Tear Jerker / Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee

• In the first storyline, Gauche having to bluntly shoot down Lag's hopes of getting into the capital and seeing his mother, pointing out that the pass is only for him and is "a burden" on top of that. For good measure, it's also revealed that he won't be able to take Sylvette with him until he earns the right to do so, forcing the siblings to live separately for a while.
• After Lag becomes a Letter Bee, he realizes the Awful Truth. Gauche has been missing since he was promoted to the capital, resulting in him being fired from his Letter Bee job, and Sylvette having to live alone and in poverty. The promotion he thought would help his sister ended up ruining their lives.
• Even worse, Sylvette makes it clear that she never wanted Gauche to leave her behind to work in the capital, even for her sake. Even the best-case scenario would have involved the two being separated, possibly for years, as Gauche worked to earn the right to bring Sylvette with him, but they aren't that fortunate. Sylvette is left behind to eke out a living making dolls, and is implied to be in debt.
• In Episode 12, Lag and Zazie meet a girl who was orphaned by a Gaichuu attack. The rest of the townspeople shun her, forcing her to live on the outskirts, since they fear that her presence attracts Gaichuu. That naturally angers Zazie, as a fellow orphan of a Gaichuu attack.
• During Episode 12, Zazie tells Lag that kids losing their parents is fairly common in Amberground- Zazie, Lag, Sylvette and the girl they met in the episode all count. It's a small detail that drives home how much of a Crapsack World Amberground is.
• Episode 15 ends with Moss learning that his girlfriend Bonny was using him to get back in touch with her actual lover, and Bonny, her plan thwarted, running off after cursing Lag for his interference.
• Episode 17 is about the story of Elena Bran and her dingo Darwin. The two had formed a close partnership, almost more like friends than master and dingo, until one day when Elena left Darwin behind to recover from his injuries, then went on a delivery by herself, resulting in her death. Darwin waited for Elena in the same spot for many years, until Largo arranged to deliver Darwin to Elena's grave (deciding not to tell Lag the truth lest Darwin find out). Darwin helps save Lag from a Gaichuu, makes it to Elena's grave, then dies of old age. Lag buries him beside Elena, then breaks down crying.
• In Episode 21, a younger Mana falls asleep at her desk and starts a small fire with a candle. She then panics and accidentally spills chemicals in her eyes. She not only loses her eyesight, but her superiors are planning on firing her as punishment for her accident, and Mana is so broken that she simply accepts it.
• The Honey Waters arc has a few such moments.
  • Ann's backstory, in which her father tried to deliver all the letters, but ended up being attacked by a Gaichuu and having his heart eaten, leaving his daughter all alone. Small wonder Ann is so cynical that she'd willingly burn the letters just to save the town from the Gaichuu.
  • As the Cidre Gaichuu has Ann in its clutches, the viewer sees her memories of her dead father, as well as those memories starting to fade away, with Ann being confused and heartbroken as she starts forgetting about someone dear to her.
  • Hunt and Sarah's backstory involves them being abused as part of a traveling freak show. When a monster that the show was planning on exhibiting dies, they plan on selling Sarah to a man she fears will kill her, but Hunt asks them to graft the monster's hands onto his own and display them so that they won't have to. Hunt's plan fails, and both he and Sarah get kicked out of the show and forced to wander Amberground.
  • Despite Hunt and Sarah being indirectly responsible for Ann's father's death, it's hard not to feel sorry for them in that situation. Sarah came up with the lie that Hunt killed the Gaichuu Gauche had destroyed on the spur of the moment, all so that the townspeople wouldn't attack Hunt. Even the plan to keep the Letter Bees out of Honey Waters wasn't Sarah's idea, but something she had to go along with in order to maintain her deception.
• The encounter with Gauche is utterly crushing for both Lag and Niche. Lag realizes that the Letter Bee he befriended and looked up to doesn't remember him or any of the people he cares about. Niche's confidence in herself is greatly shaken due to not being able to contribute during the battles in Honey Waters, and losing to "Roda," so much so that she considers quitting as Lag's dingo.
• Zazie's backstory. His parents had their hearts eaten by a Gaichuu, and they haven't woken up yet.
  • It gets worse when it's elaborated on. The last time he saw his parents, he didn't even recognize them as such, as a result of their having abandoned him in order to avoid him being sold to pay their debts. And just when he realizes that they are his parents, they get their hearts eaten.
• Celica's backstory. She wasn't a greedy person who lusted after immortality; she was just escaping from a forced human sacrifice. With her husband dad and herself an outcast who was about to be sacrificed, she's broken enough that she doesn't care what happens to her as long as her children are safe.
• While Niche's sister came off as heartless at first, she actually was heartbroken to be separated from her sister, and waited for her for 200 years, hoping that somehow, Niche would make her way to Blue Notes Blues. Lag finds her foolish for not trying to search for Niche, but also can't help but feel touched that Niche's sister waited as long as she did.
• Zeal's backstory has Nightmare Fuel AND Body Horror.
• Sunny's early life As an orphan at the abbey she was often bullied and forced to do menial work such a pushing carts uphill. Her greatest sense of joy came from watching people being happy while they ate, which is why she fell in love with Connor in the first place. And then her heart is taken.
• Sunny's final letter to Connor, in which she tells him that she poisoned his cookies with a sedative to stop him from getting himself killed. She admits that she didn't really believe in what Reverse was preaching, and all she wants is her first love to live a happy life.
• Aria's memories reveal that her fellow Bees often gossiped about her clumsiness, and even went so far as to attribute all her successes to her Dingo. Gauche was probably her Only Friend at the Beehive, so she naturally took it hard when he went away and Bolt went blind, forcing her to retire from delivery service.
• Hodai Franklin's backstory. He was on the airship when the Flicker happened, and was one of only six survivors, a group that also included Camus and Dr. Thunderland Jr., but did not include Hodai's best friend. Hodai lost one of his eyes, as well of most of his eyesight in his remaining eye, and remains traumatized to this day. It's then capped off with the revelation that the memories Gauche lost are permanently gone.
• After a few chapters of Lag and Sylvette's heartwarming reunion with Gauche, Lag realizes that Gauche never actually came back, and is still Noir, who only acquired Gauche's memories. It's probably even worse in the manga, since Lag has to figure it out by himself, and deal with being the only person close to Gauche who knows the truth until he confronts Noir.
• In Episode 45, Lag returns to Lament in search of Connor, and finds him laying flowers in a cemetery dedicated to all the people whose hearts were consumed by Cabernet, whom Connor buried himself. Sunny is still alive, but robotically makes cookies day after day and doesn't speak to anyone. Connor's resigned to Sunny's fate, and chooses to stay with her and eat her cookies until she dies. Given everything he's been through, it's no wonder Connor doesn't want to go back to the Bee Hive, or that he appears nonchalant while assuming that he'd been fired for absenteeism.
• In Episode 48, Lag is finally forced to come to grips with the fact that Gauche's heart is not coming back, since when Gauche fires his Shindan, Lag only sees Noir's memories inside. As they set out to fight Cabernet, he acknowledges this by calling him "Noir."
• Gauche's last memory as Gauche. He met Lag's mother and told him about how he'd become friends with her son, and his promise to Lag. She could only shed a Single Tear and apologize to him.
• In the manga, Lily's death. She looked up to Lag, but ends up getting her heart stolen in the battle with Cabernet. Unsurprisingly, Lag doesn't take it well.
• On a marginally lighter note, a scene where Steak just lays down for Niche to eat is far more depressing than funny.