Grave of the Fireflies

Directed by Isao Takahata. The movie is an adaptation of an autobiographical novel by the same name. The novel was written as an apology to the authors sister who died from malnutrition during WWII. Grave of the Fireflies is hauntingly real, you forget it is animation after a few minutes in. The movie is set in Kobe Japan towards the end of WWII, when American B-29 bombers sent down incendiary bombs that killed over 8,000 people. A brother and sister are left without parents to fend for themselves, and it is a devastating story about the casualties of war. 

For me this is the best anti-war film ever made. Simply because the film focuses completely on these 2 kids, there are no politics involved, no one mentions the U.S., the kids don't care about competing ideologies, they just need food. 

While I love films like My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away and Kiki's delivery service, they all fall short of exploiting the real power animation has to offer. Grave of the Fireflies should be on everyones list. You only need to see it once, it has the power all good movies do of haunting you long after you see it.