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Analysis Of Grave Of The Fireflies

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“September 21, 1945… that was the night I died.” Like a metaphorical slap in the face, we see our main character sitting against a pillar in a train station, torn clothes, his body is covered in dirt, his frail arms rest flimsily next to him, face lifeless against his chest. (The Cinephile Fix, 2017) what follows is harrowing tale of war, pride and humanity, but our protagonist is not a human actor, he’s animated. When you think of animation what springs to mind? Aside from a growing group of animation enthusiasts many may recall the antics of bugs bunny, Saturday morning cartoons, and with its growing popularity, anime. This isn’t a children’s movie, it’s a devastating war film, with no happy ending - Grave of the Fireflies is is set during the World War II, when the US was firebombing Japan in a desperate attempt to end the war, based on a true story, the whole story is told through our main character, Seita’s perspective as he attempts, and fails, to survive in a war-torn country with his younger sister Setsuko. It is undeniable, animation is widely associated with children’s films, and even with a long history of tackling adult themes, the stigma remains. Though not without reason, where there is smoke there is fire after all - the industry is saturated with poorly made films - I argue that animation has and will continue to be a powerful tool of expression, In this discussion I hope to tackle some of the underlying issues surrounding animation as a medium, through

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