Code Geass/Tear Jerker

First season
"C.C.: "Lying tears hurt others; lying smiles... hurt only oneself""
 * Shirley's character song, sung by her voice actress. Listen to it at your own risk.
 * Code Geass got one in the very first episode from a minor character - it could be found really sad: Nakata sadly looks at a photograph of his family, and says his last words: '...Nippon...banzai!'. Cue explosion. *sniff*
 * The episode about Kallen and her mother was really sad. Especially when Kallen realizes that her mother stayed not because it would be easy to be a Britannian slave, but because she wanted to stay with Kallen.
 * That episode marks the first and probably last time you could cry over a hot dog vendor.

"C.C.: "Lelouch, do you know why snow is white? Because it's forgotten what color it's supposed to be.""
 * And the end of the episode... damn.  Excuse me, I've something in my eyes waaaaaaaahh!
 * "C.C... I don't know why snow is white... But I do find such white snow beautiful." The delivery was so soft... yet so powerful...
 * Perhaps that line a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming, but the line that it's in response to...


 * It's delivered softly, with a sad little smile. This editor wanted very badly to give C.C. a big hug right then.
 * The Wham! Episode and the aftermath near the end of Code Geass's first season. Especially seeing ... Goddamn you, Diabolus. Goddamn you to the deepest pits of Discontinuity Hell.
 * Hearing ... bawww...
 * Seconded. The sequence on the Avalon seems designed to punch you in the gut. It's actually worse than just . This troper was barely holding it together during that sequence, and when, I started bawling.
 * And in the still image montage the moment after, the images of are arrows to your heart.
 * Innocent Days. Manly tears are now shed at the mere SOUND of that piece.
 * When . Mostly because, imagine how Lulu was feeling about that...
 * The whole thing is saddening. You had to  It got worse.
 * Thankfully, Lelouch's "confession" being heard by Ougi and the truth being learnt by Nunnally indicate that her status in history will be changed to reflect who she truly was. On the flip side, it's Lelouch who goes down in history as a Complete Monster who dies while everyone cheers for Zero, with nobody knowing of his true intentions. A case of self-inflicted karma.
 * The worst part was her being forced to commit such a horrific act. Killing her outright would have been bad but this... this is a nightmare...
 * Worse yet... Euphemia's order is to
 * In a non-canon example, there is a doujinshi that has  It's absolutely horrifying.
 * Then it happens in Super Robot Wars Z 2: Hakai-Hen, despite so many fans hoping for a less violent conclusion.
 * Episode 13 where Lelouch, Kallen, and Suzaku are all questioning the missions they take part in and the killings that happen. Watching this episode on my second run through of the series, it's quite sad how they all decide the best thing to do is to keep going and knowing how many hard times are still coming for them.
 * Shirley. Oh God, Shirley. When Lelouch shows up late for his date with Shirley and finds her standing in the rain outside the opera house, and Lelouch learns that . Made even sadder by the fact that  . Then there's the matter of how Mao took advantage of this situation, and what Lelouch did to ease Shirley's suffering...
 * Shirley's anguished scream while.
 * There's also Shirley's mother's reaction to the undertakers starting to bury her husband. She gets on her knees and begs them not to bury him again.
 * Two of the picture dramas near the end of the first season are quite sad. The first, 22.25, is quite heartwarming until Nunnally drops her half of her mother's commemorative plate, a memento of Euphemia, just as the radio cuts off . The second one offers a powerful look at Suzaku's despair, especially his belief that killing his father set everything into motion and the implied realization that he will have to face Lelouch.
 * death is actually pretty moving, if you consider the fact that everything he did was because of his love for C.C. and desire to save her from her  and that his insanity was never truly his fault in the first place. So he's been soundly beaten, in even worse shape than he was at the beginning of the story, and can't even talk anymore, but he's still just so happy to see C.C. and then she comforts him before shooting him. The straightest-played Mercy Kill in the series.
 * The end of season one, where we find how far apart Lelouch and Suzaku have grown and how much they now hate each other. Suzaku finally corners Zero, without the Gawain or any contingency plan. Suzaku walks up, and in the ensuing scene they both aim straight at each other's weak points. At the very end, a gunshot is heard, and all goes black.
 * It's even more sad when Kallen and Suzaku finally found out Lelouch is Zero, and let's just say they didn't take it well.
 * This is nothing compared to most of the other examples on this page, but This Troper couldn't help but feel for Cornelia when Lelouch revealed his identity as Zero to her. Especially when she brings up Clovis and Euphy. I was still rooting for Lelouch all the way but still...
 * It's even more sad when Kallen and Suzaku finally found out Lelouch is Zero, and let's just say they didn't take it well.
 * This is nothing compared to most of the other examples on this page, but This Troper couldn't help but feel for Cornelia when Lelouch revealed his identity as Zero to her. Especially when she brings up Clovis and Euphy. I was still rooting for Lelouch all the way but still...

Second season

 * Rather striking is a scene in episode five of the second season, where Lelouch is pleasantly interacting with his fellow students and the notices the check marks on a wall, which he had geassed one of the female students to make daily as a way to test the duration of his power. While nothing is said, the look on his face when he sees the wall and when he sees Shirley conveys how much he realizes that he's screwed up people's lives through his activities. It's even more depressing in retrospect, since instead of a positive development happening, things just get worse as the series progresses.
 * Speaking of which, the fate of Carve-tan, by Word of God, isn't a pretty one:
 * *reads this* *BAWLS*
 * It Gets Worse in R2 Episode 13.
 * The real heart-wrenching part of that scene is when.
 * I'm sorry, you're crazy. This is the part where I lost it:


 * And ? Excuse me, Ihavesomethinginmyeye!
 * It gets even worse. The next episode,
 * Also a bit of a Tear Jerker is, in the fourth ending that debuted after R2 13, one shot showed.
 * And Jeremiah himself in Episode 13.
 * This troper couldn't stand it when
 * Episode 15 of R2:
 * From the same episode Orange Boy's eulogy of, where he admitted even though he hated him for turning him into a cyborg, he was also just as loyal to the royal family and would have probably changed sides if he knew the truth, probably brought tears to some peoples eyes.
 * , made even worse because . And if that doesn't get you, Lelouch's final line will...
 * Believe it or not,
 * And  Excuse me . . . I think I have something in my eye.
 * And that song that played through it...that damn song...
 * And that song that played through it...that damn song...

"This... this is...? That's Zero. Yes, it's Zero!"
 * Not to mention the picture drama 19.02.
 * This troper, though at the moment could only stare in shock until, broke down at the end of the episode, when ", you must live on," came crashing down in full.
 * See this scene from Episode 18: and tell me you don't want to cry. Lelouch  Most people agree that he lost it in Episode 18. Made much worse by what comes in the later episodes.
 * This troper found it especially sad when
 * Should I mention what comes worst after episode 18?
 * The WORST part about it?
 * In episode 20 of R2 there's a scene when Lelouch is on the phone to Rivalz and tells him "Could you tell Milly that I don't think I'll be able to come back and shoot fireworks with anyone anymore?" and then monologues about defeating the emperor even at the cost of himself. Majorly depressing moment.
 * Rivalz asks Lelouch where Rolo is, to which he responds ""
 * In R2 episode 21, after Lelouch, he then tells them the meaning behind Nunnally's smile and that she knew that, because of her being blind and crippled, there was nothing in the world she could do on her own. So her smile was the only way for her to show her gratitude. That whole speech, along with the fact that brought tears to this troper's eyes. Even though those tears became worthless the next episode...
 * Kallen's attempt to reach Lelouch in R2 episode 22. It starts off all nostalgic, but once Kallen starts talking Lelouch just shuts down. As she talks, they keep zooming in on Lelouch's face, making it clear he's forcing himself not to say a word. Then she gets desperate and kisses him, and for a single, brief moment, it seems as if she got through. But no. He closes up again and crushes her heart, so she barely manages to bottle up her urge to cry and marches off with a simple "goodbye." Then it focuses on Lelouch, with his eyes hidden from view, and he sorrowfully repeats the same line.
 * And finally, in the Grand Finale: And just to cap it all off,
 * Madder Sky is powerful enough to be listed again here. Again, one of those pieces where simply listening to it will evoke ... feelings.
 * To quote Charles Dickens, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." Although this is probably more apt than the original use; it was
 * Really, entire psychology theses could be written on the multifarious dimensions of Tear Jerker in that finale.
 * Speaking of Nunnally and Lelouch?
 * Lelouch says in the dub, which makes it clearer that he knows.
 * What made
 * To drive the point even further? This little exchange after :

"Kaguya: Kaguya: Kaguya:  Kaguya:"
 * Unfortunately, the side materials somewhat ruin that idea. Kallen was the only one to understand what was going on. Tohdoh and Kaguya may have a piece of the picture, but that's it. The rest simply did not understand what they saw.
 * Actually, not so much. Kaguya's own post-series character theme clearly indicates that

"Lelouch: "You made me forget my mother, now you're making me forget Nunnally?""
 * You know what one of the worst parts of it was? After all of that trouble,
 * Not a grin, per se. More of a quiet, satisfied little smile - which works every bit as well.
 * For this troper, the thing that unlocked the tears was
 * Three words:
 * For this troper what made all of this even worse was that,
 * One of the biggest tear jerkers for this troper? Arthur the cat in front of
 * Could be a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming, a Crowning Moment of Awesome, a Tear Jerker, or all three at once and more. It just... even Arthur doesn't get a happy ending!
 * Considering that.
 * I made it all the way down to here on unshed teas and sniffles. Then I read that line and started sobbing. Poor, poor Arthur!
 * The last picture drama of the series, which dealt with Lelouch's promise of fireworks among other things, was such a Tear Jerker that you only needed to understand one word of Japanese, "yakusoku," to start sobbing hysterically.
 * Okay, so, it seems logical to assume that the Word of God is correct, and . Fair enough, except...doesn't that mean that he let C.C. down by never fullfilling his promise to her? I feel rather sad about that; their relationship deserved a better ending...C.C. deserved a better ending; he promised her one! Of course, there's the possibility that  . It seems like his plan could so easily have incorporated such a thing that it's a downright betrayal of C.C. not to release her from her immortality. (Not to mention just how utterly unsatisfying it is that the entire plot thread about his geass in return for her wish is left dangling in this fashion). If there really is a third series in the works, this could all get solved of course; I'm hoping for that.
 * C.C. learned to accept her immortality, and no longer consider it a curse. By far a better option than to pass on something you hate to someone you care about, certainly. What's a better way to defeat the curse of immortality, than to turn it into a gift?
 * All in all,  All in all, not quite as cheerful of a fate as it would seem.
 * Also consider that
 * Not much of an argument. It's a common trope to show people talking to the dead like that, especially when a main character dies.
 * A rather sad one involving Shirley: when she and Lelouch are shopping for gifts for their teacher, the still mind-wiped Shirley sees some railcars, and mentions to Lelouch that she's always wanted to take a ride in one of them. Lelouch then recalls his showdown with Mao and is momentarily stunned.
 * Lelouch's Mind Rape scene in R2. As Suzaku holds him down and covers his left eye so that he can't Geass anyone, the Emperor is happily preparing to put false memories into his mind. Considering that he loves Nunnally more than anything else in the world...forgetting her must be a Fate Worse Than Death.
 * A rather sad one involving Shirley: when she and Lelouch are shopping for gifts for their teacher, the still mind-wiped Shirley sees some railcars, and mentions to Lelouch that she's always wanted to take a ride in one of them. Lelouch then recalls his showdown with Mao and is momentarily stunned.
 * Lelouch's Mind Rape scene in R2. As Suzaku holds him down and covers his left eye so that he can't Geass anyone, the Emperor is happily preparing to put false memories into his mind. Considering that he loves Nunnally more than anything else in the world...forgetting her must be a Fate Worse Than Death.

"Kallen: That idiot... Now I can't forget you even though I want to. Nina: Now I remember, . There was something I wanted to tell you. Thanks for being my friend. Nunnally:, we would have been good friends. After all, we both loved big brother Lelouch. Suzaku: Lelouch, I won't thank you. But, just for today... Happy Birthday, Lelouch."
 * The last scene in the Kiseki no Birthday Picture Drama, wich also doubles as a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming.


 * The Fuji memorial. One candle for every person killed in the Euphinator incident. There are a lot of candles.
 * One of biggest Tear Jerker scenes in the series was
 * I know I'm the only one, but I cried when

Nightmare of Nunnally

 * In the part where is perhaps even more of a Tear Jerker when you see  vanishing from existence, largely because they accept it quite peacefully compared to the anime, and their love for their children is more genuine in this version. Nunnally tears up at this point; while she wanted to stop their plan, she didn't necessarily want them to die.