-giving like him offering a bunch of bath tokens when she only needed one. When they meet up again later, he offers her a huge pile of gold, which she rejects since she’s busy trying to find Haku. The look on his face and sound he makes is quite sad. He doesn’t understand why she’s refusing his gold, especially since everyone else in the bathhouse has been accepting it, and is upset. It could also be that he thinks the only way to win over someone’s friendship is to shower them with gifts.

* The train journey. Granted, it's simply showing Chihiro, No-Face, Boh and the bird traveling to Zeniba's, but there's something so melancholy about it, particularly with the music. Chihiro has already traveled so far from everything she's known, and the train ride gives a sense of even greater, growing isolation.

* The train journey. Granted, it's simply showing Chihiro, No-Face, Boh and the bird traveling to Zeniba's, but there's something so melancholy about it, particularly with the music.

* When Yubaba calls Boh "that dirty mouse", as she doesn't recognise him in his cursed form, he looks like he's going to start crying.
* The train journey. Granted, it's simply showing Chihiro, No-Face, Boh and the bird travelling to Zeniba's, but there's something so melancholy about it, particularly with the music.
* [[spoiler: Haku's backstory: He was a river spirit.]] The river has been dried up by humans and houses were built in its place. [[spoiler: And that's why Haku forgot his name and lost himself.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:Don't cry Chihiro...]]

* The soundtrack, man. Especially "Reprise".

* The moment where Lin tells Chihiro not trust a thing Haku says, right after his advice lead her to sign away her name to Yubaba. Her reaction is to crouch down on the ground and ''start sobbing''. The next morning shows that she's still miserable, and struggling not to cry since it would wake the other girls up.

* The train journey. Granted, it's simply showing Chihiro, Noh-Face, Boh and the bird travelling to Zeniba's, but there's something so melancholy about it, particularly with the music.
* [[spoiler: Haku's backstory. He was a river spirit.]] The river has been dried up by humans and houses were built in its place. [[spoiler: And that's why Haku forgot his name and lost himself.]]

** It's stated that if you can remember your name, you'll be free from Yubaba's control. Haku remembers his, [[spoiler: but as the Kohaku river was filled in,]] he can ''never'' be free, forced to remain Yubaba's slave forever.

* The soundtrack, man. Especially [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRPpm246nRY&NR=1 "Reprise"]].

* [[@/{{Karalora}} This troper]] hardly ever cries at anything in fiction, but one scene in ''SpiritedAway'' gets me every time: the bit when Haku has just taken Chihiro/Sen to see her parents in the pig stable, and he gives her a rice ball to eat, and she starts tearing up as she takes the first bite, and then halfway through finishing, just begins ''bawling'' from all the trauma she has accumulated over the past 16 hours or so. I can't help but bawl along with her, poor kid--I just want to reach into the screen and hug her and let her know everything'll be all right. My eyes are watering right now just from thinking about it.
** The music at that point certainly helps.

* The soundtrack, man. Especially [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRPpm246nRY&NR=1 "Reprise"]]. Every time I hear it I can't help tear up a bit.
* She may act immature at the start, but Chihiro is ten years old, around the age when most children start to desire autonomy from their parents. She calls them 'Mom' and 'Dad' instead of 'Mommy' and 'Daddy', and she has no trouble walking off alone. However, when they turn into pigs, she runs into the street and starts desperately calling out for them because she refuses to believe that those were really her parents. It's even worse in the English dub, where she starts hyperventilating and crying, and just ''screams'', '''''"MOMMYYYY!"''''' It's absolutely gut-wrenching to think of how terrified she must be in that momet.

* She may act immature at the start, but Chihiro is ten years old, around the age when most children start to desire autonomy from their parents. She calls them 'Mom' and 'Dad' instead of 'Mommy' and 'Daddy', and she has no trouble walking off alone. However, when they turn into pigs, she runs into the street and starts desperately calling out for them because she refuses to believe that those were really her parents. Imagine being lost in the supermarket as a child, and multiply the terror one-hundredfold. It's even worse in the English dub, where she starts hyperventilating and crying, and just ''screams'', '''''"MOMMYYYY!"''''' It's absolutely gut-wrenching.

** If Chihiro crying her eyes out when it hits her that she is by herself in a strange world with only three people who actually care about her doesn't get you, the BittersweetEnding will.

** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pC1-3noPDdU The music at that point]] certainly helps.