Grave of the Fireflies

• Characters: 2  /3
• Story: 3  /3
• Enjoyment: 1  /2
• Art: 1  /1
• Animation: 1  /1

Overall Score: 8/10

Grave of the Fireflies in one word: Powerful.

The story is about a young boy named Seita who passes away shortly after the end of World War II. His spirit looks back at his experiences during the war as he struggled through various hardships…

I love Studio Ghibli films to death. But, surprisingly, I’d never seen Grave of the Fireflies until recently. I had no idea what it was about before watching it, and wanted it to be a surprise, so I didn’t do any research on the film prior.

Immediately I realized I was about to watch something that would have me crying at the end. And yep. I was.

The characters, the story, the animation…it’s everything I expected from a Ghibli film, but completely different from any other I’d seen. I fell in love with both Seita and his sister, Setsuko. Their bond, their struggles, their laughter, their love for each other…I was completely sucked into the story because of them.

As always the case with Studio Ghibli, the characters were very realistic and well written. But what captured me about Grave of the Fireflies was definitely the story.

I can’t believe how many people bash this movie and say it “demonizes Americans” when it absolutely DOESN’T. The point of the story is not to show how horrible us Americans were – or anyone for that matter. It was to show the devastating effects war has in general while also telling a story that tugs at your heartstrings. There was a comment on the site where I was watching the movie where the person called this movie laughable. That they couldn’t feel sympathy for the characters because they were Japanese, America’s enemies during WWII. How pig-headed do you have to be to say something like that? I understand that in war, you do what you have to do. But it doesn’t change the fact that war is ugly for everyone. And the fact he couldn’t sympathize with Seita or Setsuko, war victims, is lost on me.

This movie is definitely, er…depressing. Like….very depressing. Yet it’s so powerful that it’s ultimately a masterpiece. I’ve said this before, but the best kind of writing is something that makes you feel. Something that can move an audience and bring out emotion. Grave of the Fireflies brought tears to my eyes and made me feel like I’d been punched in the gut. (In a good way, if that’s possible) I felt so much watching this movie; it’s such an enthralling tale.

And of course, as expected of a Studio Ghibli film, the animation was SUPERB. The hand-drawn, smooth movements characters have never cease to impress me.

You can call the art style of Grave of the Fireflies outdated if you want. But that doesn’t change the fact it’s done not only very well, but makes it a classic anime movie. 

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So to sum it up:

Pros: It’s powerful. Definitely a classic anime movie. The characters, story, atmosphere – everything is done brilliantly. It’s a very deep, enthralling tale. For something that came out in 1988, the art and animation are both top quality.

Cons: It’s rather depressing. Kind of like someone beat up your emotions and left them to rot…

Worth watching? If you can handle an anime with deeper, more mature themes… If you can handle being handed a masterpiece at the expense of having your feelings ripped to shreds… Grave of the Fireflies is exactly what you want. It’s a beautiful, compelling, and gripping story that WILL get you to tear up. Plus, it’s a Ghibli film which automatically makes it a top-notch anime movie.

 

Reaction: Zankyou no Terror – Episode 3

I feel like the only reason everyone has been going nuts over this anime is because it gives off such a Death Note kind of vibe. I don’t know what it is about Zankyou no Terror, but I have a tendency to zone out while watching it.

It took me a bit longer to finish watching this week’s episode because of how many times I had to rewind and re-read the subs. Before I knew it, the episode was over and I could hardly recall anything that happened. Maybe I’m losing interest, maybe my attention span depletes once I hit the play button….whatever it is, I always find myself zoning out.

 

To be honest, I’m really only interested in Shibasaki. He’s somehow ended up becoming my favorite character. Probably because he’s the only thing keeping this series even remotely interesting for me….

 (Maybe it’s because he kind of reminds me of Dr. Ozaki from Shiki.)

This series does a great job at trying to keep it as realistic as possible (regardless of the fact they play the “teenagers can do anything” trope). But whenever Lisa’s mom appears, I can’t help but feel it loses its believability in those moments.

Aaaaaand STILL waiting to see how Lisa’s character has any importance to the story.

I just don’t really know what I WANT from this series. A psychological thriller? Something with more action? More mystery? I’m just waiting for something to happen that’ll actually strike my interest. For now this series is nothing more than a mind numbing experience to pass the time with.

I guess what I’m waiting for is something that’ll make me go “No way!” or “Aha!”. That’s why I keep coming back every week. I’m just waiting around hopefully for SOMETHING….And I really want that something to come soon…

The “Highlight of the Episode” award goes to…

Shibasaki.

I guess I’ll check out episode 4 next week….

 

 

 

Reaction: Tokyo Ghoul – Episode 4

Well…compared to last week’s episode…this one was rather….meh.

Let’s talk characters.

First off, I absolutely detest characters like Tsukiyama Shuu. The fact he even exists kills me inside. I don’t dislike him for anything he does in the story – he makes a good antagonist. It’s his personality that makes me gag.

I kind of wish Touka was the main character. It was sad how she barely showed up this episode. And the few minutes she did were some of the most interesting moments of the episode.

 Meanwhile, Hinami and her mother didn’t even show up in this episode at all. I wonder what happened to them anyways…

Overall, the episode just felt INCREDIBLY rushed. One second they’re at the coffee shop, now Kaneki is sparring with some dude whose name I won’t bother to remember, now there’s a shower scene, and now….wait, what the heck is going on?

Carnival Corpse? I thought this was Tokyo Ghoul not Deadman Wonderland…

Seriously, why in the world was Kaneki there in the first place? He’s so incredibly gullible, I couldn’t even feel sorry for him. That was just pathetic. I heard that in the manga he went to the ghoul restaurant to learn more about Rize’s death. Why they decided to keep out such an important fact is lost to me.

“He didn’t seem like all that bad a person.” You mean like how Rize didn’t seem like all that bad a person? Okay then.To put it bluntly, Kaneki only frustrated me this episode. I can’t believe how stupid and gullible he is even after EVERYTHING that has happened to him. The lack of character development is strong with this one.

This episode was mediocre at best. While it kept my interest till the end, I couldn’t believe how rushed it was. And the fact they left out important information and didn’t care to cover up plot holes annoys me beyond all reason.

and the “Highlight of the Episode” award goes to….

Touka

Because why not?

Hopefully next week’s episode won’t be as pathetic…