When an American air raid kills their mother in the final days of World War II, 14-year-old Seita and his 4-year-old sister Setsuko are left to fend for themselves in the devastated Japanese countryside. After falling out with their only living relative, Seita does his best to provide for himself and his sister by stealing food and making a home in an abandoned bomb shelter. But with food running short, the siblings can only cling to fleeting moments of happiness in their harsh reality.

Based on the personal accounts of survivor Akiyuki Nosaka, Grave of the Fireflies is hailed as one of the most stunning contributions to animation and cinematic history. Deftly depicting the beauty of the human spirit as well as its devastating cruelty, Grave of the Fireflies is a singular work of art from Academy Award®-nominated* director and Studio Ghibli co-founder Isao Takahata.

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Video Quality

Grave of the Fireflies arrives on Blu-Ray from GKIDS and Shout! Studios with a pleasant and bright 1080p transfer to counteract the dour narrative. The film was previously released on Blu-Ray in 2012 by Sentai Filmworks, and from what we can tell, this appears to be from the same general master. If anything, there seem to be small improvements in the encoding and in the presentation and translation of the subtitles. While we would prefer a brand new 4K UHD Blu-Ray release, it is necessary to have this iconic anime back in print for the current generation.

The level of detail these artists put into each frame is readily apparent. There are moments that signal that this anime was created a while back in a stylistic sense, but most would argue this has a timeless aesthetic, and no age-related anomalies are impeding the animation. The textures of the ragged character designs and the environments are another notable achievement, as the film conveys a real sense of depth. The character designs are all very natural and distinct without veering into caricature out of respect for the material. The colors present in these environments are executed perfectly within this transfer with the vast range of hues capturing the gentle nuances. Black levels are robust with no hint of compression artifacts or digital anomalies of the sort. This is simply a great Blu-Ray presentation.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray comes with a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio lossless track presented here in its original Japanese and two dubbed English options (1998 and 2012) with optional English, English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles. These tracks deliver a pleasant listening experience that brings the heartbreaking story to life with great care. Dialogue comes through clearly at all times without being trounced by any of the fleeting action sounds such as planes overhead. The emotional score is effective in its saturation throughout the room as it envelops the audience. The track supports some subtle activity in the low end when things get a little more bustling. There is also a nice amount of sonic detail as the sounds of various locations spring to life. This is a commendable release that treats the film well.

Special Features

Feature Length Storyboards (1:28:32)

Deleted Scene Storyboards: Two unrealized scenes are provided in storyboard form.

- Deleted Scene Storyboard 1 (1:52)

- Deleted Scene Storyboard 2 (0:38)

Image Galleries

- Background Art

- Background Designs

- Behind The Scenes

- Character/Color Design

- Concept Art

- Image Boards

- Location Scouting

Joint Project Promotional Video: A 15-minute video that hypes up the creation of Grave of the Fireflies through interviews with some of the people involved.

Interview with Director Isao Takahata: An 18-minute vintage interview with Isao Takahata in which he discusses the emotional complexity of the story, the production of the film, casting the voice actors, the animation style, and more.

Interview with Roger Ebert: A nearly 13-minute archival piece with the legendary film critic exploring the depth and many layers of the film.

Teasers & Trailers (2:41)

Final Thoughts

Grave of the Fireflies is one of the most emotionally devastating movies from Studio Ghibli, and that is saying something. Director Isao Takahata brings a melancholy beauty to the fallout of war and isolation as experienced through a child’s eyes. Certain character decisions that will drive you mad, but the story remains sobering all the same. GKIDS and Shout! Studios have released a Blu-Ray with a strong A/V presentation and a decent assortment of supplemental material. If you are interested in experiencing more anime that touches on heavy adult themes, this one is essential. Recommended

Grave of the Fireflies will be available to purchase on Blu-Ray + DVD Combo Pack in standard or SteelBook form on July 8, 2025.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: GKIDS and Shout! Studios have supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.