Hotaru no haka (1988)

Director:

Isao Takahata

Writers:

Akiyuki Nosaka (novel)
Isao Takahata (written by)

Release Date:

16 April 1988 (Japan)

Genre:

Animation | Drama | War

Plot:

A tragic film covering a young boy and his little sister's struggle to survive in Japan during World War II.

Plot Keywords:

Japan | Firefly | Boy | Hunger | Shelter

Awards:

3 wins

Cast

Tsutomu Tatsumi	...	Seita (voice)
Ayano Shiraishi	...	Setsuko (voice)
Yoshiko Shinohara	...	Mother (voice)
Akemi Yamaguchi	...	Aunt (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rhoda Chrosite	...	Setsuko (voice: English version)
Shannon Conley	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Crispin Freeman	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Dan Green	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Amy Jones	...	Aunt (voice: English version)
George Leaver	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
J. Robert Spencer	...	Seita (voice: English version)
Nick Sullivan	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Veronica Taylor	...	Mother (voice: English version)

Also Known As:

Grave of the Fireflies (UK) (USA)
Tombstone for Fireflies (USA)
Tombstone for the Fireflies (Australia) (dubbed version)

Runtime:

89 min | Germany:85 min (DVD version)

Country:

Japan

Language:

English | German | Italian | Spanish | Japanese

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:G (Quebec) (video rating) (1994) | Canada:PG (Ontario) (video rating) (2005) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) (video rating) (1993) | Canada:PG (Nova Scotia) (video rating) (2002) | USA:Unrated | Finland:K-11 | Portugal:M/12 | USA:TV-14 (TV rating) | Chile:14 | South Korea:All | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | France:U | Hong Kong:IIA | New Zealand:M | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | West Germany:6

Company:

Shinchosha Company

Trivia:

From the start of production, director Isao Takahata wanted to cast appropriately aged children in the roles of Seita and Setsuko. Because the film takes place in Kobe, the search was limited to the Kansai region of Japan in order to find children that spoke the proper dialect. He was introduced to Ayano Shiraishi through a regional children's acting company, and decided to cast her as Setsuko after only hearing two sentences: "My name is Ayano Shriraishi. I am five years old." He was later told by one of the company's leaders that they expected Ayano was too young for the role, and so those were the only lines she had been instructed to recite in the audition.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Seita: September 21, 1945... that was the night I died.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)

Soundtrack:

Home Sweet Home

Heartbreaking

During my searches on Anime on the net one day I came across this title. This was 2 years ago.

Then last week I went to an Anime convention and at the DVD stand I saw it. I bought it immediately.

When I got home 3 days later I popped it in. I was warned about it being tragic but nothing could have prepared me for the wave of emotion that hit me while watching it. I was depressed for a whole day. Even thinking about it made me cry..

This is the power of Grave Of The Fireflies..

This is not your typical Dragonball Z/Sailormoon/Pokemon style anime. While I love Sailormoon and some Dragonball Z, Grave Of The Fireflies surpasses it by lightyears. I bought it expecting an epic movie like Ghost In The Shell or Akira but even those paled compared to this.

We have here a story of a 14 year old boy(Seita) who loses his mother in a firebombing during World War 2. He then has to take care of his 4 year old sister(Setsuko). While at first they're taken in by his aunt the relationship between him and his aunt takes a turn for the worst. He then ends up on the street and the struggle begins... It doesn't take a genious to figure out that things get really depressing, yet I won't spoil the ending..

All I have left to say is that you have to see this movie.. It's the most powerful movie I've ever seen... It's painful to watch but still you have to see it...