Hotaru no Haka (Grave of the Fireflies)

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Tombstone for Fireflies

Japanese: 火垂るの墓

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Information

Type: Movie

Episodes: 1

Status: Finished Airing

Aired: Apr 16, 1988

Producers: None found, add some

Licensors: ADV Films, Central Park Media, Sentai Filmworks

Studios: Studio Ghibli

Source: Novel

Genre: Drama

Theme: Historical

Duration: 1 hr. 28 min.

Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

Statistics

Score: 8.52¹ (scored by 402,360 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #121²

² based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #299

Members: 675,496

Favorites: 8,077

Available At

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Synopsis

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]

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Background

Hotaru no Haka is based on the 1967 semi-autobiographical short story of the same name by Akiyuki Nosaka, which is centered on his experiences during and after the American firebombing of Kobe in 1945, and was released as a double feature with My Neighbor Totoro.

The movie has won several awards including the Japan Catholic Film Award in 1988, the Special Award in the 31st Blue Ribbon Awards in 1989, the Animation Jury and Rights of the Child Awards in the Chicago International Children's Film Festival in 1994, and the 1st Moscow International Children's and Youth's Film Festival Grand Prix in 1998.

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Setsuko

Main

Shiraishi, Ayano
Japanese

Seita

Main

Tatsumi, Tsutomu
Japanese

Mrs. Yokokawa

Supporting

Shinohara, Yoshiko
Japanese

Farmer

Supporting

Aunt

Supporting

Yamaguchi, Akemi
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Takahata, Isao

Director, Screenplay

Urakami, Yasuo

Sound Director

Mamiya, Michio

Theme Song Composition, Theme Song Arrangement, Music

Anno, Hideaki

Key Animation

Edit

Opening Theme

"Setsuko and Seita" by Michio Mamiya

Edit

Ending Theme

"Futari" by Michio Mamiya

Reviews

Aug 21, 2008

jonathanlane

Recommended

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.

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Jul 17, 2019

AndoCommando

Mixed Feelings

"21st September, 1945… That was the night I died."

Grave of the Fireflies begins as a young man stands in uniform unfazed, looking back on the moment he died. Slouched against a pole in tattered clothes, starving in silence while dozens of people pass by. One person in an act of pity places food beside him, but it’s too late. Lacking the will to even eat, his frail body collapses among other starved corpses nearby. An empty tin can found on his person is tossed by a field outside as if it were trash. Yet from the second it lands, fireflies materialize from the ground and ...

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Dec 30, 2008

MetalChiron

Not Recommended

This is my first review of anything like this, so it's not going to be pretty, but it should get my point across.

This was a down right depressing anime movie, not for the story itself, but due to how bad it is. The music and animation was nice enough, but that cant save a horrible movie from being horrible. There was nothing redeemable in this movie. Seita was the worst main character I have ever seen in anything. Setsuko, wasn't exactly much of a main character to care about, but it was easy enough to feel sorry for what she had to endure at the ...

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Recent Forum Discussion

Rewatch!?! Jai_akash - Apr 22	22 replies	by imjayhime »» Apr 24, 7:55 PM
Poll: Hotaru No Haka Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) yakyuu-addict - Nov 28, 2008	313 replies	by WeebAngo »» Mar 8, 5:18 AM
Useful for learning the Kansai dialect (J-subs) RudeRedis - Jul 8, 2023	18 replies	by theSporz »» Jan 17, 5:58 AM
Poll: Did you cry after you watched this movie? (spoilers) ( 1 2 3 4 ) ss4gojetanks - Jul 8, 2011	186 replies	by Neko_myanimelist »» Jan 9, 11:23 AM
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