Heartwarming and tragic

Rating: 10/10 (6 June 2015)

I remember watching this film for the first time when I was 7- I didn't understand much of it then but I'd heard my dad talking about it and demanded to see it.
I watched it again when I was 13, remembering vaguely that it was about war which was a subject I was fascinated by at the time. I loved this film from the get go. The style and plot were very different from studio Ghibli films I'd seen in the past but worked very well.
The film is beautifully animated, brutally honest and really captures the true essence of what war is really like. Not on the soldiers but on the civilians, family and friends they left behind. I also liked it because it was from a different point of view. There are hundreds of films based on the British and their allies during the war but not many on those who we were fighting.
The relationship between Seita and Setsuko is heartwarming which only adds to the tragedy of the film. I found myself crying at multiple times throughout and even forced my friends to watch it so they could cry with me.
I would definitely recommend this film no matter what film genres you're into.