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May 9, 2013 12:53 AM
#1
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Apr 2013
3
This series was one of the most well done and beautiful anime's I've ever seen. Looking around at the reviews and talk of the ending, A lot of people seem to miss the point of this show and somehow come up with a shallow literal interpretation of it, but that is not how it was meant. The whole story of Wolf's Rain is symbolic, what I got out of it is that it is basically A metaphor for the human experience of life on Earth. The wolves are symbolic of the free nature of man, that is why the Lore of the series tells that all creatures were created from the spirit of the wolves, and that humans originally were wolves but had forgotten their true nature (which is to be free and live harmoniously with nature), thus eventually degenerating into a polarized, divided civilization of people that live under the thumb of the Nobles and the police, who are basically the henchmen of the select few Nobles with the distortion of elitism (anyone else seeing the paralell with modern society yet?). Eventually the Earth was so defiled by the humans that it needed to be renewed. Kiba I think is also symbolic of the human spirit striving for it's perfect society, utopia. Then there is the end fight between Kiba and Darcia, which is essentially symbolic of the struggle between light and darkness, good vs evil, fighting for dominance over the new world. The light wins the struggle, but a seed of darkness was still left (Darcias eye) and you see that the darkness then defiles the pure white flower, ensuring the struggle between polarities will continue in the future. History is repeating itself.

There is really so much symbolism to uncover in this series which is what makes it so beautiful and well done. Unfortunately for me I'm not prepared to do a full literary analysis of the story, so if anyone else has anything to add to this please feel free to correct or expand on what I've already written.
-LastBreathMay 9, 2013 1:23 AM
May 20, 2013 1:36 PM
#2

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Sep 2009
405
Nice read.
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Aug 13, 2013 5:19 PM
#3

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Aug 2012
1127
An interesting interpretation, thank you.
May 6, 2014 12:42 PM
#4

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Dec 2009
9622
Damn, I really suck with seeing those things so it was great that you shared this. Thank you.
Nov 4, 2014 1:32 AM
#5

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Jan 2014
17169
Ok. Still doesn't make it suck less.
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Aug 11, 2015 9:03 AM
#6

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Apr 2013
12
Thank you.
Oct 1, 2015 4:42 PM
#7

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Oct 2014
3663
RedRoseFring said:
Ok. Still doesn't make it suck less.
Nov 1, 2015 6:25 AM
#8

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Aug 2014
8320
I don't get why people wouldn't love this series. I'm not going to read any of the review if people are so stupid.

Anime is good, fucking deal with it.
Nov 1, 2015 6:54 AM
#9

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Feb 2010
5911
yeah Wolf's Rain one of most beautiful and original series i ever seen
Jan 21, 2016 11:09 AM
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Jan 2012
1
Beautifully written. My interpretations are about the same, but I love to read how others interpreted as well
Apr 10, 2022 4:45 PM

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Sep 2018
5230
These deeply ingrained symbolism and underlying themes are all well and good, but it doesn't fucking matter when the actual meat of the anime is painfully average in almost every other area lol.

Some people hold this sort of thing to ridiculous standards and if they can get their interpretations out of it, then the anime is immediately a fucking masterpiece, regardless of everything else going on.
Aug 15, 2022 5:52 PM
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Jul 2014
18
I can understand why so many people are confused about Wolf's Rain story and conclusion. And it is of no fault of their own--the whole story drives home the point//drills into the viewer's head that Paradise is a physical and a tangible place. So why didn't at least one of the wolves make it? Why did everyone have to die? What exactly is Paradise if no one could get to it? The original post absolutely nailed the show's metaphors and allegories on the head--Paradise is a state in which the world undergoes destruction and rebirth. And it is completely natural. Some would even say--necessary.

One could even say that the story has references to the bible (the book of the moon = the bible, Kiba being a chosen son, must endure pain and suffering to get his destination, etc), just without God and Jesus. But the idea that the world has sinned and the earth or--Mother Nature--must reclaim the world through purging humanity and all life is no doubt the ultimate revelation.

Miyazaki films are filled with these metaphors and meanings so it's not hard to draw similar conclusions if you think of the premise of Wolf's Rain in the same way. However, I think it is much more interesting and enjoyable for the viewer to go into this show blind.
Oct 1, 2022 5:56 AM
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Jul 2018
564084
I agree with you and Wolf's rain is one of the best anime I've seen
Oct 11, 2022 11:27 AM

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Feb 2014
29
Just finished it for the first time. Yeah my interpretation was along the same line, the cycle of death and rebirth because of how humanity has fucked up the earth. How no matter how many times humans are reborn, a seed of evil will spread. I didn't catch the wolves = freedom metaphor so i'll add that to mine. I believe it's heavily based on the Samsara.

a bit off-topic but the show gave me a Digital Devil Saga vibe (if you haven't played it, please do)
Nov 28, 2022 8:36 PM
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Jan 2017
201
yeah i'd say you hit the nail on the head with that one! i pretty much had the same idea. really like the ending tbh.. after all the sorrow and pain (and tears ;-;) there is still hope of a new world for them in the end.. but of coarse, where there is light, there also must be darkness. the universe is created by balance after all. its odd tho.. i've tried 4 or 5 times to watch wolf's rain since 2016. every time i'd get about 5-10 episodes in and just loose interest, despite enjoying it. i'd always try again and again becuause i really wanted to get into it but it never seemed to click. i honestly don't think i was ready to understand what this anime had to offer at that time in my life. but now, 6 years later i pretty much binged the whole thing in a few days, easily. and I honestly believe I was meant to see it through this time. i'm kind of at a point in my life where I see no point. the world is too far gone in my eyes, has been like this for a few months now.. just seeing the direction humanity is going in and where that path leads. very similar to the state of the world at the beginning of the story. but despite that, the world of Wolf's Rain is reborn anew. and sure, there will always be evil and history might repeat itself, but that's just nature. it cannot be any other way. however, we can be like kiba. the pure white wolf who fights for the people in his life who matter. fights so the world can be born anew for their sake. after all, he would not have made it as far as he did without them. every single one of them. blue and pops and hubb and cher and the other wolfs and their sacrifices. it all meant something. this all means something despite the inevitable outcome. I honestly don't think this anime would resonated to deeply with me if i'd watched it any sooner in my life. so, if wolf's rain doesn't hold any deeper meaning to you? that's fine. we are all different and all connect with different stories for different reasons. that's the beauty of the human experience, no matter how bleak the future may seem. find things in your life right now that mean something to you. whether that be friends, family, an anime, WHATEVER. don't let anyone tell you your life and the things that hold value in it are pointless or "mediocre". learn a thing or two from the wolves
Dec 21, 2023 12:35 AM
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Dec 2014
171
nice interpretation man..

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It’s time to ditch the text file.
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