what do you think of the end & Ame`s action ?

Pknoctis said:
The movie's ending pissed me off.

SuperComicGeek said:
I liked the ending, he made his choice. Although I don't see what's stopping him from visiting every once in awhile. Even family's with horrible relationships visit on thanksgiving and/or Christmas. So I do think he made a good choice for himself but I don't think that has to mean leaving forever, I see no reason why he can't comeback and say hi sometimes.

Salmonaru said:
In the case of Ame, those who didn't like his ending, seem to miss the point.

The first indication of change was shown when he caught the crested kingfisher in the winter. That was the moment when his wolf side became more dominant or apparent. When he started going to elementary school he would often and more accompany his mother to her workplace where he can spend time with the aged wolf there. By the time he got to 3rd grade he found a "teacher" in the forest where he would learn how to be a part of nature. Time has passed and his "teacher" has broken his leg and will soon die. Ame came home and said "Someone has to take the place of my teacher and carry on his duties". This is implication on the theme circle of life/balance in nature where everything is linked, every animal has his place there. This was the calling for Ame. At first he gave in to his mother's wish to stay but at his age he was "adult" wolf already which his mother and his father in the dream sequence has pointed out. At the end he had to follow his instinct of his animal side and be part of the nature. It's shown he's in full-grown wolf-form. As he became a wolf the only emotion he was able to show her at end was by howling.

That's my take on his ending.



I don't think it is final that he would never visit his mother again. It is shown at the end that he's still nearby the house and for me it's a possibility that he might visit his mother once in while. But I rather guess that he has forsaken his human side and became entirely an animal at the end.

Fireflydrake said:
I only just watched this movie today, and man I'm so glad to see people are still somewhat discussing it, as MAN, THE FEELS.

I hated the ending. Haaated it. I'm very close with my mom and have lots of siblings, and the thought of one of them just running off like that, after all she's done... augh.

I see people here defending him because "he's a wolf, not a human," but that doesn't cut it for me. Ame's father--and to a lesser extent, his sister--both showed it was more than possible for them to embrace both sides of themselves. Even if Ame wanted a more involved life in the wild than just nightly excursions, nothing in how his father and sister acted or anything the movie implied suggested he had to go so utterly rogue. Heck, even the not-seen relatives of Ame's dad apparently had ties with purely human relatives, so that's more proof that werewolves ditching out wasn't a set in stone thing. Especially when real wolves form solid family based packs. A lone wolf is usually a dead wolf.

I had no problem with the fact that he DID want to live as a wolf... I just think HOW he did it could've been shown so much better. Fighting and pretty badly hurting the sister who so long protected him? Leaving his injured mom in a parking lot and then running off without a single word? All to go play 'king of the forest' or whatever, although how exactly either Sensei or him did any good for the mountain wasn't shown at all. Not to mention that if any conservationist hears a supposedly extinct wolf howling it up out there he'll probably be captured for conservation purposes...

Bleh. I loved the early and middle parts of the movie, even though they were often sad (the dad dying, poor Hana all alone and struggling...), but I think the last part could've been handled so much better. Ame's struggle could've been shown more delicately than him simply becoming a cold and even aggressive monster. Yuki could've not completely abandoned the wolf side she once loved so much. Heck, even if they'd stuck to those paths, I could've stomached it if they'd had some credits montage showing both of them at least visiting their mother--Hana and Yuki going to see Ame's forest, Ame occasionally slipping in for a meal with them. But as it was it felt like poor Hana was abandoned and both kids got so polarized that they lost something. Ame more so, but Yuki to some extent as well. It was a lovely movie but the last part of it did nothing for me. >___<

@Joshuya_Raidon: That reddit user summarized it very well. The two children both seemed to think they had to choose one or the other entirely and abandon the other side of themselves, and their mother got left behind in the gap between.

Salmonaru said:
In the case of Ame, those who didn't like his ending, seem to miss the point.

The first indication of change was shown when he caught the crested kingfisher in the winter. That was the moment when his wolf side became more dominant or apparent. When he started going to elementary school he would often and more accompany his mother to her workplace where he can spend time with the aged wolf there. By the time he got to 3rd grade he found a "teacher" in the forest where he would learn how to be a part of nature. Time has passed and his "teacher" has broken his leg and will soon die. Ame came home and said "Someone has to take the place of my teacher and carry on his duties". This is implication on the theme circle of life/balance in nature where everything is linked, every animal has his place there. This was the calling for Ame. At first he gave in to his mother's wish to stay but at his age he was "adult" wolf already which his mother and his father in the dream sequence has pointed out. At the end he had to follow his instinct of his animal side and be part of the nature. It's shown he's in full-grown wolf-form. As he became a wolf the only emotion he was able to show her at end was by howling.

That's my take on his ending.



I don't think it is final that he would never visit his mother again. It is shown at the end that he's still nearby the house and for me it's a possibility that he might visit his mother once in while. But I rather guess that he has forsaken his human side and became entirely an animal at the end.

apatch3 said:
Do you think it was an easy decision for him to make? Both the children made choices, and he chose to live as a wolf, it probably felt more natural to him than being human. Can you imagine if you were a wolf, what it would feel like constantly having to blend into human society? His sister decided that that was what she wanted to do i.e. blend in forever but for Ame that was something he simply couldn't do, think of all his problems growing up (not wanting to go to school etc).

I don't think it was a bad decision at all, it's sad that he won't get to see his mother but his sister left for Boarding school too, essentially the mother's job was over she had raised her children to live their lives to the fullest, when she yelled "Shikari Ikite" at Ame when he started howling, it was such an amazing moment.

hongj77 said:
Ending blows. Ame is ungrateful and Hana is a pushover

Chill1 said:
Hana's children grew up too fast. I understand that maybe that was done on purpose, what with ten year old wolves being adults and all. But I feel that Ame didn't give life as a human his best shot. He owes it to himself to try both. Who says that it has to be either/or? He could have gone to live in the mountains and continued to visit and see his mother regularly. She would accept him as he is so there would be no need for pretense. What He did was selfish. He thought only of his needs which is why he practically discarded his mother like yesterday's clothes.

Pariah695 said:
Two things make Ame's actions completely acceptable. First is that he's a wolf. His wolf instincts are the main driving factor for his personality, in wolf society, leaving your parents at 10 is completely normal. To him, it wasn't wrong.

Second, he was obviously infatuated with living as a wolf. It's easy to see that the human world means nothing to him, so when Hana was trying to keep him because of the rules of human society, he saw it as her chaining and restricting him from the life he wanted. Of course he still loves Hana, but he wanted to live a life he could be happy with, and probably saw that Hana would realize that, as she did.

But like... come on man... At least show Ame stopping by the house so we know he still visits... I'm sure he does, but actually seeing it would have made it more stomachable, especially for people who think his actions were selfish.

zuziako said:
This actually shows a few flaws in the way Yuki and Ame were raised. Not to discredit Hana, couse she was awesome and strong, but also, a bit too soft at times.

I mean, I get that he's a wolf and whatnot, and he feels the need to live in the woods, but you have to think a bit further ahead. How does Hana explains the sudden disappearance of Ame to the neighbors? If I were his mother and he would pull this prank on me he would be chained to house and that would be it for his mountains adventures. Hell, he would be grounded till 18. If after all that time he would still want to live in the woods - be my guest.

On that note these kids would get an epic scolding after that fight in the house. Followed by looong lecture about responsibilities and brotherhood. I would make them clean all that mess and not be all like "my poor kids having problems with choices in their lives". Aaw, hell no, I would all like "do you know how much time did I spend repairing this house? Now get your wolf ass here and clean or I swear to you, the next time you go out with your friends will be when you're 16!".

txrxgxu said:
Reading many of these replies are like listening to friends tell you how they’ll do when they become a parent. For someone who’s been a parent since quite an early age I often wish I had written down those idealistic statements tonread them out loud when they finally got kids of their own.

Let’s just say it’s extremely easy to think out the best ways of doing things. The problem though is that it’d make a terrible movie, and it’d be horribly unrealistic.

Getting personal, I can totally relate to this movie from my own story. My brother was quite similar to Ame in many ways. Found his own way, and departed. No matter how sad it is for us who’s left behind, related to the movie, obviously there’s many scenarios that could or have played out differently. But it didn’t. And for me, with my life experience, the movie does not have an unrealistic ending. I’m just happy that Hana and Yuki took it so well. Let’s just say I haven’t, in the story where I’m a protagonist.

FireFistYK said:
I thought it was a bad ending, i really can't symphatize with Ame, he now how much his mother has done for him and still treat her this way. The movie was fantastic but i personally don't like it when children don't give a fuck about their parents and then live their own life.

Yes they should make their own choices and move on, but the person who made you who you are should atleast be a part of your decision.

Chill1 said:
B But why would the director go to so much pains to show us how much Ame had deserted his human life if he truly hadn't?

xpaula said:
The ending was indeed hard to swallow, but I found it the most fitting ending.

Like people have already said, we're looking at Ame's actions too much from a human perspective. During his youth, he spent all his time in the forest, embracing his wolf half more and more, and thus, growing up as a wolf. Meaning he matured as a wolf as well. Young brains have extremely high plasticity, so it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if his brain developed into something more similar to a wolf's brain than a human's brain. At least socially, he had developed into a wolf. It's apparent in him interacting with human beings less and less, and more and more with the animals in the forest. Eventually, Yuki and Hana are the only human beings he even shows his face to. Therefore, I don't think we can judge his actions in human social terms at all. He did show gratitude for all she's done for him. When she cryingly told him that she hadn't done anything for him yet, he ran up all the way to the top of the mountain and howled loudly, showing him. To me, that was his way of saying "Look at me. Look at how big and magnificent I've become. I have you to thank for this." I think that's what Hana realised, too, and that's why she told him to "Live on steadily/healthily" and told him her goodbyes.

Some people are complaining about him laying her on the pavement and not caring for her until she was lying in bed, warmly. Perfectly sensible human behaviour. But Ame lost a great part of his connection to his human side. Leaving a note? Same story. Besides, what should he have said? “I have chosen to be a wolf, so goodbye, and thank you for everything”? I don’t think a note would’ve added anything that Hana didn’t already understand. She’s not his mother for nothing. Another complaint is him not visiting her. It's never been shown, so there are a lot of people who think he will visit her every now and then in the future, too. Personally, I don't think he will. Once mature wolves leave their pack, they don't go back. He will still remember her, think of her, and still care for her, because although choosing his wolf side, he won't have forgotten about his human side. But that doesn't mean he will behave like a human again.

But of course, that's just my interpretation. Nobody (or if anyone, it's the script writer of this film) can really give a hard "truth". That's why interpretations exist.

On to Yuki. Contrarily, Yuki spent her youth trying to fit in, things like that moment with the treasure boxes and the incident with Souhei motivating her to act like a normal human girl. It was only that rainy day where she and Souhei were stuck in school and she showed him her wolf appearance, that she accepted her wolf half as well, while still trying to fit in among humans.

And the sweet, strong Hana. From the beginning, Hana had resolved to let them choose their own path. She did a spectacular job at that, trying to influence them as little as possible. I know that if you look at it from a human raising perspective, her way of raising them was soft. However, I don't think she should've been more hard on them, for the sole reason that she would break her vow of letting them choose by themselves that way. Because telling them to sit still and not run around recklessly is perfectly sensible if you raise humans. If you raise a purely human being, that is. If she would've treated them harsher, she would've imposed human behaviour on them, and therefore influencing their choice.

In the end, when she felt that Ame was ready to leave, she got scared and tried to keep him in. Ame obliged only because he cared about her and felt guilty about leaving her. That’s why he told Yuki to stay with their mother that day. And maybe that’s why he also wanted to leave without mentioning it. Because he felt like that was what he had to do, yes, but maybe also because he thought that would make it easier for her. Because despite how it looks, he really cared for Hana. And when he finally left, Hana understood his feelings and knew it was time to let him go, and he in turn understood that she wanted to be assured that she did a good job in raising him.

It felt bittersweet, seeing Hana end up all alone. But then again, that's an important theme of this movie: knowing how and when to let your children go. She realised that she had to let Ame go. As for Yuki, she probably went to the dorms because there wasn’t much nearby and it would’ve been very impractical to let her commute for like 6 hours every day just to go to school. She probably comes back home in the holidays. But Hana will let her go when she turns into an adult, too. That doesn’t mean that for either Yuki or Ame their bond with their parent is broken. Ame will always remember her, and Yuki will continue visiting her, continuing an ordinary mother and daughter relationship.

Crystal49p said:
Well Ame can visit his mother once in a while right , why is that not possible. After all she accepted his choice .