Crespo, Grave of the Fireflies

Grave of the Fireflies, was the saddest and most moving animated movie I have ever seen.

( manuxgfx.net)

This movie tells the story about a young boy called Seita and his sister Setsuko, who become war orphans, after their parents are killed by American troops.

After they become orphans Seita, who is 14 years old, begins to take care of his 4 year old sister Setsuko. This makes him take the responsibilities of an adult and change his priorities.

After the ”Kobe Firebombings”, which destroyed their house, Setsuko and Seita move in with their aunt. Unfortunately their aunt begins to steal food from the children, treats them with disgust, and is annoyed by their presence. She especially complains how Seita isn’t working or going to school. But this is not because he doesn’t want to, it’s because he has to take care of his sister Setsuko who cannot be left alone.

After some time they decide to live in a bomb shelter and for a time they were happy. This is thanks to the money their mom had saved up in the bank. Unfortunately people were not selling their crops because of the food shortage and Seita began to steal. In the end Setsuko was not receiving the right nutrition and died from malnutrition. Seita as we see in the movie also died of malnutrition sometime after Setsuko died.

 (thisdistractedglobe.com)

Many of the scenes shown in the movie had symbolic meanings. This is something common in animated series and films. Unfortunately these symbols can only be seen if you have a common knowledge of Japanese myths, stories etc.

First are the fireflies that represent the shortness in life and foreshadows how the happiness of the children will not last long. This can be seen when Setsuko is burying the fireflies after only just one day of capturing them.

 (blogspot.com)

The important scene is when Seita is shown dead at the beginning of the movie. This intensifies the beauty of their short life and it also makes the movie more tragic.

 (moviespad.com)

Another important thing that happens in the movie is the red filter, which differentiates the flashback and the spirit world.

The final scenes I'm going to mention is when Setsuko is taken to the doctor, but the doctor instead of helping her just gives her the diagnosis and does nothing to help. And the last one is when Seita is taken to the police and the police officer instead of helping Seita further just lets him go.

 This movie shows us how war, not matter where it is, can cause sadness, indifference, and destruction.