Not all anime starts with a happy beginning, some also begin with a tragic one. Most of the time, these anime are more interesting to watch, as the story gets built up right from the start, leaving no room for slow build-up and diving straight into the characters’ struggles and motivations.
Whether it’s physical torture, heartbreak, loss, or nearly escaping death, these anime series make the life of their protagonist miserable right from the beginning. Here are some of the best animes that put their protagonist through hell right from the get-go.
Table of Contents
10. The Kingdoms of Ruin
- MyAnimeList (MAL) Rating: 6.22/10
- IMDb Rating: 6.2/10
- Episodes: 12 episodes
- Where to Watch: The Crunchyroll
Our innocent protagonist, Adonis, goes into hiding with his witch master, Chole. Why? Their kingdom which once coexisted with humans and witches, is now at war because humans turned against witches out of fear of their power.
Adonis helplessly watches her beloved master get brutally executed in front of a huge crowd after getting caught due to his mistake. This loss marks the end of his innocence and sets him on the path of revenge against mankind.
The anime shows the cruelty of its world and how brutal human nature can be. Adonis makes it clear from the first episode that he isn’t walking on a path of redemption but pure vengeance.
9. Goblin Slayer
- MyAnimeList (MAL) Rating: 7.42/10
- IMDb Rating: 7.4/10
- Episodes: 24 episodes
- Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
Goblin Slayer starts with one of the most disturbing openings in anime. We see a lighthearted setup where a young priest is going on a goblin hunt with her new adventuring party.
However, the adventure turns into a nightmare for her as they get ambushed by brutal and animalistic goblins. The guild members were humiliated and butchered to death by the goblin. The priest couldn’t do anything but pray to god for mercy. Her prayers get heard as a man in armor, Goblin Slayer, comes to her rescue.
This anime doesn’t hold back on violence and shows the harsh reality of adventuring without plot armor. The protagonist is fueled with revenge to kill every single goblin after that.
8. The Promised Neverland
- MyAnimeList (MAL) Rating: 8.5/10
- IMDb Rating: 8.2/10
- Episodes: 23 episodes
- Where to Watch: Hulu and Crunchyroll
Emma lives in an isolated orphanage located on a distant farm, where children are raised with love and care by their caretaker, Isabella. Suspiciously, once a child gets adopted, the other children from the orphanage never hear from them, and this happens whenever they turn twelve.
Things take a horrifying turn when Emma and her friend uncover the truth that they are being raised in the orphanage as livestock for demons. This begins their journey of escaping the farm together, fighting evil forces, and most importantly, losing innocence at a young age.
7. Re:Zero
- MyAnimeList (MAL) Rating: 8.27/10
- IMDb Rating: 8.1/10
- Episodes: 66 episodes
- Where to Watch: Crunchyroll and Amazon Prime Video
Re:Zero starts with the same typical isekai plot, where we see Sabaru getting teleported to a fantasy world from a convenience store. At first, he doesn’t take it that seriously and thinks of it as one of the video games. However, thing gets serious when he gets violently killed out of nowhere.
Time restarts from when he first teleported to this world. No one seemed to remember him as time had been rewound. Sabaru figures out that whenever he gets killed, his life gets restarted from the time he first arrived at this place, which makes him relive all the traumatic events again and again.
Unlike other anime, Sabaru’s powers are more like a curse that keeps breaking him throughout the anime. Re:Zero is more of a psychological horror than a fantasy adventure, where we see the protagonist suffering at every turn of his life right from the start.
6. Demon Slayer
- MyAnimeList (MAL) Rating: 8.5/10
- IMDb Rating: 8.7/10
- Episodes: 55 episodes (till April 2025)
- Where to Watch: Crunchyroll and Netflix
Demon Slayer kicks off by showing Tanjiro living a happy life with his sick mother and five siblings on a mountain far from town. He has to take care of his family since his mother got ill and his father died when he was young.
His life takes a shocking turn when, one day, he returns home after selling charcoal and finds his entire family slaughtered by a demon. His sister was the only surviving member of his family who was transformed into a demon herself.
Tanjiro’s whole life is turned upside down. Now he has to get stronger to find a way to turn his sister back into a human, while fighting other demons like her who are out for blood. Tanjiro, our protagonist, experiences trouble, hardship, and suffering right from the first episode.
5. Vinland Saga
- MyAnimeList (MAL) Rating: 8.7/10
- IMDb Rating: 8.8/10
- Episodes: 48 episodes
- Where to Watch: Netflix and Amazon Prime Video
Thorfinn has been hearing tales about his father’s great adventures ever since he was a kid. Constantly hearing such legends inspires him to become a warrior someday, like his father. However, this takes a tragic turn when he watches his father get assassinated by a mercenary leader after Thors refuses to continue a life of violence.
Thors chose to protect his loved ones in exchange for his death. The mercenaries kill him right in front of Thorfinn, his son. This leads him to follow the path of revenge and vengeance. and sets the tone for the rest of the story.
4. Tokyo Ghoul
- MyAnimeList (MAL) Rating: 7.8/10
- IMDb Rating: 7.7/10
- Episodes: 48 episodes
- Where to Watch: Hulu and Crunchyroll
Tokyo Ghoul starts with a sweet tone, where we see a shy young boy named Ken Kaneki finally managing to go on a date with a girl he likes, Rize. However, the date takes a horrific turn as it turns out Rize is not a normal human being but a ghoul who only went on a date with Kaneki so she could eat him.
Before she could devour him, she was crushed by steel beams of the construction site after a part of the building started collapsing. The doctors unknowingly transplant her organs to save Kaneki’s life, which makes him a half-ghoul. Kaneki’s life completely changes from here on, as he can no longer eat normal food. His body now only craves human flesh. The suffering of the protagonist in this anime starts early and the rest of the anime chronicles his journey and struggle.
3. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
- MyAnimeList (MAL) Rating: 9.12/10
- IMDb Rating: 9.1/10
- Episodes: 64 episodes
- Where to Watch: Netflix
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood opens with heartbreak carved into its foundation. Edward and Alphonse Elric attempt the forbidden, human transmutation to bring their dead mother back. However, things don’t go as they have imagined, as the spell backfires.
The brothers forgot to read the consequences of the ritual, which cost Alphonse his entire body whereas Edward lost one of his legs. He sacrificed one of his arms for his brother’s soul, which he binds in armor. This begins their journey of finding the Philosopher’s Stone, which will help them get their body back now.
2. Solo Leveling
- MyAnimeList (MAL) Rating: 8.28/10
- IMDb Rating: 8.7/10
- Episodes: 26 episodes.
- Where to Watch: Crunchyroll and Amazon Prime Video
Solo Leveling begins with one of the most traumatic first episodes in modern anime. Sung Jinwoo, the weakest hunter of all mankind, gets trapped in a double dungeon with his temporary raid party. Unsure of what lies ahead, they walk straight into the dungeon with gigantic statues that are hellbound to kill them.
The air gets tense as they find out they have walked straight to their death. The statues start killing everyone who doesn’t follow the rules written on an ancient board. People start showing their true nature, running for cover, and plotting their escape.
Also Read:
- Solo Leveling: All National Level Hunters – Ranked
- Solo Leveling: Who Created System and Is Jinwoo the Only Player
- Solo Leveling: All Sung Jinwoo Shadows Ranked by Powers and Abilities
Jinwoo sacrifices himself so that the two hunters he knew could escape. He gets butchered by the statues in an act of extreme bravery. But before he dies, the hunter gets an option of rebirth, which begins his story of becoming the strongest hunter in the world. The overpowered protagonist suffers a lot before he gets this golden opportunity to turn his fate around.
1. Attack on Titan
- MyAnimeList (MAL) Rating: 9.1/10
- IMDb Rating: 9.1/10
- Episodes: 100 episodes
- Where to Watch: Hulu and Crunchyroll
Eren lived on an isolated island since birth. He used to dream about exploring the outside world with his friend once he grew up. However, his dreams gets shattered when one of the island’s massive walls is breached by a colossal Titan, leading to an army of Titans entering the island.
During this rampage, Eren’s mother is trapped in the debris. Powerless and devastated, Eren fails to do anything but watch his mother get eaten by a Titan in front of his eyes. This traumatic moment marks the end of his innocence and the beginning of his revenge against the Titans.
The above anime was well-written and nicely animated with the protagonists facing an early setback or facing hardships before embarking on an epic journey.
