Incredibly powerful and emotional drama

Rating: 9/10 (14 January 2017)

Japan, World War 2. Teenage boy Seita and his young sister Setsuko are left homeless and effectively orphaned when their city is firebombed by US bombers. They end up living with an aunt. Initially things go well and life seems almost normal again. However, their relationship with their aunt deteriorates and Seita and Setsuko decide to leave and fend for themselves. They find a place and things seem to be going well. However, over time food gets scarcer and life becomes a constant struggle for survival
A quite powerful examination of life among the civilian population of a nation at war. More broadly, this is a story of survival and the bonds between a brother and sister, made stronger by a cataclysmic series of events. The war is just the setting, and the initial cause of the events – at its core it's a human drama. This is good, as the movie could easily have gone down some sort of bleeding heart anti-war path or even a path that condemned the US bombing of Japanese cities in WW2 (which would have been absurd as the Japanese were just reaping the whirlwind after sowing the wind).
Incredibly engaging. You are emotionally invested in the lives of Seita and Setsuko, their struggles and wins, highs and lows. This makes the conclusion very emotional.
Superb animation, though you would expect nothing less from director Isao Takahata (director of the TV series Heidi and Maya, amongst others). Some of the imagery is stunningly beautiful, like watercolour paintings.
On the negative side, and probably the only reason I didn't give this a 10/10, the outcomes are a bit telegraphed. The conclusion would have been even more powerful and emotional if we didn't know in advance what it was going to be.