We follow the story of Hana, who suddenly finds herself a single mother, to two wolf children, Ame and Yuki. The film explores the struggles and joys of such a family, keeping in mind the children’s unique heritage (which it very much emphasizes throughout the story) and their adjustment to their new lifestyle outside of the city and into the country. It could be said to be a simple story, and I like to think that it is, but it is in the execution and the storytelling that makes this simple story into something extraordinary.
Without characters, there is hardly a story: the characters of Ookami Kodomo are lovable, especially Ame and Yuki during their younger years. What makes the two so endearing is that they are so realistic—I would daresay that nearly everyone has a frail and quiet Ame or energetic and loud Yuki in their life; in fact it may be you yourself. The children’s growth and development is central to the film’s story; I’m afraid I will spoil it for you should I comment on it further but I will say that the two are not flat characters considering the time constraint of the film. Hana’s development is nothing to scoff at either. We see her grow from demure college student to knowledgeable and independent mother, arguably the kind of mother that every girl should strive to be. Ookami Kodomo is not exactly a plot-driven story, and so it would have to rely on its characters’ charisma, qualities, and growth to make it a successful story and I will say now that Ame, Yuki, and Hana accomplished to bring the story to life.
The art and aesthetics of the film does not take second fiddle to the story and the characters. We are treated to visual delights comparable to the highly detailed and colorfully rich Kotonoha no Niwa. The images of Ookami Kodomo are already beautiful when static but take a life of its own when in motion, particularly of landscape. The simplistic character designs are not lost on the rich and luscious backgrounds either—rather, both the characters and the background complement each other perfectly. Moreover, the art throughout was consistently well done. I watched the film on 720p on my 13” screen and even then, my breath was already taken away by the detail and the colors of the art. I can only imagine what it looks like on a large screen at 1080p.
I have been praising all of Ookami Kodomo’s characteristics so far and I am not to stop now: the sound is nothing short of amazing. The sound effects truly immerse you into the film’s world—whether it is the rain, or the sound of the cars’ tires on the road. The background music is such a pleasure to listen to and accompanies the scenes and the voice acting well. If I had to describe the overall quality of the sounds—be it the effects, music, or voice acting—I would say that it is soft and quiet, the kind of soft and quiet that many slice of life films want to achieve but could not quite do.
I watched Ookami Kodomo one weekend night, and watched it again night after. The film is simply that beautiful, so beautiful that watching it once within the span of 24 hours was not enough. The familial love and the narrative that is their everyday life is the best of both genres that I have ever seen (i.e., the love story and the slice of life). Nowadays, many people watch something for the sake of a review, whether personal or published, and so they strive for objectivity but for myself, it was difficult to be objective with Ookami Kodomo. I fell in love with the characters, the story, the art, the music, and everything about the film. I highly recommend this anime to anyone, particularly to older audiences; you could have young’uns watching this now and have them watch it again in a few years, I think they’ll thank you for that.
This could be the best anime film we will have in quite some time and probably the magnum opus of the director as well; I will truly be surprised if they manage to make a new film that tops this masterpiece. I think it should become a benchmark for all films regardless of genre. Ookami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki is a magnificent masterpiece, and the staff should be proud of their work. It truly is one of the best and immersive films that I have ever seen.
