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.

This is a difficult drama to rate because even now somewhere in the world people are facing situation like this due to war and corrupt governments. Prior to the war, Japanese young men were eager to join the military thanks to the clever propaganda of the military government of that time. They played serving the country and the emperor as the most noble thing a person can do up to the hilt. People believed that Japan was invincible emerging from their recent victory over Russia on Russo-Japanese war. If you're winning, you can do no wrong, and certainly the Japanese military was seen in that light by its citizens. People were not smart at picking up real from the made up stories about the world told by the media. If this sound's like the current situation of some country we know of, you are very observant, and this was the real message the author of this story Akiyuki Nosaka wanted to convey.

If you abandon the right to make your decision, someone else will make it for you. In Japan the culprit was easy to understand dictator named Tojo who pretended to honor the emperor but was running his own agenda. He assassinated his political adversaries, and people who didn't agree with him in the military. The end result was the suffering like you see in this drama.

Japan went from relatively affluent country to situation seen in this movie in just five years. It shows that this can happen to anybody's country.

War is not the evil. It's people who plan for war is. Nosaka's story is a hard reminder not to forget this to a generation who've never experienced war. I know of him somewhat personally, and he would be happy that this story is seen around the world.

This made for television live action remake of the 1988 Studio Ghibli classic Grave Of The Fireflies is fantastic and I simply didn't expect that.

The original anime was a masterpiece and one of the most emotionally devastating movies I'd ever seen. I didn't cry but I most certainly had something in my eye *Ahem* This faithful retelling of the story of Seita & Setsuko two orphans during World War II stands at an hour longer than the anime and makes good use of its time.

The main difference between this and the anime is that a lot more of the story revolves around their aunt and provides more of her side of the story. This benefited the film greatly, it gave it an identity of its own and really made me rethink the entire character and her motivations for what she did.

I'm not going to say this is as good as the anime because it simply isn't, but the very fact that a made for television movie came close really says something.

Despite the clear lack of budget the fantastic cast do wonders with the already outstanding material.

Many people have told me they're surprised that the US hasn't remade this yet, quite frankly I'm not. Do you really think that they are going to make a movie with an ending like that?

This is worth watching even if you've seen the anime but grab some tissues.

The Good:

Really presents Hisakos side of the story well

Excellent cast

It's The Grave Of The Fireflies, nuff said

The Bad:

Lack of budget shows

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Chopsticks are used to pick up the bones from the cremated in Japan?!

Bombing raids will set houses on fire internally but do no structural damage

Seita is officially the firefly whisperer

People who think this isn't anti-war aren't looking hard enough

"Why do fireflies have to die so soon?"

Between the punitive firebombing of Tokyo by the Americans and the Japanese militarists who were still shouting "Long live the emperor" despite the devastation, it was poor civilians who suffered, many of them children, and this film is a brutal, very sad reminder of that. I liked how it didn't sugarcoat human behavior under such conditions and yet retained a touch of sweetness in the little girl and her brother playing in the moments they could, showing the lives they should have had. It also wisely focused on a single family, without trying to explain the larger context or just how many such people suffered (in Japan or the countries they invaded). It's powerful and heartbreaking, though perhaps a little manipulative and predictable. The quality of the animation and the grace with which such a painful subject was rendered make it essential viewing, but it's a tough watch.