Depending on where one watches a war film, a particular brand or tradition lingers in the storyline or characters. American war films may focus on World War II or the Civil War from a Western angle, but a Japanese war film like Grave of the Fireflies focuses on the opposite side of World War II. Globally, war films offer contemporary perspectives on how war and cruelty are viewed, but they are a slippery slope when it comes to how the opposing side is seen.