...But it was a cartoon!
Have you ever seen or read something that sorta stuck in you head...stuck in your head and just wouldn't leave it? You find yourself randomly thinking about it, getting drawn inexorably in again and again when you have no desire to think about it?

Well, a little while ago, Halo and I purchased Grave of the Fireflies an anime from Studio Ghibli, the same folks that brought you My Neighbor Totoro, Howl's Moving Castle, and a bunch of other really great movies.

She warned be before hand that it was sad, and I nodded. After all, it's a cartoon, how bad could it be?

Then I saw it.

Grave of the Fireflies is the single most powerful anti-war film I have ever seen, in addition to being a scathing critique on how people (in this case the Japanese) deal with their fellow man in times of crisis. It's images are haunting, all the more because of their striking beauty. I don't cry at movies, but I will be the first to admit, that I did at Grave of the Fireflies, and did so frequently towards the end (the fact that they paired this movie with My Neighbor Totoro when the initiall released it in Japan is horrifying to me...sorta like pairing Schindler's List with Enchanted...but more so).

If you haven't seen this movie, it really, really is worth it...not to be entertained...because it's NOT entertaining in any way I can conceive of...but because it's something that everyone should see at some point in their lives.

Just not with the kids around.