Grave of the Fireflies
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- Create Date：2021-08-05 09:51:12
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Alex Dudok de Wit
- ISBN：1838719245
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Summary
On its release in 1988， Grave of the Fireflies riveted audiences with its uncompromising drama。 Directed by Isao Takahata at Studio Ghibli and based on an autobiographical story by Akiyuki Nosaka， the story of two Japanese children struggling to survive in the dying days of the Second World War unfolds with a gritty realism unprecedented in animation。 Grave of the Fireflies has since been hailed as a classic of both anime and war cinema。 In 2018， USA Today ranked it the greatest animated film of all time。
Yet Ghibli's sombre masterpiece remains little analysed outside Japan， even as its meaning is fiercely contested - Takahata himself lamented that few had grasped his message。 In the first book-length study of the film in English， Alex Dudok de Wit explores its themes， visual devices and groundbreaking use of animation， as well as the political context in which it was made。 Drawing on untranslated accounts by the film's crew， he also describes its troubled production， which almost spelt disaster for Takahata and his studio。
Yet Ghibli's sombre masterpiece remains little analysed outside Japan， even as its meaning is fiercely contested - Takahata himself lamented that few had grasped his message。 In the first book-length study of the film in English， Alex Dudok de Wit explores its themes， visual devices and groundbreaking use of animation， as well as the political context in which it was made。 Drawing on untranslated accounts by the film's crew， he also describes its troubled production， which almost spelt disaster for Takahata and his studio。
Reviews
Michael Wheeler
，
grave of the fireflies is one of my all-time favourite films。 it is definitely the saddest film i've ever seen， but because it's so sad， i never really do much thinking about it afterwards。 i'm overcome by emotion to try and critically think about it。and that's where this amazing book comes into play。 it talks about the true depth of grave of the fireflies。 it talks about how takahata didn't want to set out to make what is simply a sad film but wanted to criticise how the japense population were grave of the fireflies is one of my all-time favourite films。 it is definitely the saddest film i've ever seen， but because it's so sad， i never really do much thinking about it afterwards。 i'm overcome by emotion to try and critically think about it。and that's where this amazing book comes into play。 it talks about the true depth of grave of the fireflies。 it talks about how takahata didn't want to set out to make what is simply a sad film but wanted to criticise how the japense population were living since the post-war industrial expansion。i read another bfi book on a ghibli film， but that had none of the insight or knowledge which this contains。i really hope alex dudok de wit get's to make another one of these。 truly fantastic。 。。。more
Emma H
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Shone a new light on this film - and left me pondering what other great war films might be better communicated through animation。。。
Irene
，
A great book to read if you want historical context for this movie， as it compares the original manuscript with the changes that were made， the intentions of the director and the symbolism used， and what actually happened to Nosaka and what he changed。
Robin Price
，
My very best friend spent a long time persuading me to read and watch Grave Of The Fireflies。 I feared both were outside my comfort zone。 I'm glad he persevered and I discovered this great iconic story。Alex Dudok de Wit helps one to grasp all the various aspects， from Nosaka's memorial to his sister and his own guilt， to Takohata's more classically tragic interpretation of Seita and Setsuko。The summer of 1945 was a time of people in crisis and Grave Of The Fireflies has the power to bring tears My very best friend spent a long time persuading me to read and watch Grave Of The Fireflies。 I feared both were outside my comfort zone。 I'm glad he persevered and I discovered this great iconic story。Alex Dudok de Wit helps one to grasp all the various aspects， from Nosaka's memorial to his sister and his own guilt， to Takohata's more classically tragic interpretation of Seita and Setsuko。The summer of 1945 was a time of people in crisis and Grave Of The Fireflies has the power to bring tears to our eyes。 We should never forget the horrors of war。 。。。more
Peter Baran
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I think this is the first BFI Classic I have received where I hadn't seen the film - which felt strange。 There must be people who read them without， and I toyed with trying that， but luckily there was a screening of Grave Of The Fireflies last weekend and so I read this as soon as I came out。 So oddly， it became the book that I read with the film most vividly in my memory。 Not that its a book that requires great recall of the film from its reader， as in part of its comparison between the source I think this is the first BFI Classic I have received where I hadn't seen the film - which felt strange。 There must be people who read them without， and I toyed with trying that， but luckily there was a screening of Grave Of The Fireflies last weekend and so I read this as soon as I came out。 So oddly， it became the book that I read with the film most vividly in my memory。 Not that its a book that requires great recall of the film from its reader， as in part of its comparison between the source novella and film， the author ends up summarising the film in quite some detail。 Which in many ways is emblematic of a book written by a working critic， rather than academics or those outside the field， who have authored a number of the BFI Classics I have read。 This is more of a biography of the film than a hagiograph。 Its clear Dudok de Wit admires the film， and has done since he first saw it as a boy， but he never aggressively argues for its virtues - and indeed spends much of the book discussing whether or not it was a failure considering the aims of the director。Grave Of The Fireflies is an odd film in the Studio Ghibli ouvre， though not so odd if you think of Takahata's films compared to Miyazaki's。 A war film， about the impact on the Japanese civilian population of the American firebombings of their cities （in this case Kobe）， its a hugely affecting story of a brother and younger sister slowly dying。 The book considers how unusual it is as anime and therefore grasps with themes and ideas outside just the purview of the film， not least what realism in animation looks like。 Equally the films place historically in Japanese cinema which has often not dealt with the war years， or the Japanese civilian population who propped up the Empire （partially as the Shōwa era was only just at its end， Hirohito still being in place）。 So whilst the book spends a lot of time on the film， and its themes， it also spends more time on the world the film was created in， not least because this plays into the thematic issues where Takahata feels he failed。GotF is often thought of as an anti-war film， and it works exceptionally well on that front。 However watching it there is a broader spread of responsibility for the children's death than just war being assigned。 Most people point at the mean aunt， who they leave due to her attitude。 But Takahata wanted the film to also consider how responsible Seita - the elder brother - is for their eventual death。 They move out of his aunt's because of pride more than anything else， she does not kick them out and is at least feeding them。 Does the films emotional power overshadow this question， do the audience see a fourteen year old boy （animated too）， as being able to have that kind of responsibility。 He seems to think he is responsible for his sister， so in taking her from an unpleasant but safe environment， is the ultimate end his fault。 Its an interesting question （I picked up on this watching， but must admit the overall sadness does overwhelm）。 Authorial intention means little once the film is out there， and yet this was a good issue to pin the book on and I even got the sense that in the process of writing Dudok de Wit's opinion of the film has changed a bit。 And in between all of that there are lots of lovely bits of trivia about the film， not least that it was initially released in a double bill with My Neighbour Totoro， a very tonally jarring pairing。 。。。more
Cat
，
Thank you Alex Dudok de Wit！ I was so happy to able to read this book。 Grave of the Fireflies was the most heartbreaking film I think I've ever watched。 Beautiful anime。 It was very interesting to read the back story of it and to learn it had been a graphic novel。 I had no idea， but am going to try and find the book now that I know。 I think it was fascinating to learn how the story was related to the author's life and his thought's on the story。 Anyone who loves this film should read this book。 Thank you Alex Dudok de Wit！ I was so happy to able to read this book。 Grave of the Fireflies was the most heartbreaking film I think I've ever watched。 Beautiful anime。 It was very interesting to read the back story of it and to learn it had been a graphic novel。 I had no idea， but am going to try and find the book now that I know。 I think it was fascinating to learn how the story was related to the author's life and his thought's on the story。 Anyone who loves this film should read this book。 Just great！I received a Kindle arc from Netgalley in exchange for a fair review。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Grave of the Fireflies
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Grave of the Fireflies&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft