Grave of the Fireflies
November 9, 2025
This is the story of Seita and his younger sister Setsuko, two children born at the wrong time, in the wrong place, and now cast adrift in a world that lacks not the care to shelter them, but simply the resources.
When an American air raid kills their mother in the final days of World War II, 14-year-old Seita and his 4-year-old sister Setsuko are left to fend for themselves in the devastated Japanese countryside. After falling out with their only living relative, Seita does his best to provide for himself and his sister by stealing food and making a home in an abandoned bomb shelter. But with food running short, the siblings can only cling to fleeting moments of happiness in their harsh reality.
Based on the personal accounts of survivor Nosaka Akiyuki, Grave of the Fireflies is hailed as one of the most stunning contributions to animation and cinematic history. Deftly depicting the beauty of the human spirit as well as its devastating cruelty, Grave of the Fireflies is a singular work of art from Academy Award-nominated director and Studio Ghibli co-founder Isao Takahata.
- Director: Isao Takahata
- Country: Japan
- Year: 1988
- Running Time: 88 min.
- Producer: Toru Hara
- Screenplay: Isao Takahata
- Cinematographers: Nobuo Koyama
- Editors: Takeshi Seyama
- Language: Japanese
- US Distributor: Gkids