Follow us on Google News
Get the latest updates directly in your Google News feed
While Studio Ghibli is known for making movies that will make you love the mundane ongoings of life, one of its productions completely defects from this ideology.Grave of the Fireflies, an anti-war film directed by Isao Takahata will make you cry for days on end.
While Hayao Miyazaki’s movies inspire fans to live a slow life surrounded by the things they love,Grave of the Fireflieswill make you realize the ugliness of war. And under no circumstances can it be called a subtle portrayal as you see two siblings slowly losing everything in the movie in the aftermath of the Pacific War.
Why Only Studio Ghibli Was Allowed to Adapt the Original Story ofGrave of the Fireflies
Before being a hit Ghibli movie,Grave of the Fireflieswas a semi-autobiographical short story written by Akiyuki Nosaka. It is based on the experiences of the author during the 1945 firebombing of Kobe. In the aftermath of the tragedy, his adoptive sister, Keiko, died due to malnutrition, and the story was written as a personal apology to her.
Hayao Miyazaki Abandoned His Plans to Retire Almost Over 2 Decades Ago Because He Wanted to Create Something “Especially for the daughters of my friends”
As you can see,Grave of the Firefliesis an extremely personal story to Nosaka. In an interview withAnimerica, the author admitted that he had received several offers to create a live-action film adaptation of his story, but he had denied them all. According to Nosaka:
It was impossible to create the barren, scorched earth that’s to be the backdrop of the story.
His other argument also included that contemporary children would not be able to play the characters convincingly. Thus, when Ghibli offered an animated version of the story, he was surprised. After a close examination of the storyboards, Nosaka was convinced that no other medium could have depicted the story so well. He was also surprised at how accurately the backgrounds were created.
Isao Takahata Poured His Heart and Soul into the Making ofGrave of the Fireflies
As surprising as it is,Grave of the Fireflieswas the first anime movie that the director produced with Studio Ghibli. According to the director,wartime movies often tend to be tear-jerkers, thus making the audience feel an inferiority complex. The people who survived during wartime are seen as more noble and strong-hearted, but at the same time, this creates a distance between the characters and their audience as they believe the story has nothing to do with them.
Hayao Miyazaki Made the Most Daring Decision by Releasing My Neighbor Totoro with Studio Ghibli’s Darkest Film
Takahata worked extremely hard to dispel this notion through his depiction of the tale. The director showed days in which the two siblings, Seita and Setsuko, were having fun despite their unbelievably tragic condition. Setsuko is a four-year-old, and children at that age are selfish and attempt to get their way no matter what. And it is only natural for Seita to feel tired of it on some days. This was incredibly hard to depict, according to Takahata.
During the time when the movie was being animated, people weren’t allowed to depict Japan in a realistic manner, which made animating the scenery extremely different. Takahata also created many different cuts while trying to get the perfect shot of Seita creating Setsuko’s body. In order to get the spot-on iteration, the director created and discarded a lot of cuts. All of these efforts show whyGrave of the Firefliesstands as one of the best anti-war moviesin the world.
Grave of the Firefliesis available to stream on Netflix.
Aaheli Pradhan
Anime Content Writer
Articles Published :1556
Aaheli is an Anime Content Writer at FandomWire with 1300+ published articles. With five years of experience under her belt, she is a living, breathing encyclopedia for anime and manga. From Shonen and Shojo to the most niche anime, nothing escapes her radar. Her poisons of choice are Assassination Classroom, Gintama, Ouran High School Host Club and every Ghibli movie ever. She believes in living a slow life, surrounded by incomplete art projects and her beloved cats.
More from Aaheli Pradhan
‘Gintama’ Creator Admits New Movie Is “A tool for dirty adults to make a quick buck”
Fighting Girls Review and Ending Explained: Koume and Tiara’s Rivalry Hid a Deeper Loneliness
Fighting Girls: What Is ‘Takopi’s Original Sin’ Creator’s New One-Shot About?
Recommended
‘Gintama’ Creator Admits New Movie Is “A tool for dirty adults to make a quick buck”
Nice’s Return Just Gave ‘To Be Hero X’ Its Highest-Rated Episode of the Season
Sakamoto Days Part 2 Episode 8: Release Date, Spoilers and What to Expect
All LinkedIn Games Solutions for Today (July 06, 2025)
Every Breaking Bad Villain, Ranked by How Badly They Underestimated Walter White
The Atlantic Games Solutions for Today (June 19, 2025)
Grave Of FirefliesStudio Ghibli
