Grave of the Fireflies (火垂るの墓, Hotaru no Haka?) is a 1988 anime movie written and directed by Isao Takahata for Studio Ghibli. It is an adaptation of the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by Akiyuki Nosaka, intended as a personal apology to the author's own sister. Some critics (most notably Roger Ebert) consider it to be one of the most powerful anti-war movies ever made. Animation historian Ernest Rister compares the film to Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List and says, "it is the most profoundly human animated film I've ever seen."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grave_of_the_fireflies

Not compared -- listed:

1. Millennium Actress
2. Grave of the Fireflies
3. Akira

Compared to Grave of the Firefly?

This is my all time favorite anime film, the only one to dethrone Akira. It now resides next to Grave of the Fireflies.

Millennium Actress is a 2001 Japanese animated film by director Satoshi Kon.

The narrative style is complicated and interwoven in the style of "play within a play": the film itself is about a director, Tachibana, who is working on a documentary about a famous actress, Chiyoko Fujiwara. Chiyoko has grown old and has withdrawn from public life, but Tachibana slowly draws her out. The story of Chiyoko's life, from teenage schoolgirl to middle-aged superstar, gradually unfolds, as told through flashbacks interspersed with segments taken from her long history of films. Chiyoko's life spans the tumultuous period surrounding World War II, while her characters in movies span a time period from Sengoku period through a futuristic space age.

- More @ <ahref="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millenium_Actress">Wikipedia

Actually Daphne you are mistaken, the background of Grave of the Fireflies is more tragic in reality, the anime is an adaptation of the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by Akiyuki Nosaka, intended as a personal apology to the author's own sister. And was written and directed by Isao Takahata for Studio Ghilbi. Hayao Miyazaki wasn't directly involved in this, something I could clearly make out as he would never make a story that's this tragic.

Hayao Miyazaki is the Hans Christian Anderson of the animated medium. When I first discovered his films, not only was I blown away by their plot lines and quality but the sheer number of them... Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, Porco Rosso, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle...

If you liked Grave of the Fireflies I would highly reccomend, Pom Poko by Isao Takahata.

By the way I watched Grave of the Fireflies only once in my life. But it's effect was so deep that I cannot bear to watch it again anytime soon.

In the world of anime there have been 2 feature length productions that took it to a whole new level.

The first was Akira, which was revolutionary at the time because it was the first anime ever to fully lip synch and animate conversations, whereas before the characters were made to stand still while only their mouths moved.

The second was Ghost In The Shell, one of the first animes to blend CG artwork with classical methods. As well as one of the first to use CG color grading.

The third one which I did not mention because it's a personal choice is Millienium Actress. Which was the second anime ever to really move me on a deeply emotional level, and prove to me why film could never fully capture what anime could achieve. Before it was Grave of the Fireflies, which along with Bambi were the only animated films to ever make me cry.