Grave of the Fireflies (火垂るの墓, Hotaru no Haka) is a 1988 Japanese animated war tragedy film written and directed by Isao Takahata. This is the first film produced by Shinchosha, who hired Studio Ghibli to do the animation production work. It is an adaptation of the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by Akiyuki Nosaka, intended as a personal apology to the author's own sister. Roger Ebert considers it to be one of the most powerful war movies ever made. Taking place toward the end of World War II in Japan, Grave of the Fireflies is the tale of the relationship between two orphaned children, 14-year-old Seita (清太) and his young 4-year-old sister Setsuko (節子). The movie begins in Sannomiya Station and portrays Seita, in rags and dying of starvation. A janitor comes and digs through his possessions, and finds a candy tin containing ashes and bones. He throws it out, and from it springs the spirit of Setsuko, Seita, and a cloud of fireflies. The spirit of Seita continues to...