Grave of the Fireflies Early Reaction!

Definitely feel like Seita had many opportunities to make sure his sister survived. Really disappointing to see her die when any of a bunch of decisions could have helped prevent it :(

Eric Reacts

I'm definitely having mixed feelings about this one. I've heard about how sad it is for years. On Reddit lists where people ask which movies depress you, this one always comes at the top of most lists. Once I saw you were reacting to it, I decided to save it for a day off where I had nothing much to do. And it definitely was deeply depressing. It's a perspective we don't see portrayed very often, the suffering of the Japanese civilians during the fire bombings that annihilated entire towns and cities towards the end of the war. The aunt was definitely unconscionable, especially in letting a small child eat less and denying them the rice bought with their mother's keepsakes. However, a big however, I have a lot of trouble with Seita. His sister died from his choices. He made bad choice after bad choice. Yes, you don't expect fourteen year olds to make great decisions, but in war, teenagers are expected to grow up quickly. He could have swallowed his pride and gone back to his aunt. Why did he do nothing to help? She even asks why he doesn't help with the fire brigade. She seems to grow increasingly impatient and irate that he is doing absolutely nothing to contribute. He sits in a room all day with his sister and eats their food. He had money and didn't feed her until literally the day she died. I understand savings, but your sister is clearly starving to death. I agree with your thoughts on the themes you touch upon about war, grief, suffering, and struggle. I just kept getting angry at him. There is no doubt he loved his sister and would do anything for her. But he could have done a lot more and made the best of a bad situation. Yes, the aunt was horrible, but you put your sister before a difficult living situation. It felt . . . irresponsible. I know, fourteen, but I was having such a hard time with his behavior. I teared up quite a bit and left the movie feeling deeply sad. But, I also came away being angry with Seita. It felt like he did have options, he just chose not to take them.