Hotaru no Haka
(Grave of the Fireflies)
© 1988 Akiyuki Nosaka / Shinchosha Co., © 1992 Central Park Media
Color / Stereo / 88 minutes / Japanese Language / English Subtitles
It is post-war Japan, just weeks before American troops arrive for occupation. In the city of Kobe, a boy lies dying in a train station. By his body lies a small metal candy container. A janitor, not sure what to make of its ashy contents, pitches it into the night. As fireflies float softly around it, the ghostly figures of the boy and his little sister emerge...
Flashback to a short time earlier. Orphaned and homeless from a fire-bomb attack on their city, 14-year-old Seita and his 4-year-old sister Setsuko set out to survive on their own in the face of a society no longer able to help them. Forced into living in an abandoned bomb shelter in the Japanese countryside, they slowly come to realize that they cannot escape the hardships of war or even find enough food on which to survive...
Based on an original story by Akiyuki Nosaka, Grave of the Fireflies takes over your emotions in a way that few films -- live-action or animated -- ever manage to do. Tragic -- Beautiful -- Frightfully true-to-life -- It is a testimony of the human spirit that shines ever brighter in the face of adversity.
Original story by: Akiyuki Nosaka (Shincho bunko version)
Production Designer and Executive Producer: Ryoichi Sato
Written and Directed by:Isao Takahata
Character Design: Yoshifumi Kondo
Art Director: Nizo Yamamoto
Producer:Toru Hara
Color Design of Characters: Michiyo Yasuda
Executive Producer of English Version: John O'Donnell
English Translation: Neil Nadelman