Our Arthouse 101: Japanese Cinema series wouldn’t be complete without a work by famed Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli, and for this series we’ve selected Isao Takahata’s haunting Grave Of The Fireflies (original title: Hotaru no haka).

In the final days of World War II, two siblings—teenaged Seita and his little sister Setsuko – struggle to survive in firebombed Kobe after losing their home, their parents, and eventually, their place in a society that has collapsed around them. What follows is not just a war story, but a story of love, resilience, and unbearable loss.

Rendered with breathtaking beauty by the legendary animators at Studio Ghibli, Grave of the Fireflies is often called one of the greatest animated films ever made. It is also one of the most emotionally shattering anti-war films of any kind – haunting not because of spectacle, but because of its heartbreaking truth.

Note: Grave of the Fireflies‘ depictions of the horrors of war may be unsettling for much younger viewers.

Arthouse 101: Japanese Cinema is a curated 12-film trip through the evolution of Japan—from the quiet post-war resilience of the 1940s all the way to the radical reinventions of the 1990s. Each Monday this July-September, we will explore a new facet of this incredible nation’s cinematic journey throughout the 20th century. All films will be presented in their original Japanese language with English subtitles, at a reduced ticket price of $8.