Her Campus Logo Her Campus Logo
Empty movie seats
Empty movie seats
Photo by Felix Mooneeram on Unsplash
SBU | Culture > Entertainment

The Grave of the Fireflies Movie Review

Olivia Francis Student Contributor, St. Bonaventure University
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SBU chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

Growing up, I never watched Studio Ghibli movies. The main things I watched when I was younger were SpongeBob, Dora the Explorer, and Ni-Hao Kai Lan. While watching those shows, I was happy. Recently, I was recommended to watch all the Studio Ghibli movies in order. One of the movies that I watched was Grave of the Fireflies.  

Grave of the Fireflies is a Studio Ghibli movie that follows the story of Seita, a teenage boy who oversees taking care of his younger sister, Setsuko, after the bombing occurred in Kobe, Japan, which separated them from their parents. From the plot to the animation, this film is made to perfection.  

This movie is based on the events that the author, Nosaka Akiyuki, went through at an early age. He was capturing the economic crisis and Japanese militarism that he saw when he was spending his childhood in Kobe. There are many things that I enjoyed about this film, but there was one thing that I did not like, and it was one of the characters.  

Each character had a significant impact on Seita and Setsuko, but the one I believed made the most impact was the aunt. Every time she came on the screen, I wanted to turn my computer off. At first, she was fine, but after that, she started to get worse.  

The one part that got me the most was when she called Seita and Setsuko spoiled for wanting steamed rice. Those kids had lost everything at that moment. They lost their home, their family, and they had no money. Not only that, but with the war and the famine that had overcome their town, it was hard for them to have decent food. So, for her to call them spoiled after everything they have been through upset me. Then they finally got the courage to leave her house and she was so confused. I was glad that they got away from her.  

Throughout the movie, there are some connections that I have made. One of those connections is the mother and the death of the firefly.  In the movie, there is a scene where Seita and Setsuko are in the cave, and after a firefly lands on the wall when Seita releases it, its light goes out and dies. This is compared to the death of their mother because, in their life, she was the light that always guided them and protected them from all the dangers in the world. When she died, that light vanished from their lives.  

Whether you watch these types of movies or not, I would recommend Grave of the Fireflies. Not only is it a touching story, but it can be seen as a learning experience about what happened in Kobe, Japan in 1945. Depending on who you are, I would have a box of tissues on the side as this one will surely make you cry.  

Olivia Francis

SBU '27

Olivia Francis is a second-year member of the Her Campus at SBU chapter. She oversees the site’s culture, entertainment, and wellness verticals on the site, including mental health, relationships, TV shows, and movie coverage.

Olivia is currently a second-year student majoring in Communications, Social Justice & Advocacy at St. Bonaventure University. Beyond Her Campus, Olivia has been published in many anthropologies over the years through an organization called Young Writers. She is also one of the leading coordinators for SBU's Break The Bubble.

In her free time, Olivia enjoys writing poetry and short stories, along with taking walks while listening to her favorite music genres on Spotify such as Pop or R&B. One of her goals is to travel the world someday and explore new foods and customs. An interesting fact about Olivia is she is not only the first college gen student but, she is the first female in her family to go for a higher education.