Who are you –
and who do you want to be?
This story
charts the path taken by a single mother Hana and her two children, Ame and
Yuki after the death of her husband. In itself, it would have been a good
premise but on the addition of the supernatural element of the husband being a
werewolf and those traits being taken up by Ame and Yuki pose a serious problem
to Hana.
The theme
has always been about being who you want to be, and each of the three primary
characters reach crucial junctures in the road of life where they have to
re-examine who they identify as.
It starts
off early on as the Husband (we never get his name – leading to the mystery of
who he was and how he was raised) is found trying to learn alongside students like
Hana while also working as a mover. It’s both his struggles and his kindness
that attracts Hana to him – and in turn he realizes he can share with her his
secret of being a werewolf.
Hana on her
part has also acquired some roadblocks in life and managed to move forward. Her
motto of always smiling no matter what happens is an important element to her
character’s journey through her single mother life. It’s both bittersweet to
hear she made it through her father’s funeral with that outlook despite being
chided by her relatives – but as the Husband states, you shouldn’t change yourself
to suit other people. Its the same positive outlook that she keeps when she has to face her husband dying as a wolf while trying to get food for his family.
And as Hana
moves to the secluded countryside to ensure her children are not subjected to
prejudice and fear, we see more and more of the inner strength she has. Ame and
Yuki are not struggling through man vs monster, but rather – who do they want
to be?
Hana’s fears
prevent her for helping them interact with other people (as Yuki especially
seems to have difficulty controlling her transformations) which isn’t all that
difficult but as both Ame and Yuki grow up, they start getting more confident
of what they want in life.
Coming to
them individually, Yuki starts out as very sprightly and lively – always interacting
and having fun with the environment and people around her. Ame on the other
hand is an introvert and chases some fundamental questions about his existence….
who is he? A human? A wolf?
Yuki gets
more restrained as she starts going to school and making more friends, thus abandoning
her wolf half after frolicking in the mountains during her younger days. Ame on
the other hand feels lonely and isolated in the presence of humans.
Hana on the
other hand keeps showing how resolute and determined she is. After the money
left to her by her Husband finishes, she starts a vegetable garden that yields
nothing due to her inexperience with farming. But an old farmer helps her out
impressed by her spirit and soon enough, the isolation of the mountains gives
way to companionship.
She gets a
job as a volunteer in the park ranger’s office, leading to Ame finally meeting
a real wolf – much to Hana’s disappointment in hoping it was a werewolf who
could help her. This leads Ame to the mountains when he finds a mentor in a
fox, thus making him his ‘Master’.
Introducing
Sohei. He immediately shows his keen sense of smell and identifies Yuki’s time
as a wolf – mistaking it for a pet dog’s presence. But this only reaffirms a
part of her that Yuki wants to hide – leading to a chase through the school as
a confused Sohei corners Yuki, only to get slashed in the ear when she
transforms and lashes out at him.
A
parent-teacher meeting later, where Sohei says it was a wolf who hurt him and
not Yuki – the two slowly become good friends and it all comes to a head when a
huge storm hits the area.
Ame
immediately runs off and find his master injured and dying, deciding to take up
his role as the guardian of the forest. But he is stopped by his concerned
mother and you can see the conflict forming inside him as the storm gets
worser.
In the town,
classes are cancelled at school and after a stream of parents come and go, Yuki
and Sohei decide to avoid the school cars taking the remaining home and stay
back in school. Yuki finally reveals that it was her who hurt Sohei that day –
and the latter acknowledges it by saying he knew it all along. It’s a release
to Yuki – who still wants to be human but knows she cannot just throw away her
wolf side. There’s a closer bond that forms now that she has a confident
outside her family.
Ame finally
can’t take it anymore and makes a choice to go and see the forest, with a panic-stricken
Hana behind him. She suffers an accident and in her mind is able to come to
peace with Ame’s decision even as Ame himself rescues her – before leaving.
Despite her tears, Hana doesn’t forget her motto to always smile, believing Ame
will be fine in his own direction.
Yuki, the
narrator, ends the story by saying that now both her children having moved away
(Yuki is in hostel now it seems), Hana reflects on the journey of twelve years
as a wonderful fairytale – and smiles as she hears a familiar howl sound across
the mountainside.
Overall it’s
a wonderful story filled with great character moments. One particular standout
was Hana, in absence of any pictures, keeping her Husband’s driving license on
the mantel and promising to take care of the children. It’s a powerful proof
that despite being a wolf, he was and chose to be human as well. Its similar
choices Ame and Yuki face later on.
Ame is an
interesting study. He’s initially an introvert and gets called weak by the more
confident and outgoing Yuki. Coming to the mountainside, he gets attacked by
the wild animals there and professes a desire to go back to town life. A beautiful
moment comes when Ame, having read stories of wolves being villains of every
one of them, thinks wolves in general are bad but her mother says she likes
them. From being disgusted to be part-wolf, Ame comes to love being one and
closer to nature and other animals. It’s a great moment to see the once
terrified child become the guardian of the forest at the end.
Yuki’s
storyline isn’t as interesting but it’s fascinating as well. She seems to be
one who embraces both sides – wolf and man. But once her mother starts
associating with other humans, her need for friendship leans more towards them
than the animals. She starts going to school and doing fun stuff with everyone –
but the secret of being a half-wolf remains inside and it comes out when Sohei
hints at it. By the end, when Sohei says he accepts who she really is – it’s a journey
towards her accepting as well. The issue here is Sohei. He never becomes fully
fleshed as we don’t see where he comes from or why he relates to Yuki so much.
Its great seeing them together but you feel it’s the plot driving it forward –
not the characters.
Hana starts
in front and as the story goes on, moves more into the background as he
children grow up – but her conflicts and cheer-worthy milestones keep reminding
how strong she really is. It’s not easy raising wolf children as a single
mother – but she ensures her smile never fades and she is always there to both
take care and when the moment comes, support their choices in life. Probably
the best mother in anime history given the struggles she faces and overcomes
throughout the film.
So, where do
we end up with? It’s a touching story of resilience and finding who you want to
be. The designs are great – especially showing the lush countryside. Yes, its
not of the level of say a Garden of Words – but then its great in its own way.
So, I give
it 8.5 out of 10.
+The three
protagonists journey
+Great
visuals
+Themes are
excellently done
-Sohei
becomes more plot device than character
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