A Sad and Depressing Masterpiece !

Rating: 10/10 (14 September 2010)

This is a adult Japanese animated movie that explores how war effects the most vulnerable and innocent people in the most horrific ways.
The movie opens with the main character Seita dying in a subway station while people walk by without noticing.A tin falls out of his hand and you can see ashes fall out and the ghost of a little girl,his sister Setsuko is seen taking Seita's hand and disappearing.The rest of the movie explains this seen and how they died.
This film pulls no punches in being brutally honest about the effects that WW2 has on these characters.One of the first scenes after the opening is Seita's and Setsuko's town being burned to the ground and there mother dying.There are a lot more scenes that will rip you apart.
This is one of the saddest movies I have ever seen.It's unflinching in it's deception of two young lives ravaged and then ultimately destroyed by war's insanity.
In summary this is a masterpiece in every since of the word.It will rip you apart and make you think twice about war.I cannot recommend this film high enough.Like Schlinder's list this is one film I will probably not watch again for a long time.It tore me apart and changed some of my views on war and it's effects.