Should I watch Grave of the Fireflies?

The long and short of it: Yes
When was it made: 1988

Directed by Isao Takahata, Grave of the Fireflies is based on a novel written by Akiyuku Nosaka. It follows two children and the effect the war has on them and the people around them. I was honestly not expecting this. I assumed it would show the war from soldier's perspectives and show the great tragedies and loss of life caused directly by the war. However it focuses on a little tragedy that goes almost entirely unnoticed in the troubled times surrounding it.

Grave of the Fireflies is one of those Anime movies that has an audience outside the stereotypical market-everyone can sympathize with its message. It is one of the premiere anti-war movies in the world, which I think is made more fascinating by its lack of real world examples-something that our millenia of wars have provided plenty of.

First things first, this is an anime and therefore excluded from a large audience due to the largely American belief that cartoons are only for children (and let me just say that this is not one for little kids). It is not a war movie, and there is very little action. It deals mostly with interpersonal relationships, and it is not a happy movie. So if you want a war flick with plenty of action or are looking for something for the kids, then stay away. If you want a low tempo anti-war movie and don't mind sad movies, then you should see it.

I think the movie was very good. I won't say I enjoyed the movie mostly because that has a connotation that it was happy. It wasn't. It was depressing. That was the point. Often time when we see the catastrophes that occur during wartime we can justify them as being necessary: for example the bombings at Nagasaki and Hiroshima were performed because the United States estimated more lives would be lost in a land invasion (I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with that, that is simply an example of justification). However, this little event here has no justification. Most memorable to me is how their own aunt begins to turn against them because of her loyalty to the government. I didn't cry during this movie (which does happen) but it did impart a sense of malaise that hopefully I will remember the next time I feel the need to meet any situation with violence.