What Is The Theme Of Grave Of The Fireflies

Japanese Anime. It is arguably the most visually identifiable form of animation, with the Mickey Mouse of Disney and the Bugs Bunny of Looney Tunes. The style has grown from the early Disney-inspired animation to the form we recognize today, such as the Pokémon cartoon series and the critically-acclaimed Spirited Away (2001). But prior to these most recent anime cartoons, there was a realist animated movie, Grave of the Fireflies (1988). It’s a war film that follows similar events that the original author experienced during the end of World War II in 1945. Correspondingly, this is why the narrative falls in the line of realism with a bit the supernatural elements of the spirits in the beginning and end of the film. Up front, the film appears to be mostly an anti-war film but it’s more than that. While the harsh reality of war is shown through the story of the close relationship between Setsuko and Seita, the main theme is presented

The audience initially sees the fruit tin with Seita’s lifeless body in the train station. The tin can is thrown aside nonchalantly like the bodies of the dead in the rest of the station. Demonstrating the desensitization to the grotesque after experiencing the harshness of the war. In the flashback, Seita retrieves the fruit drops from the stockpile and saves them for Setsuko. Each time Setsuko gets upset or she finally starts to feel the pain of the war, Seita provides the candy to fulfill her tummy, her sugar-tooth, and to give her the only happiness she has left after losing everything to the war. The candy is portrayed as very important to Setsuko, which is why Seita carried the remaining tin can as a remembrance to his sister. Overall, Grave of the Fireflies is an emotionally-difficult film to watch due to the harsh reality that the two children faced. It appears to be an anti-war film, though the war is only used as a backdrop for a more personal story about a brother-sister