Okami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki (new Hosoda movie)

[NoemiChan]

Spoiler:

Emotional yet a wonderful happy ending...

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by Kanon

This was well worth the wait. This is Hosoda's best work so far, which is saying something. Beautiful movie. It blended a lot of different themes very nicely, and felt more mature than Tokikake and Summer wars.

I fully agree, though quite a number of people feel otherwise. I believe this to be Mamoru Hosoda's best film yet, a strong indication of his growing confidence as a director. There are so many small things littered throughout Okami Kodomo that show his powers of observation as a writer and a storyteller that I greatly admire.

One of my favourite scenes in the movie:

Spoiler:

The music montage of Yuki and Ame's early years in elementary school. It said everything that needed to be said, without a single line of script. I felt the scene was masterfully done. In just one short minute:

(1) We observed how Yuki progressed through the first four grades, even as her brother grew increasingly isolated from his peers. The siblings were growing apart and we, as viewers, could tell that it was increasingly inevitable.

(2) And yet, Yuki still looked out for her brother. At that stage, she was still the stronger of the two, fearless enough to beat down bigger boys if she had to. As viewers, we're reminded of how it was Yuki who literally saved her brother's life just a few years earlier. So, it's heartening to know that she was instinctively protective of her weaker sibling despite their increasing distance.

Remembering this scene made their later fight all the more heartrending. The siblings, once so close because they were literally the only two of their kind, had become so different that neither could understand each other any more. It also brings to mind the extent of Yuki's shock in finding out that her brother had become so much stronger than her. Their roles and positions had effectively been reversed, and Yuki didn't notice it until then.

In a strange way, Yuki was growing more insecure with age, while Ame was the exact opposite.

I always tear up during the montage, even during my fifth or sixth viewing. There is something very nostalgic about the children's growing up process that was poetically captured in that poignant montage.

The movie is a great example of "show, don't tell", which is what all great stories should strive to do.

Kudos also to the soundtrack, I might add. It complemented the movie beautifully, despite its sometimes unorthodox composition.

[OceanBlue]

This was such a wonderful movie. It approached things like family in such a touching, realistic way, and how the movie manages to span so many years without feeling either too fast or bogged down really speaks to Hosoda's ability.

It was so touching ;_;. Again, wonderful movie.

[Tempester]

It's been a while since I've been this emotionally enthralled by and immersed in an animated movie. Seeing Hana work so hard to give her children a fair life was inspiring and made me think of my own beloved parents.

Spoiler for ending:

To see it pay off so well in the end was simultaneously cathartic and heart-wrenching. It was definitely a happy ending, but the inevitable distance among the family members culminating in Ame's farewell brought tears to my eyes. The buildup of character development up the ending was near-perfect.

Visually, this movie was outstanding. Pretty much all of it looked fantastic, but I have to give special approval to the "running in the snow" scene. That was awesome. Sadamoto Yoshiyuki's distinct character designs really complemented the animation.

Hosoda outdid himself with this movie, and I earnestly hope to see more from him in the future.

[Kanon]

So cute.

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

I fully agree, though quite a number of people feel otherwise. I believe this to be Mamoru Hosoda's best film yet, a strong indication of his growing confidence as a director. There are so many small things littered throughout Okami Kodomo that show his powers of observation as a writer and a storyteller that I greatly admire.

One of my favourite scenes in the movie:

Spoiler:

The music montage of Yuki and Ame's early years in elementary school. It said everything that needed to be said, without a single line of script. I felt the scene was masterfully done. In just one short minute:

(1) We observed how Yuki progressed through the first four grades, even as her brother grew increasingly isolated from his peers. The siblings were growing apart and we, as viewers, could tell that it was increasingly inevitable.

(2) And yet, Yuki still looked out for her brother. At that stage, she was still the stronger of the two, fearless enough to beat down bigger boys if she had to. As viewers, we're reminded of how it was Yuki who literally saved her brother's life just a few years earlier. So, it's heartening to know that she was instinctively protective of her weaker sibling despite their increasing distance.

Remembering this scene made their later fight all the more heartrending. The siblings, once so close because they were literally the only two of their kind, had become so different that neither could understand each other any more. It also brings to mind the extent of Yuki's shock in finding out that her brother had become so much stronger than her. Their roles and positions had effectively been reversed, and Yuki didn't notice it until then.

In a strange way, Yuki was growing more insecure with age, while Ame was the exact opposite.

I always tear up during the montage, even during my fifth or sixth viewing. There is something very nostalgic about the children's growing up process that was poetically captured in that poignant montage.

The movie is a great example of "show, don't tell", which is what all great stories should strive to do.

Kudos also to the soundtrack, I might add. It complemented the movie beautifully, despite its sometimes unorthodox composition.

That was a fantastic scene indeed. It managed to convey so much in a very short time and with absolutely no dialogue.

[blakstealth]

Just watched it. It was pretty awesome. I'll leave it at that.

And here's the trailer subbed by Funimation just for giggles. Can't wait to get it when they eventually license and dub it.

[Dark Wing]

That was a very powerful film so much that it made me laugh and cry.

Hana's story was very inspirational. To have gone through everything she has and still wearing a smile. It makes me what to call my mom and tell her how much I love her.

I'm glade both Yuki and Ame found their own paths to walk and I can only picture how the rest of their lives would play out.

Yuki might go on to live a somewhat normal life at least she has that Souhei kid to share her secret with.

As for Ame this might just be the fan-fiction lover in me talking but I could see a young girl getting lost in the wilderness but is saved by a strapping young man and tries to go back to meet him. They start to get to know each other and...well I think you all can see where this might be heading...

[bbee]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

I'll just point out that it's very significant to me that it's Yuki, not Hana, who is narrating the story. Yuki, as a narrator, knows things that she could only know if she had spoken extensively with a mother, getting Hana to tell her more about her past. For someone who now effectively lives in another town, Yuki sure knows a lot, and that's only possible if she's keeping in close touch with Hana.

Thank you for making this observation. Somehow, I had failed to realize the significance of who the narrator was. To me, the saddest part of the movie were those last few lines, "she is still quietly living in that house on the side of the mountain". It just feels so irrevocably lonely ;_;

I realize Hana has amazing neighbors, and had a nice job with good colleagues when we left her, but when I picture that large, remote house without those two little critters running around.. With nothing to console her but the odd distant cry of a wolf, forever performing that heart-rending Japanese custom of offering food at the altar of the deceased.. Isn't that the saddest thing concievable? Her being so young, I can see her doing the same thing, 50 years on, forever faithful to the man she loved.
Maybe the remoteness of the house is relative, I've never lived the village life, so I don't know. But it somewhat helps to realize that Yuki, atleast, frequents her. Although, having recently seen Koreeda's masterpiece Still Walking, I am aware how relative the effect of such visits can be.

Frankly, I think it's unforgivable what Ame did. The way they parted leads me to believe he has completely adopted the solitary wolf way of life and I don't think there is any reason to assume he even visits his mother anymore. She may be at peace with that, and she's a great mother for being capable of it, but for a son, it's unforgivable to be selfish in that way. I don't care if it is your very nature. You fight it and do what is best for your family. My first reaction when we saw him leave was to want to slap some sense into him and in retrospect, I think it was the correct reaction. Perhaps it's selfish and puristic of me to emphasize this, but I do think it is one lesson Ame failed to learn from his "teacher", who had the tenacity to care for a family and the dedication to school a pupil. None of this we see in Ame.

But I don't feel the film is any worse for it, and I do understand the point being made. In fact this is without a doubt Hosoda's best film to date. It's subtle, emotionally complex, and finely crafted. But I may just be saying that because TokiKake's tone never really chimed with me, and I felt that Summer Wars lost a lot of its first-half charm when the (to me) nonsensical second half set in.

I'm left wondering how much of a factor the second-sibling syndrome was and how that relates to the fact that, at least for humans, girls mature a lot faster than boys. Clearly when they were younger, Yuki was a lot more comfortable with her wolf half, at some point (during the amazing montage) Ame surpassed her in this aspect, and I can't help but think that it's due to her being a girl. Perhaps if Ame had been born first, he would have been compelled to stay around longer because the sibling rivalry would have been reduced, and he would have felt protective of Yuki instead of the other way around. If he had stayed longer, his emotional development as a human may have kicked in, and he could have realized that leaving, perhaps, wasn't the best thing to do after all. Let's chalk it up as another layer in the nature-vs-nurture aspect of this amazing film!

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by bbee

Thank you for making this observation. Somehow, I had failed to realize the significance of who the narrator was. To me, the saddest part of the movie were those last few lines, "she is still quietly living in that house on the side of the mountain". It just feels so irrevocably lonely ;_;

...Frankly, I think it's unforgivable what Ame did. The way they parted leads me to believe he has completely adopted the solitary wolf way of life and I don't think there is any reason to assume he even visits his mother anymore... My first reaction when we saw him leave was to want to slap some sense into him and in retrospect, I think it was the correct reaction.

If you knew the details of my day-to-day relationship with my mother, you'd probably think me a monster worse than Ame. That said, I fully empathise. I felt the same:

TL;DR…

 

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I bicker with my mother all the time, even at my age. There are times when I feel very guilty about it. I tell myself to grit my teeth and put up with her unintentional nagging, but my patience often wears thin. So, I can empathise greatly with Ame, as he struggled to balance what he wanted with his obligations as a son. Yet, while I understand his choice, I find it hard to forgive him at the same time, especially since it effectively meant leaving Hana all alone in a big house.

Whatever my frustrations with my mother, I can't see myself ever doing that for the long term. In a way, I was projecting my feelings onto Ame. It's probably not fair, but I can't deny that's the way I feel.

Originally Posted by bbee

I'm left wondering how much of a factor the second-sibling syndrome was and how that relates to the fact that, at least for humans, girls mature a lot faster than boys. Clearly when they were younger, Yuki was a lot more comfortable with her wolf half, at some point (during the amazing montage) Ame surpassed her in this aspect, and I can't help but think that it's due to her being a girl. Perhaps if Ame had been born first, he would have been compelled to stay around longer because the sibling rivalry would have been reduced, and he would have felt protective of Yuki instead of the other way around. If he had stayed longer, his emotional development as a human may have kicked in, and he could have realized that leaving, perhaps, wasn't the best thing to do after all. Let's chalk it up as another layer in the nature-vs-nurture aspect of this amazing film!

Interesting thoughts! I don't know if Hosoda actually thought that way about his characters' inner lives. What I do know is what totoum had mentioned about Hosoda's inspirations for the film.

Apparently, he said in an interview that the countryside half of the movie was set near the region he grew up in. Growing up, Hosoda wanted to be an art student and he was set on leaving home to pursue his ambition in the big city. His parents supported his choice, but it's only now that he's older that he realised that his parents had perhaps wanted him to return home and become an art teacher at a local school. They just never told him so directly.

While writing the script, Hosoda thought about consulting his mother about her experience of bringing him up but, unfortunately, she passed away before he could do so.

On reflection, I think Ame and Yuki are drawn from facets of his personal experience. Ame's desire for independence reflected his own pursuit of his ambitions, while Yuki's later choice to learn about her mother's past reflected his own regrets about not having the chance to do so with his mother.

Anyway, that may or may not have been the case. Characters, once conceived, start to lead their own "lives" in their author's mind. Ame and Yuki may well have evolved that way as Hosoda wrote and shaped them from thought to animation to voice acting.

On a final note, I'll add that friends of mine who are parents are endlessly amused by how differently their children turn out. Same set of parents, but they produce children with sometimes wildly diverging personalities. It's quite simply a mystery, and it's anyone's guess how Ame and Yuki would have turned out if Ame was born before Yuki.

[totoum]

I really want to insist though that Hosoda never said he consciously put anything biographical, it's just me putting interview answers together and speculating. I just find it really interesting that he left his parents after he finished high school and now wonders if his parents wouldn't have rather he became a local art teacher living close by.

To me the big factor with Ame leaving is the untimely death of his sensei,now Ame isn't really the best at communication but after plenty of rewatches I do feel like it's clear that this wasn't an easy decision for him,I actually doubt that he was that eager to leave the household and I figure had the sensei lived longer he'd have stayed home but the sensei's death accelerated things and duty called.

As for Hana,her concern wasn't so much about being left alone but rather about Ame's safety,she still had in mind the small boy who nearly drowned himself.That said Ame does ask Yuki if she can skip school and stay with their mom,yeah I know it's not that much but it does show he has his mother in mind.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by totoum

I really want to insist though that Hosoda never said he consciously put anything biographical, it's just me putting interview answers together and speculating. I just find it really interesting that he left his parents after he finished high school and now wonders if his parents wouldn't have rather he became a local art teacher living close by.

Haha, fine. It's been a very long while since our first few posts in this thread. I'm not sure I remembered all the details correctly anyway.

Here's another way to look at it: Ame and Yuki represent the two facets of the Wolf-man's soul. It's not just that Ame and Yuki are the wolf and human aspects of him, but also that they embody the different elements of his older, mature personality.

By the time Hana met him, he was a mellow, philosophical man with a keen interest in humanity. It's likely that he chose to be a mover precisely because he wanted the chance to get a glimpse into different kinds of life and living, a chance he never had as a closely-guarded orphan. It's not as though he needed to work for a living — he could have literally lived off the country, after all. More remarkably, he sneaked into university to sit in on abstruse philosophy and classical literature classes. Now that takes dedication indeed!

I get the sense that Wolf-man probably started out the same way Ame did, with a strong desire to live wild and be free. But, for whatever reason, he ended up with a deep longing for family and companionship, just like Yuki.

So, if it's any consolation, I think there's reason to hope that Ame will likely follow in his father's footsteps. He'll live free, for now, but in time to come, his paternal instincts will kick in, and he'll probably wander back home to roost.

As for Yuki, she's harder to read and predict, I think. If I were to hazard a guess, I imagine that she has begun to take an interest in her mother's past because of her memories of Hana's regrets about not learning more about Wolf-man's upbringing.

Who knows? Perhaps an older, wiser Yuki is instinctively preparing for the day when she'll not only be a mother, but also perhaps a foster parent to her brother's children. Either way, she's clearly documenting experiences for posterity. It's a promising start.

Originally Posted by bbee

To me, the saddest part of the movie were those last few lines, "she is still quietly living in that house on the side of the mountain". It just feels so irrevocably lonely ;_;

By the way, it just occurred to me that, up till now, I did not have the benefit of knowing what the ending song meant. When I watched the movie at my local cinema last year, the song's lyrics were not translated.

Now that they are, the last few lines hit me like a tonne of bricks. ;___;

A Mother's Song

I'm sure I can do this all for you / Is there really nothing more I can do?

Come one day, you'll be leaving / It'll be time for you to go
I'll keep on smiling / As I bid you goodbye

Uuuu, uuuu~

It'll be a little lonely / I'll always think of you

Waon, waon~

Promise me, you'll always live a good life...

[totoum]

Well here's something from an Hosoda interviews you might find interesting, from an interview with capturemag

Originally Posted by Hosoda

To me, the wolf man had a difficult childhood.He probably lost his parents when he was really young.He certainly wanted to study to open up new possibilities for himself,that's why he's following classes without being enrolled ,nevertheless,it's his childhood scars that drove him to choose his more human side and go live in Tokyo.

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

By the way, it just occurred to me that, up till now, I did not have the benefit of knowing what the ending song meant. When I watched the movie at my local cinema last year, the song's lyrics were not translated.

Now that they are, the last few lines hit me like a tonne of bricks. ;___;

Yeah,I was glad to finally be able to read a translation,I was always curious since Hosoda wrote the lyrics himself which is a first for him.

[RRW]

Wonderful movie. Hana certainly the most hard working mother I ever seen.

Thought I do wondering how much saving did Ookami give consider Hana able to support her children for 1 years or so.

and the fact that we barely know what happens to Ame after Time skip is make me sad . I expect that we have scene where Ame observe his house from afar

[Dark Wing]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

I get the sense that Wolf-man probably started out the same way Ame did, with a strong desire to live wild and be free. But, for whatever reason, he ended up with a deep longing for family and companionship, just like Yuki.

So, if it's any consolation, I think there's reason to hope that Ame will likely follow in his father's footsteps. He'll live free, for now, but in time to come, his paternal instincts will kick in, and he'll probably wander back home to roost.

That actually make a lot of sense. I'd love to see this at the end of the film. You know something like life going full circle.

[zero7090]

Somehow i feel kind of sad for the mother living alone like that in the end. She sacrificed her youth for the sake of her children. She was only a university student. She could live the life of a city girl with karaoke, amusement park, restaurant food, fancy clothes. In some sense she never have chance to enjoy life. But she threw all that away, yet never for a moment regret about it.
Watching this and Usagi drop makes me wonder how will my life be when i have children. Can i sacrifice my times, anime, game, too for my children? Can i give them the best while staying sane?

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by zero7090

Watching this and Usagi drop makes me wonder how will my life be when i have children. Can i sacrifice my times, anime, game, too for my children? Can i give them the best while staying sane?

If you recall, Daikichi's colleague, Goto-san, said in Ep3 of Usagi Drop: "Even if I may feel that way, I try not to say it aloud. Words have power, you know?" And, from the closing scene of the same episode, Daikichi told himself that, despite knowing how he felt, he'd just have to soldier on, because he wanted to be able to say one day that "it wasn't a sacrifice".

I don't have children of my own, but most of my friends do, and I believe all of them would fully agree with Goto-san and Daikichi. Hana certainly did, hence her determination to keep on smiling* amid the harshest adversity.


*EDIT:
It occurs to me that Hana has two kinds of smiles, and she fools no one when she's forcing herself to do so. Old Man Nirasaki couldn't stand it, because he could tell right away it was fake. Yuki could tell the difference too — listen to her worried tone when she hesitatingly agreed to carry on helping Hana, smiling bravely as usual, after yet another failed crop.

That's what makes Yuki's last observation about her mother's smile on her graduation day especially meaningful: Hana's smile that day was 100-per-cent genuine, and knowing that made Yuki happy.

[Kirarakim]

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time was probably my favorite animated film from 2000-2010.

Although I enjoyed Summer Wars and liked its themes of family I felt it was a bit too busy.

However Wolf Children was just fantastic to me (and now it is hard to choose between this and Tokikake). It was a simple theme but simple in a profound way. I went to the NY screening and there were a good number of children in the film who enjoyed it even with subtitles.

I don't have kids either but I wonder what the parents and kids felt watching this film together.

I cried at the end. I understand the kids had grown up enough to be okay on their own and I thought that was beautifully expressed but it's still sad to have the kids leave their mom. I guess I felt the mom's sadness mixed with her happiness that they had succeeded in finding their place.

Another thing I think was conveyed really well is how quickly time flies and how fast kids grow (wolf children or otherwise).


edit: Also I really enjoyed how Hosoda conveyed the differences between Ame & Yuki from when they were children till when they grew apart.

[totoum]

Well here's a video of the new york Q&A

YouTube

https://youtu.be/Wmv98yHoPY0

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Now now Hosoda,there's some CG in your film and you know it!

[TinyRedLeaf]

1) Nice to know that Hosoda is now a dad.

2) Last question by the compere was rather sly, and just a teeny bit inappropriate, I feel. It presumes for one thing that Hosoda is aware of the political context behind the question ("should humans and wolves be allowed to love freely"). Clearly, he didn't know. And even if he did, I don't think he would have felt comfortable commenting on it.

3) I don't think Hosoda claimed that he didn't use CG. Rather, it seemed he was responding to the question about whether real video was transposed onto the animation. He didn't. He did use CG to animate some scenes, but the illustrations were all hand-drawn, that's true.

[Guardian Enzo]

Don't think gay rights aren't an issue here, too. I'm pretty certain Hosoda knew exactly what was meant by the question and intentionally chose not to take the bait.