Ranked #553

Arashi no Yoru ni

*Constructive* criticism welcome, just leave me a comment.

Tired of long, detailed, action-packed anime for the moment? Cuddle up to Arashi no Yoru ni, then! This is the slice-of-life story of an odd pair of friends, who will travel to the ends of the earth and sacrifice it all for each other.

A wolf and a sheep. Mortal enemies right? Not here! Through a strange set of circumstances, we end up with the very strange pair, Gabu, a wolf, and Mei, a lamb. You'll have to watch and see how they manage! ^^

This is primarily some mushy-gushy friend stuff, there's no real action here, though it has its tense moments that make the story what it is. Arashi fills the feel-good niche very well, and those searching for a cute-sweet anime with a happy ending will find it here. On the surface, Arashi appears to be something of a kid's movie, but there are several serious moments that will attract older fans, plus the concept of protecting and going through tough times with friends is a universal feeling that anyone can relate to, young or old. Older anime fans can come away with the same renewed sense of friendship as the younger ones can.

Art in this one is well done. I'm pretty positive some of it is CG, but it blends so well with the actual animation that it is very hard to tell apart, and it makes for some excellent transitions. All the characters, despite their same-species appearance, are all distinguishable from one another and the seiyuu are well-matched to their character. There is a strange absence of music in some places; it may bother some people, but it really serves to reinforce what is being said and done on-screen rather than occupy you with a musical score also. The main characters Gabu and Mei are both very likeable, though a little cliche to their species, wolves portrayed as conniving and vicious, and lambs as a little too innocent and trusting. I digress, however, this is completely acceptable for what could be taken as a children's film. I would have liked to see more of the wolf and goat tribes, but what was there sufficed for the story.

If you ever feel like straying from the path of typical anime series, or just need a cute little pick-me-up, please give Arashi no Yoru Ni a try; you won't regret it! read more

When it comes to choosing a good movie, any fan who saw any of Ghibli movies will recommend them first. Well however, there is this one most beautiful, and I dare say, a bit perfect movie about the most unusual friendship and hardships it went through, Arashi no Yoru ni, also known as One Stormy Night, the phrase with the meaning of greatest importance ever in this movie.

~Story~ (10)

It is rare to find a storyline so well developed, such an amazing ending, and heart-throbbing situations. So as we already said, it is about the friendship between a wolf and a goat, an odd pair of animals who somehow saw a friendly person instead of food/killer in the other one. So naturally, with it come the many problems to deal with, and this movie does it just perfectly. It is almost unbelievable how well the story went, considering the characters are presented with quite a problem, and that is may not present much of a story in a first place for some people.

~Art~ (10)

For an anime, it is quite weird at the times - it looks more like Disney animation, mixed with CG animation - well, the scenery at least, but Heck, for an anime, it is pretty good! The character design is pretty simple, but anime-ish enough to recognize, and colorful enough to fit the scenery. If you like cute characters, you'll most likely adore Mei, and while wolfs were designed pretty ferocious, as they should be, Gabu, the main wolf character, is pretty likeable.

~Sound~ (9)

You may think it is nothing special, although it IS good, but it is more about how well it fit the atmosphere and ambient of the particular scenes.
The voice acting is surprisingly good, and, again surprisingly, the voice of Ryuk from Death Note is now in the body of our wolfy main character, and it fits quite perfectly.

~Characters~ (10)

As in any other anime, characters are the making the half of it, and Arashi is no disappointment. We find quite a lot about the childhood and lives of our main characters as they get to know each other, so there is no lack of life history there.
The relationship between Mei and Gabu is amazing for the reason it has good firm grounds to turn into the most valuable friendship, even with their differences as species.
The supporting cast is simply awesome. They are very believable, and at times amusing - often some of them they don't serve much purpose, but are still providing to the enjoyment of the movie.

~Enjoyment~ (10)

Arashi is an adventure with strong slice of life tone - it has a steady, yet firm progress, it is very calm and peaceful, yet when needed, tense and dramatic, and it presents a decent amount of light humor - still, mostly it concentrates on the relationship between Gabu and Mei. If you like anything like this, I'm pretty sure you'll love Arashi enough.

~Overall~ (10)

This movie is in no way overrated, or at least I think it isn't considering it is for all ages. It is peaceful, cute, interesting, and maybe sometimes a bit of a tear-bringer. It may not be action packed, hilarious, have boobies, or be totally awesomely epic, but whoever said it wants to be? read more