Okami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki (new Hosoda movie)

[brocko]

Originally Posted by duckroll

My take on the ending:

Spoiler:

I don't think the ending was abrupt in a bad way because I felt the way it ended was the point of the entire movie. It is important to keep in mind the focus the story has from the start to the end - it is the story of Hana being a mother. All other details are more or less deliberately glossed over because they are not the focus.

Much of the early parts of the film are presented in a more disjointed way because what Yuki knows about the time before her birth, and her early years, are simply things which her mother told her about at some point later on. But when the story focuses on the actual children, and more importantly their relationship with their mother, these scenes are the most detailed.

The movie deliberately does not build up to a drama climax in a traditional way because it is meant to reflect the cycle of a mother's duty. A parent never really knows at what point they can let go, because it is not up to them, but up to their children to reach a point where they grow up enough to be on their own to an extent.

The audience, just like Hana was, is supposed to simply accept it when that time finally comes, and while it is bittersweet, it is also a natural part of life. I think it is impressive that Hosoda showed so much restrain not to over dramatize the story to have a traditional climax, because by ending it the way he did, he leaves the audience with something to think about, and it makes the overall message of the film much stronger.

I like that take, it certainly sheds a new light on things and provides an entirely different perspective that I never would've otherwise considered.

But to tracktrack a couple of comments back:

Originally Posted by totoum

Spoiler for sohei:

One of the nice people was Sohei,I just love this kid.
The Hana/Wolf man romantic development (rightfully) gets a lot of praise but I also loved the Sohei/Yuki ship.
I had this mix of huge smile and teary eyes at his "I've always known" line when Yuki told him the wolf he saw was her.In one line it tells Yuki "I accept you for who you are" and "you can trust me,I'll keep your secret".Those two things are great acts of love.
Sure you figured that he knew,but I really like how early on he didn't try to tell her something like "I know you bit me but it's alright" and just waited for her to trust him and tell him herself.

Spoiler:

I like how Sohei never told Hana that he knew either, even when she was trying to probe him for information. This kid's got spunk

I bet Yuki's repressed feeling of her unreserved toddlerhood came gushing back when he asked her if she wanted to touch his scabbed up ear. If she had more time or wasn't so reserved she so would've added a piece of that to her collection of dead reptile bones lol

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by brocko

Spoiler for reply:

Oh wow, now that I did not know. The way it all matches up is almost mind-boggling (I can't remember when it was exactly that Yuki began going to school, but if it was right after that snow episode then the parallels there are even more amazing)

Spoiler for answer:

If I remember correctly, Yuki started grade school after the snow episode. Both kids were kept at home during the family's first year in the countryside, while Hana struggled in the fields. She celebrated her first successful harvest late in autumn. The snow came shortly afterwards.

Ame, meanwhile, stayed at home with Hana for another year, but had already become "different", according to Yuki. He was a lot quieter and reserved. A poster at a municipal office lobby sparked his curiosity about a captive wolf at a nearby nature park. That was what eventually prompted Hana to take up a job there.

Originally Posted by brocko

Spoiler for Hana:

1) I can't remember what flower it was that Hana was named after but perhaps they were one and the same flower?

2) I kinda feel for Hana as well when the film ended, now that all of her kids have moved away. The property broker mentioned that the middle school was 2.5 hours away, so if Yuki is attending that one, they may not totally be disconnected after all.

Spoiler for my notes about Hana:

1) It was a cosmos flower, which is actually more of a weed than a garden flower. But it's supposedly a hardy, resilient plant, and hence a fitting namesake for our main character.

2) No, I think it was the elementary school that was about two hours away from their home. The middle school was likely in another town altogether, hence the need for Yuki to stay at the dormitory, because it would have been impractical to commute.

(3)
More observations:

a) Though it was never directly mentioned, it's strongly hinted that Hana was herself brought up by a single parent. In her case, it was her father. It's very noticeable that Hana didn't have any picture of her mother. She only had a picture of her as a young girl holding her father's hand. The photo was placed prominently on top of her bookshelf when she was still a college student.

b) Hana didn't just attend some random university in Tokyo. She was an undergraduate at Tokyo University, arguably the most prestigious college in the country. Moreover, she was on a scholarship, which further suggests that she was a very bright woman.

c) Points (a) and (b) together make Hana uniquely suited to the role of a single mother of two very unique children.

Originally Posted by duckroll

Spoiler:

I don't think the ending was abrupt in a bad way because I felt the way it ended was the point of the entire movie. It is important to keep in mind the focus the story has from the start to the end - it is the story of Hana being a mother. All other details are more or less deliberately glossed over because they are not the focus.

...The movie deliberately does not build up to a drama climax in a traditional way because it is meant to reflect the cycle of a mother's duty. A parent never really knows at what point they can let go, because it is not up to them, but up to their children to reach a point where they grow up enough to be on their own to an extent.

Spoiler for my reply:

I strongly agree. I don't quite understand why so many people feel that the ending was too open-ended. By the end of the movie, there was nothing left to say. The central conflicts driving all three characters had been resolved.

As someone mentioned in a review site, the way everything ended reinforced the central theme of acceptance. In Hana's case, she accepted at last that it was time to let go of Ame. She had done her best and her little baby no longer needed her protection.

But that was not the only "acceptance" that unfolded that night. Back in the school building, amid the storm, Yuki finally came to terms with her hidden identity, and felt an enormous weight lift from her shoulders as Sohei accepted her apology and true nature.

As for Ame, he had grown from a small boy who whimpered over being a "bad" wolf, into an adult who fully embraced what he was. His acceptance was, unlike his mother and sister's, entirely personal.

In short, the conclusion couldn't have been any better, I feel. It's as conclusive as it needs to be. What needed to be said was said, and the characters moved on with their lives. That was the point.

Originally Posted by brocko

Spoiler:

I like how Sohei never told Hana that he knew either, even when she was trying to probe him for information. This kid's got spunk.

Spoiler for Sohei:

Contrary to other people, I don't think Sohei and Yuki would ever become a couple, although they will likely to remain very close friends.

Sohei, in my view, detected a kindred spirit in Yuki, and this was probably why he was drawn to her. He had noticed that she, too, did not have a father (his eyes drifted to the driver's licence on the bookshelf in Yuki's home after Hana invited him in; that was when he realised that Yuki's father was dead). Unlike Yuki, however, Sohei felt abandoned by his mother, who was about to re-marry and was pregnant with another child. He probably envied the other kids at school because they had loving parents, and likely felt the same way about Yuki. That likely explained why he was so anxious to be accepted by everyone at school, including Yuki.

Then there was his boast that fateful night about how he would become a "lone wolf" when he grows up — he was in effect declaring that he would abandon the world before it abandoned him.

The irony was quite humorous, because far away, in the mountains, Yuki's brother was literally becoming a self-sufficient lone wolf.

[totoum]

Originally Posted by brocko

EDIT:
So I see they actually got proper children to voice the child version of Ame and Yuki. No wonder they sounded so genuinely adorable

I love the kid they got to voice Yuki,it's very different from even other child actors I've heard in anime,there's a certain rowdyness to her voice that really suites Yuki

As for Ame

Spoiler for ame:

It's interesting that 10 year old ame has a teen male VA playing him,so despite his age he really comes off as older with a deep voice.

Hosoda doesn't often use standard seiyuus for his film,the one exception in this film is living legend Hayashibara Megumi as Sohei's mom.

[brocko]

^ Child Yuki was one of the most funnest character to watch in the film. The way that she'd growl and laugh all over the place was so energetic and the child VA did an absolute bang up job of bringing that across with her character. I especially liked her very first lines of the flim. "Okaa-san! I'm hungry! *growls* Okaa-san! I'm hungry" That scene coupled with the BGM really was just so fun to watch ^_________^

Teen Ame also had a really deep voice, the change was instantly noticeable after that particularly impressive and nifty timeskip montage (another great and memorable scene for me from the film).

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

Spoiler for my notes about Hana:

...2) No, I think it was the elementary school that was about two hours away from their home. The middle school was likely in another town altogether, hence the need for Yuki to stay at the dormitory, because it would have been impractical to commute....

(3)
More observations:

a) Though it was never directly mentioned, it's strongly hinted that Hana was herself brought up by a single parent. In her case, it was her father. It's very noticeable that Hana didn't have any picture of her mother. She only had a picture of her as a young girl holding her father's hand. The photo was placed prominently on top of her bookshelf when she was still a college student.

Spoiler:

The elementary school was actually only a 30 minute commute away, which I suspect may be a reason why the school bus can still go around picking them up. The middle school being 2.5 hours may very well have been in another town altogether as such a long commute is already bordering on impractical. The travel time alone for a return trip would've been 5 hours each day, and that's not even counting her school hours either.

And about Hana's father, I only noticed that picture on my 2nd watch-through as well. It doesn't get directly shown nor focused on, being in the background and the display time was only very brief too so it was a rather subtle thing to catch.

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

Spoiler for my reply:

I strongly agree. I don't quite understand why so many people feel that the ending was too open-ended....

I think Duckroll put it best, that while everything manages to neatly wrap itself up by the end, the film doesn't actually traditionally build up to a climax which is something already so engrained and expected into the typical audience member. Because it's missing that aspect of traditional film structure, they feel as though it hasn't properly ended yet if it hasn't gone through one, hence the abruptness. I can appreciate that aspect of the film now, after having read the various posts here, so thanks to all the valuable insight here
I don't particularly feel as though the finale was too-opened ended either since the major conflicts within each character is largely resolved. But I can see why people could feel that way as it ends on a 'the story goes on' kind of note when people are usually more accustomed to a 'and so the tale ends here'.

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

Spoiler for Sohei:

He [Sohei] probably envied the other kids at school because they had loving parents, and likely felt the same way about Yuki. That likely explained why he was so anxious to be accepted by everyone at school, including Yuki.

Spoiler:

Adding onto that, you can see him get particularly frustrated when the father of Yuki's friend came to pick her up and offered to take Yuki home as well. That's when he ran off to sulk in the classroom by himself and never came back with the cards that he was supposed to get, probably because he had thought Yuki was gone already having taken up that offer, leaving him alone by himself. You can tell he doesn't particularly enjoy his home life either, since he even hides from the school guard throughout the night.

[duckroll]

Originally Posted by totoum

Hosoda doesn't often use standard seiyuus for his film,the one exception in this film is living legend Hayashibara Megumi as Sohei's mom.

He doesn't use the same composers either, which keeps the music in his movies fresh, and keeps the "sound" he wants for each of his films unique in that sense. In fact, the composer for Wolf Children isn't even a soundtrack composer, but a general musician. Hosoda was listening to his music while drawing the storyboards, and he decided that it was the sort of score he wanted for his film. I think it's a great touch.

[totoum]

Originally Posted by duckroll

In fact, the composer for Wolf Children isn't even a soundtrack composer, but a general musician. Hosoda was listening to his music while drawing the storyboards, and he decided that it was the sort of score he wanted for his film. I think it's a great touch.

I find this OST more memorable than the OSTs in previous Hosoda movies,in part because it seems Hosoda relied more on music this time around.What I also like about the soundtrack is that it seems to have been recorded after a first image edit of the movie was made so it really syncs with what's happening on screen.


The movie will be playing in Hawaii on oct 17th and 21st

[Mura]

Funimation announced their license and plans for release on this film.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news...-on-home-video

[okais]

Originally Posted by totoum

The movie will be playing in Hawaii on oct 17th and 21st

Saw it yesterday, definitely my favorite of all three, I can't wait until the release here!

[Limenade]

wait im a bit confused so is there a subbed version out yet?

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by Limenade

wait im a bit confused so is there a subbed version out yet?

Yes, possibly quite a few subbed versions are out... but only in cinemas. Blu-ray and DVDs are yet to be released.

[totoum]

Turns out it looks like the french BD/DVDs will be out in april so I suppose that's around the time the japanese BD/DVDs come out as well since the only thing keeping the french licensor from releasing it sooner is having to wait for the japanese.

[totoum]

Double post because we've got a japanese Blu ray release date!

February 20th!

[Haohmaru]

Originally Posted by totoum

Double post because we've got a japanese Blu ray release date!

February 20th!

FINALLY! Can't wait. Only a little more than 2 months till we all can enjoy this epic movie.

[Limenade]

Originally Posted by totoum

Double post because we've got a japanese Blu ray release date!

February 20th!

nice! my birthday is the 18th Hoping it'll be subbed within a week of its release but doubt it but i can always hope

[sacred zoot]

It's been an entire year, I'm friggen stoked for this!

[ars89]

For people in the new york area, it will be showing in march.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news...-wolf-children

[Limenade]

So 1 week til it releases in Japan right???? not that I am a fan of taking money out of someones pocket but I hope it gets subbed (online) and I can watch it as soon as possible ^_^. Then to make up for it I'll buy it hah

[Velsy]

Didnt I watch this 6 months ago?

[MeoTwister5]

The rest of us haven't, sadly.

[Kirarakim]

Originally Posted by ars89

For people in the new york area, it will be showing in march.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news...-wolf-children

And apparently Mamoru Hosoda will be in attendance



http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news...intl-film-fest


I bought tickets for the 4:00 PM show on March 9th. I am thinking this is too good to be true and I misread something.