VOD News | On 16, Sep 2024

Netflix UK is expanding its Studio Ghibli catalogue, beginning today with one of its most heartbreaking masterpieces.

The deeply moving Grave of the Fireflies is available exclusively on Netflix UK from 16th September, as well as in 190+ other countries worldwide (excluding Japan). That takes Netflix’s library of Studio Ghibli films up to 22. It also has a number of other Japanese animations, including Makoto Shinkai’s Suzume and an exclusive deal with Studio Ponoc.

Based on Akiyuki Nosaka’s Naoki Prize-winning short story, Grave of the Fireflies is set in Kobe near the end of World War II and depicts the tragic fate of war orphan siblings and the horrors of this period. The film was created by the legendary director Isao Takahata, the co-founder of Studio Ghibli.

On a brighter note, the film will be joined by The Boy and the Heron from next month.

Hayao Miyazaki’s first feature film in 10 years, the fantasy adventure is a hand-drawn, original story from the Oscar-winning filmmaker set in Japan during the war. The story unfolds when Mahito, a boy who lost his mother in a fire, moves from Tokyo to the countryside where his mother’s family lives and is lured into a mysterious world where life and death are intertwined by a talking heron, the seven old women who live in the house among other fascinating characters.

The Boy and the Heron will be available from 7th October on Netflix UK.

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