You want more tears?
Ok...
Now and Then, Here and There. Inspired by children soldiers in Africa. The overall story is one of hope, but much of the content can make you forget that theme.
Do not be fooled by the first episode.
Gungrave is largely a reflection on the past that lead to the present predicament the characters find themselves in. Like most reflections on the past, the story follows these character's lives from young adults with their happy future ahead of them, to the rather depressing present that they all find themselves in now.
Tokyo Magnitude 8.0, if you connect with the characters, should bring you close to metaphorical tears by the end. If you don't connect with them, then it won't. Covers a few days after a large earthquake hits Tokyo.
Grave of the Fireflies is sort of the go-to anime for the "tears" category. It brings into focus the travails and tribulations of a young boy and his younger sister trying to survive in the immediate aftermath of WW II. For the record, it makes Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 seem like an episode of Family Guy, so if you find any tears in Tokyo Magnitude 8.0, Grave of the Fireflies may be too much for you.
Mobile Suit Gundam, Zeta Gundam, Char's Counterattack. The glorious triple threat of the golden age of the Gundam franchise also happens to have been written during Tomino's darker days (Urobuchi Gen really has nothing on Gen when it comes to depression). If that's just too much Gundam to absorb,
Victory Gundam serves as a decent stand alone substitute, also written during Tomino's darker days.
Depending on one's perspective, the
Nana manga is full of tear-worthy moments, including where it left off when the writer stopped writing (I actually think where it stopped was almost uplifting in a way, but I think I'm in a very small minority).
And, this list could go on, and on, and on, and on, so I'll end with
Berserk. Either the tv series, or the recent movies. To this day, still one of the best fantasy animes ever made, with none of that cloying lightness and rainbows stuff.
