Grave of the Fireflies

(/'_') Watching Grave of the Fireflies, I simply can't control my tears. It is one of the most depressing and unquestionably one of the greatest anime movies that ever was or ever will be. It's one of those movies you might 'regret' watching because you cry so much but yet at the same time, you feel glad you have watched it.

Many consider Grave of the Fireflies as an anti-war movie. I totally agree! War is cruel and I feel very fortunate and blessed that I do not have to go through what the characters in the show go through. Peace certainly cannot be taken for granted.

This is one very emotional, joyous, sad, powerful, and beautiful movie. I believe any breathing, feeling person will be touched.

Plot
Grave of the Fireflies centers around a teenage boy named Seita and his younger sister Setsuko. During World War II, the firebombings in their hometown Kobe, Japan, take away the life of their beloved mother. They suddenly find themselves homeless and decide to move in with their aunt. However, their aunt is a cruel woman who gives them barely enough food, insults them and sells their mother's kimono for rice, which she keeps mostly for her own family.

Seita and Setsuko finally decide to leave and they find an old, abandoned bomb shelter to stay in. However, they eventually run out of food, and Setsuko starts to suffer from malnutrition. In desperation, Seita withdraws money from their mother's bank account to buy good food for Setsuko. Sadly, at the bank, he learns of his father's death. Though depressed, he manages to pull himself together and buy a lot of food for Setsuko. When he's back at the shelter, he finds Setsuko hallucinating. She is sucking a marble which she believes is fruit drop. She also offers him 'onigiri' ('rice balls') which are made out of mud. Seita feeds her watermelon but it's all too late, she finally dies of starvation. He cremates her and puts her ashes in the fruit drops tin, which he carries along with his father's photograph, until his death on 21 September 1945.



Art/Animation
This is an 1988 anime movie. Taking that into account, I think that both the art and animation are beautifully done. I especially like how they animate the facial expressions of the characters and the scenes with the fireflies.



Characters
This anime movie is about the bond between brother and sister. It's not so much about the hardships they go through but more about how they react to those hardships and how they stick together right to the very end. Their bond is so strong that it makes the eventual tragedy ending all the more touching and meaningful.

Favorite Characters: Seita and Setsuko (Their resilience and love for each other are admirable!)