ABSTRACT
The anime Grave of the Fireflies was based on a novel by Nosaka Akiyuki that fictionalized much of his own war experience. However, when the novel was adapted for the screen, director Takahata Isao used the same attention to historical detail, actual locations, and faithfulness to the original work that characterized his earlier works. This created a contrast between the fictionality of the novel and authenticity of the anime. Fans have typically read an ‘anti-war’ message in the contents that was not the stated intention of the novelist/director, thereby exposing a gap between creators’ intentions and audiences’/tourists’ interpretation.
