The overall tone of the movie is of a very tragic nature–even such lighthearted moments as the aforementioned sequences involving Seita and Setsuko playing around the house or gathering fireflies as lights for their cave are all tainted with a touch of sadness, for we know that these brief scenes of happiness will not last. Indeed, as we see how these events came to pass, we find ourselves rooting for Seita and Setsuko to find a way to stay alive, but alas, it is not to be, given Seita’s stubborn pride. The outcome of the story is actually showcased at the opening of the movie, where we see a ghostly specter of Seita watching a more malnourished version of himself die a painful, lonely death at a train station. Both try by all means to live off of vegetables or whatever food they can afford to trade and/or steal, to no avail…. After butting heads with Auntie long enough, the children decide to run away, setting up home in an abandoned cave by the lake. Auntie, a cold, bitter, self-serving woman, has no patience with Seita or Setsuko, especially when they would rather chase after fireflies at moonlight, play by the beach, or lounge around the house instead of helping out. The children move to Nishinomiya to stay with their aunt. Mom is seriously wounded and found wrapped in bandages at a hospital, where she dies shortly after. Their fatal struggle for survival begins right at the start, when both are bombed out of house and home by American B-29s. Not just an astonishingly great (and, at the risk of coming off as clichperfect) work of art, this is a moving, thought-provoking, and ultimately heartbreaking tale about the loss of innocence and the tragedies of war.īased on an autobiography by Akiyuki Nosaka, the film, set during the bombing of Japan in –of all times– World War II, centers on Seita, a loving, headstrong Navy soldier’s son and his innocent little sister, Setsuko. Truly one of Studio Ghibli’s greatest crowning achievements, GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES is a brilliant masterpiece fully deserving of a place in any of the best movies ever made.
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