Summaries

Synopsis

In March 1945, American Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers destroy most of Kobe during the close of the Pacific War. Military children of an Imperial Japanese Navy captain, Seita and his sister Setsuko, survive, but their mother is severely injured and later dies. Seita conceals their mother's death from Setsuko to keep her happy. The siblings take what they have and attempt to take refugee with their distant aunt, as well as to pick up a package that their mother left with their aunt. When they arrive their aunt turns them away as she also has limited supplies, but changes her mind after seeing their supplies. She agrees to shelter them on the condition that they share their supplies with her and Seita agrees, he also asks if she has the package that his mother left with her, but she claims that she never received anything. But it is revealed that she has kept the package for herself and keeps it hidden in her closet.

Seita asks to talk to her alone and reveals that their mother died and asks her not to tell Setsuko and she agrees. As rations continue to shrink, the aunt becomes resentful of the children as Seita does nothing to earn the food she prepares for them. At her suggestion, Seita withdraws some money from his mother's bank account to buy a charcoal stove and other supplies. Seita eventually learns that his aunt had been hoarding his mother's belongings and forces her to return them to him. One night in the summer, following an air raid, the two decide to move into an abandoned bomb shelter. They capture and release fireflies from the marshes into the refuge for light. By the following morning, the fireflies have died; Setsuko buries them and reveals their aunt told her their mother died, then tearfully asks why the fireflies had to die so soon.

Things quickly become grim for the two when they run out of rice and a friendly farmer insists that Seita swallow his pride and return to their aunt as they can't survive outside the system. This leads Seita into stealing crops from farms and breaking into people's homes during air raids. He also meets a teacher who is trying to help his family as well and sympathizes with Seita as things are hard for everyone.

Setsuko falls ill, and a doctor explains that she is suffering from malnutrition. Seita desperately withdraws the last of the money from their mother's bank account. After doing so, he becomes distraught when he learns from a few people that Japan has surrendered and that his father is most likely dead, as most of Japan's naval fleet have been sunk. Seita also finds the bodies of the teacher's family as he had become disillusioned and decided to murder his entire family. Seita returns to Setsuko with food but finds her hallucinating, he gives her what little food they have and both fall asleep.

Seita awakens the next morning and to his grief finds that Setsuko had passed away overnight. He takes her body and buries it in a makeshift grave, he also buries her along with some of their family's belongings. Seita is shown walking alone on a road unsure of what to do until he collapses from exhaustion, he considers giving up until he remembers Setsuko's words of encouragement. He musters his strength to stand back up and continues walking up the hill towards a sunset, and the screen fades to black.