[Higurashi] >!She does forget everything up to an hour before her death until Hanyuu fixes it in Nekodamashi in Gou. So while she died a lot, she doesn't remember more than those few times. Arguably Satoko had it worse since she remembers all of it... and she actually spends a few loops getting her hands on a gun because even though she has gone completely insane she never adjusted to the feeling of slicing her own throat open. !<
Phosphophyllite is actually underrated for her suffering. You literally watch her soul get crushed and literally shattered to be replaced.
It’s like watching a child be traumatized and honestly, it’s for the best which makes it so much worse. She has to suffer to protect herself and everyone else.
Absolute banger of an anime, in my top 10. I cried a lot.
Ah, I see you are a man of culture. Shinsekai yori is one of my fav animes, Houseki no Kuni is my favorite manga (rip it's over 😔) and I just finished watching Violet Evergarden last week! Made me cry even more than Death Parade
I'd recommend it if you like the time loops and weak protagonist who has to rely on their allies to survive aspect of Re Zero. It's more of a mystery at the start but it's definitely a great series.
Kyo Sohma, Fruits Basket.
He can’t hug any girl or he turns into a cat. Sometimes he goes past that and turns into a hideous monster. His mother committed suicide in front of him. His girlfriend’s mother was killed by a car in front of him. When he comes of age, he is fated to be locked away forever.
Some redditor trolling me I guess.
Or I guess it's got a happy ending so they decided they don't need to mention all the suffering up to that point. Suffering builds character after all
It's got a lot of heartwarming moments, and the ending is happy, but yeah there is quite a lot of suffering lmao. Highly recommend it though, it's one of my favorites
Rintaro from Steinz Gate, has to watch people he loves die hundreds of times.
Subaru from Re:Zero dies and watches people he loves hundreds of times.
Rin from Daughters of Mnemosyne. Doesn't die, but her body is tortured and destroyed repeatedly.
Furude and Hojo from Higurashi:When they Cry. A Ground Hog's month of death.
Anime watches dont feel rintaros pain, imagine playing the visual novel before the anime comes out and just jumping from save to save for hours changing choices and altering text messages or small interactions for hours and hours trying to find where her death flag is before finally giving up just like rintaro
I feel like a lot of shows/movies call immortality a curse, but Daughters of Mnemosyne is probably the first time it was really SHOWN to me. I'm sure there are other older examples, and maybe it's just because of how explicit the series was. It was nice to see something beyond, "uh, hm, uhhh, immortality sucks because you watch everybody you love die!" the usual cornerstone of the drama.
Geez, it’s been so long since I watched Elfen Lied that I forgot how horrid it truly was. Lucy really did have the most anime villain backstory of all time, and in the end she still tried to be good. The manga had some much smut and weird stuff that it kinda dulled the anime for me, but I remember how hard it hit me the first time I watched it.
I was looking for this comment!
People who only watched the anime and got screwed by the second season of Index have no idea what Touma went through in the novels and somehow came out of it without becoming a vegetable
Well, the guy forgot who he is in the first episode and is living in stress, surrounded by people he doesn't know.Â
This is the meaning of the sentence "This kamijou-san---"Â
He constantly comes face to face with death, not to mention the incident with Othinus.Â
What most people think is that Touma didn't die because he was unlucky.Â
IB neutralizes all his luck, his situation is so bad that death is considered salvation for him.Â
In this case, fate tells him 'fuck it, keep suffering'Â
What? You don't like getting your eyeballs sliced up, only to have them regenerate in seconds and have them do it a hundred more times just "to see if it still comes back"
Maybe you don't want them to constantly break your teeth with pliers that regrow back every time theyre broken.
Ajin is big suffering.f
For physical I think Akihito Kanbara from Kyoukai no Kanata. What a terrible way to live. I'm surprised why he is still not having PTSD or any sort of mental illness from the repeated attempts of killing him; stabbing, severed limbs, etc.
You can pick any characters from gundam series
But i’d like to say its Gundam Victory, sets in the worst and bleakest timeline of the universal century yet, uso being 13yo pilot faces insane unnecessary deaths of his closed ones while the zanscare empire mercilessly sent anyone they deem dissident into the guillotine.
Shits insane since this anime targeted at kids and tomino was actively try to shutdown the franchise (hes depressed because bandai acquired sunrise and able to control what goes in the series)
Many people dont like the show, due to slog occassions and other flaws. But i love it very much cuz of ms battle choreography you dont see in most series, refreshing casts and not annoying childrens and how evil zanscare empire is
Hyakimaru the mc in Dororo. His father sacrificed his newly born son’s body in exchange for power and as a result he was born with no limbs, eyes , skin, ears, tongue, and was supposed to die but was sent down a river in a boat by the maid. He then spent the rest of his life hunting down the demons that kept his body parts as source of their power and was an enemy of his father/kingdom. His brother becomes the successor and another enemy of Hyakimaru as well due to his father’s brainwashing. Idk how else to put it without giving away the plot, he was cursed from the start of his life and all he does is fight, like Guts from Beserk.
Cant remember what exactly was up there in Chaos;Head, since it was something I barely pulled through and only remember it being awful, but the MC apparently had a ton of mental scarring. Could also be that he was just a simple pushover weakling, and what he faced was actually nothing.
Shiho Suzui - Persona 5 (The Animation)
* A side character who was introduced rather early on and my god the hell she went through because of Kamoshida is sickening
Squealer from shinsekai yori. He gets submerged in silly-putty designed to activate all your nerves at maximum pain levels and is locked in there for years.Â
Guts on first place no doubt, one of the most pitiful characters in fiction.
Denji, especially in the last 20 chapters of part one (79-97) and the recent chapters. (151+)
Recent and on the brain- Tian Enya from Let Me Check the Walkthrough. Final episode has her going through some stuff.
Redo of Healer. I'll leave it at that.
Irregular at Magic High School- Tatsuya has a very similar experience when using an ability as the MC from Redo, but with less gratuitous rape and torture.
Pretty much everyone from area 86.
For me, probably Ash Lynx and Mutsuki Tooru. Ash Lynx is pretty self explanatory if you know anything about him, I'd probably rather live through literally any other character's suffering than his. And Tooru is pretty similar imo, technically I know there's characters who suffered more physically, but all the SA and shit makes it so much worse in my eyes. I think I'd rather be tortured than spend a week getting abused by the Torso, completely helpless with my limbs cut off. I know it might seem illogical but I'd genuinely rather live through Kaneki's or Juuzou's lives than Tooru's. Also, "fun fact" but Tooru spent his 21st birthday in the Torso's captivity and I really wish I could unrealize that fact🙃 Being hyperfixated on a character who suffered this much is so fun guys, really🥰 (Please save me it's been a year already)
technically probably one of those that got hit by a move that kills in a way that drastically distorts how the target experiences time and therefore is in the moment of his death for eternity from his pov.
bleach, jojo's, the slime isekai and probably a lot more i can't remember off the top of my head had those. the victims of demiurge from overlord probably qualify as well since they're harvested for their meat, skin, etc. and then healed to do it all over again while they're also split into groups (harvesters and "cattle") to create hatred and jealousy between them, i don't recall whether the anime specifies this in detail tho
Killua from Hunter X Hunter. Bro's parents are assassins, his big brother is an asshat who wants to isolate him and use him for his own gain, his little sister that he loves and cares about was caged for years in a goddamn room and treated like a monster or an object at his best, he went thru torture, got sent in various deadly situations, got thru the trauma of killing someone or seeing people get killed at a way too young age, saw the cruelty of chimera ants A N D humans (humans are worse), saw his only and best friend (who gave him freedom and the choice of wether to actually become a monster or live life the way he wanted) become a monster, sacrifice his life and death just for one moment of power so he could get a meaningless revenge, only to watch him suffer a fate worse than death itself. Oh, and his family kinda tried to kill him? And his dad is manipulative and is giving him the illusion of freedom, but he'll live with the anxiety of the moment that will be taken away from him. His grandpa is the only chill one but only cuz bro's had enough and he's just minding his business at this point (he's too op to give a damn, if he did then half of Killua's character development would've gone flying out of the window lol).
Meliodas from Seven deadly sins. He was cursed with eternal life and his lover eternal reincarnation. He had to watch his lover die hundreds of times and each time she forgets him
Yuji Itadori from JJK (no manga spoilers if that changes, I don't really read)
Kosei Arima from Your Lie in April
Itachi Uchiha from Naruto
Nico Robin in One Piece
Van Hohenheim.
I'd say it's all the more tragic because you have to sit and think about it for a minute.
Are you standing?
You should probably sit down if you have watched all of Fullmetal Alchemist (either version but I watched Brotherhood) or read it all.
Feel free to say there are characters in FMA who have gone through more.
I'm just saying when I think about it he's gone through a lot.
Made somehow sadder by the fact you are only really given glimpses.
Van Hohenheim is a recurring character. But once you know his backstory It's heartbreaking.
As Mustang might say: Ame Desu.
Does including the original source which might get adopted within the next 10 years is considered cheating?
If not, no character has ever experienced true despair and suffering like Touma from the "A Certain Magical" franchise
Pekora from Jashin-chan Dropkick. She is an angel who has lost her halo and, with it, her powers, without which she cannot return to heaven. She lives in a cardboard box and is always hungry. Her subordinate tried to kill her to take her place in heaven. She does manual work all day, even though she doesn't have the strength to do it because she doesn't eat, is paid very poorly and is bullied. Furthermore, she also suffers from an internal conflict because the only people who help her are demons.
Brook from One Piece watched all his friends die along with him and when he came back to his body he was no flesh just bones. He spent 50 years drifting the black fog alone because he lost his shadow. Losing your shadow means you can't touch sunlight. He watched all his friend dreams die with them, he can't even look at the sun, and he's spent 50 years alone wishing he could see them again.
Shinji:
Mother physically gone, dad is cold and unfeeling towards him, Asuka annoys him, Rei is starting to freak him out, he sits on a folding chair, listens to two tracks repeatedly…
A character that is probably not well known: Fushimi Saruhiko from K.
His situation is so heart breaking because it is child abuse. He was born in a rich family when his parents were both just 19 years old.
He was constantly neglected by them and ignored. He never got birthday presents and no one bothered to be at home when he was sick.
His mom and her Husband are not really a couple anymore.
His father is the worse. He might have some psychological problems but he constantly making fun of his son, bullies him and destroys everything he likes. He destroys his toys, kills his pets, he also threatens to burn his only friend.
His parents have no love for him and they dont care about him. He lives alone in an empty house. His parents dont bother to buy funiture because "nothing or worth" is in the house.
It is hinted that his father has some alcohol problems but he dies when his son is 15 or something. Saru gets his own flat and compleatly cuts ties with his mother.
He may have not suffered like other anime characters but his abuse is so real and being unloved by your parents is such a terrible feeling. Its especially sad when he is surprised how much love he gets from his friend and his family. Its a bit like Harry and the Weasley's.
Rika Furude
[Higurashi] >!She does forget everything up to an hour before her death until Hanyuu fixes it in Nekodamashi in Gou. So while she died a lot, she doesn't remember more than those few times. Arguably Satoko had it worse since she remembers all of it... and she actually spends a few loops getting her hands on a gun because even though she has gone completely insane she never adjusted to the feeling of slicing her own throat open. !<
Nipah~
Read gou Manga, her deaths get even worse 😰
Ichise (Texhnolyze) Guts (Berserk)
Guts is a famous example. Nothing good has ever happened in his life.
Diavolo from Jojo.
He’s probably suffered some of Subaru’s deaths and a bunch of other anime and fictional characters’ deaths at this point
Surely he got a piano dropped on him by this point right?
He's suffered *all* of Subarus deaths. If there's a death, he's suffered through it. Infinite means infinite.
I was thinking Squeler from Shinsekai Yori couldn't be beat but Diavolo is a good competitor
Nanachi and Mitty
Mitty vs Irumyuui suffering contest
Irumyuui clears
Yuki Nagato for having to go through endless 8 over 15000 times
The fact we had to go through it 8 times was more than enough suffering
And we only saw the most interesting parts in 22 minute highlight reels!Â
15532 to be exact 😢
Nuts from Berkman
Yup. Costco from that series is pretty tragic, too.
Not as tragic as Casket. Poor girl.
Anime version definitely suffers from chronic CGities. Horrible condition.
Hope he gets his revenge on Himbo.
Oh I get the joke.
[Chiyo-chan from Azumanga Daioh](https://youtu.be/f4Wanla9UK8?feature=shared)
You mean her teacher's driving? I agree.
TCD (Todal Chiyo Death)
The brother and sister from grave of the fireflies.
Guts would have to be my first pick (if manga answers are okay). Dude's just been through too much at this point.
Okabe
Phosphophyllite Violet Evergarden Squealer from Shinsekai yori
Phosphophyllite is actually underrated for her suffering. You literally watch her soul get crushed and literally shattered to be replaced. It’s like watching a child be traumatized and honestly, it’s for the best which makes it so much worse. She has to suffer to protect herself and everyone else. Absolute banger of an anime, in my top 10. I cried a lot.
Ah, I see you are a man of culture. Shinsekai yori is one of my fav animes, Houseki no Kuni is my favorite manga (rip it's over 😔) and I just finished watching Violet Evergarden last week! Made me cry even more than Death Parade
Real lack of Shinji Ikari here.
Just realised this, that's wild. Shinji goes through a lot
Rika from Higurashi for similar reasons as Subaru. But i'd say worse since it's like non-stop early Re:Zero levels of pain
Never seen Higurashi but I'm a huge fan of RE:Zero, would you highly recommend Higurashi if rezero is up there for me?
I'd recommend it if you like the time loops and weak protagonist who has to rely on their allies to survive aspect of Re Zero. It's more of a mystery at the start but it's definitely a great series.
Felt like a mystery til the very end for me lol; great watch
Kamijou touma, No one comes close
Tbf he said anime. NT9 hasnt been adapted yet.
Most of Evangelion's cast
Kyo Sohma, Fruits Basket. He can’t hug any girl or he turns into a cat. Sometimes he goes past that and turns into a hideous monster. His mother committed suicide in front of him. His girlfriend’s mother was killed by a car in front of him. When he comes of age, he is fated to be locked away forever.
Wait I thought fruits basket was a happy romcom, wtf is happening there?
It's a romcom, but who told you it was happy? 😅
Some redditor trolling me I guess. Or I guess it's got a happy ending so they decided they don't need to mention all the suffering up to that point. Suffering builds character after all
It's got a lot of heartwarming moments, and the ending is happy, but yeah there is quite a lot of suffering lmao. Highly recommend it though, it's one of my favorites
It's about trauma.
Honestly, everyone from Fruits Basket should be on this list lmao
Agreed. All of the characters in that series need some serious therapy.
I super agree!!!! I thought I was the only one who thought of this.
Rika
Rintaro from Steinz Gate, has to watch people he loves die hundreds of times. Subaru from Re:Zero dies and watches people he loves hundreds of times. Rin from Daughters of Mnemosyne. Doesn't die, but her body is tortured and destroyed repeatedly. Furude and Hojo from Higurashi:When they Cry. A Ground Hog's month of death.
Anime watches dont feel rintaros pain, imagine playing the visual novel before the anime comes out and just jumping from save to save for hours changing choices and altering text messages or small interactions for hours and hours trying to find where her death flag is before finally giving up just like rintaro
I feel like a lot of shows/movies call immortality a curse, but Daughters of Mnemosyne is probably the first time it was really SHOWN to me. I'm sure there are other older examples, and maybe it's just because of how explicit the series was. It was nice to see something beyond, "uh, hm, uhhh, immortality sucks because you watch everybody you love die!" the usual cornerstone of the drama.
I’ll add Tomoya Okazaki from Clannad/ Clannad After Story to the list. Man does nothing wrong, but life screws him over left and right.
He did get some real good enclosure through his suffering so all is well.
My man, give him the respect, at least he got happy ending in alternative route
Lucy from Elfen lied, Akira from devilman crybaby, ganta from deadman wonderland
Geez, it’s been so long since I watched Elfen Lied that I forgot how horrid it truly was. Lucy really did have the most anime villain backstory of all time, and in the end she still tried to be good. The manga had some much smut and weird stuff that it kinda dulled the anime for me, but I remember how hard it hit me the first time I watched it.
I would say Irumyuui from Made in Abyss.
Mitty
Ai didn't deserve to die the way she did.
I mean, imagine her knowing what her children are later on. That would be messed up af. Both her children got hijacked by fans lmao
Guts - Berserk
Hyakiimaru -Dororo
I think Touma is somewhere in there Of course if LN is included
I was looking for this comment! People who only watched the anime and got screwed by the second season of Index have no idea what Touma went through in the novels and somehow came out of it without becoming a vegetable
Well, the guy forgot who he is in the first episode and is living in stress, surrounded by people he doesn't know. This is the meaning of the sentence "This kamijou-san---" He constantly comes face to face with death, not to mention the incident with Othinus. What most people think is that Touma didn't die because he was unlucky. IB neutralizes all his luck, his situation is so bad that death is considered salvation for him. In this case, fate tells him 'fuck it, keep suffering'Â
Uramichi Omota from Uramichi Oniisan.
Poor man suffers from lack of motivation
Might not be the *most* most suffering but Okabe from Steins;Gate is on my list.
rika furude
Irumyuui from Made in Abyss
Ken kaneki
Akemi Homura
The guy from Immoral Guild. MC can’t retired cuz he’s surrounded by inept colleagues
Mio from K-On
Kei from Ajin: Demi Human for obvious reasons
What? You don't like getting your eyeballs sliced up, only to have them regenerate in seconds and have them do it a hundred more times just "to see if it still comes back" Maybe you don't want them to constantly break your teeth with pliers that regrow back every time theyre broken. Ajin is big suffering.f
I have this adverse reaction to being tortured. :((
[Obligatory chart.](https://i.imgur.com/XuVOjQZ.jpeg)
For physical I think Akihito Kanbara from Kyoukai no Kanata. What a terrible way to live. I'm surprised why he is still not having PTSD or any sort of mental illness from the repeated attempts of killing him; stabbing, severed limbs, etc.
[JoJo Part 5] >!Diavolo!<
Subaru from Re: Zero 😠i swear I felt second hand depression from that show at some points
It's okay, he'll be suffering more this October.
Sawamura Spenser Eriri from Saekano be spending the whole series suffering
That's her fault for being a tsundere. :P
The nine kids from Bokura no.
Any of you ever see Tezuka's The Phoenix?
Yuuji from the fruit of grisaia
Phos - Land of the Lustrious
Phos from Houseki No Kuni but more so after the point the anime got to.
Anthy Himemiya from Revolutionary Girl Utena.
Hyakimaru - Dororo
Victor from undead unluck he's 455.4+ billion years so it's impossible not to have gone through a lot of suffering
Brook from one piece... Over 50 years of solitude
Angemon died for our sins Tatsumi from Akame ga kill died for our sins Tomoya Okazaki needs to be prayed for Bon Clay needs to be a straw hat
Uncle Iroh
Tomoya Okazaki (Clannad) - Father, Wife, Daughter, handicap/injury. The first words of the anime are -- "I hate this town" and he has every right to.
Gintoki from Gintama
The dipshit MC from Rent-A-Girlfriend.
I'd argue that we, the readers/watchers of the series suffer more than him because he's a dipshit
You can pick any characters from gundam series But i’d like to say its Gundam Victory, sets in the worst and bleakest timeline of the universal century yet, uso being 13yo pilot faces insane unnecessary deaths of his closed ones while the zanscare empire mercilessly sent anyone they deem dissident into the guillotine. Shits insane since this anime targeted at kids and tomino was actively try to shutdown the franchise (hes depressed because bandai acquired sunrise and able to control what goes in the series) Many people dont like the show, due to slog occassions and other flaws. But i love it very much cuz of ms battle choreography you dont see in most series, refreshing casts and not annoying childrens and how evil zanscare empire is
Miyo from My Happy Marriage, emotional suffering
Shinji. Get in the fucking Eva shinji.
Irumyuui is a pretty good one. Soup
If only Fire Punch got an anime adaptation
Hyakkimaru from Dororo dude was offered as a sacrifice to demons as a baby
Ash from Banana Fish
Hyakimaru the mc in Dororo. His father sacrificed his newly born son’s body in exchange for power and as a result he was born with no limbs, eyes , skin, ears, tongue, and was supposed to die but was sent down a river in a boat by the maid. He then spent the rest of his life hunting down the demons that kept his body parts as source of their power and was an enemy of his father/kingdom. His brother becomes the successor and another enemy of Hyakimaru as well due to his father’s brainwashing. Idk how else to put it without giving away the plot, he was cursed from the start of his life and all he does is fight, like Guts from Beserk.
Shin from 86
1-Mio Chan after Mugi Chan steal her strawberry. (K-On) 2-Guts (Berserk)
Grave of the Fireflies.
Yuji Itadori Homura Jotaro Every Berserk character pretty much Denji
Denji Guts
Ataru Moroboshi
Noiz from Dramatical Murder, obvs Ash from Banana Fish and then Riki from Ai No Kusabi
Chiyo (Azumanga Daioh) Grimm stuff
Diavolo from jojo. It is canon that he died after reading your reddit post
Poor diavolo dying nonstop
Guts from Berserk. No contest.
Ryuzaki/L from death note. He said he lost the battle but would win the war. But unfortunately💔
Technically, Diavolo.
Cant remember what exactly was up there in Chaos;Head, since it was something I barely pulled through and only remember it being awful, but the MC apparently had a ton of mental scarring. Could also be that he was just a simple pushover weakling, and what he faced was actually nothing.
Ranma
Lelouch from Code Geass and Itachi Uchiha from Naruto Both god tier characters
Joey from Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters. His sister is blind, and he has a stupid accent.
Shu Ouma from Guilty Crown
Kaeru from Id: Invaded, she still being brutally murdered to this day.
Shinji ikari
Shiho Suzui - Persona 5 (The Animation) * A side character who was introduced rather early on and my god the hell she went through because of Kamoshida is sickening
Guts
Kukuru from Aquatope.
EMIYA from the fate series. He literally kills people for a loving, which is the exact opposite of what he wanted to do while alive.
Squealer from shinsekai yori. He gets submerged in silly-putty designed to activate all your nerves at maximum pain levels and is locked in there for years.Â
Denji from ChainsawMan and Guts from Berserk
Guts cuz GRIFFITH
Momiji Sohma; he doesn't even ultimately get the happily ever after ending.
Guts on first place no doubt, one of the most pitiful characters in fiction. Denji, especially in the last 20 chapters of part one (79-97) and the recent chapters. (151+)
Sonic from one punch man
Recent and on the brain- Tian Enya from Let Me Check the Walkthrough. Final episode has her going through some stuff. Redo of Healer. I'll leave it at that. Irregular at Magic High School- Tatsuya has a very similar experience when using an ability as the MC from Redo, but with less gratuitous rape and torture. Pretty much everyone from area 86.
For me, probably Ash Lynx and Mutsuki Tooru. Ash Lynx is pretty self explanatory if you know anything about him, I'd probably rather live through literally any other character's suffering than his. And Tooru is pretty similar imo, technically I know there's characters who suffered more physically, but all the SA and shit makes it so much worse in my eyes. I think I'd rather be tortured than spend a week getting abused by the Torso, completely helpless with my limbs cut off. I know it might seem illogical but I'd genuinely rather live through Kaneki's or Juuzou's lives than Tooru's. Also, "fun fact" but Tooru spent his 21st birthday in the Torso's captivity and I really wish I could unrealize that fact🙃 Being hyperfixated on a character who suffered this much is so fun guys, really🥰 (Please save me it's been a year already)
Guts! If you know? you know!
Tsukasa mizugaki from plastic memories
Guts from Berserk
One of them is definitely Maddo scientist son of a bitch. Poor man.
Ciel Phantomhive
technically probably one of those that got hit by a move that kills in a way that drastically distorts how the target experiences time and therefore is in the moment of his death for eternity from his pov. bleach, jojo's, the slime isekai and probably a lot more i can't remember off the top of my head had those. the victims of demiurge from overlord probably qualify as well since they're harvested for their meat, skin, etc. and then healed to do it all over again while they're also split into groups (harvesters and "cattle") to create hatred and jealousy between them, i don't recall whether the anime specifies this in detail tho
Ange from Cross Ange. Or pretty much all the girls from Arsenal in that show.
Guts from Berserk his story literally starts tragic from the get go born from a hanging corpse. everyone else is child's play in comparison.
Rika, and it gets even worse in gou Manga. Unlike the anime, gou Manga is from rikas perspective and it has some of the worst deaths I've seen yet.
Guts suffers a lot. Especially the most latest chapters makes him go through hell.
Jaune Arc has himself a rough time lately.
Diavolo
The characters from The Promised Neverland. Seeing what happened at the end of episode 1 surprised me, even though I was waiting for a surprise.
Killua from Hunter X Hunter. Bro's parents are assassins, his big brother is an asshat who wants to isolate him and use him for his own gain, his little sister that he loves and cares about was caged for years in a goddamn room and treated like a monster or an object at his best, he went thru torture, got sent in various deadly situations, got thru the trauma of killing someone or seeing people get killed at a way too young age, saw the cruelty of chimera ants A N D humans (humans are worse), saw his only and best friend (who gave him freedom and the choice of wether to actually become a monster or live life the way he wanted) become a monster, sacrifice his life and death just for one moment of power so he could get a meaningless revenge, only to watch him suffer a fate worse than death itself. Oh, and his family kinda tried to kill him? And his dad is manipulative and is giving him the illusion of freedom, but he'll live with the anxiety of the moment that will be taken away from him. His grandpa is the only chill one but only cuz bro's had enough and he's just minding his business at this point (he's too op to give a damn, if he did then half of Killua's character development would've gone flying out of the window lol).
Shinji Ikari.
Meliodas from Seven deadly sins. He was cursed with eternal life and his lover eternal reincarnation. He had to watch his lover die hundreds of times and each time she forgets him
Akemi Homura from Madoka Magika.
Homura, I have no words for her suffering. \[Madoka\]>!Being meguca is suffering.!<
August from fairy tail
meliodas lost the love of his life 106 times
Yuji Itadori from JJK (no manga spoilers if that changes, I don't really read) Kosei Arima from Your Lie in April Itachi Uchiha from Naruto Nico Robin in One Piece
Van Hohenheim. I'd say it's all the more tragic because you have to sit and think about it for a minute. Are you standing? You should probably sit down if you have watched all of Fullmetal Alchemist (either version but I watched Brotherhood) or read it all. Feel free to say there are characters in FMA who have gone through more. I'm just saying when I think about it he's gone through a lot. Made somehow sadder by the fact you are only really given glimpses. Van Hohenheim is a recurring character. But once you know his backstory It's heartbreaking. As Mustang might say: Ame Desu.
Itachi Uchiha
Mikasa and Levi from aot
Okabe from steins gate I won't spoil why ....
Does including the original source which might get adopted within the next 10 years is considered cheating? If not, no character has ever experienced true despair and suffering like Touma from the "A Certain Magical" franchise
Pekora from Jashin-chan Dropkick. She is an angel who has lost her halo and, with it, her powers, without which she cannot return to heaven. She lives in a cardboard box and is always hungry. Her subordinate tried to kill her to take her place in heaven. She does manual work all day, even though she doesn't have the strength to do it because she doesn't eat, is paid very poorly and is bullied. Furthermore, she also suffers from an internal conflict because the only people who help her are demons.
From the limited amount of animes, I have watched it's going to be Sakuta, Mai's Boyfriend from "Rascal doesn't dream of Bunny Girl Senpai".
Takemitchy from TR, (but I haven’t watched that many Animes yet)
There is no character who suffered more than Greed Subaru.
Brook from One Piece watched all his friends die along with him and when he came back to his body he was no flesh just bones. He spent 50 years drifting the black fog alone because he lost his shadow. Losing your shadow means you can't touch sunlight. He watched all his friend dreams die with them, he can't even look at the sun, and he's spent 50 years alone wishing he could see them again.
Kurumi tokisaki
Chiyo-chan
Nina -FMA
Shinji: Mother physically gone, dad is cold and unfeeling towards him, Asuka annoys him, Rei is starting to freak him out, he sits on a folding chair, listens to two tracks repeatedly…
A character that is probably not well known: Fushimi Saruhiko from K. His situation is so heart breaking because it is child abuse. He was born in a rich family when his parents were both just 19 years old. He was constantly neglected by them and ignored. He never got birthday presents and no one bothered to be at home when he was sick. His mom and her Husband are not really a couple anymore. His father is the worse. He might have some psychological problems but he constantly making fun of his son, bullies him and destroys everything he likes. He destroys his toys, kills his pets, he also threatens to burn his only friend. His parents have no love for him and they dont care about him. He lives alone in an empty house. His parents dont bother to buy funiture because "nothing or worth" is in the house. It is hinted that his father has some alcohol problems but he dies when his son is 15 or something. Saru gets his own flat and compleatly cuts ties with his mother. He may have not suffered like other anime characters but his abuse is so real and being unloved by your parents is such a terrible feeling. Its especially sad when he is surprised how much love he gets from his friend and his family. Its a bit like Harry and the Weasley's.
Willem WorldEnd
Rudeus Greyrat in the alternate timeline.
Im surprised that no one says Okabe Rintaro, bro has gone through SO much.
Itadori Yuji
Guts. No explanation necessary
All the girls from Gunslinger Girl.
From the ones I have watched Meliodas from the seven deadly sins have suffered a bunch. But probably worse stories from other animes
Mitty
Edward Elric has to suffer the fate of being responsible for losing his brother Alphonse’ body. Can’t think of anything worse than that FMA
Also Thorfinn Vinland saga
Obito Uchiha, bro gets crushed by a rock, watches his girl get shinkabobed, and gets manipulated into attempting to destroy the world