Hotaru no haka

This made for TV mini series is a different adaption from the same novel of which the by far more famous anime was made. This is Japanese 'hoamu doruama' (home drama). Fans of that should know what to expect when seeing this.

This series not only shows the suffering of both children in a very vivid way but also shows the perspective of the aunt. It clearly shows what difficult (immoral)decisions people have to make during war-time.

You should ask to yourself if you would make a hard decision like Seita and his aunt have to make. This series thankfully doesn't judge the aunt as immoral, she is simply a mother who has to take care of her own children.

It shows what war can do to people, in this case both to Seita and his aunt.

This series also depicts the hollowness of war-time slogans and how misleading they can be.

The acting is super be, all the cast give their best performance but especially Sasaki's performance is marvellous and touching. It can only be hoped that we will see more of her in the future.

I can recommend this series even if you have already seen the anime.