While suffused with near-fantastic elements.

But malnutrition and illness ruins Setsuko's health. Grave of the Fireflies, the 1988 film that was Takahatas first for Studio Ghibli, is a still-stunning example. Unable to tolerate his aunt's insults, Seita leaves with Setsuko to live by themselves in a disused bomb shelter, catching fireflies for illumination and stealing food. Grave of the Fireflies is based on a semi-autobiographical short story Toho Kamakura-born novelist Akiyuki Nosaka is widely considered one of the leading exponents of Japans yakeato generation. When American bombardment destroys their home and kills their mother, the two children move in with an unwelcoming aunt, Seito keeping the awful truth from Setsuko as best he can. It's brave, it's not overly sentimental, but it is relentless in its dramatization of a dangerous reality.

I probably shouldn't say this but I am anyways, but this film has to be the 'Schindler's List' of animated pieces. In this film, the combination of the fate and historical background of the characters makes the society and the changes of the times are reflected in characters. 'Grave of the Fireflies' is a bold statement on the condition of the human soul during conflict. With Seita's father serving in the Japanese Imperial Navy and their mother ailing, Seita spends most of his time looking lovingly after Setsuko. In Isao TakahataвЂ™s animated film Grave of the Fireflies (1988), it uses realism to make the animation works to a great degree of realism, making people feel the hardship of World War ii. The boy's spirit unites with a little girl, and in a flashback we learn that they are a brother, Seita, and his small sister, Setsuko. In a Japanese train station in September 1945, a ragged, starved, homeless youth dies, barely noticed by the cleanup crew getting set for the arriving, victorious American WWII forces.

Graveyard of the fireflies