History TearJerker / YuGiOh

* Yugi & co hopeless attempt to protect Kisara while she’s stoned by a mob. But since they’re a part of the pharaoh’s memories, any attempt they try to psychically contact anyone not connected just passes through them. Yet they refuse to back down, and find it more heartbreaking to find something, ''anything'' they can possibly do to help. Small wonder they cheer on Preist Seto when he comes by and does the job for them.

* The original timeline is also pretty sad for Priest Seto, when you think about it. Nearly all the priests and Pharaoh Atem died in the battle against Zorc, leaving Seto in charge as the new Pharaoh. Not only does Seto have to rebuild a ruined Egypt, he has to do it without the help of the Millennium Items. Additionally, the three people Seto actually cared about are dead - his mentor and father (Akhenaden), the one person he called his friend (Atem) and his love interest (Kisara). Priest Seto is much like Seto Kaiba in that both believe in being powerful and dominant as a means to self-validation. However,[[LonelyAtTheTop as soon as Seto becomes the most powerful person in the land - the ruler - he's left alone as everyone that mattered to him is gone.

* The original timeline is also pretty sad for Priest Seto, when you think about it. Nearly all the priests and Pharaoh Atem died in the battle against Zorc, leaving Seto in charge as the new Pharaoh. Not only does Seto have to rebuild a ruined Egypt, he has to do it without the help of the Millennium Items. Additionally, the three people Seto actually cared about are dead - his mentor and father (Akhenaden), the one person he called his friend (Atem) and his love interest (Kisara). Priest Seto is much like Seto Kaiba in that both believe in being powerful and dominant as a means to self-validation. However, as soon as Seto becomes the most powerful person in the land - the ruler - he's left alone as everyone that mattered to him is gone.

* After Battle City, Kaiba compares dealing with his grudge against Gozaburo to playing a Shadow Game and wonders what he'll do once his past is buried, staring at his locket of Mokuba while remembering his wish to build amusement parks as a child. While sad enough on its own, it's made worse with ''The Darkside of Dimensions'' having Kaiba regress to obsessive levels in his desire to defeat the Pharaoh, his dreams for the future forgotten.
* During the Memory World arc, seeing Thief King Bakura's past is insanely sad. When it shows the entire massacre, and then the small child Bakura hiding and seeing it all. And then later on, when he is turned to sand, and is shown to be nothing more than a pawn for Yami Bakura's game.

* Yugi's reaction to the above. He has an epic HeroicBSOD as he realizes that what happened to Honda and his grandpa are his fault. His self deprecation turns into seething hatred toward Kaiba. He then realizes that Dark Yugi is trying to take over and ''stops reacting to anything''. In short, Yugi pretty much has a nervous breakdown. His DullEyesOfUnhappiness do not help at all.
* All of this leads to him confessing Dark Yugi's existence to the others, revealing that the reason why he didn't reveal him sooner is because he didn't want to worry or creep out his new friends. Yugi also reveals how terrified he is of his "other self" and doesn't know if he can trust him.
* The manga has Ryo writing letters to his deceased sister Amane, who died with their mother in a car crash. Worse, just from reading the manga you'd infer they were alive but lived away, with him even saying as much, only for a supplementary book to reveal they were dead and the letters were a coping mechanism.
* All Pegasus wanted was Kaiba Corp's more advanced hologram technology to revive Cyndia, and the manga emphasizes just how futile his quest is. Pegasus wants his loved one back, but he can't get her back. He tries anyway, and in the end, he is only chasing after an illusion. After telling Yugi his back-story, one may think he's finally redeemed and was let go from receiving the Penalty Game from Yugi... But then Dark Bakura steals his Millennium Eye while mocking him by leaving a replica of it behind, leaving Pegasus to die, but allowing him to reunite with Cyndia again.

* Right after the Yugi vs. possessed Jounouchi duel, Tea, Tristan, and Serenity catch up to Yugi and Joey right after the incident, with Joey, rather than being happy to see his sister, being deeply ashamed of himself that he almost killed his best friend. After Mai attempts to slap him out of it (no pun intended), Serenity takes off her bandages after explaining how Mai told her about everything Joey did for her in Duelist Kingdom, and finally getting the courage to open her eyes and her vision gradually fades in to see Joey.
* After Kaiba loses to Yugi at Battle City, he and Ishizu talk over what will happen next. Ishizu says if Marik can't be saved, she'll stay behind on the exploding island and die. This makes Kaiba remember when he was willing to die for Mokuba at Duelist Kingdom, and it's this moment of empathy that drives him to help Yugi--albeit to prove Ishizu wrong about friendship.

* The talk Yugi and Atem have on the school roof in episode 199, about how Yugi's stronger now and he'll be fine if Atem leaves, so Atem shouldn't hold back. Just Yugi's total selflessness and willingness to do whatever it takes to make his best friend happy, even if it means he can't see him anymore. It also shows how far Yugi's come. At the beginning of the series, he'd be crying and begging Atem to stay.
* In the Waking the Dragons Arc, Raphael is quite a sympathetic character. He loses all of his family in a shipwreck, and lives ten years alone on an island with Duel Monsters for company. He returns and there's a big hulabaloo about his return but he's not happy. Then, when he meets with Dartz he's forced to ''dig up the graves of his siblings'' and his Guardian Eatos turns evil. Then when we get to his second duel with Yami, he sees visions of his family saying that they'll always be together and he's actually ''smiling'' for the first time in years. Then we find out that Dartz intentionally did this, and caused the storm that killed his family.
** In the dub Raphael was washed onto an island, then came back and his family ''forgot about him''. Just about anyone would MaddenIntoMisanthropy if your own family "moved on" and didn't accept you even when you came back after years...
* Professor Hawkins' kidnapping can be seen as this when you remember that Rebecca witnessed it all. She's just an innocent girl who went to get some groceries and was simply coming back home, only to helplessly watch her grandfather being taken by a group of terrorists and then have their house be blown up to smithereens right in front of her. That kind of stuff could be terrifying even for adults, so imagine what it must be like for a thirteen-year-old girl (showcased a bit when Yugi and his friends arrive at the scene and the first thing Rebecca does when they find her is throw herself into Yugi's arms and break down in tears).

** That entire duel is a huge TearJerker. First we have Yugi breaking down, frantically begging Yami not to play the Seal of Orichalcos, grabbing his arm and reminding him of the promise they made. When Yami plays it anyway Yugi's despairing "Nooo!" just before he's locked away is heart-wrenching. He spends the rest of the duel trying to reach Yami.

** Then Yami, loses the duel thanks to his own short-sighted pride/fear and cruelty towards his monsters (which are at the time, ''real''), while the Seal of Orichalcos is on the field. This means that Yami's soul must be taken as per the Seal's rules. At the last second, Yugi breaks through the seal that had been separating them and gives up his soul instead, saving Yami. That's depressing enough, but just as painful is Yami's MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment when he realizes what has happened. He spends the next few episodes in a HeroicBSOD and even when he snaps out of it he's shown to be constantly replaying the moment in his head for the rest of the arc.

* As much of a Jerkass Kaiba can be sometimes, seeing him during the latter part of his duel with Noah can make you pity the guy. Right before Kaiba can pull off a win, Noah uses the possessed Mokuba as a human shield. Kaiba can't bring himself to attack, and chooses the safety of his little brother over a sure victory. Later on in episode 116, Noah is whaling on Kaiba, who is close to tears trying to snap Mokuba out of his trance. Mokuba does break free, but Noah manages to beat Kaiba anyways. He gloats by turning the two brothers into stone. All they were trying to do at the time was be in each others arms.
* The end of Yami's duel Vs. Weevil during the DOMA arc episode 162, but only in japanese though. Weevil had promised to tell Yami where Yugi's soul is after he'd lose the duel, knowing full well he couldn't keep the promise. After his soul has been taken Yami runs up and keeps shouting in his face "HAGAAA! You promised! I won! Tell me where Yugi is! Where is my partner?!". Tea even points out, much to Yami's dismay how Weevil never intended to keep his promise, sending the poor guy into even more sadness. Yami just sort of...stares at his hands afterwards, like he wonders what he's just been doing or has even unnerved himself with his freakout against Haga.

** On the same arc, Rebecca's reaction to finding out that Yugi's soul was taken by the Seal of Orichalcos. She starts by directing her anger at Yami for having played the card and making Yugi sacrifice himself before breaking down in tears and desperately begging for Yugi to come back. Poor girl had just gotten her grandfather back from being kidnapped only to lose yet another person she deeply cared about (her strong reaction also possibly being an indication that her infatuation with Yugi is more than just a mere PrecociousCrush).

* Professor Hawkins' kidnapping can be seen as this when you remember that Rebecca witnessed it all. She's just an innocent girl who went to get some groceries and was simply coming back home, only to helplessly watch her grandfather being taken by a group of terrorists and then have their house be blown up to smithereens right in front of her. That kind of stuff could make even adults suffer a nervous breakdown, so imagine what it must be like for a thirteen-year-old girl (showcased a bit when Yugi and his friends arrive at the scene and the first thing Rebecca does when they find her is throw herself into Yugi's arms and break down in tears).

* Professor Hawkins' kidnapping can be seen as this when you remember that Rebecca witnessed it all. She's just an innocent girl who went to get some groceries and was simply coming back home, only to helplessly watch her grandfather being taken by a group of terrorists and then have their house be blown up to smithereens. That kind of stuff could make even adults suffer a nervous breakdown, so imagine what it must be like for a thirteen-year-old girl.
** On the same arc, Rebecca's reaction to finding out that Yugi's soul was taken by the Seal of Orichalcos. She starts by directing her anger at Yami for having played the card and making Yugi sacrifice himself before braking down in tears and desperately begging for Yugi to come back. Poor girl had just gotten her grandfather back from being kidnapped only to lose yet another person she deeply cared about (her strong reaction also possibly being an indication that her infatuation with Yugi runs deeper than just a mere PrecociousCrush).

** That entire duel is a huge TearJerker. First we have Yugi breaking down, frantically begging Yami not to play the Seal of the Orichalcos, grabbing his arm and reminding him of the promise they made. When Yami plays it anyway Yugi's despairing "Nooo!" just before he's locked away is heart-wrenching. He spends the rest of the duel trying to reach Yami.

* The scene right before Pegasus and Kaiba's duel in Duelist Kingdom where Yugi and friends learn ''exactly'' why Kaiba was willing to die to win. [[spoiler: Mokuba is Pegasus' prisoner]]. And how do they find out? [[spoiler: Because the one who brings Pegasus his deck is Mokuba, who has been turned into an EmptyShell, as his soul has been stolen by Pegasus's Millenium Eye just like it happened to Grandpa Muto.]] The kids are understandably ''horrified'' at the sight, and Yugi almost cries as it sinks in.

* Pegasus's backstory is rather depressing, especially in the manga. [[spoiler:He lost the love of his life that was presumably his only friend at the same time. Looking at him curled up, sitting in a fetal position among the paintings of Cyndia with a blank face is totally gut-wrenching. He even mentions he "stared at the blank canvas of his heart". He goes to Egypt in order to reunite with her in some way, but he only gets to witness a poor man getting burned to death by an ancient artifact ''in front of his eyes''. And that's right before ''his'' turn, he even begs Shadi to let him go. The latter convinces him he'd meet his love again if the Eye accepted him. Thinking this is his chance (not that he had much of a choice in the matter), he has his left eye replaced for the Eye. He gets to meet Cyndia, but only for a fleeting moment. He reaches out for her while having tears and blood rolling down his cheek, but then she disappears, leaving him one eye less and with all his pain, breaking him even more.]] Even Yugi's friends felt sorry for what the man went through. Also, Pegasus kept referring to the Toon Monsters as "a perfect life form" and how they can never die. [[spoiler:The death of his beloved hit him so hard]] he actually ''stepped back into childhood and denied death''.

* The duel between Yugi and the Marik-possessed Jonouchi/Joey. Specifically when [[spoiler: Yugi smiles and tells the now depossessed Jonouchi/Joey what happened with tears rolling down his face, then Jonouchi/Joey starts screaming in panic when he realizes Yugi has pretty much set himself up for death...]]
** [[spoiler:"Jonouchi...I love you..."]] Both the anime and the manga (which survived in Viz's English print) had this in (though the 4Kids dub removes the line, perhaps due to its context), and sets it up for [[spoiler:Yugi's final move of the duel]].

* The saddest scenes involved Marik's back-story (much of which was cut from the dubbed version): [[spoiler: Odion/Rishid approaching an injured Marik with intent to kill him, only to have Marik refer to him as his brother, causing Rishid to drop the knife and burst into tears; seeing young Marik dragged off in front of Rishid for the carving ritual while poor Rishid can only stand by; ''then'' seeing Marik's [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone horrified reaction]] after he discovers that [[SelfMadeOrphan he killed his own father]] under the influence of his "dark" side.]]

* During the Memory World arc, [[spoiler: seeing Thief King Bakura's past is insanely sad. When it shows the entire massacre, and then the small child Bakura hiding and seeing it all. And then later on, when he is turned to sand, and is shown to be nothing more than a pawn for Yami Bakura's game.]]

* At end of the series, [[spoiler: Atem finally goes to the afterlife and says goodbye to Yugi & co.]]
** [[spoiler:The last few minutes before that are even worse. Yugi's reveal that he placed Monster Reborn into the Gold Sarcophagus has a double meaning: It's both the end of the duel and to finally put Atem himself to rest. But after Atem is defenseless Yugi is hesitant to strike the final blow, visibly trembling and weeping, because it's finally really hit Yugi what is happening and that it means sending him away forever. And after he does attack, he falls to his knees and breaks down crying completely. While he was fighting with everything he had ''for Atem's freedom'' in the first place, to him it also feels like he's just killed his closest friend.]]

* All Pegasus wanted was Kaiba Corp's more advanced hologram technology to revive Cyndia, and the manga emphasizes just how futile his quest is. Pegasus wants his loved one back, but he can't get her back. He tries anyway, and in the end, he is only chasing after an illusion. After telling Yugi his back-story, one may think he's finally redeemed and was let go from receiving the Penalty Game from Yugi... But then [[spoiler:Dark Bakura steals his Millennium Eye while mocking him by leaving a replica of it behind, leaving Pegasus to die, but allowing him to reunite with Cyndia again.]]

* Right after the [[spoiler:Yugi vs. possessed Jounouchi]] duel, [[spoiler: Tea, Tristan, and Serenity catch up to Yugi and Joey right after the incident, with Joey, rather than being happy to see his sister, being deeply ashamed of himself that he almost killed his best friend. After Mai attempts to slap him out of it (no pun intended), Serenity takes off her bandages after explaining how Mai told her about everything Joey did for her in Duelist Kingdom, and finally getting the courage to open her eyes and her vision gradually fades in to see Joey.]]

* In the anime, Seto had quite a prominent role, even after the Battle City arc. He was present during the Memories Arc, and during the final duel between [[spoiler: Atem and Yugi]]. However, in the manga, he wasn't present during the final duel. On the penultimate page, though, he arrived ''too late'', and saw the tomb collapsing.

* Episode 158, when [[spoiler:Yugi chose to let himself be taken by the soul-stealing Seal of the Orichalcos instead of Atem during the Doma filler arc? The fact that ''Atem himself breaks down into tears'' and poor Anzu/Tea telling him "Pharaoh, please... he's gone..." just makes it worse and worse.]]
** Even before that, it gets sad. From Yugi [[spoiler: trying desperately to stop Atem from playing the card to the harsh way Atem speaks to Yugi (prior to this, Atem had ''never'' yelled at Yugi).]]
** [[FromBadToWorse It gets worse]] in episode 163. When [[spoiler: Atem later battles against Yugi's imprisoned soul in a cursed area--with Yugi yelling accusations at him and turning Yami's earlier, heartless tactics against him, proving that yes, [[BewareTheNiceOnes he does, actually, have a mean bone in his body]]. Turns out [[CruelToBeKind it was being cruel to be kind]] as only by seeing the depth of his errors and defeating Yugi could Yami finally move on. Then seeing Yami run to him and cradle him in his arms, with Yugi ''still'' smiling, even as he vanishes for a second time, opens the floodgates. ]] This marks one of the few moments [[TearsOfRemorse occasions where]] [[https://pm1.narvii.com/6113/064fb1d9bfb8fd92a73194ba5ea313a44fcec378_hq.jpg we see Yami cry]].
** [[spoiler: Atem's breakdown after this doesn't help, as he recalls how much Yugi cares for others, citing this as the reason why he's truly better than him. Atem's voice breaking makes the moment that powerful. ]]
--> [[spoiler: '''Atem:''' For my sake...the one with the real courage! It wasn't me! The real duelist...partner...it was you!]]

* The ending of Noah's arc during episode 121. [[spoiler: Noah finds out that his father is also in the Virtual World, and is happy to see that his dad really loves him. But reality crushes him when his father says he was a disappointment and basically called him useless. Mokuba sees this and shows pity for his never known foster brother (even though said brother [[MindRape Mind Raped]] him for most of the season). At first Noah tries to get advantage of this to use Mokuba's body and escape to the real world; but in the middle of the plan he notices that he really ''does'' love his "brother" Mokuba and doesn't want him to die. He then gives Mokuba his body back, says goodbye and stays with his father in the Virtual World while it is destroyed. And in the end of the whole thing, Mokuba gives his brother a quick funeral, while Noah's voiceover goes saying that he is not a machine, but a human.]]
** Not to mention [[spoiler: Mokuba's brief memory of Noah after they leave Alcatraz]] which was cut from the dub.
* Mai's backstory is quite depressing as well. While the dub [[spoiler: justifies she was forced to be alone because her parents changed homes all the time, the original version flat out states her parents died, which ruined her childhood and forced her to loneliness due to depression.]]
* The talk Yugi and Atem have on the school roof in episode 199, about how [[spoiler: Yugi's stronger now and he'll be fine if Atem leaves, so Atem shouldn't hold back]]. Just Yugi's total selflessness and willingness to do whatever it takes to make his best friend happy, even if it means he can't see him anymore. It also shows how far Yugi's come. At the beginning of the series, he'd be crying and begging Atem to [[spoiler: stay]].
* In the Waking the Dragons Arc, Raphael is quite a sympathetic character. [[spoiler: He loses all of his family in a shipwreck, and lives ten years alone on an island with Duel Monsters for company. He returns and there's a big hulabaloo about his return but he's not happy. Then, when he meets with Dartz he's forced to ''dig up the graves of his siblings'' and his Guardian Eatos turns evil. Then when we get to his second duel with Yami, he sees visions of his family saying that they'll always be together and he's actually ''smiling'' for the first time in years. Then we find out that Dartz intentionally did this, and caused the storm that killed his family.]]

* The part in Yami's first duel with Raphael when [[spoiler: Yami, under the influence of the Orichalcos, starts sacrificing his monsters left and right in a reckless attempt to win. Dark Magician Girl becomes terrified and actually begs Yami not to kill her, but he does it anyway.]]
** That entire duel is a huge TearJerker. First we have Yugi breaking down, frantically begging Yami [[spoiler: not to play the Seal of the Orichalcos]], grabbing his arm and reminding him of the promise they made. When Yami [[spoiler: plays it anyway]] Yugi's despairing "Nooo!" just before he's locked away is heart-wrenching. He spends the rest of the duel trying to reach Yami.

** Then Yami, [[spoiler: loses the duel thanks to his own short-sighted pride/fear and cruelty towards his monsters (which are at the time, ''real'')]], while the Seal of Orichalcos is on the field. This means that [[spoiler: Yami's soul must be taken]] as per the Seal's rules. At the last second, Yugi breaks through the seal that had been separating them and [[spoiler: gives up his soul instead, saving Yami.]] That's depressing enough, but just as painful is Yami's MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment when he realizes what has happened. He spends the next few episodes in a HeroicBSOD and even when he snaps out of it he's shown to be constantly replaying the moment in his head for the rest of the arc.

* The end of Yami's duel Vs. Weevil during the DOMA arc episode 162, but only in japanese though. [[spoiler: Weevil had promised to tell Yami where Yugi's soul is after he'd lose the duel, knowing full well he couldn't keep the promise. After his soul has been taken Yami runs up and keeps shouting in his face "HAGAAA! You promised! I won! Tell me where Yugi is! Where is my partner?!". Tea even points out, much to Yami's dismay how Weevil never intended to keep his promise, sending the poor guy into even more sadness.]] Yami just sort of...stares at his hands afterwards, like he wonders what he's just been doing or has even unnerved himself with his freakout against Haga.

* When Yugi and his friends attempt to find the Pharaoh's name, they learn [[spoiler:the wish made on the Puzzle must be returned to it in order to pass--meaning Yugi's friends must fall into the abyss]]. Thankfully, everyone manages to survive, but Yugi's anguish when he tells them that ''they'' were his wish really hurts to see.

* During the Memory World arc, [[spoiler: seeing Thief King Bakura's past is insanely sad. When it show the entire massacre, and then the small child Bakura hiding and seeing it all. And then later on, when he is turned to sand, and is shown to be nothing more than a pawn for Yami Bakura's game.]]

* When Atem is about to walk into the afterlife, his friends attempt to talk him out of it. Honda/Tristan says Atem can't come in, change their lives forever and then just walk away; Yugi says that they just don't want to say goodbye and Anzu/Téa says it's not fair Atem has to leave just when he and his friends learned who he really is and what he was meant to do. Jonouchi/Joey, showing far he has come, tells them they don't have to understand what's going on, they just have to accept it. As happy as they are that Atem is fulfilling his destiny, it doesn't make it any less painful to see him go.

-->'''Kaiba:''' (thinking) My... Battle City... The hatred gouged into my by my dead stepfather... my tower of revenge... standing at the top... Yugi... all I ever wanted... was to beat you... I was going... to be the King of Duelists...\\

* Kaiba and Mokuba's childhood. They grew up in an orphanage after Seto's parents died and their relatives spent all their inheritance. Seto was determined to find a way out, so he got Gozaburo Kaiba to adopt him and Mokuba by beating him in chess via cheating. Gozaburo turned out to by a monster, who abused Seto and shaped his worldview considerably, teaching him that losing equals death when Seto usurped his power. By the time he lost to Yugi, Mokuba hadn't seen Seto truly smile since the orphanage days.

** Otogi's father was also abusive and pushed him to game and beat Yugi.

* ''TerJerker/YuGiOhDuelLinks''

-->'''Yugi:''' [[ArmorPiercingQuestion How can I ''believe'' you?]]

* pisdoe 25, Tea/Anzu's duel against Mai for her Star Chips. She knows she doesn't stand a chance and still fights, and by the end she's so determined that she ''will'' beat Mai that Mai surrenders rather than win.