Grave of the Fireflies (1988) Hotaru no haka (original title)

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 | Shelter | Food | Hunger | Air Raid

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)

Directed by
Isao Takahata

Writing credits
Akiyuki Nosaka		(novel)
Isao Takahata		(written by)

Produced by
Toru Hara	....	producer
Ryoichi Sato	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Michio Mamiya

Cinematography by
Nobuo Koyama		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Takeshi Seyama

Production Design by
Ryoichi Sato

Art Direction by
Nizou Yamamoto

Production Management
Atsushi Kamimura	....	unit production manager
Kazuyoshi Tanaka	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Norihiko Sudo	....	assistant director

Art Department
Katsu Hisamura	....	assistant art director
Yuriko Kashiwakura	....	assistant character color designer
Noriko Ogawa	....	assistant character color designer
Michiyo Yasuda	....	character color designer

Sound Department
Bill Donnelly	....	mix engineer: english version
Yasuo Uragami	....	sound designer
Kiyoshi Ôhira	....	sound effects (as Noriyoshi Oohira)
Hisanori Ôshiro	....	sound mixer

Special Effects by
Kunji Tanifuji	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Masashi Abe	....	camera operator
Akitarô Daichi	....	camera operator
Shinji Ito	....	camera operator
Atsushi Kageyama	....	camera operator
Tsuguo Ozawa	....	camera operator
Naoyuki Taniguchi	....	camera operator

Animation Department
Hideaki Anno	....	animator
Yoshiyuki Hane	....	animator
Iku Ishiguro	....	animator
Kuniyuki Ishii	....	animator
Megumi Kagawa	....	animator
Hideo Kawauchi	....	animator
Masuji Kigami	....	animator
Yoshifumi Kondô	....	animation director
Yoshifumi Kondô	....	character designer
Kitaro Kosaka	....	key animator
Yoshiyuki Momose	....	layout
Noriko Moritomo	....	animator
Hiroshi Ogawa	....	animator
Toshiyasu Okada	....	animator
Reiko Okuyama	....	animator
Shunji Saida	....	animator
Akio Sakai	....	animator
Michiyo Sakurai	....	animator
Noboru Takano	....	animator
Yasuomi Umetsu	....	animator
Shôjurô Yamauchi	....	animator
Atsuko Ôtani	....	animator
Noriko Ôzeki	....	animator

Editorial Department
Hiroshi Adachi	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Peter Bavaro	....	adr director: English version
Neil Nadelman	....	translator: english version
Naoyuki Oshikiri	....	production desk
Tony Salerno	....	dubbing supervisor (as Anthony Salerno)

Production Companies

• Shinchosha Company
• Studio Ghibli

Distributors

• Toho Company (1988) (worldwide) (theatrical) (as Tôhô)
• Gkids (2013) (USA) (theatrical) (as GKIDS)
• ADV Films (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Central Park Media (1993) (USA) (video)
• JONU Media (2003) (Spain) (DVD)
• Les Films du Paradoxe (1996) (France) (all media)
• Optimum Releasing (2004) (UK) (DVD)
• Sentai Filmworks (2012) (USA) (video)
• StudioCanal (2013) (UK) (all media)
• Universe Laser & Video Co. Ltd. (2002) (Hong Kong) (DVD)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2008) (Japan) (DVD) (Perfect Keepsake Edition)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (Japan) (DVD)

Other Companies

• APU Studio  sound recording studio
• Audio Planning U  post-production sound services
• Seraphim Digital  sound re-recording
• Studio Angel  cooperation
• Tokyo Laboratory Co. Ltd.  film processing

Also Known As:

"Hotaru no haka" - Japan (original title)
"Tomb of the Fireflies" - International (English title) (alternative title)

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Dolby (as Dolby Stereo) (theatrical print)

Certification:

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

Company:

Shinchosha Company

Trivia:

This is the only Ghibili theatrical feature film to not be part of the Disney-Tokuma deal.

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...

This film proves without any doubt that animation isn't just suited to tales of fantasy, sci-fi or cartoon comedy and violence. This absolutely heartbreaking Japanese anime tells the story of a young boy, Seito and his younger sister, Setsuko, as they attempt to survive the American bombings on Japan in the last year of World War II.

The story itself, based on a true story, is powerful enough but the decision to animate the film truly elevates this film to a higher level. This would have been a powerful enough live action drama, along the lines of Spielberg's Empire of the Sun or even Schindler's List. However, the Studio Ghibli team, have brought an extraordinary amount of life to all the characters, but especially the young siblings. Now we're not talking realism as such here - the characters are in no way photo-realistic, they do have the usual characteristics of Japanese anime humans, large eyes and exaggerated expressions. What this achieves however is a heightened level of subtle nuances in expression which are arguably more powerful and provocative than anything a real-life actor may achieve. Some may claim this is overly manipulative or sentimental, but coupled with the characters movements and actions, it gives the characters such a strong, and very human, presence. You truly care for these kids, which is an astonishing achievement. The voice cast (original Japanese) contributes significantly here also.

It is the tiny moments which give this film so much power and emotional depth - from subtle expressions to brief scenes showing Seito playing with his sister at bath time, attempting, unsuccessfully, to cheer her up when she misses her mother. The painted backgrounds are works of art in themselves, just beautiful. And of course the scenes with the fireflies bring a touch of pure magic - a heightened innocent reality to contrast the horrific realities of the war.

The greatest achievement of this film is that, apart from a couple of obviously sentimental scenes, such as Setsuko's sobbing or illness, it doesn't force any false emotion on the viewer. It really comes from your involvement with the characters. It's completely honest to it's own story and even cuts off scenes abruptly, which could potentially have been milked for cheap sentiment. It often seems to say - This is what happened, you don't need to see anymore. Another of it's strengths is that it really doesn't comment on the politics of the war in any way, just the effects on innocent people.

This is an intensely moving film and a masterpiece of animation. If you aren't moved by these characters, you really need to check your pulse. 10/10