Dubbing Wikia

Grave of the Fireflies (火垂るの墓 Hotaru no Haka) is a 1988 Japanese animated drama film written and directed by Isao Takahata and animated by Studio Ghibli. It is based on the 1967 semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by Akiyuki Nosaka. It is commonly considered an anti-war film, but this interpretation has been challenged by some critics and by the director.

Grave of the Fireflies received positive reviews from film critics. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times considered it to be one of the best and most powerful war films and, in 2000, included it on his "Great Movies" list. Two live-action remakes of Grave of the Fireflies were made, one in 2005 and one in 2008.

Synopsis

On the final days of World War II, 14-year-old Seita and his four-year-old sister Setsuko are orphaned after their mother is killed during an air raid by American forces in Kobe, Japan. After having a falling out with their aunt, they move into an abandoned bomb shelter. With no surviving relatives and their emergency funds and rations depleted, Seita and Setsuko must struggle to survive their hardships as well as those of their country, which is on the losing end of the war.


Dubbing History[]

Grave of the Fireflies is the only theatrical Studio Ghibli feature film prior to From Up on Poppy Hill which Disney never had North American distribution rights, since it was not produced by Ghibli for parent company Tokuma Shoten but for Shinchosha, the publisher of the original short story.

The film was first dubbed by Skypilot Entertainment for Central Park Media and released on VHS and DVD on October 7, 1998. They later released a two-disc DVD set which included the uncut film in both an English dub and the original Japanese with English subtitles as well as the film's storyboards. The second disc contains a retrospective on the author of the original book, an interview with the director, and an interview with critic Roger Ebert, who has expressed his admiration for the film on several occasions, and ranked the film as one of the greatest of all time.

Following the May 2009 bankruptcy and liquidation of Central Park Media, ADV Films acquired the rights and re-released it on DVD on 7 July 2009. Following the 1 September 2009 shutdown and re-branding of ADV, their successor, Sentai Filmworks, rescued the film and released a remastered DVD on 6 March 2012. A Blu-ray edition was released on November 20, 2012, featuring an all-new English dub produced by Seraphim Digital. The new dub was produced due to the original sound elements for the original dub being lost and impossible to remix into 5.1 surround. The original dub was still included as a bonus feature for its historical significance, and the UK and Australian Blu-rays contain only the original dub.

The film would start streaming on Netflix around September 2024 but would be sub-only. However, despite only having the Japanese audio, it included credits for multiple language dubs which were added on January 7, 2025, including an English dub produced and commissioned to Dubbing Brothers.

This is also the only English dub in where the main characters were voiced by an actual teenager and child just like in the Japanese version. The new English dub produced by Dubbing Brothers was released on Netflix on February 6, 2025. The third English dub will not be included in the 2025 Shout Factory! Blu-Ray release, possibly due to licensing reasons, and will instead only contain the Central Park Media and Sentai Filmworks dubs.

Cast[]

Image Character Seiyū Central Park Media Dub Sentai Dub Dubbing Brothers Dub
Seita Tsutomu Tatsumi J. Robert Spencer Adam Gibbs Lucas Jaye
Setsuko Ayano Shiraishi Corinne Orr Emily Neves Luna Hamilton
Mother Yoshiko Shinohara Veronica Taylor Shelley Calene-Black ¿?
Aunt Akemi Yamaguchi Amy Jones Marcy Bannor Ren Hanami
Doctor Hiroshi Kawaguchi Crispin Freeman David Wald ¿?

Additional Voices[]

Central Park Media Dub

Dubbing Brothers Dub

Notes[]

  • This is the only Studio Ghibli film to be recorded in Houston, and also the only Ghibli film that was never redubbed by Disney.
    • It is also the only Studio Ghibli film to have been fully recorded in New York, whereas Princess Mononoke had additional recording take place there.
  • The Netflix dub of the film is the first Netflix anime production to be recorded at Dubbing Brothers.
  • This is Lucas Jaye, Luna Hamilton, Chacha Shen, Kana Koinuma, Susannah Corrington, and Zander Chin's debut anime role.

Video Releases[]

Distributor Year Format Dub Region Country
1998 Central Park Media NTSC United States United States
1
NTSC
2002
2004 2
PAL
United Kingdom United Kingdom
1
NTSC
United States United States
2007 2
PAL
United Kingdom United Kingdom
link ADV Films 2009 1
NTSC
United States United States
2012
BD Central Park Media /
Sentai
A
DVB-T
2013 Central Park Media B
DVB-T
United Kingdom United Kingdom
2020 Central Park Media /
Sentai
A
DVB-T
United States United States
2025

Transmission via Streaming[]

Company Date Category Format Classification Country
February 6, 2025 Anime film Digital TV-14 United States United States

See Also[]

  • Barefoot Gen: A similarly themed anime also set in the Second World War

External Links[]

vde
Films

Nausicaä of the Valley of the WindCastle in the SkyGrave of the FirefliesMy Neighbor TotoroKiki's Delivery ServiceOnly YesterdayPorco RossoPom PokoWhisper of the HeartPrincess MononokeMy Neighbors the YamadasSpirited AwayThe Cat ReturnsHowl's Moving CastleTales from EarthseaPonyoThe Secret World of ArriettyFrom Up on Poppy HillThe Wind RisesThe Tale of the Princess KaguyaWhen Marnie Was ThereEarwig and the WitchThe Boy and the Heron

Series

Ronja, the Robber's Daughter

External Links