It is one of the most beautiful animated films and the best war films of all time, but it is also the saddest film ever made by Studios Ghibli…
Tomb of the Fireflies is one of the major works of the late Isao Takahata (Pompoko, The Tale of Princess Kaguya, Memories, Drop by Drop…), who co-founded Studio Ghibli alongside Hayao Miyazaki. Written and directed by Takahata, the film was released in Japan in 1988, and in 1996 here.
Like the heartbreaking animated gem that it is, The Grave of the Fireflies follows the chaotic journey of Seita, a 14-year-old teenager, and his little sister Setsuko, 4 years old, both orphans, in the summer of 1945 in Japan, after the bombing of Kobe. Their aunt, with whom they were taken in, quickly makes them understand that they are a nuisance and that they must deserve their daily rice. Seita then decides to run away with Setsuko. Finding refuge in an abandoned bunker in the countryside, they live happy days illuminated by the presence of thousands of fireflies. But soon food begins to be sorely lacking…
A true masterpiece, the feature film has the particularity of opposing the beauty of its animation to the cruelty of its story: a poignant and stunning contrast which has made it one of the most beautiful and saddest films at the same time, all genders combined.
Inspired by a heartbreaking true story
But The Grave of the Fireflies, it’s mostly a true story – sort of. In any case, it is the (idealized) story of the Japanese author Akiyuki Nosaka that he recorded in a semi-autobiographical short story of the same name, published in 1967 – a literary work which would not be available in France until after the release of the film in 1988. The book, which is a tribute to his little sister Keiko, who died as a baby, offers a different version of reality which was much darker.
Indeed, when he was 14 years old in 1945, Akiyuki Nosaka found himself orphaned after his mother died giving birth to his little sister Keiko. The two children then went to live with their aunt in Kobe until the city and their house were destroyed by American Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers. Akiyuki and Keiko are now alone in the world and trying to survive. The latter will eventually die of starvation at the age of 16 months. If several scenes from Tomb of the Fireflies are true (catching fireflies, walks on the beach, etc.), the tenderness of the big brother towards his little sister is not entirely true.
Ghibli
Akiyuki Nosaka admitted to not having shared all his food with his sister and even allegedly hit the latter to make her stop crying. Deeply traumatized by his adolescent actions which he bitterly regrets, he wrote what he would have liked to have happened rather than the cruel reality.
The new ending is not all rosy, however, as we can see in the film. The Grave of the Fireflies indeed offers a dark and harsh story which nevertheless succeeds in dazzling its spectator while upsetting them forever: a pure marvel from which we do not emerge unscathed.
Tomb of the Fireflies is currently available for purchase or rental on LaCinetek.