Grave of the Fireflies [MOVIE] - Roxas

I am here today with yet another movie review. The reason for this is that I am currently juggling three longer anime right now (Monster which is 74 episodes, D. Gray Man which is 103 episodes, and Bleach which is 366 episodes), so I will most likely be reviewing short anime or movies for a few weeks (or months). I do not usually watch anime this large, but Demothis has convinced me to try out the longer ones. Hope I don't kill myself. Commencing review!

Premise - Grave of the Fireflies starts off with a premise that is very interesting, especially for Americans. This is the story of a Japanese family during World War II, when America began bombing Japan with napalm. As most Americans have only seen the perspective of America being bombed, myself included, this served as an interesting take on a dark time in World History. The main focus of this story centers on a 14 year-old boy named Seita, and his younger sister Setsuko.

Animation Style - The animation style, while dated, was able to wow me at a few moments, even if most of the time it wasn't that nice to look at. This was made in 1988, so I really can't mark it down for this, as it was nice for its time

Plot - This movie had a powerful plot that deeply moved me. This movie was made during a time when most thought animations couldn't be profound or even very serious. I think the all time great film critic Roger Ebert said it best with the simple statement that this movie is "a powerful dramatic film that happens to be animated." It has been likened to Schindler's List by critics, and while not as provocative, it certainly makes one stop and question what is really important in life.

Characters - Most all these characters were beautifully done, especially Seita. I connected with him immediately and I genuinely cared for him. I wanted to reach out and help him. I wanted to pull him from his circumstances. Something very sobering about Seita is that he reminds me of myself at times. He made wonder if the tables had turned, if America had lost, how would I react? Would I stay positive like him? Would I stay strong for my sibling? Would I break down at a moment's notice? One character I was not a huge fan of was Seita's sister Setsuko. She plays a fairly large role, and though she is good at times, she comes off as a bit poorly written occasionally. That being said, she has some powerful moments that wouldn't be the same without her.

Verdict - A powerful movie that can rival our live action movies in heart and feeling, Grave of the Fireflies is a movie that you should definitely consider watching.

Score - 9/10

+Poignant Plot
+Haunting Premise
+Amazing characters
-Setsuko's occasional inconsistent scenes