Tear Jerker / KanColle

Game moments

• Considering these characters are modeled after Japanese World War II ships, it's quite easy to find plenty of fanart and videos that depict their fates during or after the war. If you're attached to these characters, you'd be best to prepare some tissues. For some, their sinking lines alone would be more than enough.
• Alternatively, any carelessness that results in the sinking of your ships will cause their souls to turn into demons due to their grudge (this is true at least in the 4koma and ESPECIALLY in the movie). So if they die, you're responsible for sending these girls to be your enemies in the future, and you'll have to sink them again if you want to bring them back, as Kaga sorely noted.
• While some of the damaged CGs for the Abyssals can border into guilt-tripping, it reaches new highs with the Abyssal Twin Princesses. It doesn't show them being damaged, it shows one of them being outright dead, with the surviving twin left to mourn over the death of her sister.

Anime moments

• Kisaragi's rather untimely sinking at the end of Episode 3, especially given Mutsuki had earlier promised to tell her her true feelings and never got the chance. The episode ends with Mutsuki obliviously waiting at the cape for Kisaragi to return. Made even worse when you consider that W Island referenced Wake Island, where the real-life Kisaragi sank.
  • You think Kisaragi's sinking is already bad enough? The movie is even worse: Becoming an Abyssal even after being rescued takes a huge toll on her. Even Fubuki and Mutsuki are horrified at her Abyssal transformation. Thank god she ends up becoming a rogue Abyssal when she shows up again to bail out Fubuki's group from a horde of Abyssals, but still...
  • Even her last chat with Mutsuki is rather gut-wrenching. Seeing her fading away re-opens Mutsuki's emotional scars.
• Mutsuki's speech to Fubuki in episode 10 after the latter was almost sunk. She already has lost someone dear to her, and almost lost another one. You really want to give her a hug after that.
• In the end of episode 11, Akagi's reaction when she realised that her efforts to prevent Battle of Midway happening again is all for naught when an Abyssal Fleet ambushes her fleet. Her despair-filled assumption that You Cannot Fight Fate as an Abyssal Fighter drops a bomb at her is what really seals the deal. Even though she was saved by Fubuki in the very next episode, it's still a really strong scene.
• The movie explores the Ship Girl-Abyssal cycle: If either of them sank, they'll be brought back in the opposite faction, which means the Ship Girls and Abyssals are fated to fight against each other in a Pendulum War. Even worse, Kaga admitted that she was once an Abyssal too.
• Let's Meet at Sea lessens the impact of losing Ship Girls but it's still heartbreaking: A Ship Girl who is too injured to continue fighting would end up retiring from active duty, likely as a metaphor to warships sinking in real life. The Nishimura fleet may have won the battle in Surigao Strait, but it's a very costly one and poor Shigure broke down in tears when the badly injured Fusou and Yamashiro were about to leave the base.
• Speaking of Shigure, the poor girl has clearly gone through a lot compared to Fubuki, surviving battles where other Kanmusu had to retire, including her sister ships (Shiratsuyu, Murasame, and Yuudachi), and this is shown in many ways: she often stares into space, constantly has hallucinations and flashbacks, and perhaps more poignantly, there are many scenes that shows how lonely she is; from spending her free time alone, to the contrast between her situation and her interaction with other Kanmusu who still has someone else (usually their sister ships) with them, and finally her being left alone by the girls she fought alongside with because they either have to retire or reassigned somewhere else. It's heartbreaking to see her going on with her life and duty despite obviously suffering from trauma and PTSD.
  • A small but powerful moment in episode 4 is when Shigure and Mogami were sitting in their old squadron room, being the only ones left, before Mogami excused herself to meet with her mechanics. After they waved each other goodbye with an awkward smile, Shigure was left alone in the room◊ and mutter to herself:
    Shigure: Do I... do I really belong here?
  • Similarly, despite seemingly enjoying her break with Yukikaze, Shigure silently shed a tear during one of their late-night conversation before going to sleep, showing just how broken she is from her experiences.