I'm writing this on August 30, 1998. Last viewing: 1 week ago

The first anime I've seen on IFC. A powerful story about Japan in the closing days of WWII, from the point of view of the son of a Navy man and his little sister.

The days go by, the struggle to survive gets worse and worse. The sister's condition deteriorates, until the inevitable.

Very beautiful, very moving. Still, while I do like pure drama on occasion, I've never been a fan of entertainment primarily aimed at making one uncomfortable (wheter it be for comedy or drama). This was certainly quite uncomfortable. I underdstand that it was intended to be tough, and disturbing. I do admire it for how well it was presented, but then again, it's not the kind of thing I'd want to have many repeated viewings of.

It's well worth seeing, though. The personal impact of war can be very easy to overlook, and this brings it home. Whatever side you're on, war is hell.

Not the thing to see when you're in the mood for a good time, but certainly successful in accomplishing what it set out to do.