Hotaru no Haka

"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 ... cast a blazing glow that brightens the field. A young girl rises to her feet, confused at the sight of her brother lying prone on the floor. She’s startled, until suddenly a hand rests on her shoulder. Standing beside her, he greets his sister with a smile before handing her a tin can now full of treats, and together they walk aboard an empty train. Free from hunger and pain as they saunter off to the next life.

'The fireflies rose, burned ever so brightly, before slowly returning to darkness.'

This scene sets the soul-crushing tone for what to expect over the course of the film. Grim and unflinching in its portrayal of the privations of war and their effect on the most innocent of victims: children. Grave of the Fireflies follows the struggles that siblings Seita and Setsuko face through this hellish time as their former livelihoods are wiped out in an air raid. As a result, both are forced to endure and continue living in a nation crumbling from warfare and famine. Their journey is intertwined with the lives of many different people, all directly impacted by the war and all trying to cope with the struggle. A welcoming aunt at first turns resentful guardian. A farmer who shows compassion to the two but can only feed himself. A doctor concerned with diagnosing problems, yet never tries to cure them. There are no heroes present here, just a story about survival. Except here the outcome was given from the start – they don’t.

From the minute the firebombing starts, viewers already have a clear enough sense of how this story plays out. With their home left in ruins and ripped away from their mother, what’s left is a tale of two kids still clinging onto one another alone in an uncharitable world, fending for themselves as best they can. But without a hopeful ending, it’s more akin to watching a slow death play out than otherwise. Director Isao Takahata makes these opening scenes count. In such a short span of time, he places the audience in a position where emotional attachment with the main characters feel genuinely crafted. We’re instantly drawn to Setsuko’s abundant wonder and childlike innocence, and likewise support Seita as he must transform into the parental figure his sister will need. We realise how food scarcity and a general lack of resources impacts them both above all others. And naturally, we can only feel sorry for the two. Their circumstance and untimely demise lie out of their control as both are reduced to mere numbers tallied to the body count their country holds.

For a film that illustrates a tragedy not suitable for most children, Grave of the Fireflies’ greatest strength lies in the fact that it exists as an animated feature. There are several instances where gratuitous images are lingered on, never shying away from the bleakness of these scenes. So brutal, that had the film been made as a live-action, could easily have crossed the line from harrowing to simply unbearable for most. In this, Grave of the Fireflies showcases the power of animation, where the most grotesque scenes are offset with accompanied visuals that are beautiful, evocative and aesthetically pleasing. Graphic displays of burned bodies and malnourished children never come off sadistic, but certainly leave their mark on the viewer. It’s a movie that whilst easily stands out from the typical Ghibli picture, arguably could not have been produced by any other studio. Breath-taking landscapes, delightful character designs and a keen attention to detail are lucid across its runtime, constantly emphasizing the smaller moments just as much as the larger ones. It takes a special group on staff to pour so much effort into each scene, having managed to hold up over 30 years since its release. They did a remarkable job, especially when realizing this was being produced alongside Ghibli’s other feature film at the time, My Neighbor Totoro. Both impressive in their production, but ironically have conflicting views on innocence; where Totoro celebrates the blossoming times of childhood, here those wonders are short-lived; slowly crushed under the weight our leads are burdened with.

A brief overview of the synopsis would give the impression that Grave of the Fireflies is first and foremost an anti-war film, depicting the harsh nature and consequences of conflict for the audience to bear witness to. Takahata actively denied this notion, saying he intended the film as a glimpse into lives affected from society failing to protect its own people. Originally published in 1967 as a semi-autobiographical work, author Akiyuki Nosaka wrote Grave of the Fireflies as an apology. Having lived in Japan during World War II, he lost his home and father to the firebombing of Kobe, losing his sister Keiko to starvation soon afterward. The guilt and remorse Nosaka felt compelled him to write this story as a double-suicide, using Seita’s death as a way of atonement for his actions. Understanding the source material better puts the film’s overall message into context. Despite key events clearly coinciding with WWII, the film never places blame to either side of the war, nor is the enemy ever recognized as American.

War is not the focus, only the backdrop here; simply serving the characters a situation to create conflict. Instead the story is concerned exploring the war at hand on a more personal level, and as a result uncovers pride as a reoccurring pattern within the plot. Pride fuels the war that took away their mother, drives the children to live on their own away from their unpleasant guardian, steers Setsuko to a premature death before leaving Seita to his own downfall, suffering alone on the brink of death. The film pays close attention to these moments, viewing them from the perspective of Seita’s ghost. It detaches viewers from the story momentarily, so that we may capture a glimpse of how he reflects on those actions. Sometimes even recoiling in fear, knowing the consequences about to unfold from his doing. In this, Grave of the Fireflies laments how someone’s pride can lead to the destruction of others and themselves.

The film strives to tug at each of our heartstrings, numerous times for what both children must go through, while also lending some commentary on Japan’s fervent sense of nationalism during those times; critical of one’s pride and dignity to dangerous extents. Crafted by a master hand, it’s a movie that knows what it wishes to be and sets out to achieve that. However, in reality this does not always come true. It’s obvious to see why fans enjoy Grave of the Fireflies to the extent they do: it succeeded in eliciting strong emotions that few others probably ever had. But to talk about a film aspiring for such a personal experience, I feel the need to explain mine.

- - - - - - -

Grave of the Fireflies was a sad, depressing film, even on the sheer surface. Witnessing the two leads placed in a terrible predicament alone put me in a sad, state of mind. The pair are extremely easy to feel sorry for, especially knowing how their story ends from the start. I cried. Tears welled up watching the final sequence, Setsuko and her belongings being cremated out in the open. Feeling the pain her brother must’ve gone through. Those feelings were real and knowing that events like this happen in the world today didn’t help me. It was the first time I could remember crying from a movie, leaving me devastated as the credits rolled. The fireflies had risen, burned the brightest they possibly could have, before returning to darkness, leaving me there as well. That was the first time I watched Grave of the Fireflies.

The second time I watched Grave of the Fireflies, it had once again surprised me, but for reasons that were perplexing. It was still very sad and depressing, but ultimately left me feeling unsatisfied with the experience. Nothing in the film had changed, in fact I still remembered most of the key events that happened along with when they would take place. However this time the film lacked my investment and the sentiments I once had for each of those moments was no longer there. Rewatching the film even years later highlighted certain aspects that I had initially glossed over, not having already been acquainted with the story and characters. The hand that once tugged my heartstring no longer caught me by surprise, and the beats this film played to was a tune I had become familiar with. This was Grave of the Fireflies’ biggest weakness. For a film that enlightens more on a second viewing, loses what made it so special in the first place.

Looking at the film with a critical eye will surely find themes of morality at play but will also find them presented in ways visibly forced and heavy-handed. In a world where two children are just trying to survive in a country torn by war, there are so many instances shown in the film that could have saved both from their terrible ends. But the story will always take the worst option every single time to reach its miserable end, to the point where it’s no longer natural watching this play out. The film continuously tries to milk tears from the audience with a tragedy that constantly makes the worst decisions for its characters. It’s akin to piling tragic event on top of tragic event until we’re left with a mountain of depression, while my reaction moves from genuine sympathy to frustration and disappointment. We as viewers look at this film from the same perspective as Seita’s ghost, and while this does emphasize the meaning behind these moments, it essentially removes part of the deep emotion gained from the experience, causing the repetitive nature of these events to feel counterproductive. We see the storyline in full, from establishing its grieving tone to forcing Seita and Setsuko into the film’s personal martyrs. Their deaths, for our pity.

Regardless of how closely the narrative revolves around these two characters, neither of the pair hold much intrigue outside of being victims. Child characters don’t need a tale of heroism for audiences to get invested in them, but the only attributes Seita and Setsuko have to garner one’s investment is that they’re children who exist as casualties. Seita does possess a few qualities worth mentioning; he holds a strong impression of idealism for his father and while he’s away fighting in the war, Seita bears the responsibility for caring over his younger sister. Except that arduous task is put on a brother that appears as immature as his younger sibling. To Seita, taking care of Setsuko means to play with her all the time and keep her happy, no matter how cruel the world around her can be. His actions are foolish and the film does punish him over them, however I still find his mindset somewhat contrived given the circumstances. Despite how much Seita wants to take care of her sister, he refuses to find work and has no interest helping anyone besides himself and Setsuko. He is stubborn to the bone: even when their health deteriorates and is told to swallow his pride, he refuses to help himself or her sister in a meaningful way. The main reason why most fans overlook this is because of how both feel like authentic children, unaware of the dangers in the world. The animation also helps with this, capturing the nuances and mannerisms one would expect from children. But remember that Seita is supposed to be a 14-year-old boy in the 1940’s, a time where he would be considered an adult capable of working for a living. He’s relatable to us because of how we would view someone of that age but comes across incompetent for someone from his time.

These issues stuck out like a sore thumb on second viewing, partly due to how simplistic the film feels in its presentation. Grave of the Fireflies is often seen as the Ghibli feature to break away from the conventional family-friendly films the studio has produced, and while it does deliver on an unflinching war film not suitable for all ages, it also just so happens to lack the whimsical spirit that gave those other films such striking personality. Takahata has his strengths, from his interest in realistic imagery to his sense of social responsibility as a director, yet here his style feels neutered to a point where little personality can be found in the directing. He’s not Miyazaki, but the film appears contempt in what it wants to achieve, never aiming for more than the core emotional attachment felt though the script. Each scene is carefully calculated, but never ambitious in their purpose. Even the cheerful moments only balance out the hell Seita and Setsuko are in, never acting as driving components for either character. The music also does little to help the experience move along, rarely ever effective in smoothing out transitions or amplifying sentiment in an authentic way. It unironically makes the most emotional moments come off more canned than real. At the end of the day, the presentation may look very pretty, especially when it comes to the animation, but otherwise is rather insignificant when building on the emotional side of the film.

I feel conflicted when trying to summarise my thoughts on Grave of the Fireflies. It has some very noticeable problems that I take issue with, but it’s far from a bad film in my eyes. On the contrary, I would call it a fairly good movie that I unfortunately feel numb towards now, no longer jaded by the emotional appeal that obfuscates the maladroit aspects of the movie. The fact that it tried so hard to appeal through emotions and failed only disappoints me that much more. It’s an odd contrast for me to ponder over: a film I loved at first no long holds any fondness from me. It tugged at my heartstrings, but no longer has any effect. My experience with Grave of the Fireflies at first was special; depressing yet executed with such elegance that made the journey worth the heartbreak. But that feeling could not be rekindled here. Part of me is sad coming to this conclusion, but there is a silver lining. Instead of searching for that exact feeling again, I’ve come to respect and appreciate what I got to experience the first time. I’m happy to have at least experienced this film once, than never at all.

'The fireflies rose, burned ever so brightly, before slowly returning to darkness.'

Rest in Peace, Isao Takahata. (1935-2018)

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 ... for the story and distinct among other works.

Sound:
Some of the sound design from the air raids was chilling. The voice acting was good.

Character:
This is a mixed bag. We are shown how people are dealing with the situation, but the characters don't really flesh out or arc in any way. This is a movie about how people's lives were personally affected during a certain era, but it isn't a character-based movie.
Many say this movie is very sad. By the very nature of wartime eras, it certainly is depressing; you will see people starving, being subjected to horrid conditions, and losing everything. However, that's just the tone of the movie. When i think of a movie being *sad* I think of things that make me cry. For something to affect me personally, it would have to be more character-based sadness.
This isn't a fault of the movie, but I didn't personally connect to the type of sadness it was showcasing.

Enjoyment:
Normally, I hate wartime movies because they are just depressing. They sap my energy and I don't feel enjoyment after having watched one. I love a good sad movie but war eras just bring me down.
That said, this movie is fine. While I didn't personally enjoy it, it was well made on technical levels and could easily be enjoyed by people who like these period pieces. If I could review it "objectively" as much as possible, its a solid 7. Reviewing it based on my own subjective tastes would be a 5.

Overall, I can recognize whats good about it but it also has some faults with fleshing out characters enough to care about them. A depressing watch, but people bring it up so often that I felt obligated to see it.

Hotaru no Haka / Grave of the Fireflies Review

Story (6/10) Fine
*Spoiler*
The story for Grave of the Fireflies I thought was fine, the first couple of minutes of the movie literally starts of the the MC already dead. The way I took it is that the movie is trying to tell me "Don't get attached to the MC because as you can see right fucking here he's dead so you know that this is going to end buddy boy". With that being said I went in there with that in mind and he get introduced to the MC and his little sister and basically the entire ... movie is just showing the struggles they had to go through before they both eventually die.. the end.............. Oh yeah and they through in a bunch on tear jerking scenes of the MC or his little sister struggling with either being hungry or rejected. Also montages of them being happy together and playing like on the beach and what not but these scenes I felt where only here to make you feel some type of way when they would eventually die. The story to me didn't sit well and obviously and apparently that's suppose to be the point but it is what it is, I thought the plot was lackluster and a 6 at best.


Art and Animation (7/10) Good
For 1988 I will give credit were credit is due I don't think it doesn't look very good because it's old, I think it aged quite well for being 20+ years old. But I was never a fan of artstyle in Studio Ghilbli movies. The look too plain to me and I don't think it's bad because if I thought it was bad it would be lower than a 7. It's a preference thing I guess. The animation is another reason why it's probably not lower than a 6 even though I don't necessarily like the art style I thought the animation was good for 1988 so there's that also nothing more can be said about it.


Sound (8/10) Very Good

The music chosen for this movie I found it fit pretty well, the played soothing happy music during the happy times and the depressing music that is I guess suppose to make the viewers cry because there are quite a hand full of depressing scenes in the anime so they threw all their depression OST at you. And I didn't have an issue with it I thought it was done very well so there's that.


Characters (6/10) Fine

The characters I thought were fine, nothing really interesting to me. But from standpoint that this movie is coming from it makes sense that these characters are what they are so it's not necessarily their fault as far as characterization or development. But it is what it is I thought they were fine, they really try to make you connect with the characters with the countless montages of when that are playing around with each other but the fact that you know what their fact was thanks to the beginning I couldn't bare myself to get connected to characters that are basically already dead so it felt like a waste of time to me honestly.

Enjoyment (6/10) Fine

It was interesting enough for me to finish... that's it.. and even then during the countless amount of times the movie attempted to throw little montages of moments between the to main characters at me like I said in the Characters section of my review I felt it was a waste of time since I basically already know what's going to become of them. This lead to me basically saying to myself while I'm watching the movie "OK come on is there anything else? Or is this is we played, we struggled, we died" I make it sound like that's all I learn be I guess that's all I got out of it.


Overall (6/10) Fair
More Specifically (6.60/10) Fair+

I said this before and I'll say it again, I'm not a fan of Studio Ghibli films. I don't have anything against them because I haven't seen any of them except just this one just now but I just wanted to see why everything is so crazy about Ghibli produced films. I thought it movie was fine at best, I understood what it wanted the viewers to feel and I'm not the type of viewer that will sit there on ponder on the fact and say "Man that made me feel really depressed and sad... therefore this is a masterpiece" nah I can't do that. I'll give your credit it wasn't bad but this far from a Masterpiece to me. But this is just my opinion I want a nice deep plot, if you can't give me a good fight then at least bring a plot that keep me thinking not a plot that make me depressed that's not me, if you like being depressed and want a movie to make u feel that way then I guess this is the movie for you.

Going into this movie, knowing this is among the highest ranked anime movies of all time, I fully expected to come out with a deep appreciation for the film.

But you know what? The longer it went on, the angrier I got. That's right: Angry.

Not at the horrors of war, or the deprivation it caused. But increasing anger at the main character. And, despite all the awful beauty of the film (wonderful animation, great soundtrack), I was ultimately left in the end just spittin' mad at his stupidity. ...

Spoilers ahead, I suppose.

At first it seems like he's doing everything right, being the responsible 'adult' child, taking care of his younger sister. But along the way, it seems he loses direction, and both of them increasingly suffer for it.

Some might point out that he's just a teenage boy, what do you expect from him? Of course he's going to slack off, right? And how can we ever understand what he could be going through?

Well, to that, I just point to my own grandfather, stuck in the middle of Arkansas during the height of the Great Depression. Earning 25 cents *a day*. Getting a job with the government where he would go around to houses to cart off the people who died from malnutrition. All when he was a teenager. During a time when at fourteen, you were old enough to make it on your own.

There were so many times that he could have made different decisions. Why didn't he try to do any sort of work AT ALL? Why did he choose to live in the hillside rather than the shelter? Why didn't he swallow his pride and return to his aunt when things were going from bad to worse? Why didn't he make the slightest attempt to find his other relatives, other than to repeat the excuse "I don't know how?"

Bah, I'm getting angry all over again. I struggle to give this a rating as high as a 6 because of the obstinate stupidity of the main character. But, despite its flaws, it did keep me engaged and watching throughout, and it really is beautiful. So there is that.

If I had to come away from this film with a message, it would be this: Don't Be Stupid.

Actual Tally: 6.75
Visually its good, music probably okay. I don't remember much about it.

I didn't buy much of the drama, though. I mean I do feel sorry for the little sister, but that's it. For the male mc, I have no sympathy for him. True his aunt may be a douche, but the least he could do is eat his pride, and go back, at least for his sister's sake. They would have probably survive then.

(With regards to the Overall rating, I didn't include Enjoyment in the rather basic average calculation as I always consider it as a personal bias not to be included with ... the technical aspects of the media.)

Grave of the Fireflies in a word: Depressing.

Never heard of this anime before I got my Studio Ghibli DVD collection. It was not what I was expecting. It is just plain sad from beginning to end. I understand that it is trying to depict the reality and tragedy of the time, and for this reason it has a lot of historical value. Especially, if you are into learning about WWII you might get a lot out of it.

I, however, did not enjoy it. Yes, I cried. I cried a lot, but setting that aside I didn't like the grimy, hopeless feel throughout the whole ... movie. (I'm sure that's what the creators were going for, but it wasn't for me).

*SPOILER* -but still important to why I feel the way I do about it

From the very beginning, you know that the main characters aren't going to make it. This leaves no hope. You don't hope for the characters to survive or recover, because you know they won't. This leaves the audience to just sit back and endure all the unhappiness. This is the biggest reason why I did not like it.

To me, Grave of the Fireflies is a movie for a different time and a different audience. I'm a well-off American guy who's never experienced anything close to the level of misery portrayed in the film, and same goes for nearly everyone that I know. When this was released in Japan, I'm sure everyone knew someone who could relate very intimately with the story. And since these events are still mourned today, the themes and tone are baked into the culture. But not mine.

So in my view, the film is overall too sad and melancholy. It's less that it is overdramatic, but more that it ... is prolonged. It feels sad and hopeless for nearly the whole runtime... and we know it is hopeless because the ending is spoiled in the introduction. It does try to balance out sadness with sprinkles of playful, and while there are some nice moments, it doesn't succeed well enough. Also, since it is sad very immediately, we don't get to see the characters experiencing their normalcy, and doesn't give us much to anchor to. To more effectively feel how the circumstances have effected the characters happiness and well-being, it would have made more sense to see their happiness and well-being first hand, though I’m not sure the movie would have been any better for it. It's easy to compare to Miyazaki's work and say that maybe this could have been more enjoyable if the characters and plot were less realistic. But at the same time, this movie is shooting for something completely different... I'll have to see if Takahata can fully deliver on something like this later down the line.

While this film isn't as 'enjoyable' as I would like, I do think it's a pretty compelling anti-war film. And I guess it's chosen level of realism lends to that. It shows how terrible people can be when resources are scarce, and uniquely manages to do it without going over the top. Many of the background characters care for the main duo, but self-preservation is simply more important and, as far as they can reason, they simply can't afford to help. I think the aunt is legitimately my #1 anime villain of all time, she's a stone cold bitch.

Story: 5
Character: 5
Art: 7
Music: 7
Enjoyment/Overall: 6
Anti-war film: 8

I don't usually write reviews but since this movie is so popular and many regard it as a classic I felt compelled to do one for the first time. I'll start by saying I had high expectations for the film which probably didnt help. I had heard it was tragic, which it was, and that I should be prepared to cry and while Im not really a crier I have had my heart wrenched by anime in the past.
The one saving element in this film is that the animation is amazing especially for the time it was made, 1988. The scenery is beautiful and there ... is depth in every visual. From the air raids to the natural scenery everything is done at a high level. If it wasnt for this wonderful element Id have given this movie a much harsher review.
Now for the bad parts. The plot and character development are extremely lacking. The movie literally starts by showing us the main characters are going to die. You can hate me for the spoiler if youd like but if you ask me if it happens 10 seconds into the movie it cant really be counted as a spoiler. This already adds a sense of dread throughout the movie so there is no suspense at all. It is essentially a snuff film so all you can hope for is a well executed one, ala Passion of Christ. Unfortunately, this is not the case.
The young boy, no I wont bother recalling their names, seems to be honorable at the beginning of the movie. We see him acting swiftly to get his toddler sister to safety and for the most part he does an excellent job of avoiding danger. They survive the air raid and he manages to get them to their Aunts house were they have food and shelter. This is when the character problems begin. They soon find that their mother was a victim of the air raid and has lost most of her skin. She must be sent to a local hospital and eventually dies. There really doesnt seem to be much emotion surrounding her death. Sure, the boy is trying to keep the sister in comfortable ignorance and does eventually cry but it comes across as a minor event. Also the aunts coldness towards her now orphaned family does come a bit sudden.
It starts with her selling their mothers clothes for rice which is smart, but eventually she refuses to let them have any more of it. She never lets them starve, feeding them porridge instead, but she clearly is favoring her direct family. While she is cold to them this does not excuse the boys lack of responsiblity when the boy refuses to help around the house (leaving dirty dishes in the sink), provide any support (could have done any kind of work for money), develop any education (read a book), or any help for the town (they were constantly rebuilding do to air raids). This frustrates the aunt and she lets them know it albeit in a crude, heartless manner. Of course the boy could have helped their situation by making an effort but instead he decides to make things much worse by moving them into a cave shelter which the aunt half jokingly suggests. I dont think she really believed theyd do it.
Now Im not suggesting that the adults are not at some fault here. The mother leaving them to get a head start towards the shelter, the aunt allowing them to leave her home, the farmers not sharing any crop, the doctor not providing any help, but the boy had plenty of opportunities to change things for the better but his pride prevents him from doing so which eventually leads to his sister starving to death.
To make matters worse there a few unclear elements surrounding the plot. They apparently had plently of money from inheritance to survive. Yet we only see the boy withdraw money at the beginning to buy cooking supplies and at the end to buy food, sadly it is too late to help his sister. My initial assumption is that his money lacked value later in the war so he was unable to use until the war ended.
The other element is surrounding his own death. We see thay he eventually is able to use his money to buy supplies yet somehow he ends up starving, exhausted, and seemingly beaten at the station. What the hell happened to him? Maybe I missed this in my first viewing but there simply wasnt enough redeeming elements to justify a second watch. 6 out of 10.

*Review contains spoilers*

Story 7/10
The story is good and realistic. It is exactly what you would expect happens to children that age living through WW2. Or people in general during war time.

Art/sound 6/10
It is an old movie, so don't expect high quality drawings or sounds. You can actually notice how there is only one sound at a time (ex. talking. Wind. Airplane. Talking...no more that one sound at a time).

Characters 7/10
I really liked the characters, specially Seita, as he was so young still put his needs aside to take care of his sister. Seita was always really sweet and responsible. Setsuko is more well behaved than ... you would expect a child her age to be, specially under their living conditions. Very mature children.

I really hated their heartless aunt!! However, God knows how we would behave under such extenuating circumstances.

Enjoyment 3/10
Let me tell you, this score is completely based on my opinion and what I like, not reflecting the movies' quality at all. To me, this movie was painful to watch. I really took no pleasure at watching this kids struggle like this, and facing disappointment after disappointment after disappointment...and when you think there is a light at the end of the tunnel: NOPE!! They are still screwed!...Too sad and gloomy for my taste. Life is already harsh to also watch harsh things on TV too.

Overall 6/10
I would completely recommend this movie to tough people or a person that likes watching people suffering and struggling nonstop. I do understand it is a realistic movie, but man, those children deserved a break! I cried throughout the entire movie and that is not the kind of entertainment I enjoy.

Characters (9/10):
I feel as though the characters are written very well. Seita and Setsuko act as I would expect them to act for most of the movie, which is something that many anime get fail to do when it comes to younger characters. Because the characters were written so realistically I was able to get sucked into the story, and be immersed.
Story (5/10):
The story is... Well, it's realistic enough for me to consider at least average, but that's basically it. It's sad and tragic but there is no point behind it, which was very disappointing. There wasn't anything too unexpected after a quarter of the ... movie. I see so many ways the story could've been handled better to create a movie that feels more fulfilling to watch, a movie I'd enjoy while crying eyes out.
Art & Sound (8/10):
I quite liked the art, animations and music. There isn't much to say, the movie just felt good to watch. Ghibli once again made a good looking movie with its iconic animations, its great sound effect and amazing music.
Enjoyment (3/10):
I didn't enjoy the movie very much. Personally in order to enjoy a movie, it at least needs to be funny, mind blowing, unexpected or special. This movie wasn't any of that. It was telling a sad story. It wasn't very touching because I couldn't relate, It didn't blow my mind in any way, it was just a sad story.
Summary (5/10):
While the characters are well-written and the sound and art are as good as you'd expect from a Ghibli Studios movie, the story was mediocre. Grave of the fireflies didn't do anything special, didn't make any specific point, didn't criticize the society in any way, besides trying to show how terrible a war and its effects could be, which isn't a bad criticism, but it either didn't do it well enough for me to be satisfied or it wasn't enough. Perhaps if I had personally lost someone to war I could relate and enjoy the movie more, but as of right now I'm hoping I won't ever feel like that.

This review contains *SPOILERS*.
Watched in Sub/Dub: Both

Story: 8/10
Grave of the Fireflies follows the young children Seita and Setsuko as they attempt to survive in war-torn Japan. The duo is faced with loss and tragedy until they meet their untimely deaths. I believe the general purpose of the plot is to show the audience the inescapable nature of war even (or especially) as a child. While the nihilist in me enjoys this to quite an extent, I do agree with the rare criticisms that the seemingly meaningless nature of this film somewhat fails at delivering a strong message. The narrative is clear and succinct but I ... feel the emotional turmoil and upsetting messaging could’ve been pushed further and made an even greater impact.

Art: 7/10
As with any Studio Ghibli movie (excluding Earwig and the Witch), the style is distinct and generally pleasing to the eye. Grave of the Fireflies has a significantly more muted palette than its counterparts to reflect both the drab contents of the film and to create a more lifelike atmosphere. Similar to the story, I believe Grave of the Fireflies could have been even more impactful with more deviations from the standard Studio Ghibli style, which is mostly focused on PG or PG-13 imagery. There are any number of anime that I could name with violent animations that make the audience squirm and still maintain stylistic consistency so Grave of the Fireflies really doesn’t have any excuses.

Sound/Soundtrack: 8/10
The Grave of the Fireflies soundtrack may be one of the best parts of the film as a whole. Even during the lighter moments of the film, the music never expands beyond slightly hopeful tunes or relaxing melodies, staying true to the brutal nature of the film. The melancholy tunes are extremely compelling and bring to life the otherwise emotionally empty animations.

Character: 4/10
The tiny cast of characters are all equally unlikable and the audience is almost challenged to spare sympathy. I’m not sure if this choice was intentional or just tone deaf but Seita is frustratingly stubborn in the worst ways possible. He’s determined to live on his own with Setsuko and refuses help or work whenever offered since he’s unable to swallow his pride. Again it’s hard for me to tell the intention behind this was but it often makes the sad moments of the film just plain frustrating.

Enjoyment: 5/10
Considering the unforgiving nature of Grave of the Fireflies I doubt that many would be able to say they truly enjoyed watching this film. However even after viewing it a second time I can’t claim I finish the film feeling satisfied in any particular way. Grave of the Fireflies doesn’t fall on either side of the emotional pendulum, it’s not a triumphant story of survival or an extremely tragic story of failure, it’s just… a story. A simple story of a naive boy failing to take care of his infant sister and ultimately losing in the battle of survival. The lack of sympathetic characters and distressing imagery along with an unclear message leads to an extremely unsatisfactory viewing experience.

Overall: 6/10
While I can see the weight and importance of Grave of the Fireflies, I do not personally find the film to be as emotionally impactful as is often advertised. Perhaps it’s because I have the extreme privilege of having lived a life that was never affected by war. Maybe it’s due to the structure of the film, as we never see Seita and Setsuko’s life before the bombings so the audience has little grasp on all that they’ve truly lost. Perhaps it’s because Seita is a completely unsympathetic protagonist. All that being said, I think this film does have an important place in both film and Studio Ghibli’s history. In privileged countries we often gloss over the millions of innocent civilian lives that are ruined due to war. With western countries especially, there’s even a sense of accomplishment paraded over the ending of a war even when it’s completely unwarranted. War is not glorious or filled with redemption, it’s traumatic and harrowing and far too selfish. War is the infant dying of starvation while her older brother fails to meet her basic needs.

Probably going to be one of my more controversial reviews.

Plot: B *Seita is the older brother of his young sister Setsuko and they are struggling to survive in rural Japan without their parents where the people are poor, the food is rationed, and they are under attack by the Americans who are closing in on victory putting an end to WWII.

Visuals: B *Some really pretty scenes especially when the world turns black and then starts to glow from all of the fireflies. Overall, the artwork did a nice job of showing off the bleakness of the world that Seita and Setsuko are living in.

Voice Acting: ... F *This is the first time I stopped a movie and switched it from the Dub to a Sub. The voice actress for Setsuko had the most annoying voice that I have ever heard. I wanted to smother her face with a pillow every time "cried". Ughhhh. Thankfully, the Sub version was ok at talking, but the crying was still atrociously bad. Why can't characters in anime be subtle when they are either mad, surprised, or sad? Nope everything is an exaggeration and it is so cringey to watch. On the plus side, every other character had a decent voice in both the Dub and the Sub. It was just the main young character Setsuko that I was meant to care about. Well if the point of the film is for me to fall in love with her and to empathize with Saita and her for living during a rough time in Japanese history, than it was all destroyed by horrific voice acting.

Film Score/Soundtrack: C- *Not worth listening to on its own. Mostly consists of dialogue and sound effects from the film with lots of repetition. But the main melody is gorgeous and understandably leads to a lot of people crying when they watch this film.

***Favorite Track: Setsuko & Saita

Characters: C *I found this movie more interesting from a setting aspect as opposed to the character aspect. While Saita was a good brother, he wasn't much of a role model. He had family that was willing to support him and get him and his sister food, and he instead opted to not try to get a job, but instead to steal from other people who did work and contributed to society. And he had the nerve to be mad at the family for judging him and micromanaging his rations. And because of his selfish pride, MEGA spoiler spoiler: click to read

Cringeworthy Anime Moments: *Since this is an anime grounded on a harsh reality, there really isn't too much to complain about in this department. Any that would come from this category all builds off the voice acting.

Opening Titles: A+ *My younger brother walked in the room when this was playing and he said he wanted to cry. I don't get overly emotional when it comes to movies (or life in general honestly) without reason, but I think that when a scene can be watched without context and it still elicits emotions from a person just based on the music and the visuals, it is doing the job well. Basically right up until I heard Setsuka's voice, this movie had me captivated and the fantastic intro was a big reason why. It plays the Setsuko & Saita theme referenced earlier.

Final Verdict: 5/10 *I can't help but wonder how much more I would have liked this if I liked the voice acting. Yet at the same time, I didn't really find this as sad as most people do either. It's a unique perspective for me as an American to see what it was like for the Japanese people during WWII instead of the cliche that the people were all willing to die for their emperor and would fight down to every man woman and child. While I'm sure a lot of the people were brainwashed into that mentality, the world is full of decent people just trying to live their lives and sometimes movies need to reflect that too.