12 Great Movies That You'll Never Watch Again (And Why)
7. Grave Of The Fireflies (1988)
What It's About: Grave of the Fireflies is a Japanese anime film written and directed by Studio Ghibli co-founder Isao Takahata, based on Akiyuki Nosakas 1967 semi-autobiographical story of the same name. The movie follows the life of two siblings named Seita and Setsuko as they desperately try to survive on the streets of Kobe, Japan during the Second World War.
Why It's Great: If not Studio Ghiblis best ever offering, it certainly packs the most punch. The story on show is so human that at times you really do forget that youre watching an animation, though the fact that it is drawn is what makes this film great. This well-known story could quite easily have been picked up as a live-action in Japan, bogging the raw emotion down in special effects and battle scenes. As it is, the bulk of the film makers efforts have gone into telling this truly engrossing tale.
Why You'll Never Watch It Again: Unlike the family friendly fantasies the giant animation studio is known and loved for, Grave of the Fireflies is most certainly not for kids, nor is it for adults of a weak disposition. Not many anime movies would go as far as showing us an orphaned boy standing over the burnt, maggot-infested corpse of his mother. Coming to love the kids makes it all the harder to watch their inevitable fate, and its an ordeal you can do without repeating.