The ultimate anime tear jerker

Rating: 10/10 (13 July 2012)

Of all the animated movies that I've seen in my life, this has to be the most heartbreaking one. It is depressing and bleak, and yet it is incredibly beautiful, being a memorable experience that has to be seen in order to be believed.
Never before in the history of cinema any other movie expressed with such haunting poetry the horrors of war, in fact, what makes this movie so effective and haunting it's the subtlety of it: Unlike other war movies, this movie doesn't portray big scenes of destruction, but instead of that, shows, with an incredible level of realism the consequences that war has in the everyday lives of innocent people (In this case, the two main characters)
Some detractors accused this movie of being way too sordid, but personally I think that it was way more subtle than most of the war films that are released every year. Let's take for example another anime film that takes place in the Second World War, "Barefoot Gen", which shows with an incredible harshness the aftermath of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima (Though it is a pretty good movie too) "Grave of the Fireflies" doesn't need the use of very explicit material to express all the absurdity, brutality and horror of war, and how it affects everyone, even the people that weren't supposed to be involved.
The animation and the music are magnificent, like in all the productions done by the Studio Ghibli, but what makes this movie an exceptional masterpiece is the powerful story that it has, being one of the most stunning tales of survival ever made.
Despite the incredible bleakness of the plot, I still consider this movie a must-see for everyone, not only to the anime fans. This is the kind of movie that shows that animation isn't something exclusively for the kids, being able to have the same (or even more) emotional impact than many other live-action films.
10/10 (And I would give this eleven stars if I could)