Rating: 
Summary: For the Children
Review: A touching, human, and beautiful film, "Grave of the Fireflies" is the "Fantasia" of anime. Its characters are so very realistic, and its atmosphere so moving and elegaic, that this film stands as a portrait of the human spirit. It is certainly one of the most powerful films that I've ever seen, a tribute to every child that has ever died. Magnificent and haunting. It will live on in the mind and soul forever.
Rating:
Summary: Among the Best
Review: This is not a childish Anime. It art work is not as amazing as "Ghost in the Shell" or "Akira" but is still great, and worth watching. This is not an action or comedy but more a drama.
The story is based in japan at the end on WW2. The story follows these two orphans that try to live by there self. They are brother (14 years old) and sister (4 years old). The brother sacrifices almost everything to make her sister a have a good life, but being young, stupid, and proud, he takes care of them alone. The story become sad quickly and the ending even made me cry. It is a movie that give you another perspective of pass world events, and the love of a brother and sister.
Rating:
Summary: Prepare To Cry
Review: Takahata Isao is the unsung partner of Studio Ghibli. He takes scripts that could easily be created with live actors and makes them art through animation. This story is amazingly presented with terror, sadness, and compassion. The DVD format provides wonderful Subtitles as well as the dubbed version. The story starts with the line, "September 21, 1945....That was the night I died," and gets more depressing from there, but in the end the heartbreak is worth it.
Rating: 
Summary: It's hard to forget!
Review: This is one film that after you see it, it's hard to forget! This Japanese anime is about a 14 year old boy named Seita and his y year old sister, Setsuko. It takes place in Kobe, Japan in 1945 during World War II. Seita and Setsuko are off to the elementary school while their mother gets ready to nead to the shelter before the air raids. Before they make it, the Americans attack. But they safely make it to the elementary school where Seita finds his mother wrapped in bloody bandages. The two are soon forced to live with their aunt in a town not far from Kobe. During this terrifying situation, Seita becomes very responsible and independent. He moves out of the shelter because of the selfinshness and fears of food rationing his aunt has. This movie is very touching and takes you through the obstacles of life during World War II in Japan, including the cruelties, selfishness, and also some kind and giving characters Seita and Setsuko meet. This anime is very believable because it makes you put yourself inot the story and gets you caught up in an emotional roller coaster. Isao Takahata leaves you guessing for many answers. It's definitely a film you might have to go back and look at again. I wouldn't voluntarily see this film, but I'm glad I saw it in class. It is a very touching yet funny film that you can in some way relate to. But I'd advise you not to see it if you cry easily, because it could be a tear jerker.
Rating:
Summary: As sad as they say it is
Review: Copy-and-paste other review here. I won't repeat what's been said,
perhaps only the witty comment "if you're not crying by the time this
is over, you're dead." However, I suggest that the reader select
"see all user comments" and then look at the 1-star reviews (there's
a button which allows you to view only selected reviews, look for it).
Wait, there aren't any. Then try the 2-star reviews. Wait, not any
there either, except one due to English dubbing failure. Then check for3-star reviews. Wait, nothing there. Now ask yourself: a movie with
over 100 reviews, with NO 1, 2 or 3 star reviews - how bad can it
be? Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: A high school student's perspective
Review: Do you like movies that make you cry? Do you like movies that make you think and question your own character? I did all of these when I watched the Japanese anime movie, Grave of the Fireflies. Grave is a semi-autobiographical anime that takes place in Kobe, Japan in 1945 at the end of World War II. Ruyichi Sato did a wonderful job at directing this anime with only the technology of being made in 1988. The screenplay was written by Isao Takahata. It's about him when he was 14 years old and his little sister Setsuko who was 4 years old at the time. In the beginning of the movie you find out that they're put in an unbearable situation especially for children their age. Their mother is killed when the United States dropped bombs on their village and their father is away fighting the war with the navy. They are then left to live with an aunt. She's annoyed by them the instant they get there. Their aunt is upset because she didn't expect them to be staying long. She was just supposed to keep them until their mother got out of the hospital. The aunt continues to complain for stupid reasons, and forces Seita and Setsuko to believe that they have to leave and make it on their own. They spend the rest of the film trying to survive. Sometimes when non-fiction movies are made, they're not believable. But Grave was believable except for it being an anime. Since it was anime/cartoon, when the characters were upset or sad you couldn't see it in their faces because they were fake. I really enjoyed this movie more than I thought I would. I loved the whole part about how Seita does everything he can for his little sister. It makes you think about your own character and the way you treat people and especially in their time of need.
Rating:
Summary: This is a must for teachers of English and Social Studies!
Review: Any teacher searching for a way to expose their students to history, coming-of-age stories, Japanese culture, and/or the implications of war needs to view and show this film in his or her classroom. I discovered this anime while in college, and I could not do anything until I had researched it thoroughly. According to Ebert's review and other reviews published about the film, this story about two children trying to survive the American firebombings of Japan in the last days of World War II is based on a true story. Seita, a 14 year old boy, has to become both brother and parent to his little sister Setsuko when their mother is badly injured in the first bombing of the film. They spend the rest of the film searching for food and shelter. They learn what happens to a world in need, a world at war, and a world that can so easily swallow up little lives like their own. The animation incredible. Like many animes, the characters do not appear at first to be entirely lifelike; their eyes are too huge to be real, and many of the movements are overly exaggerated. However, the grace, the patience, the intense attention to details as small as the lice in Setsuko's hair make the characters all the more real. The scenary is also fantastic, and looks a lot like paintings by famous Japanese artists (see Hiroshige). For teachers of high school students, this film provides endless opportunities; kids become completely absorbed in the technical aspects of war (see Ebert's review), the loveable characters, and the injustices they see. In my own classroom, this film sparked heated debate and prompted my students to write professional-sounding reviews. Please see this film, and talk to your students about the two sides to every war, and the two sides to every story.
Rating:
Summary: Human view of World War II
Review: This is a powerful telling of the human perspective of World War II from the Japanese side of the story. Simple, inspiring, painful, insightful. It's a great piece of work. Surprising for an animated movie, because the issues it deals with are deeper than many mainstream Hollywood movies.
This film adds to the multiple facets of history. It adds a unique and colorful voice to an otherwise monolithic, monotone drone of history. It is honest, direct and at times, overwhelming, but nonetheless, a must see for anyone. Safe enough for children, but definitely made for adults.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing!
Review: I first saw this movie 3 years ago in my Japanese class in 7th grade. Now, my class and I were still knew extremely little of the language because 7th grade is level 1 around here, but this movie was just so powerful, so moving, that it didnt matter if we couldn't really understand it and the subtitles were not done well. Ever since then, I have been searching for this movie so that I can own it myself, and have come up empty handed, until now. This movie is a true gem. One of a kind. Even if you don't know anything about anime and/or the Japanese language, I HIGHLY recommend this movie. Don't miss out :)
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best anti-war movies made...anime or otherwise.
Review: I wont repeat what has preceded my review only to say that Grave of the Fireflies and Barefoot Gen, are two of the best anti war movies that could have been produced, no matter the genre'. If you haven't seen Barefoot Gen I recommend it as a superlative follow up to this classic.
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