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NEWS: Sentai Filmworks Adds Ghibli's Grave of the Fireflies


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E-Master



Joined: 21 Aug 2005
Posts: 471
PostPosted: Thu Dec 01, 2011 5:49 pm Reply with quote
I still own the previous DVD of the movie from Central Park Media before it went under. So I won't bother buying this DVd unless it had different or more content. I do agree a Blu-ray release would make me buy it, but not sure when that's coming out.

Since Grave of the Fireflies is a well received anime film, it deserves to be avalible for newer anime fans to enjoy.
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GATSU



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 15452
PostPosted: Thu Dec 01, 2011 6:17 pm Reply with quote
varmin: I think the reason we're not getting it on Blu-Ray is the market's not there for it like there would be with a typical Ghibli film.

bj: Why would Disney want an animated film which makes Americans look bad and has children dying?
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bj_waters



Joined: 18 Apr 2006
Posts: 234
PostPosted: Thu Dec 01, 2011 7:20 pm Reply with quote
UtenaAnthy wrote:

It's not like there weren't plenty of happy cheery anime when it was made, and there are "disturbing" ones that younger/new-school fans are watching now such as When They Cry and Death Note. Personally, I find Haruhi and Naruto somewhat disturbing (being Mikuru would royally suck, and the kids in Naruto are basically child soldiers), I'll still watch them both, but I actually prefer Grave of the Fireflies in a way, because for all the horror of the children's situation, the film's compassion and empathy and love are palpable, I'd much rather watch that that some anime about a boy who presents an aesop about why it's wrong for anyone with a penis to cry if they aren't moppet aged. Or where one of the main female characters is constantly being sexually harrassed and has to put up with it because if they don't spoiler[it could destroy the universe]. I feel similarly about Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal, always makes me cry, but it's cathartic rather than despairing because there's so much love there.


For what it's worth, I was criticizing a caricature modern anime fans who only watch the hyper-cute or over-the-top action shows and never watch anything older than three years old. I don't doubt that there are younger fans willing to dig into older stuff, and I certainly encourage them to do so, I just think that they are few and far between.

However, I would still argue that if there has been a grim and creepy anime series like Grave of the Fireflies made recently, I haven't heard of it. When They Cry is more like an anime-style slasher film (Children of the Corn, maybe?) and Death Note is just Dragon Ball Z with mind games instead of martial arts. Grave of the Fireflies has this subtle style of oppression that I haven't seen repeated in anime since. Now and Then, Here and There comes close, but it has a happy ending compared to Grave. I remember when I first saw GotF, I hated it because I spend the whole time watching for when the children would die, like some kind of morbid anticipation. The anime itself isn't creepy at all; the disturbing feelings come from within the viewer.

As for Naruto and Haruhi being creepy, I think you're stretching things a little. Sure, Haruhi is somewhat anti-social, but I had a hard time taking the whole premise as seriously as the die-hard fans do. For me, the "can't upset God" thing simply became a kind of statis quo for all the comedy to revolve around, like a sitcom. Any level of serious creepiness only comes from thinking about the premise harder than the series does. And if you think having children fight in Naruto is disturbing, you should check out the aforementioned Now and Then, Here and There. The thing with Naruto is that it is a fantasy, which means a fantasy world with a fantasy culture that allows for "child soldiers." Again, thinking it's disturbing is thinking deeper than the series intended. Grave of the Fireflies has a bottomless pit for pondering, allowing for the viewer to think harder about it than the normal anime series.

I have to admit that I haven't seen Samurai X (bizarre, since I'm such a huge fan of the manga), but I would still argue that it's an older title and therefore doesn't count in my caricatured argument. But whatever.

EDIT: [Because I didn't want to double post]

GATSU wrote:

bj: Why would Disney want an animated film which makes Americans look bad and has children dying?


It doesn't have to have the name Disney on it. They could put it out under another Buena Vista studio, like they did with Princess Mononoke, which wasn't all that family-friendly either.
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Hagaren Viper



Joined: 28 Apr 2011
Posts: 782
PostPosted: Fri Dec 02, 2011 1:10 am Reply with quote
Looks like Grave of the Fireflies gets to rip out the hearts of a whole new generation!
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enurtsol



Joined: 01 May 2007
Posts: 14853
PostPosted: Fri Dec 02, 2011 2:14 am Reply with quote
I hope they re-dub it with real children, like Charlie Brown. Smile
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GATSU



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 15452
PostPosted: Sun Dec 04, 2011 9:39 am Reply with quote
bj: Princess Mononoke could at least be marketed on its fantasy elements. Grave again has children dying. There is no demand for that kind of subject matter which would make Disney go to the trouble of releasing it under any label. Plus, again, they'd get flack for being viewed as "anti-American".
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