The Studio Ghibli Movie Bound to Make you Cry: Grave of the Fireflies

 

Grave of the Fireflies is an animated film that takes place shortly after World War II. This film follows the lives of two children from the Japanese city of Kobe who lost their parents, their home, and their neighbors. Through and through Grave of Fireflies is sad, deflating, and doesn't offer viewers a lot of space to hope. 

Isao Takahata is the director of Grave of the Fireflies and co founder of animation studio, Studio Ghibli. I'm sure if you're reading this you're familiar with Studio Ghibli already, but just in case Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio that has produced many widely popular animated films such as My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, and Princes Mononoke. 

Grave of the Fireflies is set during World War II and is actually based on the true short story by Akiyuki Nosaka. Nosaka lived through the bombing of Kobe, he lost two sisters to malnutrition and his adopted father was also killed. Japan was heavily devastated by bombings during World War II and continuously dealt with both large and small scale bombings until their surrender in 1945 after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 

The response to Grave of the Fireflies was a little lackluster. The film's budget was estimated tp be over $3 million USD and only made a little over $500,000 USD back in the box office. However, Grave of the Fireflies did win a Blue Ribbon award and two awards at the Chicago International Film Festival. Late film critic Roger Ebert called the film one of the greatest war films of all time. 

The main characters in the film are siblings Seita and Setsuko. Seita is a 14 year old boy that does everything in his power to watch over his 4 year old younger sister, Setsuko. Seita and Setsuko's aunt is shown taking the two siblings in after they lost their mother and their home. She originally seems okay with taking the two kids in, but later shows resentment at the kids taking up resources without contributing anything. 

The main themes displayed in Grave of the Fireflies include both the physical and mental destruction of war. We see the physical destruction through Seita's and Setsuko's home being destroyed and their mother essentially burning to death. We also see the mental distraction through Setsukoc crying every night after they relocate to their aunt's home and their aunt becoming incredibly resentful towards the kids. In that same vain we also see that there can be beauty even amongst destruction. Several times in the film we see beautiful lakes and green trees even amongst all the flames and destruction. 

Grave of the Fireflies is both a heartbreaking and complex animated film. It also differs from many of Studio Ghibli's usual childlike films. Grave of the Fireflies is a must watch both for Ghibli fans and even those unfamiliar with Ghibli films. 

Ranking all the Kdramas I Watched in 2022

2022 was a GREAT year in kdramas for me. I watched a total of 12 kdramas and only maybe one on this list I wasn't really a fan of. The ranking for 1-6 was very difficult and could honestly switch depending on the day you asked me about them. With that brief introduction over let's jump into my rankings starting from 12!

12. Doctor John 

Coming in at the bottom of the list is Doctor John. Now I hate that I didn't like this one as much as I thought I would. I have absolutely loved the leads Ji Sung, Lee Se Young, and Lee Kyu Hyung in other dramas and was sure that this one would be no different. Unfortunately it just fell flat for me. There was no chemistry between the two leads or the cast a a whole. Every conflict touched on was kind of just quickly thrown aside. Also I hate to be this person but... Lee Se Young's hair extensions were AWFUL to the point it was distracting. Overall I'd give this drama a 5/10 as it was mostly a disappointment. 

11. Dear M

Dear M is that perfect easy going college drama you're looking for. I'll admit, I went into this drama really not expecting much. I've seen Park Hye Su in maybe one other drama and I don't think Jeong Jae Hyun has been in any other dramas so I wasn't too familiar with either the main leads or the surrounding cast. Even with saying that I enjoyed this kdrama more than I thought I would. I know sometimes miscommunication in drama relationships can be annoying but I enjoyed getting to see the young relationship play out between the secondary couple. The one disappointing feature I found was centered around the "Dear M" mystery. It was kind of unexpected, but also wasn't super interesting and was an easy reveal to put in right at the end. Overall this was a cute drama and it's short enough there's not much time to get bored, I enjoyed it and give it a 6.5/10. 

10. All of us are Dead

I love Yoon Chan Young. That's it, that's the review. All jokes (no jokes) aside I only watched All of us are Dead because of Yoon Chan Young. I'm personally not big into the zombie theme, so ordinarily this would be a skip for me. Now what I do enjoy is a good high school drama. This drama had me both frustrated and crying. Losing some of the characters I really grew to enjoy along the way was tough and it was hard to watch the kids go through seeing their friends die like that. This drama is certainly gory so really not for the faint of heart, but I think even if you're not super into the zombie theme, there's other things to like. Overall this drama gets a 7.0/10 from me.

9. Tomorrow 

I couldn't really tell you why exactly, but Tomorrow fell a little flat for me. I certainly don't think the acting was bad and I usually enjoy the format of dealing with different cases and kind of shuffling in and out different side characters. There were some emotional moments throughout, but somehow the story didn't seem to connect well together. The chemistry between the leads also wasn't completely there which I think is important in this kind of drama. Now it seems like all I really did was criticize this one so far, but with all that being said I still rate Tomorrow a 7.0/10. There were some very touching stories throughout and while not all of these cases were handled the best, I did enjoy some of the topics touched on.

8. A Taxi Driver 

It pains me to only have A Taxi Driver at number 8. I absolutely love Lee Je Hoon and the cast exhibited the perfect chemistry I felt was lacking in Tomorrow. The only real flaw I could find in this one was the storyline centered around one specific character, Baek Sung-mi, way too much towards the end. The storyline dragged too much and took away from what could've been a nearly perfect story. I still absolutely loved this drama and felt connected to all the side character story lines. This drama was a solid 7.5/10 and is definitely a great watch if you like the action and revenge plots. There's also a season 2 currently airing!

7. Juvenile Justice 

I absolutely loved Kim Hye-soo in "Signal" and knew that I was long overdue in watching another one of her dramas. This led me to Juvenile Justice. I love legal dramas, and legal dramas centered around young adults? Sign me up. I think the biggest flaw of this drama was that it should've been longer. I would've loved to see the story of more kids and also learned more about our main character Shin Eun-seok. This drama gets a 7.5/10 for me really just because this one should've been 16 episodes. 

6. Radiant 

OK let me just say, I LOVE Nam Joo Hyuk. I have absolutely adored him in everything he's been in (yes that includes Start Up) and Radiant was no different. I absolutely love roles like this one where he's more emotional. I think he's phenomenal in these types of roles and whenever I see him cry I absolutely want to cry with him. Moving on to our leading actresses Kim Hye-ja and Han Ji-min. Han Ji-min is another actress I really enjoy and I think she did a great job even if she was in a more limited role. I was not at all familiar with Kim Hye-ja but her performance certainly made me a fan. I can't believe how much the twist at the end of this drama got me. Overall I really enjoyed this one. I was a little sad we didn't see much of the "romance" between our two leads, but of course that all makes sense at the end. Overall I give this one a 8.0/10, I will absolutely rewatch this in the future. 

5. If You Wish Upon Me

It pains me to have this drama so low. I honestly think number 1-5 on this list can easily be interchangeable and may even have a little but of recently bias from me. That being said If You Wish Upon Me made me an official and certified fan of Ji Chang-wook. I had only seen him in the K2 previously which I personally enjoyed, but know was mostly considered a miss. I also passed on dramas like Melting me Softly and Backstreet Rookie due to some controversey and personal taste. This drama had wonderful chemistry amongst the main leads and the cast as a whole. I think the only real flaw I'd point out is I would've liked more on Seo Yen-joo's character. A little more information on her backstory would've balanced the drama out more. This drama easily gets an 8.5/10 from me. I'm excited to rewatch this in the future and watch more of Ji Chang Wook's dramas in 2023. 

4. Little Women 

Little Women was a drama I had originally meant to watch as it was airing, but didn't end up getting a chance to watch until the end of 2022. This was another cast I was ridiculously excited about. Kim Go-eun, Park Ji-hu, and Wi Ha-joon are names I've already seen in other dramas and have enjoyed. I only saw Nam Ji-hyun in Angel Eyes briefly, so I didn't know what to expect from her but I certainly will have to watch more of her dramas in the future. I loved seeing the contrast between the rich and poor family. Also all the complications that came with the money, instead of seeing immediate relief with that type of money falling into the families hands. The ending with Oh In-hye's monologue also was really emotional and had me in tears. I also think this drama benefited from only being 12 episodes. I appreciate that it didn't drag at all. I give Little Women an 8.5/10. I sincerely enjoyed both the cast and story. 

3. Military Prosecutor Doberman 

Military Prosecutor Doberman included such an interesting concept, dealing with not only the military but the concept of law within the military. I was vaguely familiar with Ahn Bo-hyun through Itaewon Class, and although I couldn't stand his character, I did think his acting was impressive. He did an amazing job as Captain Do Bae-man especially with the character shift throughout the way. Jo Bo-ah was another huge bright spot for me. Having only seen her in Surplus Princess, getting to see her in such a different and badass role really speaks to her range. Romance was also included, but it was mostly subtle until the end and I enjoyed that it wasn't the main focus. Military Prosecutor Doberman gets an easy 8.5/10 from me.

2. Twenty-Five Twenty-One

It pains me to have Twenty-Five Twenty-One at only #2. When I say I LOVED this kdrama, I truly mean it. I was already a little biased as a huge Nam Joo-hyuk fan, but we had everything in Twenty-Five Twenty-One. High school drama, amazing friend groups, a high level of chemistry, and even sports! By the end you'll truly feel that it was a pleasure to watch the character grows from high school kids/young adults to full fledge grown ups. Now I know some people may try and avoid this one due to the controversy surrounding the ending, and while I'll admit it wasn't my favorite ending ever... overall I don't think it took away much from the drama at all. Twenty-Five Twenty-One through and through gets a 9/10 from me. 

1. My Liberation Notes 

Coming in at #1 is My Liberation Notes! Now I will say that what really got me about My Liberation Notes is how relatable it felt to my current life. The idea of everything being mundane and kind of like you're stuck in a gray area. I feel like My Liberation Notes presented this feeling and mood really well. Kim Ji-won is one of my favorite actresses and as usual she was amazing. She really played off the detached character well and it was hard not to root for her. I also really enjoyed that instead of having a friend group with amazing chemistry we had a sibling group that actually had average chemistry but also seemed very realistic as siblings. Son Suk-ku also really nailed his character and it was fun to watch the chemistry between him and Kim Ji-won grow in a very natural sense. I did want a little bit more clarity from the ending, but I think it was still satisfying. My Literation Notes both felt like a warm and cold drama and because that feeling was executed so well, it gets a 9/10 from me.