Grave of the Fireflies

A beautifully made animation, but with the theme of sadness and dealing with death (the mother, the news of the death of the father, and then the little sister died of malnutrition and hunger, and then teenager himself, not to mention all the others around them). The interaction between the teenage boy and his 4-year old little sister is touching. The copy of the movie I viewed includes the interview with the director. The director indicated that he brought up the issue of the “self-centered, not willing to work with others, self-sufficient” mentality of a typical teenager. He said that there were many who endured more difficult circumstances in war time Japan and still survived. I feel the director’s intent was not too clearly brought out in the movie. Enough is said about it that a teacher could begin a discussion on the subject. I feel that this movie might be useful for introducing the situation in Japan after they were bombed. It would be good to keep the whole war in perspective. I would recommend the movie for grade 9 and up because of its intense emotion. The perspective of the citizens of Japan would lead to great discussion.

This film is based on the Nosaka Akiyuki story of the same title, and could also be fruitfully explored in terms of literary (and film/anime) narrative. It has a decidedly Japanese flavor to it, focusing as it does on the death of the little girl, and her brother's attempts to take care of her, failing to notice that she is making herself sick eating mud pies.

This film shows the devasting impact that the bombing of Hiroshima had on children in particular. Although based upon segments of a true story, it is not entirely factual. This film is extremely graphic even though it is anime and I would be hesitant to use it with any level other than high school students. This film could be combined with a unit on Hiroshima to include another dimension/perspective on the effects of the bombing. Students would find this presentation of material interesting.