Grave of the Fireflies

Original Title: 火垂るの墓
Romanized: Hotaru no Haka
Literal:

Plot Synopsis

In the latter part of World War II, a boy and his sister, orphaned when their mother is killed in the firebombing of Tokyo, are left to survive on their own in what remains of civilian life in Japan. As the situation grows progressively worse in the war, things deteriorate proportionally on the homefront. We follow Seita and Setsuko as they do their best to survive in the Japanese countryside, battling hunger, prejudice, and pride in their own personal battle.

Quick Review

Rating: 5 / 5
Reviewer: Marc
Review Date: 2003-08-19

"Powerful", "moving", "touching", and "great" are words frequently used by people to describe movies, but this is one of the very few cases where they are most sincerely deserved. Simultaneously an allegory of human failings and a quiet but unflinching look at two children caught in the peripheral effects of a war, Grave of the Fireflies is one of the most painful and affecting movies you're ever likely to see, animated or otherwise. The slow-motion tragedy is presented in subtle but beautifully detailed animation in the steady-handed, minutely realistic style of Ghibli director Isao Takahata.

Grave of the Fireflies is a touching and extremely painful movie to watch, but it's not an idle tearjerker. This movie is direct, honest, thought provoking, and worth watching by anyone. Just make sure you're ready for it before you start.

US DVD Review

There are two DVD versions. The newer special edition is impressive; it has the movie in anamorphic widescreen video, bilingual audio, and alternate-angle storyboards on the first disc. The second DVD includes a variety of interviews (including, oddly enough, one with the oft-quoted Roger Ebert), biographies, historical information, and trailers.

The older single-disc DVD version (now out of print) is, like USM's other early releases, rather basic--it includes a chapter index, subtitle track, and the Japanese and English stereo soundtracks, along with short intros of the main characters. The video is non-anamorphic widescreen.

Content Guide

A very painful movie to watch, and is just too sad for younger children, though it's also probably too quiet to interest them; in the 13-up range, mostly because of the painful content.

Violence: 2 - One scene of the fire bombing of Tokyo.

Nudity: 1 - A few scenes involving bathing.

Sex/Mature Themes: 0 - None.

Language: 1 - Mild language.

Notes and Trivia

A production of Studio Ghibli, the great Hayao Miyazaki's animation workshop, and is one of the very few movies produced by it that wasn't penned by Miyazaki. Interestingly enough, it apparently ran as a double bill with My Neighbor Totoro when they were first released theatrically in Japan (neither movie was expected to succeed commercially). The story, as mentioned above, is based on a semi-autobiographical novel by Nosaka Akiyuki.

I rarely mention other reviewers, particularly non-anime ones, but Roger Ebert's review of Grave of the Fireflies for the Chicago Sun-Times includes, in addition to praise rarely given to an anime film by the mainstream press, a number of very interesting analyses that only someone well versed in film history could come up with, and also cites a number of other sources analyzing the film, the book, and their content. I found it quite interesting if for no other reason than the quotes from other sources, and I recommend a look.

Availability

Available in the US from US Manga Corps on a bilingual DVD special edition (buy from RightStuf or AnimeNation). Was previously available on a more basic bilingual DVD, subtitled and dubbed VHS all now out of print.

Looking to buy? Try these stores: RightStuf (search) | AnimeNation | Akemi's a(nime)Store