Grave of the Fireflies
Grave of the Fireflies was a heartbreaking anime that tragically begins with the death of the protagonist, a young boy named Seita. The opening scene portrays Seita lying crumpled against a metal beam in a subway station. People pass him by, many making faces of disapproval, as he simply passes away without uttering a single word. After his death, Seita's ghost travels back into the past to watch the events of his life leading up to his death.
This movie moved me on an emotional level. It was so horribly tragic that I wanted to go to my room and cry until I couldn’t cry anymore. With that being said, I greatly appreciated the historical accuracy of the movie. It was based back during the WWII era. It was near the end of the war; this is where we find our young ‘past’ protagonist preparing for the daily firebombing air raids by the American military. He lives with his mother and his baby sister, Setsuko. Tragically, the mother dies due to injuries from an air raid leaving Seita and Setsuko to fend for themselves. I don’t want to give anything away, but eventually the two find themselves homeless, forcing them to fend for themselves.
Grave of the Fireflies was a movie about doing whatever it takes to survive in the face of extreme conditions and caring for your loved ones. The protagonist’s devotion to his baby sister was admirable, as was his commitment to become self reliant. I normally find movies from Ghibli studios to be happy, radiant, dominated by bright colors and cheerful music. Grave of the Fireflies was just, so depressing. The movie had its moments of cheerfulness (Setsuko was just so cute), but the viewer was always quickly reminded that Grave of the Fireflies was a tragedy, and not anything else.
The artwork reflected the mood of the scene being portrayed at the time. Mostof it was dark and depressing. There were scenes of bright beautiful visuals that reflect the standard Ghibli studios trademark. As usual, when it comes to this studio, the characters were drawn uniquely. Just like the rest of this anime, the music set the tone for tragedy, so I found that depressing as well.
In the end, Grave of the Fireflies was just too sad for me to really enjoy it, despite the fact that it was a good movie overall. I’m giving it 5 out of 10. I recommend this movie to the Ghibli fans out there who don’t mind feeling a bit depressed after the fact.
