The purpose of this thread is to confess what parts of Key’s games and Anime have made you shed tears, if any. The emotional impact of Key’s stories is always a hot topic, so let’s share our own experience. Which moments made you tear up, or full on cry? Be sure to mark spoilers with the [spoiler] tag.
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While I didn’t really cry there were a lot of scenes from Key’s works that nearly made me shed tears. Out of all of them, the one that got me really close to actually crying was the ending of Angel Beats when Angel/Kanade explained to Otonashi that she was given a heart donation in her past life and the donator was none other than Otonashi himself. After confessing, she thanked him before disappearing, leaving Otonashi all alone, and heartbroken. Additionally there’s also the credits scene where you see all the characters slowly disappear one by one . For me this entire scene was pretty much my Bambi’s mom because I remember getting an urge to go to the bathroom and cry bitterly but I controlled myself. In fact, I can pinpoint the exact date and time I saw the scene: Wednesday, January 8th 2014, 10:36 PM. It took me a month to recover and even to this day, I still have trouble listening to Ichiban no Takaramono without getting depressed.
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Personally, I’d have to say the two Key titles that got me to cry were Little Busters! EX and Clannad.
I cried pretty hard in Refrain and also Saya’s route in Little Busters! EX.
Afterstory was the other thing that got me to cry as well.
I feel like there should be more explanation, but I’m not sure where to begin. The buildup for these routes towards the end and the bombshells at the end of the routes really spark emotion.
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I could be here all day writing all of the events that made me cry in Key anime, and I think I will. I am VERY soft, and as soon as I become invested in the characters or story (which Key does consistantly), it doesn’t take too much to make me shed tears, happy or sad.
Clannad:
as Fuko was beginning to fade out of people’s memories and eventually even Tomoya and Nagisa
The end of Fuko’s arc
we learn about Kotomi’s past history with Tomoya
The end of Kotomi’s arc
Tomoyo’s motivations
Nagisa finds the box her parents were trying to keep hidden
Nagisa’s breakdown during the play
Tomoya asking Nagisa out
Clannad After Story:
The end of Misae’s mini-arc
The end of Yukine’s mini-arc
Tomoya proposing to Nagisa
Nagisa’s death
Those final moments between Tomoya and his father
Ushio’s death
The ending of the anime
Angel Beats!:
Yuri’s back story
Iwasawa’s back story
Iwasawa’s passing
Naoi’s back story
Yui’s passing
Yuri’s classroom speech
Yuri in the computer room
Episode 13 in general, but I started bawling in the final moments
Another Epilogue OVA
Kanon:
Makoto’s mental deterioration
The end of Makoto’s arc
Sayuri’s back story
Sayuri gets attacked
The end of Mai’s arc
Shiori’s back story
The end of Shiori’s arc
Ayu disappears
Air:
Michiru disappears
The end of the Feudal arc
Haruko’s struggles to raise Misuzu
The end of the anime
Little Busters!:
The end of Komari’s arc
Midori begins to replace Mio
The end of Mio’s arc
Haruka’s back story
Kanata’s side of Haruka’s back story
The end of Haruka’s arc
Kud’s departure and return
Little Busters! Refrain:
Yuiko’s back story (the end of her arc was a major disappointment for me though)
Kyousuke’s true intentions
Episode 11 in general
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I had a very similar experience with that scene. The thing is that it didn’t get to set in properly the first time because I had to go to wrestling practice immediately after I finished it (most awkward emotional transition ever, and I was late for practice that day anyway but was so worth it), but it still left an amazing impact on me.
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wow that must have been an awkward emotional transition. BTW the for the spoilers add a [/spoiler] tag at the very end of the spoiler content.
Okaaay~ Going Visual Novels because the anime don’t do much for me… except Kanon '06 which I watch waaay too much. I also won’t include the VNs that didn’t make me cry at all~
Kanon:
The dramatic moment in Mai’s route where Mai has the massive emotional breakdown after the Sayuri event.
Again in Mai’s route. The Finale~
Clannad:
Tomoyo route. The Winter reunion~
After Story. Ushio’s “it’s okay to cry in daddy’s arms.”
Planetarian:
That scene at the end. You all know the one~!
Tomoyo After:
The ending text! Aaaaaah, best Key moment for me~! xAx
Little Busters:
Ending of Yuiko’s route.
The bro-ment in Refrain (Get it? bro + moment 
Ahaha~)
Rewrite:
I can’t remember, but I probably did sometime during Lucia’s route… maybe…
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I cried to nothing and I hate that, still to manly I guess, I wish I could have.
Course a few magical moments were certainly doing everything they can.
Ayu’s climatic scene, and THE moments from After Story and Refrain everyone knows. Those scenes definitely had me on the border.
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I kinda have to stop blinking and force it out~ I feel heartless otherwise x.x
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As for me, VN wise
Kanon:
When Mai breaks down after Sayuri’s incident
Air:
At the end of Summer’s Arc
GOAL! BGM: Aozora
Clannad:
In the train scene, and then, when Tomoya’s father was, er, sent with his mother
Tomoyo After:
Near the end, when Tomoyo was telling Tomoya about his arm accident. Also, the final words
Little Busters!:
At both the end of Masato’s Episode and in the middle of Kyousuke’s one when he starts crawling
In Rin’s Last Dream
In Last Episode when Haruka Kanata, and the event after
Just the last third or whatever of After Story. You know the moments.
That set the bar and I haven’t since.
I was always pretty maaaanly. As far as I recall, Clannad never made me cry, but it definitely brought me close.
Little Busters was the point where I was like, “You know, I should just let it all out.” Episode: Little Busters killed me, but I didn’t cry until the fakeout ending. The thought that it was really all over made me cry harder than I’ve ever cried in my life. I just let myself go, and it all came out ;_; It was a very cathartic experience for me, and one of my most valuable memories. Since then I’ve been crying a bit more.
Even Kurugaya’s route in the Little Busters Anime made me cry a bit. And by the time I was rewatching Refrain, it all came back again. Each episode I shed more tears than the last.
I feel like I’m more in touch with my feelings now. Crying feels nice, ahaha… It’s one of the reasons I love Key so much.
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How to do this. Okay, list time-
Planetarian. I’ll just say, “yes”.
Little Busters: The obvious scene, every single time Little Melody played, Kurugaya ending.
Anime? Obvious scene. Kurugaya, again. That’d be it.
Air: Nadda, as of now. Anime? Nadda.
Kanon: Nadda, as of now. Anime? Ayu flashbacks. Pls.
Clannad: Nadda, as of now. Anime? “Is it okay to cry, Daddy?” Also dat birth + Flashbacks. Damned flashbacks. Other obvious things.
Rewrite: Nadda.
Don’t worry man, we won’t judge you for the tears. Just because you cry doesn’t make you any less of a man. Hell, I wrestled for four years (lower weights mind you), but I still cried fairly heavily in several moments. In fact, I’m rewatching Ef A Tale of Memories for a review, and I cried like a bitch in ep 10, and expecting even more in the last two eps.
Oh god ef. Don’t get me started on ef.
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I am actually going to review both seasons side by side.
Ef never made me cry. Does it have any tearjerking moments~? o.o It’s been a long while so I don’t remember.
I definitely wouldn’t say it compares to Key’s stuff.
One thing I DO remember is the OST! FLY HIGH! MAKE IT! Get to the new world that I seek~
Animation of the anime adaption was great too.
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Boy oh boy, this is going to be a long one. Probably going to arrange it in order of when I saw it
- Kanon Makoto route: Kanon was the first Key work I saw (KyoAni anime version) and I shed a few tears and the end of the Makoto route. I think it was the only Key route where the heroine actually died (or rather, disappeared)
- Clannad After Story, Field of Flowers: I swear THIS GODDAMNED SCENE. I had to literally pause the VN for 5 minutes just so I could let my tears flow
- Little Busters Kud Route: Out of all the routes in LB, this one struck my feels more than the others. Not as bad as Clannad, but yeah.
- Little Busters Refrain, Boys Don’t Cry: Specifically the goodbyes between the boys. Funny story, I was playing this in the office (it was at the peak of holiday season so I had no work to do, and my office is really laid-back), so I had to hold back my tears especially when it was Kyousuke’ turn ;_;
- Rewrite Kotori Route: Ironically, it wasn’t Kotori that made me cry in her route; It was when Yoshino suddenly appeared and saved the both of them. I think it really hit me because, despite the tension between Yoshino and Kotarou, especially it involving Kotori, he was able to find it in his hart to help save Kotarou
- Rewrite Shizuru Route: Seriously, who the hell wouldn’t feel sad when the whole world gets destroyed and your boyfriend turns into a tree
- Rewrite Lucia Route: When I played the Lucia route, I was kinda sick, and had a towel wrapped around my head. The towel came in handy to wipe my tears away heh. Even though I was already screaming at Kotarou that all he needs to do is tell Lucia he loves her, my emotions just poured out when he finally did
- Angel Beats, Yui scene: This is my favorite scene out of all of Key’s works and I can’t help but shed a tear each and every time I watch it. Especially the part when Hinata makes that hypothetical scene with him hitting a baseball through her window. Just thinking about it is making my heart melt all over again
Pretty interesting to see that we all have different specific scenes that made us shed tears 
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Recently started the AIR VN, and wooow that common route bad end… yeah, that got to me~ T w T
If they ended the anime like that I’d have thought more highly of it!
So I am replaying planetarian right now. The scene right after the “special presentation”… Before I knew it, tears were streaming down from my eyes
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