| Photos (See all 16 | slideshow) | Videos |
| 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 | |
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) | |
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| Downfall | Australia | Toto the Hero | Forbidden Games | Empire of the Sun |
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| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb top 250 movies | IMDb Animation section |
| IMDb Japan section |
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