Story:
Most anime would be more likely to focus on the fact that there is a romantic relationship between a girl and a wolf (how exactly am I supposed to call him? He is not a werewolf technically speaking) and how this would make it difficult to get together or maintain the relationship or how people are against it or whatever, depending on which direction you want to take the story to. But this time we get something completely different, the bestial...er, I mean relationship is just the setup for something completely different. Instead we focus on a single mother struggling to make ends meet and raising two children, who also happen to be wolf hybrids (I think I’ll use that term, sounds about right). Okay, all that is already rather obvious from reading the synopsis, so let me switch to what happens afterwards. Hana has a really hard time not only raising the two, but also keep their secret…secret. This opens a whole new bag of problems, which was explored surprisingly realistic, like the youth welfare checking up on her and her being terrified of her kids going to school. I enjoyed this part of the movie most, as it invokes a kind of adult fear (at least at a certain age, I can’t speak for younger viewers of course). You want the kids to grow up healthy and the mother to make it through somehow. It’s a pretty inspirational tale, but as I said, it may not click with younger viewers that much. They might be more interested in the later part, when Ame and Yuki are teenagers and the focus shifts over to them. The usual unsureness (is that a word that exists?) is fueled additionally with them coming to terms with what they are and what they would rather want to be, human or wolf, while their mother is completely overwhelmed by their inner turmoil. I found this part to be less interesting personally, but I can somewhat see the appeal in it. The ending was more about the mother again and the emptiness after the children leaving the nest. As the viewer more or less watches the two grow up, the feeling is also transferred to them, making Wolf Children a touching story. It does have it lengths however, depending on what you want from the story and who you relate to more. It was necessary to construct it this way, but it sadly prevents a good story from being a great one.
7/10
Art:
I don’t think I’ll ever become a fan of Mamoru Hosoda’s artstyle, even though there is no real reason for me to criticize it. It’s not ugly or weird or anything, in fact it’s refreshingly unique. I…just don’t really like it for some reason. But hey, onions man. Putting this aside, the animation is great and very fluid. I could talk about color composition and shading as well, but you know damn well that I have no clue what these things even are so I’ll refrain. From what I can judge as a layman, everything looks really good and smooth and not liking an artstyle does not stop me from saying it’s well done.
9/10
Sound:
All voices were fitting choices for their respective characters and executed well. The emotions were believable and the general tone fit the story as a whole. The soundtrack was a nice fit for the movie without being very outstanding. The ending song was a cute little song from the mother’s point of view, but I found it to be a little too much in terms of trying to be emotional. Overall, the sound quality was good and low-key to not distract from the tranquil atmosphere that was present for most of its run.
7/10
Characters:
As should be obvious at this point, I liked Hana, the mother character. She is a sweetheart who gets fucked over by life multiple times, so it’s not that hard to pity her. But she’s not a helpless character, in fact, she manages surprisingly well in most situations. She was the best possible mother the kids could have gotten, although I sometimes had the impression that she should have been stricter, but what do I know, I don’t have children. Her husband didn’t have much screen time, so I am not entirely certain on what I think of him, but he seemed like a pretty swell dude. The time they spent together was put in a really heartwarming sequence, so it hit harder to see him die all of a sudden. The kids are insanely cute when they are toddlers, so it’s easy to relate to Hana in worrying about them. What I liked was how the children’s personalities changed over time, which is a very normal process in real life and a realistic portrayal was what they were aiming for (despite the whole wolf thing of course). Yuki was a very wild child, but after realizing she was the odd one in school, she changed her lifestyle into a more generic girly one, though her aggressiveness does shine through every now and then. She struggled with her heritage more than her brother, as she just wanted to fit in, something we all experienced in one way or another during puberty. Ame went the other way, from a timid little boy into an edgelord. Just kidding, but he ended up being a brooding, nonsocial teenager, being more driven to his wolf side. I couldn’t relate to him very much, despite being an edgelord myself when I was his age. Makes me remember how much I myself changed over the years, now that I think of it. So in the end, we have three vastly different characters, so viewers should be able to find somebody relatable to them. In terms of minor characters, most of them were really very minor. Mentionable was Nirasaki, the grumpy old man who reluctantly helped Hana learning how to farm. An oddly charming fella I might say. I also liked Yuki’s classmate, who first appeared to be a hot-headed shonen wannabe, but ended up a rather understanding boy. Most of the characters turned out to be more multilayered than what they first appeared to be. I enjoy such realistic approaches, even in a fantasy story like this. It makes the whole thing feel more grounded.
8/10
Enjoyment:
Wolf Children was an easy watch and never had me bored or anything. On the other hand, I also didn’t feel the feels as heavy as others did, though it certainly had its moments. I found the second half to be a bit weaker than the first, which ideally should be the other way around (or not at all). The story is very slow-paced, so this might not be your cup of tea, but if you enjoy slice of life or iyashikei works, this movie is a drama that you can enjoy. Also, it looks really good and there are no big plot holes or writing problems. Not as outstanding as its MAL ranking would suggest, but definitely a good movie.
7/10
Overall:
7.6/10
