Grave of the Fireflies

Next up we have one of the most recognizable Studio Ghibli films and is considered one of the best anime films ever made. Before anyone asks, it’s a Studio Ghibli film that’s not made by Miyazaki. There are a lot of film directors working at Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki isn’t the only one. “Grave of the Fireflies,” released in 1988, was directed by Isao Takahata, Miyazaki’s longtime friend. They both found Studio Ghilbi together and this film came out the same year as “My Neighbor Totoro,” another Studio Ghibli film that was made by Miyazaki.

“Grave of the Fireflies” is a war drama film about two siblings trying to survive the end of World War II. It’s very heartbreaking and a movie that can make people cry. Easter Lily said in her review, “I recommend not watching this if you’re too faint of heart.”

If anyone has eaten or heard of Japanese hard fruit candies, this movie has made it popular in the West. Setsuko, the sister, voiced originally by Rhoda Chrosite and later by Emily Neves, was seen eating them. Lily noted, “There was a limited edition of fruit hard candy that had Setsuko on the tin. They still sell them but they’re very rare. I saw some of the Grave of the Fireflies edition fruit hard candies at an Asian market. I didn’t get it unfortunately but when I first saw it I knew it was an image from a Studio Ghibli film.”

I can’t say if this movie is for kids because there are parts where dead bodies are severely burnt with graphic detail, despite that it’s rated PG. Seeing how it takes place during WWII, you would expect graphic violence. When it was released in USA, it was given a PG rating, but different countries give different ratings when it’s given a release there. This movie possibly had a restricted rating in some countries.

Now I think everyone knows, even people who have never watched it, the heartbreaking ending. Setsuko dies of malnutrition and days later, Seita, her older brother, voiced originally by J. Robert Spencer and later by Adam Gibbs, dies of starvation in a train station. Then again, the movie starts off with him dying, so that is foreshadowing the ending.

Lily ended her review by saying, “Even though it’s a very sad movie, it’s what makes it a good movie in my opinion. I just love drama films. It’s very touching and emotional, more than Twilight.”

Like I had stated yesterday, even though this is a good movie, it’s one of those that you can only see once and can never see again. For those who can actually watch this more than once, you have more willpower than I do. I only saw this once and I never saw it again because of how sad of a story it is. Then again, it does show the effects of war on children, so I appreciate it for that, but again, these are children. That’s what makes it even more difficult to watch. My brother says that he refuses to watch this film and will never see it, to which I understand him completely on why he would say that. Go ahead and give this one a try, but if you agree that it’s a movie that you never need to see again after one time, I’m with you. This is definitely not one of my favorites because of how powerfully sad of a movie it is. Also, the whole movie is about Seita and Setsuko, so that's good enough, but to kill them off at the end leaves a powerful effect on the viewer.

Great, now I feel better after reviewing that. Look out tomorrow when we start getting to the nicer films with “My Neighbor Totoro,” a much better film. That will be tomorrow’s review in “Studio Ghibli Month.”