The Grave of the Fireflies was a very sad anime film to watch. It involved an older brother, Seita, and his younger sister, Setsuko, during WWII. They lose their mother, and their father is in the war and they are forced to live with their distant aunt. They get taken advantage of by their aunt, and end up leaving to live on their own. The hardships they face while living on their own are very saddening and devastating, but give a perfect feel for how it was to be a child during the war. Everybody began to take on their survival instincts and would put themselves before anyone else, including children. This is shown in the movie when Seita is trying to find some way to make money to buy food, but cannot, and people will not help them out in this desperate time. This drastic change in lifestyle causes Seita to do things that he would never normally do. The perfect example of this is when Seita begins to risk his own life, and goes into people’s houses during the air raids so that he can steal from them. This hard war time is also seen very well in Nosaka Akiyuki’s paper. In his paper, he talks about how he and his sister were on their own during the war and how very bad things had happened to them and how he did things that he would never normally do. Both the film and Akiyuki’s paper describe what it was like in Japanese society during the war. Once it turned to a point where survival was the number one priority, children were not treated the way they should be.
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The film also shows a very strong relation between brother and sister and the impact they can have on a society. It is always very sad to see children go through this, rather than an adult which is what makes the movie so sad. The relationship that Seita and Setsuko have shows how family is in Japanese cultures. It is something that is very different from the way Americans act and sees family here.
I think you were correct about how Grave of the Fireflies shows how children deal with the reality of war, and how most of the time one’s own survival is put above the survival of others. Seita did go through risks and dangers that no child should have to go through to try to prevent the starvation of him and his little sister. Family during that time is shown to be one of the top priorities in society. Their distant aunt always made sure to accuse Seita and Setsuko of taking away from her family, and Seita went through great lengths to protect the only family he had left. Also, it’s true that it can be difficult to see children with no way of supporting themselves go through all these troubles. It really highlights how far war can reach in a society when children are left to fend for themselves.
ReplyDeleteHey Jon, I can completely agree with you on this and I find that in both Nosaka's paper and the film story, kids are forced to do terrible things that they would never wish to do under normal circumstances. Nosaka's real life experience, however, is much more extreme. His desire for survival was at the cost of his little 16 month old sister. The movie made the adults the real evil culprits. Like that stupid aunt! But the distant aunt didn't just take advantage of Seita and Setsuko, she completely villainized them and guilted them for things they certainly did not do. You could tell that she resented the two for being children of the military and received benefits that her family did not have. So by turning them into selfish, lazy brats, she could justify herself for taking all of their benefits to feed and help her family. I'm sorry but I hated her! She was so petty, I hated her so much... I mean, she really was fighting with a fourteen and a four year old! It did nothing but piss me off! However, I am very glad that the siblings had some really good times together once they lift... though they were very short lived. Thanks for sharing your thoughts Jon!
ReplyDeleteAmanda
Hi mister john. This makes comment number three, felt like breaking records for someone getting massive amounts of comments. Anyways, you bring up a great point and do a great job explaining the whole film and the troubles they face. You also mentioned the article that the author had and I just wanted to add that there was a part in which he described how Japanese men with ED over 65 were killed off. Interesting fact, too bad they didn't have the blue pill. Anyways, away from the tangent, I was glad to see that you seemed to enjoy this movie and write passionately about it. The aunt was pretty unjust in her ways but hey, everyone is trying to survive right? what if they had been on the receiving end of the having guests and the roles were reversed. its all for survival, and no one is treated well except immediate family which is a shame. Times were rough though so what can ya say eh? Hopefully this gave you a great insight on the amazing visuals and films that studio ghibli produces. Hope you enjoy the upcoming films and express your thoughts on movies this passionately in the future. Lastly, I'll like to say we should all be thankful for not having to go through any disaster like the Japanese did during WWII.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very sad anime. That little girl is the most ballin hard core child, like I can’t even. Like how do you not cry when your brother, your only dependent as a child for survival, is getting beat up and you can’t do anything about it? It is pretty awful that this had to happen to them during times of war, I know the movie tries to show that the kids became isolated in times of war, and how evil people can be when they are selfish, but the movie really does show how bad war itself can be. The air raids destroyed their shelter, their home, and even killed their mother, and the kids could not do anything about it. Setsuko did not even cry once when she found out her mom was dead, like for real. ballin.
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