One of the greatest war dramas of all time

Rating: 10/10 (8 October 2005)

I had always been a great avid reader of the Japanese retreating struggle and the ultimate defeat of world war 2.I had read the user reviews and downloaded this movie from a bittorrent file.This is without doubt the most emotionally heartbreaking film of all time.The piognancy of the siblings struggle to survive the American bombings is elevated beautifully by an extraordinary background track.I had always read about kamikaze,kaiten and mass suicide attacks organized by Japanese in order to adapt to the superior allied firepower and wondered about the will of these amazing people(Japanese).After seeing this movie i realized that they were just victims of a cruel empire.They fought without hesitation for their emperor sacrificing their livelihood adopting extremist suicide tactics.But for what end.They were just driving themselves to extinction against an army with greater numerical and technical superiority for the sake of a meglomaniac(emperor hirohito).I have always been a great fan of anime like Naruto and FullMetalAlchemist,but they pale in comparison to the simplicity and directness of 'Hotaru no Haka'.An absolute masterpiece of an anime,A must see for anybody interested in seeing a different movie.This movie neither eulogises Americans nor Japanese.It just shows war from the viewpoint of a boy called setsuko.Just spare your time and watch this brutally honest film,I am damn sure you will not be disappointed.This movie is undoubtedly one of japan's greatest contributions to the movie industry.