“Grave of the Fireflies” is one of the most distressing films ever made. It’s an anime film from Studio Ghibli and directed by Isao Takahata (“Pom Poko”) but is far darker than the vast majority of their other work such as “Kiki’s Delivery Service” and “My Neighbour Totoro”.

“Grave of the Fireflies” tells the story of an adorable little girl named Setsuko and her big brother called Seita. As the end of World War II draws near, these Japanese children have to fend for themselves after their home is bombed and the mother badly injured. Together, the two struggle for survival and food and other resources become scarce.

The characters in “Grave of the Fireflies” are incredibly well crafted. Having children as the main characters during wartime reminded me a lot of the excellent “Empire of the Sun”. You really find yourself investing in these characters and you want them to survive as they’re just innocent kids trying to live while the world around them is full of so much fighting. The other characters don’t really matter so much because the focus is on the two children. I’m glad Studio Ghibli didn’t opt for adding any strange creatures into this film because I think it could have distracted from the serious subject matter.

Make no mistake, this is not a film for children; you’ll see corpses and people with severe burns and the subject matter is immensely upsetting. Some people think animated films can only be for children but “Grave of the Fireflies” will surely change their minds. There are so many terrific scenes in this movie but I guess the iconic one will be where the children release some fireflies in where they sleep to light everything up. If you want a powerful film about the effects of war on a civilian population, “Grave of the Fireflies” will fulfil your desires because it is a brutally honest picture.