10 Studio Ghibli Films Everyone Should See

3. Grave Of The Fireflies (1988)

While this list has been dominated mostly by the work of Miyazaki, fellow Ghibli founder Isao Takahata is a huge talent in his own right and his finest moment is clearly Grave of the Fireflies, the first film he directed for the studio. The story follows a young boy and his sister who look after one another after their mother dies during WWII.

Originally released alongside the more light-hearted My Neighbour Totoro, Grave of the Fireflies is one of the most powerful war movies ever made due to its realistic exploration of personal struggles and tragedies that occurred during the War. Two live action remakes have since been made in the past decade, but Takahata's animation is the definitive version of Akiyuki Nosaka's original novel. Just buy every box of tissues you can find before watching it and you should be fine.

Why You Should Watch It: Scientists have finally found a way to determine whether people have a soul. If you watch Grave of the Fireflies without shedding a single tear then you're more soulless than a thousand Keanu Reeves performances. End of story.