Wolf Children Review

In most types of modern entertainment there are trusted people that when attached to a project or piece of work you know it has a high chance of being great due to past achievements, whether that be your favourite actor, author or film director. In recent years, Mamoru Hosoda has truly cemented himself as one of the best directors in the business of original anime films and his third film Wolf Children will remain a classic for many years to come and is a must watch for people of all ages.

Wolf Children follows the life of Hana, A Japanese college student who falls in love with a man who also happens to be half wolf. They both go on to have two children together, a daughter Yuki, then one year following their son Ame is born. Both children are also born half-wolf, half-human with the ability to freely transition between their human and wolf appearance. The film is narrated by an older Yuki and is telling us the story of her mothers life.

There Are No How-To Guides For Raising Wolf Children

After her lover is killed in an accident, Hana is forced to raise both children (with Ame just a newborn) on her own with no understanding or experience in how to raise wolf children. We join Hana on her journey to learn how to be a Mother, provide for her family and keep the children safe from those that would do them harm or try to take them away all on her own. Living without anyone to get advice from. Believe it or not, the library doesn’t have any books on raising wolf children, leaving Hana to also become the family nurse when the kids become ill after not knowing if you take your cub-kids to an emergency room or the vet.

After some time living in constant fear, Hana decides it would be best to move out of Tokyo and head towards the country to live an isolated life. They move into a dilapidated house on a large block of farmland, miles from the nearest neighbour. Hana spends her early days there learning how to restore the property, making it a suitable home for the children. Before realising she can cut out unnecessary contact and travel to the nearest stores by learning how to farm her own vegetables.

A Tale Of Growing Up And Letting Go

We’re also introduced to another badass elderly character, which Hosoda seems to have a real knack at writing and has been common across a few of his films so far. The character of Grandpa Nirasaki is so likeable even though he doesn’t want to be liked and plays a pivitol role in getting Hana’s farm up and running in a stable condition. Much of the older audience will be able to sympathise with Hana and her struggles trying to provide for her children all while never complaining once.

After the living conditions are stable the film transitions into a tale of growing up and letting go. Via the use of some effective montages, there is a time skip transition that shows the children now growing up. They are not only growing up, but also starting to make their own life choices. Deciding the kind of life they would prefer to live. With one child wanting to embrace being a normal human and attending school, while the other preferring the life of a wolf and wanting to be one with nature.

Hosoda’s films to date have all had an under the surface theme. After watching Wolf Children I could sum it’s core theme into 4 words. Love, independence, choice and sacrifice. Wolf children takes those core themes to present us a tale of ‘growing up’, but not just around the children. Many of the scenes involving growth and learning actually focus on Hana. Resulting in a film that is equally entertaining and beautiful. One that could hold it’s own as an animated classic even among films from the classic Disney catalogue.

Great Animation And Art That We’ve Come To Expect From Hosoda

Wolf Children’s animation and art style remain faithful to Hosoda’s signature look and feel we’ve come to love in his films. With Evangelion character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto returning to design the characters. Since directing Summer Wars Hosoda has established Studio Chizu who co-produced this film with Madhouse.

The character motions and movements in the environments are animated smoothly and with a high level of detail. The background scenery as with all Hosoda works are pieces of art on their own. Incredibly lush, detailed and tell a story just on appearance. As with prior films though, the character designs of some characters especially those in the background get less and less detailed with some not having faces at all. While not uncommon to see in anime it does begin to stand out at times when the surroundings are so detailed.

The pacing throughout is excellent. There is so much covered in it’s just short of 2 hour run time that there is never a dull moment. It’s nowhere near as action packed as previous film Summer Wars, but it’s not that type of film. It’s the real life relatability, story telling and drama that keep you invested throughout. When the credits rolled I found myself wanting more. Not to say it wasn’t satisfying, the film wraps up well. I liked the story so much that I wanted to find out more and spend longer with the characters.

Final Thoughts

Wolf Children is an incredible film with a plot that manages to be relatable despite having supernatural elements, backed by brilliant writing and characters that many of the audience will have no problems relating to in some way. With it’s fluent animation and stunning environment art, this could easily be Mamoru Hosoda’s best work yet. Wolf Children will stand the test of time to remain a true animated classic on par with some of the best hand drawn animated works from Disney.

Stay tuned to the site for more reviews coming soon from the Mamoru Hosoda Collected Works.

Wolf Children was reviewed as part of the Mamoru Hosoda Collected Works. A review copy of the Collected Works was provided by Madman Entertainment for the purpose of this review.

If you want to see more content like this and never miss one of our frequent gaming and anime giveaways come and Follow Ani-Game on Twitter.