Forum - View topicI just did not "get" Grave of the Fireflies.
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Niceguy9418
 Posts: 82 |
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I recently saw Grave of the Fireflies for the first time. I liked but I must say was profoundly underwhelmed by the whole thing. I think I might have just been a little oversold - it was a top 10 on this site for ages, though it recently fell to #12; over 70% of people rated it "Excellent" or "Masterpiece" (I rated it "Good"); and then there was Roger Ebert's glowing, drooling, poigniant review of the film: "Many films can make you feel sadness, this one makes you feel grief" or some such thing.
But at best, while it did make me sad, spoiler[(two childeren died afterall] I just didn't feel that involved when I was wacthing it. Maybe I'm just WAY too jaded, or maybe there's some subtle cutural point that I'm missing, or that got lost in the translation (I did see the Eng Dub) but to me the following questions must be answered for me to understand why this is so highly ragarded: spoiler[1) Why did Seta choose to leave his Aunt's house? Sure, she was a pill, but he could have gone to work or school, goten her to agree to watch Setsuko. It wouldn't have been a happy situation but at least it would have been sustainable. 2) Why didn't he try to get a job? They mentioned that he had worked in a mill, but after it gets destroyed in the war, they never show him trying to find work. 3) And while I realize HE WAS CARING FOR HIS SISTER (in answer to #2) the mindnumbly irresposible way he went about "caring" for her is unltimately what led to her (and his) death. Now maybe his attitude would be described as "honorable" or some such thing and be seen as admirable in Japan (that's a question, BTW, I don't really know) but from my POV I call it "prideful" and a sin. He was reckless, prideful, childish, unrealistic, lazy (from a certian POV) and did little of any practical value to help their situation. And his actions unltimately led to both of their deaths. Try as I might I just could not see him as a victim of circumstances. (Now that seems pretty harsh, but let me explain...) Sure his parents died - but he had an Aunt. Sure his Aunt was a shrew, but while here attidude sucked, most of her complaints were actually legit. WHY DIDN'T HE EVEN TRY GO TO SCHOOL OR GET A JOB? She could have watched the little girl during that time. It just seemed he made no effort at all to make the (admittedly difficult) situation work. Due to what I saw as his stupidity I just couldn't feel sorry for him. And while I sympathized immensly with Setsuko, the thing I found myself blaming most for her condition and death was not the War or the Americans, not the Aunt, not the Government, but her prideful, dimwitted, stubbornly unrealistic older brother! (And while "Work was probably hard to find" and "They might not have accepted into a new school" or whatever other "maybe / what if" explanation you plan to propose - the problem was they never SHOWED any of that in the movie! I never saw him get turned away when he was looking for work, or trying to register at a new school.)] Someone please explain what I'm missing here, because I'm really not as heartless as I must sound, but these questions kept popping into mind through almost the enitre second half of the movie. |
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dormcat
Encyclopedia Editor
 Posts: 9902 Location: New Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC |
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Don't worry, you are not alone. Read my two old posts, as well as abunai's response (to support my points) and SnowfairyX's post, as well as other posts in two respective threads.
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10円
Posts: 605 |
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I think the reason it affected me much more deeply was because I could see some of my own faults and frailties in Seta. I probably would have been a terrible older brother myself, especially to someone who wasn't able to be the slightest bit self sufficient. A major war event that left me with nothing but distant and unfriendly family members would have likely exacerbated the situation to the point of total collapse. There were many things that Seta could have and should have done differently, but most of them would have required him to see his own actions from the view of others, and I don't think he was truly capable of that, at least not at that stage in his life.
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fighterholic
Posts: 9193 |
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Heh, bringing back old times to the mind  I look back at the situation of what he was in, what people had to say about it, and had to do some analyzing. He could have done something about it, but he was young and naive, could have bettered the situation but didn't.
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DragonsRevenge
 Posts: 1150 |
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I thought it was one of the most heartwrenching things I've seen, animated or not.
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Steroid
 Posts: 329 Location: At home, where all good hikikomori should be |
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My guess was that the lack of available work was supposed to come through in the setting--the latter days of the war, as shown in the state of the aunt's house. Rather than work or schooling, one would think that charity would be available to two orphans, but even that was unavailable because of the war poverty.
I feel sympathy for Seita, because despite his circumstances, he was still basically a child. spoiler[He was accustomed to a loving family and a steady home, and did not have the ability to leave the nest at that time. His aunt did not love him, did not even like him, and saw him more as a burden than as a charity case. He might be considered as a Siddhartha who failed--leaving his comforts, he recoiled at poverty. His failure was that he wasn't a strong or great person, he expected and demanded a normal life. When it wasn't given to him, he chose inertia and death rather than work. I can't see that as a flaw. Failure to be good is not the same as being bad.] |
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Mohawk52
 Posts: 8202 Location: England, UK |
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Speculative 20/20 hind sight is almost aways clear, and also just as misleading. The author admitted himself, he was a spinless, pathetic lad, but in reality how many of us would, in actuality, have acted any different in the exact same situation? We sit in front of our computers in relative comfort, some might be even eating a nice snack, or meal, and remonstrate that he could have done this, or that, as if we would do that if it were us,...... at the age of 14?
In all those posts I noticed that no one seemed to take on board the fact that one of the reasons the aunt also chucked them out was because they were the children of active military personel, who were held directly responsible for dishonouring the nation by losing the war and putting civilians in the dire straits they now found themselves in. If anyone in their neighbourhood had found out that they were related in anyway to anyone in the military, they too would have been equally ostracised and rejected by their neighbours. Even if he did go out and look for a job, just what jobs were out there? Most of Tokyo was burnt to the ground and any building that even remotely looked like it was industrial was targeted by the B 29's. As I said, being a military "brat" he would have had no chance to get any work once he was discovered being so, and that too is what caused his death, abandoned like the other war "brats" and returning military personel dying in that train station daily. spoiler[Remember how he was treated in that bank when he went to withdraw what was left of his parents savings? Also he still believed, and expected his father to return from sea alive when he was living at his aunt's, and of course the aunt knew about, and exploited their savings and military benefits until the money was depleated and cut off, plus with the now shortage of food, that is when she sends them packing to rid her own family of the military stigma, and the extra mouths to feed. ] |
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namelissis
 Posts: 219 |
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So is it really that a masterpiece?! Or is it just a crap...
Because I'm going to watch it this summer break... Since all of my friends say I should watch it... And in fact they lend me the DVD... They say it was really outstanding...(All of the people I've asked)... So would I bother watching it?? |
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abunai
Old Regular
 Posts: 5463 Location: 露命 |
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Okay, let me get this straight... you aren't paying anything. Everybody is advising you this is a great movie, and if they are wrong, you will have lost only a couple of hours of your leisure time. If they are right, you will have enriched your life experience with one of the great movies of our age. In other words, you have pretty much everything to gain and almost nothing to lose. Don't you feel a bit silly asking us whether to bother watching it? Just do it. - abunai |
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namelissis
Posts: 219 |
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To abunai:
sorry, I was lost... Okay, I re-read it again... It's night time here, so I'm a bit sleepy... Argh, sorry that was my bad... Ok, so it's really that sad enough to make my heart feel and love the show... Okay, after my exams tomorrow, I'll watch it!!! And after watching it... I'll post my comment about it here! SUMIMASEN... GOMENASAI... |
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jetz
 Posts: 2148 Location: Manila, Philippines |
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Ultimately it's your decision whether you think it's a masterpiece or if it's "crap". Ever heard of that line "One man's trash, another's one's treasure"? This may seem off topic, but after hearing how everyone loved please teacher I decided to see it for myself. I found out it wasn't for me, and I thought it was weak. I don't think it was a complete waste for me to watch, because I found out on my own that I didn't like it. Anyway, it's the same thing I can say to you Niceguy9418. So you don't think it's excellent or a masterpiece. Maybe your expectations were too high because of what everyone said about it so you end up being underwhelmed. That happens to me too, so as much as I can I rely on my own instinct when I choose what anime to watch. |
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jetz
Posts: 2148 Location: Manila, Philippines |
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Ultimately it's your decision whether you think it's a masterpiece or if it's "crap". Ever heard of that line "One man's trash, another's one's treasure"? This may seem off topic, but after hearing how everyone loved please teacher I decided to see it for myself. I found out it wasn't for me, and I thought it was weak. I don't think it was a complete waste for me to watch, because I found out on my own that I didn't like it. Anyway, it's the same thing I can say to you Niceguy9418. So you don't think it's excellent or a masterpiece. Maybe your expectations were too high because of what everyone said about it so you end up being underwhelmed. That happens to me too, so as much as I can I rely on my own instinct when I choose what anime to watch. |
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Momoko_Yumi
 Posts: 98 Location: Heidenheim, Germany |
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I think it is a great movie. When I first saw it I couldn't stop crying. When I saw it my daughter was in the same age as the little girl (Setsuko). So I have a strong emotional feeling while watching it.
I think this movie really shows what war means, apart from the fighting. And that the war is still alive after the fighting stops. And you must remember, Seita ist a 14 year old boy who knows little about the world outside. He's a child whose childhood was stolen from one second to the other. A child who also was very optimistic and full of hope...but than failed because he was to young. You must think what time it was. Japan has lost the war, the land was in chaos...who cares in these times about an 14 year old boy and his little sister? |
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Ari-chan
Posts: 215 Location: Florida |
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Niceguy9418
I believe you are both right and wrong with what you said. I agree, Seita could have handeled the situation much better if he had just done things a little differently in certain areas, but even then you have to relize that he is a 14-year-old boy, with a 14-year-old boy mentality, and no wiseman looking over his should to help him out after his life had taken a 180 degree turn about. Certainly it is easy to see his faults and to see all the rights and wrongs, but that is also the literary aspect the movie decided to take. It is an "Unreliable Narration", which means the narrator (Seita in this case) does not posses a full understanding of what is going on around him, but the viewers can see more the he does. Seita can only see what is presented to him through those young eyes without the capability to see the wrong doing and the effects it will cause. Personally I think this type of narration works for this movie as it helps to give the veiwer a reaction (example: your reaction). The way you see the movie's characters and situation is perfectly justifiable, but you also need to keep in mind everything going on around him at that time and the other people around him. Like Mohawk52 said, he was a military brat, so he was already doomed in the career aspect. Also take note that with the economic stress of that time, finding a career that wasn't going to put you in any risk of danger was nearly out of the question, especially for a child who barely met any qualification deemed nessecary for such things. School was also nearly out of the question because of those times. They didn't have alot going for them in any way. The only thing Seita could have done was care for his little sister. Considering how despite the food and roof the Aunt gave them, it wasn't really out of anything they could eternally relay on until they could get stable footing in the world. She wasn't using them just as much as they were her, and when both ran out, both went separrate ways. They were doomed to die as soon as the war took effect around them, so in the end, Seita really didn't have much to do in terms of care and keeping alive, he tried his best, that's for sure, but overall they were both goners from the get-go. It's a sad look at how children could be/ were effected during those horrid times; and odds are, if you were in his shoes, you wouldn't have been any better off. As for how I felt about the movie opinion wise. I thought it was a great movie, though it could have been better. I do agree with Niceguy9418 that they should b=have added those types of scene for better understanding, but I also liked the fact that it makes you think about why rather than flat out giving you the answers. The only problem I had with this movie personally is that I couldn't cry at it. Even now I still can't cry at it. It is an eternal enigma to me as to why I can't, especially since I can go watch Pokemon or Sailor Moon right now and start the water works at some sad scene, while still being completely dry-eyed to "Grave of The Fireflies". 
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Jedi General
 Posts: 2485 Location: Tucson, AZ |
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Honestly, I also don't get why Grave of the Firefles is so highly regarded. While I did like the film (I rated it "Good" also), I was disappointed with it. It lacked the emotional impact I was expecting after seeing other sad anime such as SaiKano and Millennium Actress. I cried a river at the end of the those two examples, while GoTF didn't move me nearly as much. I did feel sad, but it wasn't enough to cause tears to stream down my face.
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