"When I act like myself, they all leave me..." - Yuki
Wolf Children (Ookami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki) is a fantasy and slice of life anime. It was originally released in July 2012 by Studio Chizu as a 1 hour/57 minute movie. It does not has a continuing season.
General Rating: 8.7/10
My Rating: 10/10
It hadn't been long that I had been into anime when Wolf Childrens' trailers hit the net. I was still deep in my Ghibli elitism stage (aka everything that is not Ghibli is trash and should not be watched), so seeing this anime being labeled as "The Next Miyazaki" deeply angered my 12-year-old self. "I am the only one who is allowed to be the Next Miyazaki" or something like that. Several years later, I came across this anime again, laughed at remembering my first reaction to it and decided to see it - so I wasn't exactly prepared for what I was about to see.
The story begins with a college student named Hana who falls in love with a mysterious man called Ookami who attends one of her classes. They soon fall in love together. However, on a full moon night, he transforms, revealing that he is in fact a werewolf. Hana's love remains strong and it isn't long before the two decide to start a family. Hana gives birth to two children - Ame and Yuki - both possessing the ability to turn into wolves as a trait inherited from their father. The children begin to grow as Hana hides them away to protect them. All too soon however, Hana is left to raise her peculiar family completely on her own. The stress of raising her wild-natured children in a densely populated city while keeping their identity a secret, Hana makes the decision to move to the countryside. Here she begins a new life where she hopes Ame and Yuki can live free from the judgments of society. Wolf Children tells the heartwarming story of the challenges of being a single mother in an unforgiving modern world.
Story: Wolf Children is an emotional and heartwarming story that brought me to tears everytime I watched it. The most beautiful part of this anime is that it tells a story from three sides: Hana's struggle raising wolf children on her own in the deep countryside, Ame and Yuki's struggle growing up as wolf children and finding their paths in life. It's not a romance story, but Hana and Ookami have an incredibly cute romance (and I love werewolf x human) that translates into the movie's ending when we get to see Yuki feeling the same thing Ookami must have when Hana accepted his werewolf form. Why I believe they called Hosoda "the Next Miyazaki" with this anime is because of its simplistic, heartwarming, and beautiful story that reveals a deeper meaning by the end. This is a style used in most every Miyazaki/Ghibli film and it is clearly present in Wolf Children as well.
Characters: The characters are pretty unique for a realistic slice of life anime - they can turn into wolves after all. The story mainly focuses on Hana, Yuki, and Ame and only introduces a few other side characters. Yuki and Ame are the two that change the most during the series, as expected as they are growing up. I think it was interesting how they each followed very different paths in life; social Yuki wanting to fit in among humans and independent, silent Ame longing to run free in the mountains. This movie used their half-werewolf ability as the basis for their character development instead of just having them as characters who happen to be half-wolf as I have seen in most anime series. They are wonderfully made characters and I really enjoyed this aspect of the movie.
Soundtrack: This was by far by favorite part of the movie and was what really gave in the Ghibli feel. The soundtrack was a hands down stunning masterpiece. It followed the tranquility and beauty of nature with a unique track that sets Wolf Children apart. It's got a lot of unique vibes to it like a Ghibli soundtrack. I still like Ghibli's more, but Wolf Children came pretty damn close and achieved an ambiance reminding me of a Ghibli soundtrack.
Art: Stunningly beautiful early 2010s art style and animation really suits this anime well. It's beautifully animated and its visuals are just incredible. This focus on nature, as they do live in the countryside, was another aspect that made Wolf Children remindful of a Ghibli film as well. The art and animation was well done and breathtaking, especially during the snow scene, which was one of my favorites of the entire anime.
The popularity of wolf Children has continued to grow over the years and it seems to have taken its place where fans know it is one of the masterpiece movies. It's a very enjoyable movie all around and will warm your heart with emotions until thee very end. Fans of animes like Clannad, My Neighbor Totoro, When Marnie Was There, Violet Evergarden, Pom Poko, Into the Forest of Fireflies Light, Usagi Drop, or Fruits Basket will definitely love this anime and should give it a watch!
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