Hotaru no Haka


Grave of the Fireflies

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Tombstone for Fireflies
Japanese: 火垂るの墓
English: Grave of the Fireflies
German: Die letzten Glühwürmchen
Spanish: La Tumba de las Luciérnagas
French: Le Tombeau des Lucioles
More titles

Information

Type: Movie
Episodes: 1
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Apr 16, 1988
Producers: None found, add some
Studios: Studio Ghibli
Source: Novel
Genre: DramaDrama
Theme: HistoricalHistorical
Duration: 1 hr. 28 min.
Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

Statistics

Score: 8.511 (scored by 387544387,544 users)
1 indicates a weighted score.
Ranked: #1232
2 based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.
Popularity: #300
Members: 650,831
Favorites: 7,792

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8.51
Ranked #123Popularity #300Members 650,831
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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]

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.

Characters & Voice Actors

Farmer

Supporting

Aunt

Supporting
Yamaguchi, Akemi
Japanese

Staff

Takahata, Isao
Director, Screenplay
Urakami, Yasuo
Sound Director
Mamiya, Michio
Theme Song Composition, Theme Song Arrangement, Music
Anno, Hideaki
Key Animation


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Opening Theme

Preview
Spotify
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Youtube Music
"Setsuko and Seita" by Michio Mamiya
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Ending Theme

"Futari" by Michio Mamiya




Reviews

Sep 19, 2023
First of all this movie just hits the emotions. The way this movie describes the sufferings that people have to suffer because of wars caused by the leaders is just.

Audience can see how much the Seito and his sister have to suffer. This story revolves around the critical situation of victims of WW2 and how it affected the one's family, livings and the perspective of how they see the world. People have to be in fear 24/7 because they are worried there might be an air raid any time soon. They are worried about getting unexpectedly killed.

The movie starts off with tragic end of ...
May 8, 2022
Mixed Feelings
No spoilers.

Many people say this is a must-see film, and that they cried during it. Personally, I did not consider this a "must-see" or tear-inducing. If you like wartime stuff, maybe you'll enjoy this. Unfortunately, I did not care for it.

Story:
It keeps the story to the very personal, small lives of two children during the war. The war is the setting, but not the plot.

Art:
Even by nowadays standards, this holds up very well. Each shot is well directed and there are genuinely haunting images all throughout the movie. While the movie never tries to WOW you with the art, it is all very effective ...
Jul 27, 2022
Hotaru no haka was released in 1988, written and directed by Isao Takahata, and follows some kids slowly dying of starvation :). This movie disappointed me massively, to say the least. This has nothing to do with the hype surrounding it, but instead the fondness I've grown towards Takahata as I've gone through his filmography. I think the key difference between everything else and this is subtlety. While I don't think you can really call his films as a whole "subtle", the emotions that he conveys usually feel earned and organic to the story. To make an analogy, the rest of his filmography is like ...

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Recent Forum Discussion

I don't think I'll ever re-watch this movie. ( 1 2 )
Abyque - Sep 13, 2022
51 repliesby Lungitar90 »»
Sep 11, 4:09 AM
Poll: Hotaru No Haka Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page )
yakyuu-addict - Nov 28, 2008
298 repliesby Panedo »»
Aug 16, 4:59 PM
Useful for learning the Kansai dialect (J-subs)
RudeRedis - Jul 8
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