Wow, reading through some of these is quite powerful. And here I thought my emotional responses were very powerful! I can't say I really cried myself to sleep much, but I did have rather strong responses to certain scenes. I can't really rank them either, they kind of all hit me the same.
The first time I read 'Equivalent Exchange", I cried for at least 10 minutes. Not sobbing, but I believe what they refer to as weeping. Genuine tears while covering my head with my shirt and sniffing so I don't get all uncomfortable with snot coming out of my nose.
Seriously, that hit me hard, especially at the precise moment where they show you the little drawing Hanako did and she says, "After that, I was alone." That's when it all hit me and I was down. I cried pondering what she must have went through, the pain, the loss of her parents, the time suffering and recovering in the hospital, especially the way Hisao described his thoughts on it. I know in my heart I can't relate to such things and that made me cry more.
The second big cry moment was while Hanako was having her panic attack. Seeing her sitting at the desk, frozen in fear and then her eyes closing with the tears coming down her face. By then I was already very well attached to her, even more than Hisao. I cried cause I just got that helpless feeling, that there's nothing you can do for her without making her feel worse and drawing more attention to her, ugh, it really hurt. Helping her get to the Nurse was okay, but then they play Painful History again and that's when I was down for another 10 to 15 minutes or so crying about it.
The third, and biggest, moment, was Whispered Touch. When you finally see Hanako's back scars for the first time, and they show you the gallery picture, I just lost it. I took one look at her before she even said anything, and I just cried hard for a long time. Then as she's describing the fire in more detail, the part that hit me hardest was when she was like "I curled into a ball as the fire swept over me... my mother tried to shield me... That's the only reason I lived." That hit me so hard, I cried for her even more then. The thoughts were really going through my mind, the reason this girl stands before me today, is because her mother gave up her life. It hurts so bad then, and you just wish there was something you could do, anything, to take the pain away and make her feel better.
The way she says "I'm sorry for making you see this" and "I know I'm not pretty like Lilly..." are such touching moments. I wanted to be like "But Hanako, you are beautiful... you are so beautiful..." all while weeping and hugging her around her shoulders. She's not ugly, she's not a monster, and her body is beautiful... a grave injury doesn't change that.
All these things are why I just cannot understand anyone who calls Hanako's route "boring." I simply find that appalling. How can someone think such a deep, touching story is boring? You go light yourself on fire at 8 years old and lose both your parents, and tell me how you feel then!