What is it?
The 1988 Japanese animated (anime) war drama film Grave Of The Fireflies which was directed by Isao Takahata, was animated by Studio Ghibli, and was based on the semi-autobiographical short story Grave Of The Fireflies by the Japanese author Akiyuki Nosaka.
What is it about?
This is how MyAnimeList describes this movie:
As World War II reaches its conclusion in 1945, Japan faces widespread destruction in the form of American bombings, devastating city after city. Hotaru no Haka, also known as Grave of the Fireflies, is the story of Seita and his sister Setsuko, two Japanese children whose lives are ravaged by the brutal war. They have lost their mother, their father, their home, and the prospect of a bright future—all tragic consequences of the war.
Now orphaned and homeless, Seita and Setsuko have no choice but to drift across the countryside, beset by starvation and disease. Met with the apathy of adults along the way, they find that desperate circumstances can turn even the kindest of people cruel yet their youthful hope shines brightly in the face of unrelenting hardship, preventing the siblings from swiftly succumbing to an inevitable fate.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
What do you like about it?
I like that this movie made me forget that it was even animated.
That it showed some of the realities of war that are rarely if ever shown or talked about, and it connected with me very strongly on an emotional level.
What would someone else like about it?
I think that other people will be amazed that this animated film is able to convey things that many live action films fail to convey, and that it is able to connect with them very strongly on an emotional level.
My Thoughts
I saw Grave Of The Fireflies over 10 years ago.
Many people describe it as one of the best movies that you never want to watch again and most people who see it probably never watch it again because it is so sad, and I agree with that description.
This movie connected with me on an emotional level so strongly that I cried like a baby.
I think that one of the reasons that it connected with me so much is because I am the oldest of my siblings.
So I could relate even more to this movie.
Since then, I have avoided watching this film again because it connected with me that strongly.
It is so sad that even seeing a trailer for it over 10 years later makes me want to cry, and I actually cried the first time that I saw the latest anniversary trailer for it.
Just seeing certain scenes from this film can still make me cry.
I saw this movie over 10 years ago and it is so sad, and it connected with me so emotionally that I do not want to think about it or describe it in more detail.
That is all that I will say about this movie.
Here are a few things that Roger Ebert had to say about this film:
Watch this movie, it is an example of the fact that animated movies are capable of more than some people think, but be ready to cry because I know that I did.
The end, *Trying not to cry*
- John Jr
6 replies on “Grave Of The Fireflies 😔
I love this anime. A different kind of Ghibli movie, but it still has heart. So much heart, because you cannot leave this movie without tearing up. It’s that damn good.
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Hello TPAB~,
I agree, and the most recent anime that made me cry and that I made a post about was probably the movie When Marnie Was There.
Thank you for commenting,
-John Jr
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I haven’t seen that yet. I’ll go check it out.
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Hello TPAB~,
When Marnie Was There is Studio Ghibli’s most recent film after they took a break from making films after Hayao Miyazaki retired I think, it definitely has its flaws and my brother GC did not like it, but one part of the film did make me cry:
https://johnjronline.wordpress.com/2017/01/30/when-marnie-was-there-or-how-i-watched-this-film-and-cried-like-a-baby-%F0%9F%98%AD/
Also allegedly Hayao Miyazaki is coming out of retirement:
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2017-02-24/ghibli-producer-suzuki-hayao-miyazaki-is-preparing-to-work-on-new-feature-film/.112659
Hopefully that is true.
Thank you for commenting,
-John Jr
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The final song is VERY haunting, yet beautiful. It matches the tone of the movie completely. It’s a war film, but it doesn’t feel propagandized: just a tale of love and suffering in the middle of death.
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Hello Achavers22,
I agree, and I think that it is sad that many people have probably never heard of or seen this film.
Thank you for commenting,
-John Jr
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