Hotaru no Haka (Grave of the Fireflies)

Q: Is it based on a manga or a book?

It is based on a book, "Hotaru no Haka", by NOSAKA Akiyuki, published by Shinchosha. The novel is semi-autobiographical. He lost his little sister during the war due to malnutrition. He blamed himself for her death for a long time, and wrote this novel to come to terms with it.

Q: Is the anime loyal to the novel and what really happened?

Very much. Takahata, the director, is known for his realism. Unlike Miyazaki, who takes a manga or novel as just material to build his own world and tell his own story, Takahata usually recreates the world in the original manga or novel perfectly. However, the ghosts of the two children were Takahata's creation, and they don't appear in the novel.

Q: When and where did it take place?

Kobe in 1945.

Q: Who did the music?

MAMIYA, Yoshio. He also worked on other Takahata movies, such as "Horus" and "Goshu".

Q: Did Bandai produce this movie?

No. Bandai just distributed the video in Japan, since the producer of the film, Shinchosha, doesn't have a video distribution network (it's a publishing company).

Q: Is it available in English?

Subbed or dubbed VHS tapes and a bilingual DVD are available from Central Park Media

Q: I heard that it was double-featured with "Totoro" in Japan. Is it true?

Yes. At that time, no one thought that people would want to see "a movie about a two little kids and a Monster in rural Japan", and "Totoro" was considered a big investment risk. Still, Miyazaki and the editors of "Animage" wanted to make this movie, which was Miyazaki's pet project for a long time. So they thought up the idea of risk-sharing. "Grave" was a well-known novel, and because of its "educational" value, a certain level of audience could be expected. (Indeed, "Grave" was chosen by many school boards as a movie to show their students - and "Totoro" along with it, since it was in the package.) Suzuki, then the chief editor of "Animage" (now a producer at Ghibli) went to Shinchosha, the publishing company which published the novel "Grave". Since Shinchosha was looking for an opportunity to enter the movie business, they agreed to produce the movie "Grave". Both Tokuma and Shinchosha knew they were going to lose money, but they still went ahead with the project (they did lose money from the theatrical release). So, if it were not for "Grave", there would have been no "Totoro".