Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6837 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-10-08
• Rating: Unrated
• Formats: Animated, Collector's Edition, Color, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish
• Subtitled in: English
• Dubbed in: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 159 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
Isao Takahata's powerful antiwar film has been praised by critics wherever it has been screened around the world. When their mother is killed in the firebombing of Tokyo near the end of World War II, teenage Seita and his little sister Setsuko are left on their own: their father is away, serving in the Imperial Navy. The two children initially stay with an aunt, but she has little affection for them and resents the time and money they require. The two children set up housekeeping in a cave by a stream, but their meager resources are quickly exhausted, and Seita is reduced to stealing to feed his sister.

The strength of Grave of the Fireflies lies in Takahata's evenhanded portrayal of the characters. A sympathetic doctor, the greedy aunt, the disinterested cousins all know there is little they can do for Seita and Setsuko. Their resources, like their country's, are already overtaxed: anything they spare endangers their own survival. As in the Barefoot Gen films, no mention is made of Japan's role in the war as an aggressor; but the depiction of the needless suffering endured by its victims transcends national and ideological boundaries. --Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews

I couldn't sleep after watching this...
Seriously - that's how moving this film is. I can't get out of my head the images of the two children, the cold, calloused adults, the soldier shouting 'long live the Emperor' amongst the flames and ruin after an air raid. It just...haunts you. And I agree with one reviewer, I was so hoping for a happy ending for the two, even though you know from the beginning there isn't going to be one. I have never, ever been so touched by a movie before. Especially an anime....

There is also a teacher's guide to this film. A lot of people think it's not appropriate for children. And, granted, young children wouldn't quite understand, but I think for older children, watching with family or in a classroom, would be an important film to see. Yes, it's depressing, but it sends a clear universal message, that in war, there are no 'good guys' or 'bad guys', no winners or losers.

Great Animation
I envy the fact that this kind of dark drama can be possibly made into animation in Japan.

It's very gloomy and dark drama.

I saw this animation a long time ago with the crappy CD-rom movie. The picture was so bad at that time. And I finally bought the DVD two years ago and was so pleased by how they removed the noise and upgrade the sound.

If you expect animation like Disney's, this should be far from your expectation.

But if you want to watch an animation that is hard to be made in live action, this will be the one.

It is even realistic than live action films.

The story line and all that, you can read from other people's comment, but one thing I want to tell is, this makes you understand how war can change children's life who has nothing to do with politics or anything.
How they suffered.

Must buy animation.

Beauty and poetry on film
I watched Grave of the Fireflies again today. It was incredibly moving. Most people would say that it's sad and depressing, but I say that it's simply, moving. It moves the spirit like no other anime (or animated for that matter) can. The movie tells the somewhat autobiographical story of a boy and his younger sister, two Japanese children during world war II.
SPOILER

The boy's mother dies during a bombing, and in an indescribably moving scene, he swings on a gymnastics bar in their back yard trying to cheer up his crying younger sister, "Watch me, I'm good at this!" He says.
To no avail. His sister doesn't even look at him. Trying to hide his own sorrow, perhaps he's even trying to cheer himself up.

By the end of the movie, they do die, but it's not a depressing end in my opinion. By earthly standards it could be considered depressing, but by spiritual standards, I find it more uplifting than anything. They conquer death by becoming spirits who observe their world with happiness, and still show compassion for one another, "Setsuko, it's time to go to bed," The boy says with a smile, sitting on a park bench, holding his younger sister. They don't care that they're dead. They conquered death. They conquered all of that hatred and killing that destroyed them. I can't help but cry by the end of the movie. I'm not sad though, i cry from the beauty of it. From the beauty of the human spirit. The spirit I believe given by God that reflects His image. I feel not sad, but humbled to witness such love, kindness and optimism shown by human beings. I feel like I'm almost not worthy. Why do I have to be such a crappy person compared to these people? I want to become better and show this love and kindness to others. I learned a term for this a few semester ago, called "catharsis." It was used to describe Greek tragedy plays, and the purging of self that occurs after watching them.

I guess what I've learned is that movies are more than just "entertainment." They can contain messages, that, although sad to many people, display some of the most important things in life. Movies are an artform, and this movie is art.