grave of the firefly be one of the most ambitious and depressing and and quite frankly and best film that i have ever see . i be nearly move to tear by this film brave treatment of such critical subject matter . yes and it an anime piece and but surprisingly and it come out in 1988 and during a time where most japanese animation film be either relentless bloodbath and borderline pornography and or both . a a fan of the anime genre of film making and many great piece have achieve some sort of cult status here in america and yet none have really reach mainstream success . some have break through the barrier and have gain acceptance with american critic and like katsuhiro otomo akira and or princess mononoke and or spirit away ( both film direct by hayao miyazaki ) . one that i have see and have be barely mention by most critic be grave of the firefly . what we have with grave of the firefly and be a story of innocence lose and two child who ultimately face a losing battle with try to survive in a small japanese village in the closing day of world war ii . wwii be the costly conflict in world history and with million dead and thousand leave to pick up the piece . in the center of it and be the aforementioned two child and who be pretty much leave to fend for themselves after their mother be kill in a bombing raid . because their father be off fight in the war and they have no way of contact any other family and theyre send to live with their aunt and who be at first warm and welcome to them and but eventually become very cruel and the child be force to live in a nearby bomb shelter . from that point on and the two child embark on a journey that be every bit a unpleasant and difficult a the grim reality of the world around them . very easily one of the best anime film that i have ever see ( or any animated film for that matter ) and i find it difficult to believe just how truly overlooked grave of the firefly be . the animation be beautiful and though certainly not date by any mean ( even though japanese animation have progress well since this film be make ) . we get a sense of the dread of the two lead character and who watch a the world around them crumble into heap of ash and and aircraft loom ominously overhead and drop their deadly and incendiary cargo on unsuspecting japanese villager . the director and isao takahata and obviously have a special resentment of the war and but manage to avoid condemn it outright . the director instead let u focus in on the conflict a see through the eye of the two child and who watch unflinchingly a the reality of their world begin to falter before them . grave of the firefly be a bold statement on the condition of the human soul during conflict . i probably shouldn not say this but i be anyways and but this film have to be the schindler list of animated piece . it brave and it not overly sentimental and but it be relentless in it dramatization of a dangerous reality . it should be require view in any high school world history class . a beautiful film while not to be miss by anyone .