Grave of The Fireflies - Cast

Cast

• Tsutomu Tatsumi as Seita (清太?) – Seita, a 14 year old Japanese boy whose sole responsibility is to take care of his younger sister after their mother dies from the air raids. He tries to do whatever he can to provide for Setsuko. Isao Takahata, the film's director and screenwriter, said that he was difficult to animate because the facial expressions and postures of a 14-year old boy, which often appear "unemotional or grumpy or emotionally unbalanced," are difficult to depict in the exaggerated animation styles. In the English versions, Seita is voiced by J. Robert Spencer in the Central Park Media dub and by Adam Gibbs in the Sentai Filmworks dub.
• Ayano Shiraishi Setsuko (節子?) – Seita's 4 year old younger sister. She is an innocent little girl who is unaware of the war going on throughout the film. She becomes depressed after hearing about her mother's death. Takahata said that Setsuko was even more difficult to animate than Seita, and that he had never before depicted a girl younger than five. Takahata said that "n that respect, when you make the book into a movie, Setsuko becomes a tangible person." He explained that four-year olds often become more assertive, self-centered, and try to get their own ways during their ages, and he explained that while one could "have a scene where Seita can't stand that anymore," "that's difficult to incorporate into a story." Takahata explained that the film is from Seita's point of view, "and even objective passages are filtered through his feelings." Theron Martin of Anime News Network said that, in terms of the U.S. Manga Corps dub, while the other voices were "perfectly acceptable," "Setsuko just doesn't sound quite convincing as a four-year-old in English. That, unfortunately, is a big negative, since a good chunk of the pathos the movie delivers is at least partly dependent on that performance." Rhoda Chrosite and Emily Neves voice the character in the Central Park Media and Sentai Filmworks dubs, respectively.
• Yoshiko Shinohara as Mother – Seita and Setsuko's mother who is badly burned after the attacks on their village and later dies in the beginning of the film. She is voiced by Veronica Taylor in the Central Park Media dub and by Shelley Calene-Black in the Sentai Filmworks dub.
• Akemi Yamaguchi as Aunt – Seita and Setsuko's aunt who initially lets them in at her home but then grows resentful of them not providing food for the household. She is voiced by Amy Jones in the Central Park Media dub and by Marcy Bannor in the Sentai Filmworks dub.