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

Directed by


Starring (View all)
Ayano Shiraishi Ayano Shiraishi
Setsuko
Hiroshi Tanaka Hiroshi Tanaka
Person in bank
Corinne Orr Corinne Orr
Setsuko


Written by
Isao Takahata Isao Takahata
(written by)


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Grave of the Fireflies Videos

Film critic Roger Ebert - Grave of The Fireflies

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Added 13 years ago


Grave of the Fireflies

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Added 16 years ago


Grave of the Fireflies+Lullabye AMV

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Added 12 years ago




Cover art, photos and screenshots

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Reviews

Why must fireflies die so young?

15 years, 2 months ago at Dec 9 15:30
10 votes
''Why must fireflies die so young?''

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

Tsutomu Tatsumi: Seita

Ayano Shiraishi: Setsuko

''September 21, 1945? that was the night I died''

With those words starts director Isao Takahata's most famous film, Grave of the... read more

A complex animation for adults

16 years, 6 months ago at Aug 12 3:29
8 votes
"Why must fireflies die so young?"When it comes to Japanese animated features, Studio Ghibli is unparalleled, with the animation purveyor's list of triumphs including Kiki's Delivery Service, My Neighbour Totoro, Princess Mononoke, and the transcendent Spirited Away. Another of the studio's highly acclaimed titles is 1988's Grave of the Fireflies, an adaptation of Nosaka Akiyuki's novel of the sam... read more

Review

13 years, 4 months ago at Sep 17 18:00
1 vote
This film...is the only film that has made me cry for 15 minutes straight. This is Grave Of The Fireflies.

To be honest, I watched this when I was on a Studio Ghibli marathon. Compared to the other SG films, I thought it would be just like the rest. Cute, happy, and magical. I never took the time to look into the story, or read any reviews about it. I felt like I didn't need to. Th... read more
View all Grave of the Fireflies reviews
The story of Seita and Setsuko, two young Japanese siblings, living in the declining days of World War II. When an American firebombing separates the two children from their parents, the two siblings must rely completely on one another while they struggle to fight for their survival.
UPC: 719987172920
Tags: Anime (38), Animation (37), Drama (27), War (22), Japan (20), Japanese (19), 1980s (18), WWII (16), 1988 (16), Studio Ghibli (16), Historical (13), World War II (7), (6), Hunger (5), Foreign (4), Ghibli (4), Bombing (4), IMDb Top250 (4), Animated (3), Tragedy (3)
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Kankku added this to a list 1 week ago
Watched in 2025 (8 movies items)

"6.1. Toinen katselukerta."


fernando posted a review 2 months, 2 weeks ago

“(NX) De lo más cercano que he sentido la animación a un tratamiento narrativo convencional en vivo, si de algo sirve y y algo marca la animación, en la infinita y a la vez delicada tristeza de acción y personajes, niños que no llegan a vivir más que lo suficiente como para recoger al pasado prebélico con la madre viva y agonizan en libertad, hermosa.” read more

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" Grave of the Fireflies (Japanese: 火垂るの墓, Hepburn: Hotaru no Haka) is a 1988 Japanese animated war drama film written and directed by Isao Takahata, and produced by Studio Ghibli. It is based on the 1967 semi-autobiographical short story of the same name by Akiyuki Nosaka. The film stars Tsutomu Tatsumi , Ayano Shiraishi , Yoshiko Shinohara and Akemi Yamaguchi . Set in the city of Kobe, Japan in June 1945, it tells the story of two siblings and war orphans, Seita and Setsuko, and t"


Agent Kermit D. Fonz added this to a list 7 months ago
Pop Culture Phenomenon Films: 80’s (1542 movies items)

" Grave of the Fireflies (Japanese: 火垂るの墓, Hepburn: Hotaru no Haka) is a 1988 Japanese animated war drama film written and directed by Isao Takahata, and produced by Studio Ghibli. It is based on the 1967 semi-autobiographical short story of the same name by Akiyuki Nosaka. The film stars Tsutomu Tatsumi , Ayano Shiraishi , Yoshiko Shinohara and Akemi Yamaguchi . Set in the city of Kobe, Japan in June 1945, it tells the story of two siblings and war orphans, Seita and Setsuko, and t"


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peliculas de animacion (64 movies items)
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kyleslittlewor posted a review 1 year ago

Beautiful, haunting and emotionally devastating

“What an amazing film! Very rarely have I been moved this much by an animated film. Watership Down yes, Bambi yes, Secret of NIMH yes, Beauty and the Beast yes, Land Before Time yes, but Grave of the Fireflies is in a different league. A film that is once seen and never forgotten, a film that is beautiful, haunting and emotionally devastating. It is slow moving perhaps and "depressing" but it is very poignant as well. I find it very difficult to fight back tears at the film's end. The animation is amazingly detailed, the backgrounds and characters are drawn with such care and you just marvel at the detail that goes into it. The music is both haunting and melancholic and one of the main reasons why the film is as it is. The story is harrowing, as it details Seita and Setsuko's hopelessness. ” read more

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"Rewatched "


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"de 7/10 para 9/10 um drama de guerra excelso, não sei porque tanta gente o critica, o drama é bom e funciona como poucos filmes, ótima propaganda anti-guerra."


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