Grave of the Fireflies

I had done a review on "Grave of the Fireflies" awhile ago, but I wanted to revisit on the anniversary of Pearl Harbor. Another film by Studio Ghibli, directed by Isao Takahata, is a very, very, very powerful movie about the aftermath of war in Japan after World War 2. WARNING: this movie is incredibly emmotional, even for us guys. If you don't tear up, or at least get a lump in your throat, then there is something very wrong with you...

The movie chronicles the plight of Seita (15 yo)and his younger sister, Setsuko (4yo) in the end days of the war with Japan. The anime starts with the death of Seita in a subway station: a janitor finds his body and pulls a small tin out of Seita's pocket, he throws it away when all he finds in it are ashes and dead fireflies. As the tin hits the floor, Seita's spirit emerges and he tells his story of what happened.

Seita's mother is burned in a bombing raid and dies shortly after the attack. Seita and his sister go to their aunt's house to find shelter. She reluctantly takes them in, considering them to be burden more than anything else...and lets the children know. At one point she convinces Seita to sell their mother's kimono for rice, the kimono is their tangible item of their mother, since the bombing raid burned down their home. After a series of clashes like this, Seita takes hi sister and they make a home in a cave...which they light up with captured fireflies. However, the next morning, they are all dead and Setsuko asks Seita about death and why did their mother died.

After awhile their food and money runs out. Seita is forced to steal from neighboring farms. But even then that is not enough; Setsuko grows weaker with malnutrition. Seita eventually goes back to the city, gathers together enough money and supplies for himself and his sister. He left Setsuko alone in the cave, promising to return with food, but she grows even weaker as he cooks it for her. You will need to watch the rest of the movie to see how it ends...keep the tissues nearby.

The movie is based on an autobiographical book by Akiyuki Nosaka. It is, in itself, a powerful read that I would recommend as well. Again, this is a very intense and heart-wrenching story, so be prepapred!

As I said before, I chose to revisit this anime because of the 70th anniversary of Pearl Harbor. It was a reflection for me, not only on that war, but the current wars going on around the world, and the almost untold stories of those who survive the armageddon, but are challenged by its afterrmath. While this is a hard movie to watch becuase of the content, I would say that anyone who would call themselves an anime fan MUST watch this outstanding film.