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One of the most significant and vital developments of shonen anime and manga in recent years has been a more widespread acceptance of vulnerability as part of a character. This is especially true in an emotional context, with many of the latest and greatest shonen anime featuring several scenes showcasing how frail one’s mental health can be.
While undoubtedly true for a select few older shonen anime and manga series, the new-gen installments have fully and nearly universally embraced this characterization approach. The significance of writing characters in such an emotionally vulnerable way cannot be understated, especially with the importance placed on mental health over the last few years.
Here are eight shonen anime series that normalize emotional breakdowns positively and effectively.
Whether new or old, these shonen anime series portray mental health and emotional breakdowns in a positive way
1) One Piece
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One Piece is a shonen anime with several examples of normalizing and showcasing emotional breakdowns in an organic and traumatic way. One of the most engaging is Luffy’s breakdown following the death of his brother, mainly due to how universally applicable feelings of loss, mourning, and experience with death can be.
The scene comes after Luffy has essentially gone multiple days without sleep and pushed his body to unhealthy limits, all in the name of saving his brother Ace. However, he falls just short at the last second and holds his brother in his arms as he dies, scarring him forever and essentially breaking him for quite some time.
2) Hunter x Hunter
Similarly, the shonen anime series Hunter x Hunter sees Gon literally stop caring about his own life upon hearing that he was lied to about the chances of bringing back his dead mentor Kite.
The scene sees the typically happy, bubbly, and cheerful Gon become a stoic, murderous monster instantly upon realizing the reality of the situation.
Like Luffy’s breakdown, Gon’s is incredibly engaging because of how relatable the emotions he’s feeling are, even if the exact situation is far from relatable. Nevertheless, it shows viewers that it’s okay to mourn those who’ve passed and demonstrates what that pain can do to someone.
3) My Hero Academia
The first new-gen shonen anime series on this list, My Hero Academia, sees its protagonist written with incredible emotional vulnerability. Izuku Midoriya is never afraid to share his struggles, thoughts, or feelings at any given moment, showing that even superheroes need to cry sometimes too.
Midoriya has plenty of examples of full-blown and scaled-back emotional breakdowns throughout the series, all incredibly engaging and bare. While no specific example will be cited here, his overall vulnerability promotes positivity when it comes to mental health and having a discussion about it.
4) Steins;Gate
Steins;Gate is a unique shonen anime series focused on protagonist Okabe Rintarou and his goal to save all of his friends while sacrificing none. There comes the point in the series where this seems completely unobtainable, and Okabe suffers a complete and utter breakdown over having seen his friends die so many times.
It’s an incredibly emotional scene where he finally shares the stress all these experiences with death have put on him, promoting mental health discussion in a raw yet positive way. It’s arguably one of the best examples on this list of how to portray mental health issues in a way that resonates positively with viewers.
5) Re:ZERO - Starting Life in Another World
Often shortened to just Re:ZERO, this isekai shonen anime series follows Subaru Natsuki in a new mythological world. He discovers that he can come back to life via Return by Death, an ability that “respawns” him at specific save points after he dies.
While it sounds excellent, Subaru experiences the pain of each death and retains the memories of each life after coming back. There are multiple breakdowns he has throughout the series, but each is too significant in its own way to pick only one for this list.
Some see him absolutely give up after doing everything in his power and reaching the same result. Others see him lament a death he intended to prevent, and Subaru struggling with the act of suicide for a chance to repair these mistakes.
Despite being incredibly grim and dark, the openness with which Subaru discusses his mental health with the audience and characters promotes the normalization of these conversations. It’s undoubtedly one of the most revolutionary and significant new-gen shonen anime series in that regard.
6) Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is a shonen anime series praised and discussed for many aspects, but its look on mental health is often brushed aside. The series has one major breakdown which tends to resonate with fans, coming from Major Alex Louis Armstrong during the Ishvalan Civil War flashback.
The moment sees Armstrong come to grips with his murder of civilians, reaching a breaking point which sees him bawling as he cowers over dead Ishvalan bodies. Especially for viewers with military experience, it’s an incredibly raw and emotional scene (despite its quickness) and helps illustrate how painful war can be for those who survive it.
7) Violet Evergarden
While some may argue this series is not a shonen anime, Violet Evergarden’s origins as a light novel give some leeway into how the series may be categorized. As such, there’s enough in the series to argue for it being shonen that this list will treat it as one.
It follows the titular character trying to restart her life after losing both arms and her true love in a war.
One night, after being plagued by images of her lover and the war effort, she tries to kill herself after having a breakdown which sees her sobbing and screaming. Like many other entries on this list, it helps to normalize the mental pain and suffering people go through when dealing with death and mourning others, especially those they truly loved.
8) Sword Art Online
While some readers may raise their eyebrows at the inclusion of the shonen anime series Sword Art Online, they’d do well to remember how prevalent mental health was in season one. While not a focus of the series, many moments of mental health come about organically due to the season’s kill-or-be-killed story content.
This also returns in Alicization, where Kirito’s mental health is broken after a digital journey filled with the making of new friends and their tragic deaths. In his mindscape, he attempts to kill himself out of feeling unworthy of the love of his friends and family.
It shows how feelings of worthlessness and self-doubt can heavily impact a mental state, creating the conversation and normalizing it in a natural, organic way.
Note: This article is subjective and reflects the author’s opinion.
If you or a friend, family member, or loved one is struggling with mental health in any capacity, please reach out to and find assistance from a mental health professional.
