ANI-MOVIES, *Grave Of The Fireflies

The horrors of World War II have been the focus of several anime films including Barefoot Gen and Rail Of The Star, but Grave Of The Fireflies is considered the definitive movie, especially since it was the second outing for Studio Ghibli. Oddly enough, since this came out the same year as Ghibli's My Neighbor Totoro, it was sold as a double feature with the film in various international releases at the time which makes for a severe contrast in tone going from war atrocities to a cheerful modern day fairy tale. Isao Takahata directed this and went on to direct an even more opposite anime movie in Kiki's Delivery Service which was also an uplifting family picture but didn't hold back on the inhumanity that war takes on both sides of the story, which is striking considering this was the first film Takahata directed for Ghibli. Most have seen this film as being Takahata's magnum opus, even though it's one of the most somber movies ever made and it drains enough from just one viewing that you never feel the need to watching a second time. It's visually revered and thought of as being one of Ghibli's most detailed movies of the 80s, but the sobering effect that the story has on you will quickly take you out of being mesmerized by anything you see. This was based on a short story by Akiyuki Nosaka who wrote it in 1967 to make amends for losing his adopted younger sister as Japan was recovering from the fall of war which he basically saw himself as a coward but still lived to tell his story. This is the only other Ghibli movie that neither Disney nor GKids owned the rights to outside of The Red Turtle.

Starting in late 1945, we see a homeless boy named Seita die of starvation in a train station with his spirit joining that of his departed sister Setsuko in a field full of fireflies. The story then skips back a few months later where their home is bombed by Americans during the Pacific War. Seita and his sister move in with their aunt as their father is still in the navy, but it's later on told that he was probably killed after Japan surrendered. Seita doesn't have a school or place to work at as they were all destroyed during the air raids, so his aunt gets cross with them complaining that she tires of having to take care of anyone outside her immediate family. Seita and Setsuka move out on their own and live in a nearby air shelter, although Seita resorts to stealing from other people in order to keep the two of them alive. Setsuka eventually dies of malnutrition, with Seita burning her body to ashes and keeping them inside a tin can that he used to keep candy in for her.

The message of Grave Of The Fireflies wasn't intended to be an anti-war movie, but more how the lives of those who survive a war are inevitably destroyed by it. There is no real authority working against the pair of siblings, although their bipolar aunt pulls a major switch at some point when she gets fed up with being responsible for estranged family, which in fact shows how the war turned people inwards and only caring for themselves and their loved ones leaving all the other victims out in the cold. Ghibli's craftmanship shines brightly in this despite the haunting musical score and the heart wrenching plight of these orphans who have been abandoned by a self-gratifying society. This film is a must-see for any aficionado of animation as the emotional hand-drawn style is something that is lost on movies of today, however the weight of guilt that the story tries to burden you with makes it difficult to watch more than once in a lifetime.