I can clearly see why the folks from Studio Ghibli had to "soften" the cruelty of the story for their anime adaptation, which I scrambled to watch right after finishing the book, because otherwise fewer in the audience would've seen it. Your feelings won't be spared here, mine weren't, and I'm not one to avoid sad and tragic stories. That experience does show in how he tells the story, pulling no punches and sparing you not in the slightest, with a detailed and unrelenting narration of siblings Seita and Setsuko's misfortunes and struggles for survival. It's so tragic!Īkiyuki Nosaka is said to have based the plot on his own experience as a WWII orphan boy in Japan taking care of his baby sister, who died of malnutrition.
Your fee Read this short story last week, and despite the time gone by I still flinch when I think of it. It's so tragic! Akiyuki Nosaka is said to have based the plot on his own experience as a WWII orphan boy in Japan taking care of his baby sister, who died of malnutrition. Read this short story last week, and despite the time gone by I still flinch when I think of it. Read the review of the anime adaptation here (but be warned of spoilers): Grave of the Fireflies I remember crying buckets of tears over this one. There were only a handful of books that touched me, and this was one of them. It depicts the poignant consequences of war in society and sets a strong affirmation that it is always the innocent people that suffer the most in a war, be they end up victorious or defeated. It is a heartbreaking tale of a young Japanese brother and sister who have been orphaned by war and are forced to endure the harsh life as their country’s campaign slowly crumbles and ends up on the losing side. It depicts the poignant consequences of war in society and sets a strong affirmation that it is always the innocent people th I read this book years ago as Tombstone for Fireflies, an illustrated children’s storybook based on the Japanese animated film adaptation, Grave of the Fireflies. I read this book years ago as Tombstone for Fireflies, an illustrated children’s storybook based on the Japanese animated film adaptation, Grave of the Fireflies.