Miracles of Studio Ghibli: Graves of Fireflies and Kiki's Delivery Service

Our childhood days wouldn't be nostalgic without anime series and movies. After all, they inspired us to mirror their antics as we play on the streets. I can vividly remember the days when I would shout Kame Hami Hami Wave and Rei Gun together with friends. I would go home early to tune in to our television to catch a new episode. On Saturdays, I will watch some animated movies. Those were the good old days. We can't turn back time.

Most of the anime I watched during childhood are often cut short by tv stations to accommodate new shows. I mostly watch on the free broadcast, and I don't have any other means to watch animes. When I was in high school, that is the time that I had access to the internet, which I was able to rewatch and discover new animes. The Grave of Fireflies by Studio Ghibli is one of the animated films from the 90s that I watched. It was not the usual genre I prefer to watch, but I love its storytelling. Studio Ghibli has produced many animes since the 90s and has on par with the quality of Disney.

The Grave of Fireflies is not a conventional children's movie. It is deep and dark that explores children's struggles during the aftermath of World War II. Unlike the fantastical elements of most Ghibli films, it is so realistic. It is rich with details and an impressionistic effect that draws out real emotions from viewers. Takahata's experiences of the horrors of war give the anime a melancholic aura and feel. Takahata survived the bombarding raid on his homeland of Okayama. The Grave of Fireflies is tragic but mesmerizingly beautiful.

The Grave of Fireflies reflects the irreversible effect of tragedies and suffering the Japanese people endure in the war. It emphasizes the value of life. In most Hollywood superhero anime, we can expect someone to come when we are in need. The Grave of Fireflies is the polar opposite. When we are in tough times, what we need is humility and perseverance. I rewatch the anime during the pandemic. It gives the feeling that it is hard to be helpless, and the only thing we can do is patiently wait.

When you thought of anime as a shallow story with a lot of sexual content and comedic relief, the Grave of Fireflies proves it wrong. It is the darkest film created by Studio Ghibli. Until today, the poignant lessons it shared to the audience are relevant. It is a masterpiece because it teaches a lesson. When we look at the anime poster, we see the teenage Seita and his younger sister Setsuko play a cloud of fireflies, but it is a juxtaposition of both the fireflies and the bomb drop in the war.

Grave of the Fireflies’ Poster Has Heartbreaking Easter Egg Discovered 30 Years After Release. When you turn brightness all the way up, you'll see a B-29 bombing plane in the sky. What was thought as miracle lights of fireflies were really a rain of explosives. The Grave of Fireflies was released April 16, 1988. (image source)

"The stillness of disaster. Nothing is moving but we feel their shock. It's a scene of pure shell shock, as gorgeous as it is terrifying." (image source)

Studio Ghibli plays a common thread with its film. It focuses on the human experience with nature, spirits, and community foretold in a whimsical storyline adapted from mythology from both Japan and Europe. Many people think cartoons are for kids, but Studio Ghibli gives us a sympathetic to all ages. Studio Ghibli wins the Oscar for Best Animated Feature for Spirited Away. It is the only foreign-language film to receive the award. It is also the highest-grossing film of all time in Japan. Before Spirited Away, there is The Grave of Fireflies (1988), My Neighbor Totoro (1988), Kiki's Delivery Service (1989), and Prince Mononoke (1997).

I recently watched Kiki's Delivery Service. Kiki's Delivery Service is a story of a 13-year-old Kiki, a young sorceress, who needs to work his ass off so that the townfolks consider her as a full-fledged witch. Kiki starts a delivery service in which she whisked messages and packages all over the town. She struggles with how regular people venture into the real world. She has to find a job to earn a living, a place to sleep, and provision for every day. She also finds ways to connect humans to a town where she knows no one.

When Kiki shops for her food and household items, she gets to know how expensive everything is. We can all relate to it when we had our own money with no one to buy for us. But there is more to the story than meets the eye; there is deep imagery sought in the film to what people experience when they start living on their own.

Kiki's Delivery Service is a tale of growing up and wrestling with the transition between modern and traditional cultures, told through the eyes of a young girl going out in the world for the first time. It's one of Ghibli’s first really commercial successes that allowed audiences to re-evaluate earlier works. Image Source

Released in 1989, Kiki’s Delivery Service is about a 13-year-old witch, Kiki, who has reached the age to make a life of her own. With her black cat, Jiji, they find a small town to live in. Obtaining a career as a delivery service, Kiki struggles to fit in. (image source)

The Kiki's Delivery Service explores loneliness and the struggles of leaving on your own. It captures what it is like to experience all trials by ourselves. It explores what lies beyond the comforts we already knew when we move out. There is a point in our lives that we need to venture out new experiences and otherworldly. The story speaks a lot about the reluctance and doubt of leaving normalcy. We all have to go through that experience at some point.

Kiki’s magic is a metaphor for our energy, spirit, or zest to strive in life. When she loses her magic, it impedes her from doing and enjoying her job. Unfortunately, the stress, exhaustion, and uncertainty she faces drain out the magic in her. It is too familiar to those who have suffered from burnout. Kiki regains her magic after she decided to stop trying to do everything all at once. She realizes that there is more to life than work. She was able to take flight once more. Kiki's journey is a poignant reminder that we can only work as hard as we play and rest. The real magic happens when you can balance work and play.

References

1. Grave of the Fireflies: The haunting relevance of Studio Ghibli's darkest film
2. Studio Ghibli: A beginner's guide through the worlds of Spirited Away, Mononoke, and beyond
3. What Kiki’s Delivery Service tells us about burnout
4. Kiki’s Delivery Service Illustrates The Struggle of Growing Up
5. Here's your starting point for getting into Studio Ghibli