Hotaru no haka (Grave of the Fireflies) (1988)
Average Rating: 9/10
Reviews Counted: 25
Fresh: 24 | Rotten: 1
An achingly sad anti-war film, Grave of the Fireflies is one of Studio Ghibli's most profoundly beautiful, haunting works.
Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 2
Fresh: 2 | Rotten: 0
An achingly sad anti-war film, Grave of the Fireflies is one of Studio Ghibli's most profoundly beautiful, haunting works.
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Average Rating: 4.3/5
User Ratings: 62,833
My Rating
Movie Info
Grave of the Fireflies opens on an evening in 1945, after Japan's surrender at the end of World War II; and in a train station, the young Seita dies alone. The rest of the movie tells us, in flashback, how things have come to this. Seita and Setsuko are two young Japanese children growing up in the waning days of World War II. Much to Seita's pride, their father is in the Japanese navy, and they live fairly content lives in Kobe despite rationing and the other privations of war. When their
Jan 1, 1988 Wide
Oct 6, 1998
Cast
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Tsutomu Tatsumi
Seita -
Ayano Shiraishi
Setsuko
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All Critics (26) | Top Critics (2) | Fresh (27) | Rotten (1) | DVD (17)
Writer-director Isao Takahata, a frequent collaborator of Miyazaki's at Studio Ghibli, adapted a partly autobiographical novel by Akiyuki Nosaka, and his handling of the tragic story is masterfully understated.
Top CriticAn emotional experience so powerful that it forces a rethinking of animation.
Sentai Filmworks has done an admirable job on their A/V transfer of Isao Takahata's deeply humanist anime, but the few extras afforded do nothing to help contextualize this hugely effective anti-war fable.
Japanimation WWII tragedy the saddest. Cartoon. Ever.
The ephemeral fireflies, which fascinate the children and accompany them everywhere, become a potent and lyrical symbol of the fragility, brevity and beauty of life.
Quivers with every kind of wracking emotion: rage, sorrow, despair, fatigue, and in the end, a tiny measure of hope that perhaps there's something better than this in the next world.
The wonderful lasting mark of a true artist.
Takahata's alternately sweeping and intimate animated feature is a moving depiction of the fates of cast-off children who become casualties of war.
Even though it's not exactly easy to watch the protracted deaths of two children, this is not only one of the greatest anime ever, but also an important (anti-) war film. A moving masterpiece.
Very simply the gentlest and most touching war-related film I've ever seen.
Um retrato sem concessões do horror da guerra e de suas conseqüências não apenas sobre a sociedade, mas sobre indivíduos comuns. Emocionalmente devastador.
... a beautiful lament and a moving tribute to the people we rarely consider when we think about World War 2: those Japanese who suffered for the crimes of their leaders.
A wonderful example of the beauty of anime filmmaking.
Incredibly moving. The ultimate tear-jerker.
This is really an excellent package of DVD features from Bandai and Central Park Media.
A very moving, but depressing movie.
One of the most devastating anti-war films ever made, animated or otherwise.
[Evokes] the experiences of childhood grief, small moments of ordinary life and happiness amid tragedy and fear, and the overwhelming confusion of adult responsibilities falling on teenaged shoulders as powerfully as in any film I've seen.
Ultimately, the picture's respect for Seito and Setsuko's ability to fend for themselves results in a far more powerful piece of cinema than if they'd been portrayed as the typical scared kid.
Audience Reviews for Hotaru no haka (Grave of the Fireflies)
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
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- Setsuko: I've been having diarrhea.
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- Seita: [about Setsuko] She never woke up again.
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- Setsuko: Why must firefiles die so young?
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- Setsuko: Why must fireflies die so young?
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- Seita: September 21, 1945... that was the night I died.
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Foreign Titles
- Grave of Fireflies (DE)
- Grave of Fireflies (UK)
