it is truely difficult to say, although its visualy not as impressive as more recent releases, grave of the fireflies sticks out in my mind because of the profound, real-to-life experiences and story revolving around its characters. while spirited away and mononoke hime remain to me more visually oriented and stunning, they also had bigger budgets and are more recent films. grave of the fireflies is an older film, but teaches a strong lesson in morality that anyone can relate to.