There's a certain kind of emotional intensity in Japanese storytelling that doesn't have a direct equivalent in English, but 'tear-jerker' might be the closest term. However, '涙巻き' carries more nuanced layers - it's not just about making readers cry, but about carefully constructed emotional payoffs that feel earned after narrative buildup.
In manga like 'おおきく振りかぶって', the 涙巻き moments aren't manipulative sadness, but cathartic releases where characters overcome struggles through sheer determination. The term implies a structural element too - these are often designated sections of the story where all the emotional threads converge. Western works like 'The Fault in Our Stars' have similar moments, but Japanese media tends to frame them as distinct narrative beats with their own pacing and visual language in comics.