AniWorthWho's Left Behind?
Introduction
Kayoko is a young girl in 1940, just starting first grade. She's a bit of a crybaby, which is no secret to those around her. She loves playing with friends and singing cute schoolyard chants, and occasionally having fun with her three older brothers. Her mother is pregnant, and so she looks forward to being a big sister, only partially understanding the responsibility that might bring. Meanwhile, the war effort is growing, and it`s only the natural thing to do to be patriotic and support the country...
Kayoko goes so far as to contribute her favorite dolly, whose materials could help build explosives. Time passes, and as she grows older, Kayoko sees how the war has affected her life and those around her. Nothing can prepare her for 1945, however, and the bleak times that are soon to come. Based on original creator Kayoko Ebina's real life experience during World War 2 on Showa era.
(Source: ANN)
Audience ratings
MyAnimeList / Tenrai : 7.7/10 · 4471
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Audience reviews
4 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Pelessaria
After having seen Grave of the Fireflies, I found myself wanting to watch something similar, so I went digging and came across "Who's Left Behind?", which doesn't seem all that popular nor known for some reason. Accordingly, it was hard to find in good quality, so 480p had to do.
It was a good. Bordering on very good, and it was beautifully put together. The non-war bits dragged on a bit too long, but once the film crossed the threshold into war film-territory, it started feeling more captivating and immersive.
Kayako has to grow up very quickly, and she learns how to become responsible from a much too young age due to her circumstances.
Rambling about much else feels pointless. Will I watch this again? Like GotF, probably not, but it's certainly worth watching once.
Read at the sourcedeli_
This film deserves to be acknowledged alongside Isao Takahata’s “Grave of the Fireflies” as another important depiction of war through a child’s eyes. It shares the same kind of lost innocence that Takahata tackled in his own depiction of World War 2 and that Nobuhiko Obayashi (“House”, “Hanagatami”) also oriented his films around. It’s a reality that I hope future generations will never have to experience. In “Kayoko’s Diary”, the titular heroine is just one face out of millions, but her story remains just as important.
Kayoko is the youngest in a family of seven that’s soon to be a family of eight because of the pregnancy of her mother. She also happens to be the only girl out of her siblings (composed of three brothers), but that doesn’t stop her from being close to each of them. She’s…
Read at the sourceMakingAList
I'd never heard of this movie before so I wasn't sure what to expect. But since it had a high rating I went on and watched it. Is this movie worth your time? Short answer, yes. Very much so. Unfortunately, the Japanese are masters of war films constructed from a child's point of view, since many of these stories come from firsthand experience. And the innocence of childhood makes the destruction of that innocence hit even harder.
The story for the first half of the movie is just a slice-of-life glimpse into the everyday of a normal Japanese family. It gets more suspenseful as you know what's bound to happen any day and that their peace will be interrupted. This is when you really get to bond with the family members. Then it slowly starts to get darker and darker. History unfolds. It neve…
Read at the sourceFirechick12012
Here in America, war movies tend to be a BIT too overdramatic for their own good, from what I've seen. Apparently, to get an emotional rise out of us, they try to show us as much death and destruction as possible so the tears can be yanked out of us...which, for most, fails horribly if done wrong. Not all of them are like this, however, but I'm not one who's really into war movies, and the ones I have seen didn't really interest me, as I felt they were too overdramatic for their own good and completely not subtle. Another thing I notice about war movies here is that they tend to focus more on adults and their hard to understand struggles (mostly political, and I can't understand politics to save my life). But what about the kids? What about normal, middle-class families with children who a…
Read at the source