Grave of the Fireflies set to become the first Studio Ghibli feature film to stream in Japan

On Thursday, May 15, 2025, it was announced that the anime film Grave of the Fireflies is set to become available to stream on Netflix in Japan from Tuesday, July 15, 2025. The feature film is set to be the first Studio Ghibli movie to stream domestically in Japan.

Grave of the Fireflies, written and directed by Isao Takahata, is a Japanese anime film produced by Studio Ghibli. The story for the anime film was based on the 1967 semi-autobiographical short story of the same name written by Akiyuki Nosaka. Studio Ghibli later picked up the book for an anime adaptation, released later in April 1988.

Netflix Japan set to stream Grave of the Fireflies in July 2025

Seita and Setsuko as seen in the anime (Image via Studio Ghibli)

On Thursday, May 15, it was announced that the anime film Grave of the Fireflies will be available to stream on Netflix in Japan, starting from July 15, 2025. This will be the first Studio Ghibli feature film to be made available to stream domestically in Japan.

Netflix first began streaming Studio Ghibli movies worldwide, except in the United States, Canada, and Japan, in February 2020. However, Grave of the Fireflies was not included in the library.

Later, HBO Max started streaming Studio Ghibli movies in the United States in May 2020. But again, Grave of the Fireflies was excluded from the library.

Setsuko as seen in the anime (Image via Studio Ghibli)

In August 2020, Netflix added Canada to the list of countries where it was streaming the Studio Ghibli movies. However, it was only in August 2024 that Netflix finally added Grave of the Fireflies to its library worldwide, except in Japan.

Shinichiro Yashiro, the general manager of Shinchosha, expressed that he loved the movie, and every time summer was around, he wished to watch it and recommend it to someone he cared about.

Shinichiro Yashiro's words as translated by Google:

"Every time summer comes, I want to watch it and recommend it to someone I care about," said Shinichiro Yashiro.

It had been eighty years since the firebombing of Kobe. However, Shinichiro was glad that in an era where war had not stopped, the story was slowly permeating into the hearts of many people, regardless of their race, ethnicity, or nationality.

Kazutaka Sakamoto, Vice President of Content at Netflix, also expressed how they always wanted viewers in Japan to see the timeless masterpiece. Fortunately, they were able to bring that wish to fruition.

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About the author

Gokul has been an anime writer in Pop Culture division at Sportskeeda since 2022. His love for watching anime and his interest in the ever-growing anime industry inspire Gokul to produce insightful content about the genre on a daily basis. He holds a Master's degree in Communication & Journalism, and has worked for close to 3.5 years in the field.

Gokul likes to thoroughly research about the anime he is writing about and only credits a source after verifying its credibility. He loves the popular Shonen anime, Black Clover, for its memorable characters and their development throughout the story.

When not racking his brain behind his next anime story, Gokul likes to play video games, read manga, and play football.

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Edited by Gokul Chettiyar