Grave of the Fireflies (1988) (with Alex Dudok de Wit)

Chris and Alex continue their discussions of Studio Ghibli for Episode 72 with a look at animated war feature Grave of the Fireflies (Isao Takahata, 1988), a film that was initially released as a double bill with partner My Neighbor Totoro (Hayao Miyazaki, 1988). Telling the story of teenage boy Seita and his younger sister Setsuko who, after fleeing the city of Kobe, must navigate the public horrors and personal traumas of World War II, Grave of the Fireflies offers a graphic and emotional portrait of conflict and society through the isolation and struggle experienced by the siblings. Joining the podcast this week to discuss the film’s potent political message is Alex Dudok de Wit, Associate Editor at Cartoon Brew, freelance journalist (including work for the BFI/Sight and Sound) and author of the upcoming BFI Film Classic on Grave of the Fireflies (London: Bloomsbury, 2021). Listen as the trio examine the historical, political and artistic contexts for the film, and its important place within the Ghibli canon; the cartoon short tradition and wartime propaganda in both the U.S. and Japan; pacing, rhetoric and the narrative framing of Grave of the Fireflies through fantasy and subjectivity; ghostliness, death and the afterlife, and what the pull between naturalism and fantasy means for the film’s tragedy; the interplay between the fantastical elements of Takahata’s film and its anti-war sentiment; the possible narrative judgment of Seita’s actions and protection of Setsuko; and how Grave of the Fireflies opens up questions about the many relationships between animation and politics, and what it means for popular animation to ‘do’ political enquiry.