It’s exciting for anime fans to witness their favorite characters become a couple. Two characters will often end up together by the end of the series, like Hinata and Naruto. However, there are rare moments where a perfectly happy couple experiences a breakup.
Anime couples seldom have breakups, but when it happens it’s heartbreaking for fans to watch. Breakups aren’t joyous occasions, someone always gets hurt in the process. In some famous cases, it’s the fans that hurt the most.
10 Mamoru Breaks Usagi’s Heart By Lying About His Feelings (Sailor Moon)
Usagi and Mamoru also known as Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask, are one of the most iconic couples in anime history. Despite being such an iconic couple, these two had a terrible breakup in the past. Mamoru started to have weird dreams that Usagi would be in danger if he stayed in a relationship with her. So instead of telling Usagi what was going on, he decided to break up with her by telling her that he doesn’t love her anymore.
9 Ren Leaves Nana Behind To Pursue His Music Career (Nana)
Breakups are hard, but it’s worse when the individuals are still in love with each other. Nana and Ren are both bandmates who love each other deeply. However, one day Ren got an amazing opportunity to move to Tokyo and join the popular band Trapnest.
In order to further his music career, Ren ultimately decides to accept the offer. Nana follows Ren to Tokyo to fix their relationship but things don’t go according to plan.
8 Kikuhiko Breaks Up With Miyokichi To Keep Up Appearances (Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu)
In order to please his higher-ups, Kikuhiko believes he needs to break up with his girlfriend Miyokichi because she’s a prostitute. Miyokichi, doesn’t take this break up well since she was depending on Kikuhiko for financial support. So in a bitter rage, Miyokichi decides to get revenge by getting together with Kikuhiko’s best friend which causes tons of drama.
7 Hiroko’s Success Makes Shinji Jealous (Hataraki Man)
Jealousy is a serious issue that affected Hiroko and Shinji’s relationship. Hiroko is a successful businesswoman that spends most of her time working. This makes it hard for Hiroko and her boyfriend Shinji to spend time together. Additionally, Shinji becomes jealous of Hiroko’s success. His animosity leads to their breakup. Hiroko pushes through her heartbreak and continues to work hard.
6 Mitsuki and Takayuki Breakup After The Return Of An Old Lover (Rumbling Hearts)
The return of an old lover can threaten a new relationship. In Rumbling Hearts, Takayuki’s lover Haruka gets into an accident that puts her in a coma for three years. As a result, Mitsuki decides to take care of him – causing them to become a couple.
After Haruka awakens from her coma, Takayuki is torn between the two girls, and even tried to date them both. Mitsuki realizes that she can’t replace Haruka and ultimately breakups with Takayuki.
5 A Pregnant Sekai Doesn’t Take Makoto’s Breakup Well (School Days)
Cheating is one of the worst things that can happen in a relationship. In Schools Days cheating is the death of Makoto. Originally Makoto was in a relationship with Kotonha, but he has secret relationships with other women including Sekai. One day, Sekai finds out she is pregnant and Makoto decides he isn’t ready to be a father and wants to stay loyal to Kotonha so he breaks up with Sekai. Sekai doesn’t take the news well and jabs a knife into Makoto’s chest.
4 Banri Regains His Memories Of Another Girl (Golden Time)
The appearance of old lovers seems to be a common theme in romance anime as it also happens in Golden Time. After an accident leaves him with amnesia, Banri starts his new life growing close to Koko. However, Banri starts to regain memories of his best friend Linda, whom he was in love with. Koko then decides to break things off with Banri because she’s worried about his connection to Linda.
3 Motoharu Is Still Hung Up On Ex (Bokura Ga Ita)
One way for an individual to kill their relationship is to remain hung up on a past relationship. In Bokura Ga Ita, Mohoharu is still mourning the loss of his ex, who passed away in a car accident – causing him to be distant from his current girlfriend Nanami. In order to save themselves from heartbreak, the two end up breaking things off instead of trying to communicate their feelings to one another.
2 Setsuna Breaks Up With Haruki Due To His Secret Feelings For Another Girl (White Album 2)
In White Album 2, Haruki is a very talented guitarist that has two musicians, Setsuna and Kazusa, competing for his love. Setsuna confesses her feelings for Haruki first and the two become a couple.
Later on in the series, it is revealed that Haruki kissed Kazusa in her sleep. Haruki admits to cheating on Setsuna and she does the best thing for her and breaks up with him.
1 Akari and Takaki Slowly Drift Apart Due To Unfortunate Circumstances (5 Centimeters Per Second)
When talking about the worse breakups in anime, the breakup between Akari and Takaki in 5 Centimeters Per Second is always mentioned. Akari and Takaki were childhood sweethearts that were always unlucky. Unfortunately for them, Takaki finds out he is moving to the other side of the country, forcing them to schedule time together. However, their arrangements to meet are constantly met with unfortunate circumstances. As a result, Takaki realizes they can’t be together anymore.