Best movies like Grave of the Fireflies
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
In the final months of World War II, 14-year-old Seita and his sister Setsuko are orphaned when their mother is killed during an air raid in Kobe, Japan. After a falling out with their aunt, they move into an abandoned bomb shelter. With no surviving relatives and their emergency rations depleted, Seita and Setsuko struggle to survive.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 301000
Genere: Animation, Drama, War
Country: Japan
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: depressing, anime, touching, heartbreaking, sad, emotional, harsh, dramatic, sentimental, tear jerker
Best tv shows and movies like Grave of the Fireflies (1988):
Similar in 85%
Anne Frank's Diary (1999)
Plot Summary:
During World War II, a teenage Jewish girl named Anne Frank and her family are forced into hiding in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 247
Genere: Animation, Biography, Drama, War
Country: UK, Japan, Ireland, France, Netherlands, Luxembourg
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: anime
Similar in 87%
Giovanni's Island (2014)
Plot Summary:
In the aftermath of the most devastating conflict mankind had ever experienced, the tiny island of Shikotan became part of the Sakhalin Oblast... and on the unhealed border in this remote corner of the world, friendship among children from two different countries timidly blossomed, striving to overcome language barriers and the waves of history. Inspired by true events.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Animation, Drama, History, War
Country: Japan
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: anime, touching, emotional, realistic, serious, mind bending, psychedelic, surreal, adult animation, manga
Similar in 90%
Barefoot Gen (1983)
Plot Summary:
A powerful statement against war, Barefoot Gen is a story about the effect of the atomic bomb on a boy's life and the lives of the Japanese people. Based on the acclaimed manga by Nakazawa Keiji, the author of Barefoot Gen, who was 6 years old at the time of the Hiroshima bombing, and is one of the survivors of the destruction. The bomb was responsible for the death of his father, his sister, and his brother. At the age of 6 he and his mother dug their remains out of the ruins of their home. In 1963 Nakazawa moved to Tokyo to become a manga artist, but returned to Hiroshima in 1966 to attend his mothers funeral. It was then that he learned of the true impact of the radiation from the bomb.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Animation, Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: Japan
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: anime, disturbing, adult animation, heartbreaking, political, rough, bleak, retro, depressing, epic
Similar in 89%
Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 (2009)
Plot Summary:
Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 is a Japanese anime television series that premiered on Fuji TV's noitaminA timeslot on July 9, 2009, where it ended its original run on September 17. Directed by Masaki Tachibana and written by Natsuko Takahashi, it is an original series co-produced by Bones and Kinema Citrus. The 11-episode series centres around two young siblings, Mirai and Yūki, and single mother Mari who the two meet in the aftermath of a major earthquake hitting the Japanese capital, placed in the near future. It won the Excellence Prize in the Animation category at Japan's Media Arts Festival in 2009. It was announced that the series has been licensed for a release in North America, set to be released on April 2013.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Animation, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 23 min
Plot tags: anime, motivational, touching, captivating, suspense, suspenseful, tear jerker, tearjerker
Similar in 88%
Persepolis (2007)
Plot Summary:
In 1970s Iran, Marjane 'Marji' Statrapi watches events through her young eyes and her idealistic family of a long dream being fulfilled of the hated Shah's defeat in the Iranian Revolution of 1979. However as Marji grows up, she witnesses first hand how the new Iran, now ruled by Islamic fundamentalists, has become a repressive tyranny on its own.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 99000
Genere: Animation, Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: France, USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: adult animation, political, thought provoking, black and white, serious, realistic, depressing, social, anime, visually stunning
Similar in 89%
Barefoot Gen 2 (1986)
Plot Summary:
Three years after the Hiroshima bombing, a teenager helps a group of orphans to survive and find their new life.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Animation, Biography, Drama, War
Country: Japan
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: anime, political, disturbing
Similar in 76%
When the Wind Blows (1986)
Plot Summary:
With the help of government-issued pamphlets, an elderly British couple build a shelter and prepare for an impending nuclear attack, unaware that times and the nature of war have changed from their romantic memories of World War II.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Animation, Drama, War
Country: UK
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: adult animation, bleak, apocalyptic, disturbing, touching, realistic, serious, depressing, sad, controversial
Similar in 77%
In This Corner of the World (2016)
Plot Summary:
Newlywed Suzu Urano moves to her new life in Kure City on the coast of Hiroshima Prefecture, where she perseveres through World War II with pluck and determination.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Animation, Drama, Family, History, War
Country: Japan
Duration: 129 min
Plot tags: anime, thought provoking, tense, touching, captivating, suspenseful, sad, manga, adult animation, seinen
Similar in 78%
Clannad: The Motion Picture (2007)
Plot Summary:
Clannad is set in a high-school located in some Japanese town. Okazaki Tomoya is a third-year student who doesn't take his studies seriously. Always late for class, he's seen as a delinquent by the rest of his classmates who are busy preparing for their entrance examinations. Needless to say, he hasn't too many close friends either.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Animation, Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: anime, touching, emotional, sincere, humorous, semi serious, serious, shoujo, realistic
Similar in 81%
The Breadwinner (2017)
Plot Summary:
A headstrong young girl in Afghanistan, ruled by the Taliban, disguises herself as a boy in order to provide for her family.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 28000
Genere: Animation, Drama, Family, War
Country: Ireland, Canada, Luxembourg, USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: rough, heartbreaking, sincere, suspense, sad, anime, adult animation, serious, educational, manga
Similar in 88%
Waltz with Bashir (2008)
Plot Summary:
Much awarded animated documentary, in which director and Israeli army veteran Ari Folman interviews friends and former soldiers about their memories of the 1982 Lebanon war and especially the Sabra and Shatila massacre in Beirut. The usage on animation enabled Folman to illustrate their personal memories and dreams.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 60000
Genere: Documentary, Animation, Biography, Drama, History, Mystery, War
Country: Israel, France, Germany, USA, Finland, Switzerland, Belgium, Australia
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: rough, disturbing, adult animation, psychological, serious, atmospheric, bleak, realistic, surreal, political
Similar in 84%
Millennium Actress (2001)
Plot Summary:
Documentary filmmaker Genya Tachibana has tracked down the legendary actress Chiyoko Fujiwara, who mysteriously vanished at the height of her career. When he presents her with a key she had lost and thought was gone forever, the filmmaker could not have imagined that it would not only unlock the long-held secrets of Chiyoko’s life... but also his own.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 31000
Genere: Animation, Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: anime, surreal, touching, tense, atmospheric, emotional, talky, serious, adult animation, cult classic
Similar in 75%
Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade (1999)
Plot Summary:
A member of an elite paramilitary counter-terrorism unit becomes traumatized after witnessing the suicide bombing of a young girl and is forced to undergo retraining. However, unbeknownst to him, he becomes a key player in a dispute between rival police divisions, as he finds himself increasingly involved with the sister of the girl he saw die.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Animation, Action, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: anime, bleak, heartbreaking, rough, serious, psychological, philosophical, disturbing, manga, adult anime
Similar in 78%
It's Such a Beautiful Day (2012)
Plot Summary:
Bill struggles to put together his shattered psyche, in this new feature film version of Don Hertzfeldt's animated short film trilogy.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Animation, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 62 min
Plot tags: philosophical, surreal, adult animation, thought provoking, atmospheric, experimental, enigmatic, depressing, bleak, melancholic
Similar in 80%
Watership Down (1978)
Plot Summary:
When the warren belonging to a community of rabbits is threatened, a brave group led by Fiver, Bigwig, Blackberry and Hazel leave their homeland in a search of a safe new haven.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 39000
Genere: Animation, Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: emotional, adult animation, disturbing, serious, sad, bleak, dark, cult classic, anime, tense
Similar in 82%
Mary and Max (2009)
Plot Summary:
A tale of friendship between two unlikely pen pals: Mary, a lonely, eight-year-old girl living in the suburbs of Melbourne, and Max, a forty-four-year old, severely obese man living in New York. In the mid-1970's, a homely, friendless Australian girl of 8 picks a name out of a Manhattan phone book and writes to him; she includes a chocolate bar. He writes back, with chocolate. Thus begins a 20-year correspondence. Will the two ever meet face to face?.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 184000
Genere: Animation, Comedy, Drama
Country: Australia
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: touching, depressing, emotional, adult animation, black comedy, sincere, stylized, sad, gloomy, dark comedy
Similar in 76%
The Plague Dogs (1982)
Plot Summary:
The Plague Dogs is a 1982 animated film based on the 1977 novel of the same name by Richard Adams. The story is centred on two dogs named Rowf and Snitter, who escape from a research laboratory in Great Britain. In the process of telling the story, the film highlights the cruelty of performing vivisection and animal research for its own sake.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Animation, Adventure, Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: adult animation, disturbing, heartbreaking, serious, realistic, suspenseful, road movie, psychedelic, offbeat, depressing
Similar in 83%
From Up on Poppy Hill (2011)
Plot Summary:
The story is set in 1963 in Yokohama. Kokuriko Manor sits on a hill overlooking the harbour. A 16 year-old girl, Umi, lives in that house. Every morning she raises a signal flag facing the sea. The flag means “I pray for safe voyages”. A 17 year-old boy, Shun, always sees this flag from the sea as he rides a tugboat to school. Gradually the pair are drawn to each other but they are faced with a sudden trial. Even so, they keep going without running from facing the hardships of reality.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 50000
Genere: Animation, Comedy, Drama, Family, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: anime, touching, sentimental, atmospheric, romantic, sweet, emotional, talky, serious, manga
Similar in 84%
My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
Plot Summary:
Two sisters move to the country with their father in order to be closer to their hospitalized mother, and discover the surrounding trees are inhabited by Totoros, magical spirits of the forest. When the youngest runs away from home, the older sister seeks help from the spirits to find her.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 368000
Genere: Animation, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: anime, feel good, atmospheric, sweet, touching, fairy tale, offbeat, manga, uplifting, emotional
Similar in 76%
The Garden of Words (2013)
Plot Summary:
Takao, who is training to become a shoemaker, skipped school and is sketching shoes in a Japanese-style garden. He meets a mysterious woman, Yukino, who is older than him. Then, without arranging the times, the two start to see each other again and again, but only on rainy days. They deepen their relationship and open up to each other. But the end of the rainy season soon approaches ….
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 51000
Genere: Animation, Drama, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 46 min
Plot tags: anime, touching, sweet, atmospheric, melancholic, serious, romantic, colorful, visual, manga
Similar in 87%
Wolf Children (2012)
Plot Summary:
After her werewolf lover unexpectedly dies in an accident, a woman must find a way to raise the son and daughter that she had with him. However, their inheritance of their father's traits prove to be a challenge for her.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 48000
Genere: Animation, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: anime, heartbreaking, sweet, atmospheric, colorful, sentimental, touching, manga, depressing, epic
Similar in 81%
A Monster Calls (2016)
Plot Summary:
A boy imagines a monster that helps him deal with his difficult life and see the world in a different way.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 92000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Horror
Country: USA, Spain, UK
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: touching, dark fantasy, emotional, compassionate, fairy tale, poignant, sad, depressing, psychotronic, thought provoking
Similar in 79%
Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (1997)
Plot Summary:
The second of two theatrically released follow-ups to the Neon Genesis Evangelion series. Comprising of two alternate episodes which were first intended to take the place of episodes 25 and 26, this finale answers many of the questions surrounding the series, while also opening up some new possibilities.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 62000
Genere: Animation, Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: Japan
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: anime, psychological, mecha, ambiguous ending, surreal, cult classic, adult animation, existential, mindfuck, atmospheric
Similar in 84%
Akira (1988)
Plot Summary:
Childhood friends Tetsuo and Kaneda are pulled into the post-apocalyptic underworld of Neo-Tokyo and forced to fight for their very survival. Kaneda is a bike gang leader, and Tetsuo is a member of a tough motorcycle crew who becomes involved in a covert government project called Akira. But a bloody battle ensues when Kaneda sets out to save his friend.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 200000
Genere: Animation, Action, Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 124 min
Plot tags: anime, surreal, futuristic, atmospheric, serious, adult animation, manga, cyber, talky, visual
Similar in 88%
Turtles Can Fly (2004)
Plot Summary:
Turtles can fly tells the story of a group of young children near the Turkey-Iran border. They clean up mines and wait for the Saddam regime to fall.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Iran, France, Iraq
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: sincere, bleak, emotional, atmospheric, stylized, rough, heartbreaking, political, dramatic, realistic
Similar in 83%
The Book Thief (2013)
Plot Summary:
While subjected to the horrors of WWII Germany, young Liesel finds solace by stealing books and sharing them with others. Under the stairs in her home, a Jewish refuge is being sheltered by her adoptive parents.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 141000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Germany, USA
Duration: 131 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, emotional, serious, captivating, sad, stylized, tear jerker, period piece, motivational
Similar in 81%
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008)
Plot Summary:
When his family moves from their home in Berlin to a strange new house in Poland, young Bruno befriends Shmuel, a boy who lives on the other side of the fence where everyone seems to be wearing striped pajamas. Unaware of Shmuel's fate as a Jewish prisoner or the role his own Nazi father plays in his imprisonment, Bruno embarks on a dangerous journey inside the camp's walls.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 239000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: emotional, touching, sad, heartbreaking, sentimental, tear jerker, serious, crying, thought provoking, gloomy