I can't stand it, and that's what makes it an amazing piece.

Rating: 8/10 (28 April 2019)

Set in WWII in Japan, this tale tells of the realities of war not on the soldiers' end, but instead, in the eyes of two innocent children.
The film is told in a nonlinear manner, leaving the viewer to properly put together the pieces to the plot to form a sad tale of two siblings lost at war.
Halfway through the film, I already feel quite uncomfortable with what I've seen so far. It isn't in a way that grosses you out due to a film's excessive use of violence, which wouldn't be surprising on a film where a war is underway. The focus of the film was to show how the casualties of war are as badly affected as soldiers are when bloodshed is involved, leaving people who are unable to defend themselves exposed to vulnerable and harmful conditions. The portrayal of the circumstances in which the siblings were victims of was what made it hard for me to watch. How vulnerable and incapable they were to their circumstances was just heartbreaking.
I highly recommend others who haven't seen it to go and do so. Though the animation may not be up to everyone's taste, it makes up for its story and message. It is an eye opener to the hardships people who are left to fend for themselves deal with as soldiers fight for their people, country, and nation, on another front.