subject: Awesome War-Themed Japanese Animation Titled Grave of the Fireflies [print this page] Awesome War-Themed Japanese Animation Titled Grave of the Fireflies
Grave of the Fireflies is an animation directed by Isao Takahata. It is an animation movie set during World War 2. The main characters are teenage boy named Seita and his four year-old sister named Setsuko. They lost their home and parents during the war.
Seita lost his home because the air raid attacks their homes and make his mother burnt inside their house. He takes his sister to live with his aunt but they cannot live there for long time because he feels that his aunt does like him and his sister. Actually Seita is the one who refuses to do productive work. He wants to protect his sister because his parents told him to do so.
That is the cause of his aunt's anger towards the two children. The aunt is a typical person who does everything to make the war bearable to her daughter. She thinks that caring all of the people is impossible. Therefore, she wants Seita to work so he can feed his sister with enough food.
The animation is very detail and impressive. It delivers the emotion to the audience. You will be able to know what happens during World War 2 in Japan through Seita and Setsuko's eyes.
Seita and Setsuko move away from their aunt's home because Seita cannot stand his aunt's behavior anymore. He feels rejecter and he goes to find a place to stay. They have some money but it is not enough.
Setsuko gets weaker because she and Seita live in a bunker that is not a good place for living. Not good at all but they have to live there because they are homeless.
After they have no money left, Seita steals food from the local farmer. He even steals in people's homes while the air raid attacks the town. The hard life they get leads Setsuko to a worse condition. Toward the end of the story Setsuko dies of malnutrition.
You will be able to find the novel version as well. This animation is based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Nosaka Akiyuki. The book itself is very popular in Japan.
You might also find out that many people know this animation because it is a war-themed animation that you rarely find in other animation movie.
If you know the history of Japan during World War 2 and the mass psychology of the Japanese people, you will surely cry when you watch this animation. You can find the DVD and play it on your home theater for greater HD graphic and sound effects that will amaze you.
