The Protomen/Tear Jerker

In General

• Don't turn your back on the City.
• This is why they don't often play The Stand and The State Vs Thomas Light in live shows—the songs tearjerk the band.
• If it involves Dr. Light, it's either sad by default or will end up sad.
• Beard's Going Nowhere is mostly fun. Then you get to the parts involving Emily and it becomes a mixture of funny, heartwarming, and heartbreaking, especially in light of Act II.

When I was younger, things were different And a man was allowed to be a man But I grew up too fast, like I was racing with the devil I've felt the blade so many times Emily girl, won't you take my hand and we'll ride Across the barren face of this desert road You set my wheels on fire I'll rev my engine till the sound is just deafening Emily, girl, I swear we'll make it out of this wasteland...

• Live shows have the potential to make sad songs even sadder, particularly The Stand and The Sons of Fate.

Act I

• Protoman's death in Hope Rides Alone.
• Funeral For A Son. The entire song, especially in light of Act II. In particular, from the liner notes:

Light notices a tear streaming down the dorsum of his hand and feels a breathtaking weight in his chest. What is this? Frustration? Humiliation? Hatred? Certainly, these are there too. But no, this is more than that. These emotions are his life. He has lived with them for so long that they no longer affect him. Over the years he has learned to fight them, then to ignore them, and finally channel them into his work, his creation, his machine, his son.

• While Unrest in the House of Light is sad in and of itself, the demo version has more of an emphasis on vocals, and is more dramatic.
• Light's lines in The Will of One echo Emily's last words, as revealed in Father of Death.
• Protoman's entire tone in The Stand (Man or Machine). Made worse when he's proven right.
  • You can actually hear the Machine Monotone of his voice falter while he's speaking at some points. "They'll watch you die to save their lives! They will not stand here by your side..." He was genuinely heartbroken that no one in the crowd tried to help him, or at the very least continue his fight.
• The ending of The Sons of Fate, as Megaman is forced to kill his own brother by the people he's trying to save.

The two brothers stood feet apart. Both in pain. Only Protoman fell. His knees hit the ground. His weapon followed. Before he could fall any further Megaman was at his side. The brothers, the Sons of Light, embraced. Protoman was dying. Nothing could stop that now. Protoman looked up through strained eyes and tried to speak. At first nothing came. Summoning all his remaining strength, Protoman whispered into his brother's ear...

• • And after his speech and death, the crowd rubs salt in the wound:

The crowd, to Megaman: Why do you cry for him?

• • This one line, where it is truly driven in that Protoman was right:

Megaman: We both know they'll never fight!

• • Live shows can make it even more heartbreaking; even if the banter before is silly, the song itself is played straight.
  • Protoman's last words in The Sons of Fate.

Protoman: If these people... tell this story... to their children... as they sleep... then maybe someday... they'll see that a hero... is just a man... who knows he's free...

Act II

• The Intermission:

"In the meantime, please be careful. This world is getting darker all the time. I weep at the thought of something terrible happening to you. I could not bear it. All my love, Tom."

• These lines from The Good Doctor, as the violins kick in and Light's voice catches on the last part:

Light: The one I love, she works so hard...works her fingers til they bleed...Some of the pain that she endures would bring a strong man to his knees. And I only want to help...

• Emily's last words.

Emily: No matter how dark this City gets, there will be--

• The entirety of The State vs Thomas Light. The song itself is sad, and Light seems driven to tears at several points.
• Joe's speech to the girl in the bar in Breaking Out, given what eventually happens to him.

So kiss me fast cause there's no time to lose/Leave the light on, I'll come back for you/When everything is said and done, I swear I'm gonna make it right...

• • The prototype lyrics, too.

So kiss me fast cause there's no time to lose/I promise someday I'll come back for you/And if I die, don't blame yourself; we all do what we think is right...

• Light Up the Night:

Light, in reference to Wily: "Well, a friend once told me men, they would follow any man who would turn the wheels..."

• Joe's death in The Fall, combined with the triumphant chorus dying down.
  • It's so bad it took this implacable troper over half a year after the first listen before he didn't have to avoid the song because of how badly it affected him.
• Here Comes the Arm: The contents of Emily's letter.
  • "This is not the world my father knew...This is not the world I know...he would've wanted me to build..."
  • Light's request of Joe.