Is this really "Heart-Breaking"? It ultimately has a happy ending, so I'd peg it as "Almost Heart-Breaking".
I'd say yes it does qualify for the "Heart-Breaking" pool. Everything but the last panel of the last 4koma is pretty sad. Just for reference, it is possible to have posts in both the "Heart-Breaking" and "Heart-Warming" pool. [pool:Heart-Breaking pool:Heart-Warming]
On the other hand, it IS NOT "Almost Heart-Breaking". You should read the definition again (pool #4990), since there is almost always an element of humor to it, which the above is not.
Instead, it transitions from "Heart-Breaking" to "Heart-Warming" with nothing humorous about it, though it could be argued that the last panel is actually a combination of both as it is possible to be happy and sad at the same time. Also, since the next page of the comic does a better illustration of the "Heart-Warming" aspect of it (post #3670048), I initially opted not to include it in that pool.
I'd say yes it does qualify for the "Heart-Breaking" pool. Everything but the last panel of the last 4koma is pretty sad. Just for reference, it is possible to have posts in both the "Heart-Breaking" and "Heart-Warming" pool. [pool:Heart-Breaking pool:Heart-Warming]
On the other hand, it IS NOT "Almost Heart-Breaking". You should read the definition again (pool #4990), since there is almost always an element of humor to it, which the above is not.
Instead, it transitions from "Heart-Breaking" to "Heart-Warming" with nothing humorous about it, though it could be argued that the last panel is actually a combination of both as it is possible to be happy and sad at the same time. Also, since the next page of the comic does a better illustration of the "Heart-Warming" aspect of it (post #3670048), I initially opted not to include it in that pool.
Huh. I didn't know that a transition to humor was required. The description ought to be clearer about this.
I assume the same applies to "Almost Heart-Breaking"?
...like an interruption from someone, something bad happening, or the characters themselves contradicting themselves or doing/saying something to ruin the mood.
...like an intervention from someone, something humorous/disgustingly adorable happening, or the characters contradicting themselves or doing/saying something to brighten the mood.
So basically it's something that completely changes the scene from what it was. To apply it to the above comic, the last panel still has elements of Heart-Breaking to it, as they are hugging and crying into each other's arms. On the other hand, if the mother did something like offer little Anchovy a lollipop and they were both all smiley in the last panel, then that would qualify for "Almost Heart-breaking". So that would be an example of a (mostly) non-humorous situation qualifying for that pool.
It's not always humor, as I did say "almost always" and not "always".
So basically it's something that completely changes the scene from what it was. To apply it to the above comic, the last panel still has elements of Heart-Breaking to it, as they are hugging and crying into each other's arms. On the other hand, if the mother did something like offer little Anchovy a lollipop and they were both all smiley in the last panel, then that would qualify for "Almost Heart-breaking". So that would be an example of a (mostly) non-humorous situation qualifying for that pool.
