Ranked #58

Hotaru no Haka

Few movies I've seen can bring me to the brink of tears, and only a handful of those can actually haunt me days after seeing them. Grave of the Fireflies is one of those rare movies I've seen that did this to me. Very few films have EVER made me feel as bad as this one did. Try to think of the saddest movie you've ever seen, Schindler's List (Widescreen Edition), Saving Private Ryan (Widescreen Two-Disc Special Edition), anything, and this movie blows it out of the water. This film has the power to devastate you, to move you, to bring you to the brink of tears and then push you over into a chaotic world. This is Grave of the Fireflies.

Set during the last days of WWII, while the US Air Force was fire bombing Japanese cities, Grave of the Fireflies is a movie about a young boy named Sata and his little four year old sister Setsico. When their mother is killed in the firebombing of Tokyo Sata is forced to care for his little sister in a nation ripped apart by war and famine. With his father far away serving in the Japanese navy, Sata is the only one who can care for his sister. The love shared between these two siblings is something that will forever leave an impression on me. As an older brother myself I could very easily put myself into Sata's situation. His need to give his sister the very best he can while not being able to provide for her is a very real feeling.

There are no heroes in this film, and there are no villains. Sata and Setsico are no heroes; the only heroic things they do throughout the movie are love and take care of one another. And, their aunt, although harsh and unfair, is no villain. At the same time neither side of the war, American or Japanese, is portrayed in a negative light. This is not a war movie and doesn't exist to condemn one side or the other. This is a movie about two orphan children trying to survive while the society they grew up in crumbles to dust around them.

Many critics of this movie complain about how annoying little Setsico is. Yes, I can admit, sometimes Setsico can be annoying, but really, what little girl isn't? She's a child, and children can't understand everything that's going on around them. Setsico doesn't understand that there is a war going on and that she can not have everything that she wants, she doesn't understand that Sata is killing himself trying to provide for her. As an older brother I find it absurd when people complain about how annoying little brothers/sisters can act in movies without even realizing that siblings are annoying in real life. Sata is no different. if you read this review, please leave a comment. read more

Title: Grave of the Fireflies

Novel, Anime: Grave of the Fireflies was originally a semi-autobiographical novel by Akiyuki Nosaka, written as an apology to his younger sister, who died during World War II. The novel was written and won the Naoki Prize in 1967.

Grave of the Fireflies was animated by Studio Ghibli (famous for Spirited Away and their recent adaptation of Howl's Moving Castle) and directed by Isao Takahata (famous for his work on Pom Poko). The film was released on April 16th, 1988 in Japanese theatres, and came Stateside courtesy of Central Park Media in 2002 (oddly enough, this movie wasn't picked up by Disney when they licensed the Ghibli movies).

Story: Grave of the Fireflies is about a dead brother and sister. What this film centers around is the relationship between Seiza and his little sister Setsuko, and the things they go through after they are orphaned, which includes, but is not limited to, cruel in-laws, famine, malnutrition, starvation, firebombing, living in a bunker by the river, and all sorts of other lovely things.

In case you haven't figured it out yet, this movie is depressing. It approaches and matches Saikano-esque levels of depression, but luckily, it doesn't go beyond it. Honestly, you will want to keep anything you can hurt yourself with out of reach when you're watching this. And you will cry. This is the first anime I've cried at in a very long time, let alone a movie. If you don't cry when Setsuko finally dies, you are a heartless bastard and then some.

Why? Because it's so heartbreaking to watch as these children stick with each other through all they go through. It's hard to watch Seiza trying to keep the fact that their mother is dead from Setsuko. It's hard to watch Seiza do everything he can to keep Setsuko alive as she slowly starves to death. And it's even harder when you watch them just being kids, like your little siblings were when they were young, and so realistic, at that, in contrast to all the shit they go through.

Also, there is a lot of symbolism in this movie. At points, the symbolism will be so blunt that you will feel like you are being hit over the head with a hammer. But you won't mind it all that much.

Art: Yeah, it's fairly obvious that the animation for this is a bit dated. But when you look at anime that were released about the same time (Macross, Galaxy Express 999), it looks pretty damn good, for its time.

Music: I didn't really notice the music for this much. It doesn't particularly stand out, but then again, it's not bad, either. So, average.

Seiyuu: I really have to give them props here, because they went and cast a five-year-old as the seiyuu for Setsuko, and she gave a performance that reminded me of my little siblings when they were that age, which just makes the movie that much harder to watch through. All-around excellent performances.

Length: Perfect. Any longer and I would've killed myself, any shorter, and it just wouldn't have had the impact that it did.

Overall: An absolutely heartbreaking film, with perfect seiyuu, and pretty good animation, for the time.

Another one of my top picks. Go watch it. NOW. Just be sure you keep anything you can hurt yourself with out of your immediate grasp.

Story: 10/10
Art: 9/10
Music: 8/10
Seiyuu: 10/10
Length: 9/10

Overall: 46/50; 92% (A) read more