June 15th, 2016
Wolf's Rain Analysis (Opinion)
Anime Relations: Wolf's Rain, Wolf's Rain OVA
Sources cited in text.
Similar Anime: Ergo Proxy, Neon Genesis Evangelion, The Big O.
Wolf’s Rain, released in 2003, is a polarizing franchise, both in its concept and its themes. Despite being a grim, violent post-apocalyptic journey of man and animal, it’s dismissed as a dog show, an incomplete work from the otherwise renowned Studio Bones. More accurately, Wolf’s Rain harkens back to a time where Japanese animation was more art than product, and more academic than avarice. Online reviews often critique the franchise with a lack of understanding, an under-appreciation of subtlety, and a dearth of patience. This analysis attempts to bring understanding to the subtleties of Wolf’s Rain, if you’ll only give it a little patience.
Concept.
Wolf’s Rain is set in a frozen post-apocalypse where dilapidated, futuristic cities dot the landscape, ruled over by the few members of a privileged class called “Nobles.” With all resources being depleted, the wildlife has gone extinct and humans are certain they will soon follow. However, unbeknownst to the people, they are not alone. Taking advantage of a mysterious miracle, wolves now live among them, appearing as humans. Unlike the humans, though, the wolves have neither given up hope or the search for a new world. It’s up to four wolves to track down paradise, the fabled place of plenty and the only salvation for life on the planet.
How did the wolves come to appear as humans? How did the world fall so far? Who are the Nobles? How does a wolf use a knife, anyway? Patience, dear reader, for true works of art deny explanations on purpose; complete understanding compels no further interest. Before delving deeper into the lore of the show, set foot in reality and ease your suspension of disbelief: why romanticize wolves?
Basis in Reality.
Despite the abnormality of comparing wolves and humans, or one posing as the other, the idea of wolves and humans being related is not far off from mythology, ecology, or evolution. Nearly every contemporary mythology or belief system references wolves. In Norse mythology, the Fenris wolf is unleashed upon the world during Ragnarok, the Norse End of Days scenario. The world is submerged, encased, and is renewed thereafter (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragna...). The world is similarly freezing in Wolf’s Rain. (episode 26).
The Native Americans also have many legends of wolves. One tells of four wolf brothers, who were implicated in the creation of mankind (http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-L...). In Wolf’s Rain, there are four wolf main characters, as well as a legend that declares that mankind was created from wolves (episode 3). Domesticated or wild, wolves have always been close to the human experience and imagination.
In ecology, when wolves are introduced to an environment, the entire ecosystem changes for the better (http://www.yellowstonepark.com/wolf...). This phenomenon is hinged on the interaction of predators and prey. Without the predators, the prey overpopulate and diminish the health of the environment until it is uninhabitable. The inverse can also happen, where there are too many predators and not enough prey. Wolf’s Rain depicts humans as being excessively predatory, even towards each other (episode 4). As a result, the biosphere of the world has collapsed under their iniquity.
Additionally, from an evolutionary standpoint, humans and wolves are both carnivorous, social mammals dependent on a pack mentality. In Wolf’s Rain, the humans cluster into cities (episode 2), while the wolves form into packs. Since wolves are mythologically, evolutionarily, ecologically, and socially related to humans and the life cycle, it may not so far-fetched to romanticize wolves in the way Wolf’s Rain does.
Characters.
Kiba: The protagonist, the white wolf who searches obsessively for paradise.
Tsume: The rebellious one, a cynical and scarred gray wolf.
Hige: The jolly one, a plump blonde wolf.
Toboe: The empathetic one, a young red pup.
Blue: The forlorn one, a half-wolf black dog.
Cheza: The damsel in distress, created in a lab to be instrumental for paradise.
Hubb Lebowski: The love-struck, fish out of water detective.
Cher Degre: The elusive, workaholic love interest.
Quent Yaiden: The vengeful but golden-hearted wolf-hunter.
Lord Darcia III: The cold, powerful, and desperate Noble with one wolf’s eye.
Lady Jagura: The jealous and ruthless masked Noble.
Themes
“Humans vs Nature.” While the wolves seek paradise, the Nobles are also seeking it for themselves while caught in constant, catastrophic war. (episode 4). They are the only humans superstitious enough to believe in it, but they must; the idea of paradise contrasts starkly with the reality of the world, which is portrayed as an icy, inhospitable landscape. Paradise, on the other hand, is imagined to be a fertile grassland full of life and resources (episode 4). Thematically, this shows the similarities of humans and nature in desiring prosperity, but one way of seeking leads to chaos, and the other to order.
“Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing.” Subversive to the popular view of wolves as predators, the wolves only attack when provoked or hungry. Meanwhile, almost every human is armed and dangerous, attacking out of wrath (episode 9), duty (episode 11), greed (episode 2), or envy (episode 25). Mankind is also shown to be divided between ambitions (episode 11), whereas the wolves travel together out of necessity and loyalty (episode 4).
“High Science is Indiscernible From Magic.” This theme is most evident in the Nobles, who appear like wizards or alchemists with capes and masks. The Nobles have aircraft, lasers, and abilities which appear magical (episode 7). Since only Nobles possess this advanced understanding of science, they are the technological elite that leads human civilization by the nose, often to ruin (episode 21). Each of the three remaining cities in the world of Wolf’s Rain are ruled over by a Noble.
“Don’t Judge a Book By Its Cover.” As fitting a quote for critics of the show as it is for the characters. The idea that there are wolves are appearing as humans raises eyebrows (episode 3), and although they often want to find paradise as well, the humans demonize the wolves and all natural things. The human characters assume the natural world must be ignorant or nonexistent.
“Dogs are Man’s Best Friend.” Quent the wolf hunter travels with his only remaining companion, the dog named Blue. Whether he knows it or not, wolves have been at the center of his every joy and sorrow in life (episode 25). Additionally, a pivotal and seldom-seen character in the show’s lore, a noble named Lord Darcia I, has a wolf companion shown closer to him than anyone (epsiode 25).
“Paradise is Created, Not Found.” The humans characters are seen more likely to think they can create a paradise rather than find it. Through the technology of the Nobles, they have exploited their way towards this goal. (episode 26).
*Interpretations (Spoilers).
“How did wolves come to appear as humans?”
Astoundingly enough, all of this is explained subtly in a few frames throughout the series. Long before the first episode, Lord Darcia I opens paradise using advanced technology. A white wolf is with him, presumably Kiba’s ancestor. Though they are seen only once side-by-side in a flashback, it is implied by the downward angle that the wolf is the pet of Darcia (episode 25). Either way, when paradise opens, everything before it is destroyed. The new world begins imperfectly, having been made with the corrupt ambition of Darcia I and the purity of the white wolf.
From then onward, the fates of humans and wolves are entangled; humans lose sight of the natural world, mankind becomes the wolves’ antithesis and humans cannot see them accurately anymore (episode 3). This event also sets into motion the Ragnarok-esque cycle, where humans and Darcia’s legacy leave the world barren, frozen, and in need of renewal (episode 26). Thus, Kiba, the white wolf, will always be the one to seek paradise, and Darcia will always try to open it for himself, unaware he is and will be the reason for its corruption. The show takes place in the third, imperfect paradise of Darcia III, who wants paradise to save his clan, as well as his beloved. (episode 27).
Wolves can appear as human in the show because, on some level, they have become like humans through the cycle of reincarnation. Since Kiba and Cheza, the biologically-engineered Tree of Life, are the only ones who ever make it to paradise in the story, the world is shaped by them. More on that later. (episode 30).
“What is paradise?”
Paradise in Wolf’s Rain is the current world, and the world that is to come. It starts rich and bright, and ends empty and lifeless until it begins again. Whenever a character in Wolf’s Rain imagines paradise (episode 4) or finds it (episode 27), it is always a fertile land where the character discovers what they love or what they already had. In this way, paradise not much different than classical paradise.
In the Old Testament, mankind is expelled from paradise for eating fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The serpent had told them the fruit would make them like God, but since God never denied them anything except one tree, they lost everything for the promise of what they already had. In this same way, the humans of Wolf’s Rain destroy paradise to make paradise (episode 4), and to obtain what they already had. Paradise is a new world with all the old things, the simple pleasures.
“What happens when the wolves find paradise?”
At the end, the wolves don’t so much as find paradise, rather they begin it again. Cheza, created by Darcia III’s clan, is brought to the first mountain by Kiba (episode 30). She begins to take root, seemingly near the same spot where Darcia I’s paradise collapsed lifetimes ago (episode 25), as there is a dead tree and metallic object very close (episode 29). Once fully sprouted, she disperses seeds across the entire expanse, and dies. The world is renewed, but the remains of Darcia III fall into it, tainting it yet again.
The final scenes are somewhat vague, but they’re alluded to in the opening. Rain, not snow, is falling on a city which is more lifelike than any depicted before. The reincarnated wolves, who all died on the journey, are shown in various settings in their human forms. Most notably, Cheza is standing alone in a storefront and a motorcycle-mounted Tsume is waiting at a red light. These are very out-of-character things for them to be doing; Cheza should be anywhere besides a city and, according to Google, dogs can’t ride motorcycles.
In other words, paradise creates the world differently each time, and this time the wolves seem human. Kiba, however, is still running forward, implying either he has found freedom, or that there is a paradise left to seek. It’s worth mentioning he seems quite happy about it for once.
“How does a wolf hold a knife?”
Very carefully. The strangest thing a wolf does is when Tsume rides along in a crammed vehicle (episode 1). To be fair to the lore, it’s never revealed how convincing the illusion that humans see really is, or if it’s limited to the sense of sight at all.
*Final Themes and Thoughts. (Spoilers)
“Villains are Made.” From the moment Darcia IIIe is on screen the viewer can feel the peril of his presence, emanating from his black robes and plumed, eye-patched harlequin mask. A villain would not be marked more with horns sprouting from his head, yet his progression is executed convincingly. The viewer sees every alteration of his personality, every devolution from elegant and enamored, to desperate and distraught, convicted and cold, then wrathful and ravenous. He was not a villain until destiny made him one; his grandfather’s paradise curse destroys his city and puts his lover in a comatose state. Lady Jagura then kills her out of jealousy. Only after losing everything is the villain finally made, whereupon Darcia III fights Jagura reluctantly still.
“Nirvana or Samsara.” Depending on the interpretation of the ending, either theme could be implied. Either the wolves and humans will reach a state of harmony together and preserve the world, or they’ll continue through a cycle of death and rebirth forever and ever. The former seems likely, as the fourth paradise takes on a different tone from what the viewer has seen before. At the same time, the show never depicted the middle of a paradise. Nevertheless, such uncertainty is what gives art its subjective meaning.
Wolf’s Rain is a work of art because it has all the makings of one; inwardly incomprehensible, outwardly comely, experimental, and inspirational. Most of all, it is passionate. Every viewing of it yields new understanding, and every viewer has a new emotion. It is with but a fraction of the show’s passion that this interpretation was made, and it is owed so much more. Thank you, dear reader, for your patience.
Fun fact: the average gray wolf can jump 12 feet high.
Similar Anime: Ergo Proxy, Neon Genesis Evangelion, The Big O.
Wolf’s Rain, released in 2003, is a polarizing franchise, both in its concept and its themes. Despite being a grim, violent post-apocalyptic journey of man and animal, it’s dismissed as a dog show, an incomplete work from the otherwise renowned Studio Bones. More accurately, Wolf’s Rain harkens back to a time where Japanese animation was more art than product, and more academic than avarice. Online reviews often critique the franchise with a lack of understanding, an under-appreciation of subtlety, and a dearth of patience. This analysis attempts to bring understanding to the subtleties of Wolf’s Rain, if you’ll only give it a little patience.
Concept.
Wolf’s Rain is set in a frozen post-apocalypse where dilapidated, futuristic cities dot the landscape, ruled over by the few members of a privileged class called “Nobles.” With all resources being depleted, the wildlife has gone extinct and humans are certain they will soon follow. However, unbeknownst to the people, they are not alone. Taking advantage of a mysterious miracle, wolves now live among them, appearing as humans. Unlike the humans, though, the wolves have neither given up hope or the search for a new world. It’s up to four wolves to track down paradise, the fabled place of plenty and the only salvation for life on the planet.
How did the wolves come to appear as humans? How did the world fall so far? Who are the Nobles? How does a wolf use a knife, anyway? Patience, dear reader, for true works of art deny explanations on purpose; complete understanding compels no further interest. Before delving deeper into the lore of the show, set foot in reality and ease your suspension of disbelief: why romanticize wolves?
Basis in Reality.
Despite the abnormality of comparing wolves and humans, or one posing as the other, the idea of wolves and humans being related is not far off from mythology, ecology, or evolution. Nearly every contemporary mythology or belief system references wolves. In Norse mythology, the Fenris wolf is unleashed upon the world during Ragnarok, the Norse End of Days scenario. The world is submerged, encased, and is renewed thereafter (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragna...). The world is similarly freezing in Wolf’s Rain. (episode 26).
The Native Americans also have many legends of wolves. One tells of four wolf brothers, who were implicated in the creation of mankind (http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-L...). In Wolf’s Rain, there are four wolf main characters, as well as a legend that declares that mankind was created from wolves (episode 3). Domesticated or wild, wolves have always been close to the human experience and imagination.
In ecology, when wolves are introduced to an environment, the entire ecosystem changes for the better (http://www.yellowstonepark.com/wolf...). This phenomenon is hinged on the interaction of predators and prey. Without the predators, the prey overpopulate and diminish the health of the environment until it is uninhabitable. The inverse can also happen, where there are too many predators and not enough prey. Wolf’s Rain depicts humans as being excessively predatory, even towards each other (episode 4). As a result, the biosphere of the world has collapsed under their iniquity.
Additionally, from an evolutionary standpoint, humans and wolves are both carnivorous, social mammals dependent on a pack mentality. In Wolf’s Rain, the humans cluster into cities (episode 2), while the wolves form into packs. Since wolves are mythologically, evolutionarily, ecologically, and socially related to humans and the life cycle, it may not so far-fetched to romanticize wolves in the way Wolf’s Rain does.
Characters.
Kiba: The protagonist, the white wolf who searches obsessively for paradise.
Tsume: The rebellious one, a cynical and scarred gray wolf.
Hige: The jolly one, a plump blonde wolf.
Toboe: The empathetic one, a young red pup.
Blue: The forlorn one, a half-wolf black dog.
Cheza: The damsel in distress, created in a lab to be instrumental for paradise.
Hubb Lebowski: The love-struck, fish out of water detective.
Cher Degre: The elusive, workaholic love interest.
Quent Yaiden: The vengeful but golden-hearted wolf-hunter.
Lord Darcia III: The cold, powerful, and desperate Noble with one wolf’s eye.
Lady Jagura: The jealous and ruthless masked Noble.
Themes
“Humans vs Nature.” While the wolves seek paradise, the Nobles are also seeking it for themselves while caught in constant, catastrophic war. (episode 4). They are the only humans superstitious enough to believe in it, but they must; the idea of paradise contrasts starkly with the reality of the world, which is portrayed as an icy, inhospitable landscape. Paradise, on the other hand, is imagined to be a fertile grassland full of life and resources (episode 4). Thematically, this shows the similarities of humans and nature in desiring prosperity, but one way of seeking leads to chaos, and the other to order.
“Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing.” Subversive to the popular view of wolves as predators, the wolves only attack when provoked or hungry. Meanwhile, almost every human is armed and dangerous, attacking out of wrath (episode 9), duty (episode 11), greed (episode 2), or envy (episode 25). Mankind is also shown to be divided between ambitions (episode 11), whereas the wolves travel together out of necessity and loyalty (episode 4).
“High Science is Indiscernible From Magic.” This theme is most evident in the Nobles, who appear like wizards or alchemists with capes and masks. The Nobles have aircraft, lasers, and abilities which appear magical (episode 7). Since only Nobles possess this advanced understanding of science, they are the technological elite that leads human civilization by the nose, often to ruin (episode 21). Each of the three remaining cities in the world of Wolf’s Rain are ruled over by a Noble.
“Don’t Judge a Book By Its Cover.” As fitting a quote for critics of the show as it is for the characters. The idea that there are wolves are appearing as humans raises eyebrows (episode 3), and although they often want to find paradise as well, the humans demonize the wolves and all natural things. The human characters assume the natural world must be ignorant or nonexistent.
“Dogs are Man’s Best Friend.” Quent the wolf hunter travels with his only remaining companion, the dog named Blue. Whether he knows it or not, wolves have been at the center of his every joy and sorrow in life (episode 25). Additionally, a pivotal and seldom-seen character in the show’s lore, a noble named Lord Darcia I, has a wolf companion shown closer to him than anyone (epsiode 25).
“Paradise is Created, Not Found.” The humans characters are seen more likely to think they can create a paradise rather than find it. Through the technology of the Nobles, they have exploited their way towards this goal. (episode 26).
*Interpretations (Spoilers).
“How did wolves come to appear as humans?”
Astoundingly enough, all of this is explained subtly in a few frames throughout the series. Long before the first episode, Lord Darcia I opens paradise using advanced technology. A white wolf is with him, presumably Kiba’s ancestor. Though they are seen only once side-by-side in a flashback, it is implied by the downward angle that the wolf is the pet of Darcia (episode 25). Either way, when paradise opens, everything before it is destroyed. The new world begins imperfectly, having been made with the corrupt ambition of Darcia I and the purity of the white wolf.
From then onward, the fates of humans and wolves are entangled; humans lose sight of the natural world, mankind becomes the wolves’ antithesis and humans cannot see them accurately anymore (episode 3). This event also sets into motion the Ragnarok-esque cycle, where humans and Darcia’s legacy leave the world barren, frozen, and in need of renewal (episode 26). Thus, Kiba, the white wolf, will always be the one to seek paradise, and Darcia will always try to open it for himself, unaware he is and will be the reason for its corruption. The show takes place in the third, imperfect paradise of Darcia III, who wants paradise to save his clan, as well as his beloved. (episode 27).
Wolves can appear as human in the show because, on some level, they have become like humans through the cycle of reincarnation. Since Kiba and Cheza, the biologically-engineered Tree of Life, are the only ones who ever make it to paradise in the story, the world is shaped by them. More on that later. (episode 30).
“What is paradise?”
Paradise in Wolf’s Rain is the current world, and the world that is to come. It starts rich and bright, and ends empty and lifeless until it begins again. Whenever a character in Wolf’s Rain imagines paradise (episode 4) or finds it (episode 27), it is always a fertile land where the character discovers what they love or what they already had. In this way, paradise not much different than classical paradise.
In the Old Testament, mankind is expelled from paradise for eating fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The serpent had told them the fruit would make them like God, but since God never denied them anything except one tree, they lost everything for the promise of what they already had. In this same way, the humans of Wolf’s Rain destroy paradise to make paradise (episode 4), and to obtain what they already had. Paradise is a new world with all the old things, the simple pleasures.
“What happens when the wolves find paradise?”
At the end, the wolves don’t so much as find paradise, rather they begin it again. Cheza, created by Darcia III’s clan, is brought to the first mountain by Kiba (episode 30). She begins to take root, seemingly near the same spot where Darcia I’s paradise collapsed lifetimes ago (episode 25), as there is a dead tree and metallic object very close (episode 29). Once fully sprouted, she disperses seeds across the entire expanse, and dies. The world is renewed, but the remains of Darcia III fall into it, tainting it yet again.
The final scenes are somewhat vague, but they’re alluded to in the opening. Rain, not snow, is falling on a city which is more lifelike than any depicted before. The reincarnated wolves, who all died on the journey, are shown in various settings in their human forms. Most notably, Cheza is standing alone in a storefront and a motorcycle-mounted Tsume is waiting at a red light. These are very out-of-character things for them to be doing; Cheza should be anywhere besides a city and, according to Google, dogs can’t ride motorcycles.
In other words, paradise creates the world differently each time, and this time the wolves seem human. Kiba, however, is still running forward, implying either he has found freedom, or that there is a paradise left to seek. It’s worth mentioning he seems quite happy about it for once.
“How does a wolf hold a knife?”
Very carefully. The strangest thing a wolf does is when Tsume rides along in a crammed vehicle (episode 1). To be fair to the lore, it’s never revealed how convincing the illusion that humans see really is, or if it’s limited to the sense of sight at all.
*Final Themes and Thoughts. (Spoilers)
“Villains are Made.” From the moment Darcia IIIe is on screen the viewer can feel the peril of his presence, emanating from his black robes and plumed, eye-patched harlequin mask. A villain would not be marked more with horns sprouting from his head, yet his progression is executed convincingly. The viewer sees every alteration of his personality, every devolution from elegant and enamored, to desperate and distraught, convicted and cold, then wrathful and ravenous. He was not a villain until destiny made him one; his grandfather’s paradise curse destroys his city and puts his lover in a comatose state. Lady Jagura then kills her out of jealousy. Only after losing everything is the villain finally made, whereupon Darcia III fights Jagura reluctantly still.
“Nirvana or Samsara.” Depending on the interpretation of the ending, either theme could be implied. Either the wolves and humans will reach a state of harmony together and preserve the world, or they’ll continue through a cycle of death and rebirth forever and ever. The former seems likely, as the fourth paradise takes on a different tone from what the viewer has seen before. At the same time, the show never depicted the middle of a paradise. Nevertheless, such uncertainty is what gives art its subjective meaning.
Wolf’s Rain is a work of art because it has all the makings of one; inwardly incomprehensible, outwardly comely, experimental, and inspirational. Most of all, it is passionate. Every viewing of it yields new understanding, and every viewer has a new emotion. It is with but a fraction of the show’s passion that this interpretation was made, and it is owed so much more. Thank you, dear reader, for your patience.
Fun fact: the average gray wolf can jump 12 feet high.
Posted by Brockemsockem | Jun 15, 2016 9:34 PM | 0 comments