Opening title sequence -2

 GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES

Genre(s): Drama, Anti-war,  Action, Tragedy

Directed by: Isao Takahata

Produced by: Takanobu Sato and Toru Hara

Distributed by: Toho

Release date: April 16, 1988

Running time: 89 minutes

Box office ¥590 million ($5 million)

Streaming platform(s): Max

1. Synopsis

Based on the semi-autobiographical short story by Akiyuki Nosaka, "Grave of the Fireflies" is a 1988 Japanese animated war film directed by Isao Takahata. Set in the closing months of World War II, the movie centers on Seita and Setsuko, his younger sister, and their struggle for survival after their family and house are destroyed by fire in Kobe, Japan.

The children seek refuge with an aunt after their mother passes away from severe burns, but tensions increase when supplies grow limited. In the end, Seita and Setsuko move out of the aunt's house and into a bomb shelter that has been abandoned. But they suffer more and more if they aren't fed or taken care of. Despite Seita's best efforts to feed her, Setsuko gets weak and malnourished and eventually perishes from malnutrition. 

2. Why did I choose this film?

Besides romance, I am also into the drama genre and considering romance and drama (mainly about family) for my final product. I have seen this film since I was 10 years old. At that time, I felt heartbreaking, and my tears were unstoppable. It was one of my favorite drama films when I was young. Therefore, I would like to analyze it.

3. Analysis

As usual, the distribution and production company's name appears at the beginning of the sequence, and next to the Shinchosha company, the timeline of this film is introduced, which is the year 1988.

The opening starts with a very dark and quiet space. Then, the protagonist faded in with a medium close-up shot and started his dialogue. It fills with a somber and haunting atmosphere. They use low-key lighting to build tension and create a sense of depth in the scene, giving watchers goosebumps. Additionally, right from the moment of appearance, the first line of dialogue is "September 21, 1945. That was the night I died." This alerts the audience that the film will not end happily. The film has set a precise mood for viewers: deeply emotional, tension, and hopelessness.

Following up, an eye-line match edit technique is used when the character turns his head and looks off the screen, then straight cuts to a scene that reveals what the character is looking at. A skinny boy with bones protruding is sitting slumped against a pillar. This can represent the consequence of the war, where people did not have enough provisions to survive and always ran from foreign invaders. As a result, they died from starvation. Everything in the surroundings is dark. Only a spotlight points directly at the boy to draw all the attention to that person.

The camera runs horizontally and vertically to show the boy's situation to the audience. He is malnourished and lacks the strength to be active. It evokes the pity and sympathy that the audience feels for the boy.

Next, a "3 Over 1" rule is utilized. First, a high angle is employed, followed by a long shot to represent the coldness of the people around. No one is trying to reach out to the boy and give him a hand. A close-up shot for the end of the scene exposes the boy's emaciation.

Another close-up shot focuses on the boy's face. This time, a fly landed on his face, but he gave no reaction. Watchers may predict that he has died or he is just too weak to react. 

Immediately after, a long shot captures the entire scene, full of people who resemble the youngster. They've all starved to death. A laborer arrived and kicked the youngster to confirm to the spectators that the boy was dead. He then stated to his colleagues, "Another one," implying that many people have died here and that they have become accustomed to it. Low-key lighting is still used during these scenes to represent the darkness and hopelessness.

 
 

In films, fireflies, one of the film's representations, appear from the dark. Suddenly, the palette changes to a bright and warm one, and a child stands in the middle of the field. This contrast can evoke a contrast between life and death. 

The girl looks at the dead body in the first scene, using an over-the-shoulder camera angle, and then gets patted by a teenage boy. We could assume that that adolescent boy has died, and he is finally reunited with his sister. 

This scene looks more alive and happy because the crew utilized warmer colors: orange, yellow, and slightly red. Moreover, slight music is also played during this scene. It completely contrasts with the previous scenes, where there is no music, a deadly silent space with the boy's dialogue. 

To further establish that the two characters are siblings, a two-shot camera is positioned to highlight their closeness. 

A close-up shot shows a key item of the film.

Subsequently, the screen transitions to an establishing shot while the title gradually emerges. The television series Grave of the Fireflies is currently being introduced to viewers. 

The film continues by introducing the staff's name on the left and our main characters on the right. 

The following scene is a medium shot of two protagonists. Depending on the gesture, we can predict that this boy may have worked for the military, as he is sitting very upright, like a soldier, with his hand resting on his thighs. Furthermore, when the sister asked for him to help open the candy box, he relaxed from the pose, smiled, and helped her with the box. It represents that he cares about his sister, who has always been his priority.

In contrast, the sister is vivacious and innocent compared to the brother; this can be seen by swinging one's legs while sitting on the chair.

However, she also adores her brother. Although sweets are her favorite thing, she is willing to share them with her brother.

The sequence ends with over-the-shoulder shots when two characters look outside through the train's window. The sky is overflowing with nuclear missiles. The red color connotes a meaning of destruction and death for the region. Then, the scene faded out with high brightness to enter the main story.

4. Conclusion

The sequence can be seen as the disruption stage of the equilibrium theory as it starts with the protagonist dying in the train station. This immediate loss establishes a somber tone and abruptly immerses the audience in the aftermath of war.

Furthermore, this is a tragedy and drama genre. They have used different film tones, which are dark and cool palettes to encode the boy's death, as the current situation of poor people during the war, and warm, bright colors like orange and yellow to represent the happiness when he reunites with his little sister. Moreover, various camerawork is utilized, such as medium shot, two shot, over-the-shoulder, close-ups, and insert shot techniques.