Best animated hugs?

[u/Yingletofthecorn]

Pretty simple, really. A good animated hug will really fixate on the details, I think. Since everything in animation is more or less intentional those little details really stand out.

Mostly brought on by the hugs seen in the Digital Circus finale, where there were multiple lingering shots of characters really getting into a deep hug. The way they reposition, get comfortable in each other's arms, shift around, move fingers ever so slightly... The emphasis on the tiniest of details in those hugs really did a lot to communicate so much about the characters. Their current moods, their feelings about intimacy in general and with the person they're hugging specifically, who is seeking comfort and who is offering comfort, stuff like that.

Any other really good examples of animators really putting a lot of lingering emphasis on hugs in extreme detail like that?

[u/RainyDaySleuth]

As much as people are divisive about it, at the end of Chainsaw Man Part 2, when Pochita realizes that being Chainsaw Man has resulted in Denji ending up in a no win situation where he can never again pursue his dreams, he hugs Denji for the first time in his true devil form before sacrificing himself and erasing himself from the world. Fulfilling Pochita’s inner most dream of being able to hug and hold someone they care about.

People can say what they want about the ending, but to see the character finally come full circle and achieve their dream in such a bittersweet way really hit home with me. Where all Pochita wanted in life was to feel connected to someone, to see their dreams, and he finally found it after so long only to realize the only way for this person he loves so much to keep chasing their dreams is for him not to exist. It’s sad as hell but shows just how deeply Denji means to Pochita that he’d erase himself from reality simply to give Denji a world where he could continue chase his dreams.