蛍の墓 (aka Grave Of The Fireflies) (1988)

Set in Japan during the final days of WWII, a young boy (Tsutomu Tatsumi) and his younger sister (Ayano Shiraishi) desperately struggle to survive after their mother dies in a bombing. Based on the semi autobiographical short story by Akiyuki Nosaka and directed by Isao Takahata (TALE OF THE PRINCES KAGUYA). Children struggling to survive the horrors of war is not a new subject. It's been done before, most notably Rene Clement's classic FORBIDDEN GAMES (1952). But to my knowledge the subject has never been done before in an animated film and this offering from Studio Ghibli is a real heartbreaking story. It's a painful watch and to Takahata's credit, never once does he push for tears. A powerful anti war film though the director insists it is no such thing but it's a film that can be looked at from many angles.