One of the other things to keep in mind that Takahata's film is based upon a semi-autobiographical novel by Nosaka Akiyuki. This author was in Kobe during the firebombing and he and his sister had to navigate the great dearth and destruction of postwar Japan. Nosaka claims that his sister's actual death was identical to Setsuko's death in the novel/movie. The anime magazine Animerica published an interview with both Takahata and Nosaka which delves into both the creative process and the genesis of the novel and the film.