Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

WE DID IT. Summer of animation is coming to a close and dear listener I would like to thank YOU most of all for putting in the TIME and EFFORT to watch all of these movies with us (I know you did. C'mon of course you did. YOU WOULDN'T MAKE US DO THIS WITHOUT YOU RIGHT!?) This week we are closing it out with the iconic, Grave of the Fireflies. It's got war. It's got famine. It's got more tears than your high school glee club's semi-district-regional competition! GET IN HERE AND LET US CRY AT YOU.

A devastating meditation on the human cost of war, this animated tale follows Seita (Tsutomu Tatsumi), a teenager charged with the care of his younger sister, Setsuko (Ayano Shiraishi), after an American firebombing during World War II separates the two children from their parents. Their tale of survival is as heartbreaking as it is true to life. The siblings rely completely on each other and struggle against all odds to stay together and stay alive.