Rating: 
Summary: An aboslutely beautiful, yet heartbreaking film
Review: So you think that anime is nothing but kiddie Pokemon and Sailor Moon? Then you obviously haven't seen Grave of the Fireflies. If you see this movie and don't cry, then there's something wrong with you. After I watched it, I just burst into tears, because this movie is heartbreaking. Watching 14 year old Saeda and his 4 year old sister try to live on their own after their mother is killed will simply break your heart. Overall, one of the best anime films of all time, and one that everyone should own.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, but you'll only watch it once
Review: I watched this video about seven years ago. Somehow, I found the strength to make it all the way through. But since then, I have not been able to watch it again. Even thinking about Grave of the Fireflies while writing this has almost moved me to tears. I think I will only watch this movie one more time in my life; when my daughter becomes old enough to appreciate it.Grave of the Fireflies is a movie you must see once, but you probably won't have the strength to ever watch it again. Then again, you won't have to, because the message and the images it imparts on you will last a lifetime.
Rating:
Summary: Why DO fireflies have to die?
Review: What can I say? This is the *Braveheart*, the *Titanic*, the *Schindler's List* of anime - *Grave of the Fireflies* is a tear-jerker with three-hanky ending. You WILL cry. I promise. However, it's worth seeing. This masterpiece shows us that there is nothing noble or glorious about war. The "enemy" has a face. As Americans, we didn't have to watch our homes be destroyed by air raids; we didn't see our love ones charred to a crisp in fires started by fighter planes. With the exception of Pearl Harbor, the war was fought overseas and far away from our homes. *Everyone* is affected in a total war. This two children are orphaned and their struggle to survive is heart-wrenching. This isn't a war movie about soldiers like one would expect-- this is a war movie about what happens to ordinary people. I don't understand how anyone could want to fight a war after seeing *Grave of the Fireflies*. I think the director is showing us something about ourselves and our society. I've tried my best, but I can't describe this movie in words. You have to see to believe. Also, young children should not watch this movie- war and death are graphic. I've had the image of little Sasuko burying the fireflies in my head all day and the image of her mother being thrown into a mass grave (what Seta sees when he sees his sister burying the insects). Please, watch this movie. Watching Miyazaki's *My Neighbor Totoro* afterward with the kids is a great idea since it's a happy movie.
Rating:
Summary: heart wrenching
Review: I first saw this movie a long time ago, alone. Since then I have only seen snippets, but I refuse to watch it again, because even those make me cry. This is a movie EVERYONE should see, especially those with siblings. It is, without a doubt, one of the most powerful and moving cinematic takes on war ever made.
Rating:
Summary: This is one of the best anime ever...
Review: Forget the way think of anime, you may say: "it's just a cartoon"... you can't be more wrong... this is NOT a cartoon. If any anime is needed to prove that to you... this is IT! There's no cute-big-eyed-girls/boys, no giant robots... no monsters... this is drama at it's best... You HAVE to buy this one... You WILL love it...!
Rating:
Summary: Tragic, yet somehow uplifting
Review: I had never even _heard_ of this film until it was recommended by an aquaintance. And I'm very glad I watched it; it's one of the best movies I've ever seen. It's an anti-war film, yes, but it's not propaganda: there is no scapegoating of 'evil' Americans (even though they firebomb the city) the way Spielberg scapegoats 'evil' Germans in _Saving Private Ryan._ The war is just portrayed as a fact of life, and everyone is doing their best to survive. The movie is tragic, and even though the ending is sad, it is still somehow uplifting.
Rating:
Summary: Never has animation captured human suffering & joy so well
Review: I watched this movie ten years ago when I was in college. I had forgotten how truly remarkable a film it is. There is something about the music, the animation style, and especially the story and characters that touch the deepest parts of the heart. I was mesmerized by how much it made me feel for both Seita and his sister, Setsuko. Yes, the movie is set in war-time Japan, but this is more a story of a brother's love for his sister and of childhood lost in human suffering. I would find it hard to compare a movie (animated or otherwise) that would compare to the depth of this film. You have to watch this with subtitles to really capture the breadth and depth of this movie. Setsuko's innocence is only communicated well through the original Japanese dialogue. The animation is nothing to sneeze at either. The attention to detail is remarkable--watch the ants, flys, and of course the fireflies. This movie is one that everyone should watch. Amid all the garbage that you see these days coming out of Hollywood, this is a gem that will do something to you once you have seen it.
Rating:
Summary: A truly moving movie
Review: This movie is far too good to be described in such a plain text. Buy this DVD or buy the VHS-tape. Although the DVD's picture is quite bad it definitely is worth its price... The story of a boy who has to care for his 4-year-old sister in times of war and destruction is so emotional and so frightening that you want this film to stop making you cry... Everybody should watch this movie. Even if you don't like anime WATCH IT! Parents should show this movie to their children.
Rating:
Summary: This is NOT an "anti-war" movie!
Review: I'm glad to see that people from all over the world watched this movie and give it a lot of credits because I think this is one of the best films ever made and should be watched by as many people as possible. But there's one thing i really need to tell everyone. This is NOT an "anti-war" movie. Like Isao Takahata, the directer of the movie, said, there is no scene in this movie which expresses so-called "antiwar" or "anti-U.S." messages. This movie is not even trying to buy everyone's sympathy for the Japanese. All it does is just telling the story of two poor kids in the war. And how we feel from the story is all up to each of us. So I wanna say to the people who have a kind of strict view toward this movie, that this is neither "anti-war" nor "anti-U.S." movie. The story has the very tragic end of two brother-and-sister, which brings us a big sympathy for them. But I also feel some kind of anger toward Seita, who couldn't save his 4-year-old sister, because he could.... And there's two more things I want to say. Watch the sub-titled version, rather than dubbed. The dub is not bad, but not good enough to express two kids real innocences as the original Japanese version did. And why is there a rating warning on the U.S.-version packege? Under seventeen should not watch this movie? Oh, please! I watched this movie first time when I was in 5th or 6th grade, and it gave me something I should have as an unexperienced-war generation. To all parents, please don't do things like not showing this movie to your kids because they are not old enough. That's just not right.
Rating:
Summary: Remember What They Did
Review: This movie was beautifully done and very powerful. However, I sense that the director was trying to create pity and sympathy for the nation of Japan as a whole. What about the rape of Nanking? The Japanese have never apologized for that and still deny the atrocities that happened there. Innocent people suffer, that's a sad consequence of war. The director should have tried to portray the lives of others who were taken away by the Japanese in their aggression of other cultures. What about their torture of innocent civilians in Southeast Asia where I was born? Until the Japanese own up fully for what they did, movies like this will not be truly honest in their story.
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