Anime: Wolf`s Rain

Critic's Log - Earthdate: January 29, 2013. Review #32: Wolf's Rain

Some people thought that the world was going to end on December 21,
2012. We are still here. For the last three weeks, the pastor of my
church was discussing about the End Times and The Book of Revelation. A
topic that many Christians find a little unsettling. The pastor at my
church mentioned about the End times in response to the 2012 Phenomenon.
A while back I was Looking at my list of animes that I will review.
This anime was high up there and I thought this
would be fitting for me to go over this one. Oh, Hold on a second! This
isn't going to be the ONLY ANIME this month that I'm reviewing that had
apocalyptic settings! I previously reviewed Evangelion 1.0 and 2.0 and
those have some apocalyptic moments (sort of) Gee, me going to church
and hearing about the End Times and reviewing anime that have
Apocalyptic imagery and so forth sure does feels like the timing is no
coincidence. With that said, Let's journey into Paradise with Wolf's
Rain!

In some distant future and in another time, It was commonly known that
all wolves have been extinct for 200 years. However, it seems this is
not true as wolves have not vanished to the ends of the earth but rather
have taken human form. Kiba, a lone wolf, wanders into a city, trying
to sniff out the Lunar Flowers that are supposed to lead whoever follows
the scent to Paradise. The source of the smell is Cheza (who is
referred to as the Flower Maiden), a girl who sleeps in what appears to
be suspended animation in a lab. She and the wolves are drawn to each
other, and Kiba hopes to find Paradise once he finds the source of the
scent of Lunar Flowers. However, once Kiba finds Cheza, she is kidnapped
by a mysterious man named Darcia, and his search begins anew. Before he
leaves the city, he meets 3 other wolves, Tsume, Hige and Toboe. All
four wolves have very different personalities and ideas, and their
friendliness towards each other is a little rough around the edges.
However, they soon band together in a pack to continue to search for
Paradise.

To be technical, this is a Studio Bones production and I can honestly
say that the animation in this show is absolutely gorgeous to look at.
And Studio Bones really turned Wolf's Rain as a visual tour de force in
both quality and symbolism. Guess what? This isn't the only anime that
year to get high remarks. Fullmetal Alchemist started later that same
year and it was also made by Studio Bones. 2003 proved to be a wonderful
year for Studio Bones. It's been ten years since Wolf's Rain started
and the show has aged beautifully.

I know you Otakus know full well that Yoko Kanno is responsible for the
soundtrack on Wolf's Rain, so stating the obvious can not be helped. The
music is... by Yoko Kanno and I don't think there's anything else that
hasn't been said about her. She is a talented musician and I think
everyone agrees on that, but here's my thought about her regarding this
show. I do think Yoko Kanno's music is magnificent in most of the shows
she's involved in, Wolf's Rain is one of her best scores in any anime
out there. The soundtrack's approach is similar to Cowboy Bebop in terms
of mashing in more than one genre for the entirety of the series.
There's even a little jazz in it. Steve Conte who was involved in Cowboy
Bebop sings the opening theme "Stray" which is nice. Mai Yamane has a
song in the soundtrack which she was greatly involved in the soundtrack
for Cowboy Bebop. Maaya Sakamoto (a friend of Kanno-san) sings the
Closing theme "Gravity" which is a beautiful closing theme on my book.
Sakamoto-san's vocals and Kanno-san's piano just strikes all chords for
just that particular theme and compliments the show greatly. Kanno-san
even uses orchestral themes which really gives the soundtrack the icing
on the cake. Kanno-san's soundtrack to Wolf's Rain greatly compliments
the show. It simply is a soundtrack worth listening to without the show.

When it comes to voice acting, the Japanese cast is a solid listen. I
should point out that there are some good seiyus in the subbed version.
Mamoru Miyano is great as Kiba, Akio Suyama is fine as Hige, Kenta
Miyake is great as Tsume, and Hiroki Shimowada is not bad as Toboe
(pronounced "To-bo-eh"). There are some worthy seiyus such as Unshou
Ishizuka, Maaya Sakamoto, Mayumi Asano, and Norio Wakamoto. Like I said,
the Subbed version is a solid listen, then there's the dub. Wolf's Rain
has one of the best dubs ever made. I think most people might agree on
this. If you're a purist, I strongly suggest trying the dub here because
it truly doesn't disappoint. Wolf's Rain has big names, and even some
voice actors that aren't as big. When it comes to my format of reviews, I
usually mention the standout performances and mention some others, I
can't do that with Wolf's Rain because every single voice actor in the
dub, big or small leave a great impression even if some of them got 5
minutes in the entirety of the series. Some voice actors even play
outside their usual typical roles. Johnny Yong Bosch is terrific as
Kiba, Joshua Seth is great as the street-wise Hige, Crispin Freeman is
spot-on as Tsume, and Mona Marshall is wonderful as Toboe. Kari Wahlgren
is also great as Cher, Robert Buchholz is also spot-on as Hubb. Tom
Wyner is also a delight to listen to as the drunken marksman Quent.
Sherry Lynn plays Cheza quite well and might be her most famous and best
role in her career. Jessica Straus is also great, too bad she hasn't
been active these days. Last but not least, there's Steve Blum as the
noble Darcia. Mr. Blum's performance in Wolf's Rain really left a big
impression and it is simply one of his best roles in an anime and (if
not) the best villian performance in his career. Beside the standout
performances, This dub has other voice actors and actresses such as Beau
Billingslea, Bridget Hoffman, Dave Wittenberg, Jamieson Price, Kirk
Thornton, Liam O'Brien, Michael Lindsay, Michelle Ruff, Peggy O'Neal,
Peter Spellos, Skip Stellrecht, William Frederick Knight, and then
there's Mary Elizabeth McGlynn who was the voice of Lady Jaguara. All
the performances are great and really did make Wolf's Rain having one of
the best dubs in an anime and Mary Elizabet McGlynn was responsible for
this dub and she previously did the Cowboy Bebop dub prior to Wolf's
Rain, I think she is a great ADR director for dubbed animes. I think
I've said quite enough of the dub. It's terrific.

Now that I've mentioned about the great production value and the dub
being top dog, you're thinking of the more important stuff like
characters and story. That's where it gets somewhat debatable here.
Before I discuss this, I just want to point out that I am going to
credit Hope Chapman for the following since she pointed this intriguing
topic on Wolf's Rain. Allow me to explain who Hope Chapman is. She
reviews animes and she goes by JesuOtaku and she has her own thing
called The JesuOtaku Anime Review and so forth. Ms. Chapman has reviewed
Wolf's Rain and she said in her review that Wolf's Rain takes place in a
complex fantasy world with a rich history. The way the show portrays
its history seems like it doesn't want to share it directly. She
mentioned further that this is good to give more focus on the
characters. I agree with this. I won't go into much detail since this is
supposed to be my own personal review. If there is one last thing I
want to credit Ms. Chapman for, it's that there are a lot of things that
the viewer should try understanding and she commented that it isn't
easy to figure it all out because Wolf's Rain is an allegory where
everything is symbolic. She further said that Wolf's Rain
crossreferences several religions and mythologies to portray a unified
theme. Now that I've credited her enough to some degree, now this whole
review is under my jurisdiction regarding my analysis on Wolf's Rain. I
actually like the approach to all this because it leaves room for
interpretation and gives the show high re-watch value too. The direction
by Tensai Okamura is an interesting one.

Here's what I think of the characters in this show. Kiba is our main
protagonist in the series and I almost had a problem with this guy until
I saw further into the story because I almost saw Kiba as a shallow
character at times. I'm not sure what else to say about the guy, the
more mystery the better I guess. Hige is street-wise and laid-back, I
actually liked Hige from the start. Tsume is pretty much the
stereotypical angry loner, Tsume actually gets away with this because
he's actually a pretty good character as the story progresses, not to
mention he was badass from the start. Then there's Toboe, He's the runt
of the group but he's a great character as well. If you stick around
later in the series, you're in for quite the surprise. As far as human
characters go, Cher is pretty interesting as the story progresses, same
goes for Hubb and Quent. Hubb is definitely the gentleman of the series
while Quent was probably the most interesting human character for me in
this series. As far as the nobles, There's Lady Jaguara, I decided to
just keep Lady Jaguara silent on this one, and last but not least
there's Darcia and Oh My... This guy was quite the interesting one too.

I want to at least mention about the story, I got to admit that my
reviews from square one have been formulaic as hell and that's because
it's my little routine to make my reviews easy to write down while
analyzing. I usually mention the sypnosis of the show first and talk
about my afterthought of the story last. I don't think it necessarily
matters at this point. I can honestly say that there's not much Icould
say about the story because it is a little hard to explain about the
whole thing. What I can say is that it is an incredible journey to
witness as the viewer. It is heavily symbolic because the journey that
these wolves are on is a spiritual one. I like how the creative staff
wanted the viewers to see the journey through. I like how dynamic the
characters are in terms of personality and ideals. There are times where
the viewer may even connect to the character and boy, does this become
extemely effective in the long run. I felt connected to the characters
and I really felt sorry for Darcia losing Hamona, the woman he dearly
loved. As the series progresses, the common viewer may get attached to
the characters. Then along came the final 4 episodes where I guarantee
that guys will end up crying like a little bitch and ladies will cry
their heart out. I actually cried over moments that occur in the last 4
episodes. Think Mufasa's death plus Bambi's Mom getting shot, but a bit
more tragic and heartbreaking. That just shows you that the show's doing
its job and Keiko Nobumoto deserves enough credit for making the story
emotional and making the characters flow with it. The ending did get
some mixed opinions, I understand it's open ended and a little
confusing. I do think it was all about the journey and after everything
was set and written, it leads to another beginning. I actually believe
they were in Paradise in the ending, just not the kind of Paradise we
would expect. If there is anyissue with the show, it's the infamous
recap episodes that are right in the middle of the show and I'm not sure
why, consider these episodes optional since you are not missing out on
anything if you skip them. Best of all, they are all on one disc.
Another slight issue is that the animation does have some slight bumps
from perfection, but I'm satisfied with the animation already. In the
long run, Wolf's Rain turned out to be an unforgettable journey.

Before I wrap this up, I just want to point out that this review was brought to you by Team Jacob. Forget I just said that.

Wolf's Rain was available by Bandai Entertainment and I hate to be the
messenger of bad news, Wolf's Rain has become out of print, The manga
illustrated by Toshitsugu Iida and written by Keiko Nobumoto is
available through Viz Media. I can't say the manga is necessary to read
alongside the show, but check it out if it will satisfy your curiousity.

With all that said, Wolf's Rain is an emotionally powerful journey with a
complex setting, dynamic characters, a terrific soundtrack and gorgeous
animation. I cannot absolutely guarantee 100% that you'll like this
series to the fullest because of some things portrayed in this anime. I
can say that it is purely a visual tour de force that proves itself to
be a work of art. If your familiar with Doug Walker (The Nostalgia
Critic) Wolf's Rain is one of his favorite shows. Like it, hate it, or
be neutral about it. It's an anime that's worth seeing if you're the
spiritual type or the artsy type of person, or if you like anime in
general.

I give Wolf's Rain a 9.8 out of 10, it is EXCELLENT!

Feel free to comment below, and let's meet again...in Paradise

Wolf’s Rain is a movie musical, stretched out to last ten times more than it needed without a proper storyboard to excuse the excess duration. And what a better choice to mess up in that department, than Bones the “pretty colors and no faks given for the plot” studio. It’s one of the hottest names today for all the wrong reasons.

The best way to approach the show is as a dark fairy tale that overstayed its welcome and has to do with freedom, life, happiness and wolf-huggers. It does a great job at building up a melancholic mood with its artwork and soundtrack, making it very easy for a weak-minded viewer to start thinking weirdly.

It is properly dark and depressing, with the snow keeps falling, while songs and dialogues keep mentioning freedom from pain and sadness. It’s about four wolves who disguise as pretty boys being hunted by everybody in a dying world as they follow their instinct to reach paradise where a flower girl will resurrect everything. Did that make any sense? No, but it is a cool concept and it does a great job at presenting an apocalyptic world at the brink of destruction. The problem is, that’s the only thing it does.

The characters for example are nothing more than mouthpieces that seem to be interesting just because they are a patchwork of fetishes. If you try to remember what their personality is like, there is not much there. Pretty boys to attract the fujoshis, can transform into wolves to attract the furries, and are victimized by the world to attract the feelfags. Not that anyone who liked the show cared about good characterization, since apparently that was never the point.

Neither is the pacing, which is EXTREMELY slow. So slow they had to throw in FOUR RECAP EPISODES for a plot that can be summarized in less than one. That’s what happens when you strike a deal for two cours and don’t bother to fill them with something. The story was not complex and the main characters had no depth to excuse the duration. If you are expecting something to happen in every episode, you will be bored to death. But then again, it’s not a show you are watching for its plot or characters. It’s supposed to give you the feels, which in turn will make you feel like reciting emo poetry.

And even for the scraps of plot you can find in it, anything unfolds in any way the scriptwriter feels like it. There is such an overuse of magic, to the point anything is possible. The main villain has such broken powers, he can teleport anywhere he likes, kill anyone he feels like it, and nobody can do the slightest thing to stop him. The story can end whenever he wants it, basically. The sky can turn pink and it will make sense because nothing makes sense. When nothing has limitations, everything is possible, and nothing matters. Bones in a nutshell. But hey, look at the pretty colors and stop thinking about it.

So basically, what you are supposed to do with the show is stare at the gloomy backgrounds, and listen to the teen angst filled soundtrack. It is all about the artistic whatchamacallit side of the show, and the emotions it inflicts to its viewers. You might as well pretend there is no story at all. The ending is just a reality reset, which renders pointless the entire show, since it doesn’t exist anymore.

The whole thing is very one-note, and because of its duration it will become tiresome very fast if you want something other than just mood atmosphere. Wolf’s Rain hardly deserves its fame. It needed less episodes, better characterization, and someone NOT FROM BONES to work the storyboard. The soundtrack is the only thing I appreciate about it.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I love this anime. Attempting to write an unbiased review may be one of the more difficult things I do, though I feel I must, so you can do yourself the favor of watching this. It really is something different, and it suffers criticism to that end, but ends are a new beginning so they say, and so I begin my review.

If you are tired of the same old anime tropes, then be sure to pick this one up. It follows some staples (post-apocalyptic future, epic journey, star-crossed lovers, silent hero with a dark past) and changes them in surprising and insightful ways. The way the ending is presented is completely original, surprising me so utterly that I was dazed. If you are ready for something different, then you will be immensely satisfied by what you find in this touching, engrossing, HUMAN story.

Animation: (7) Not Terrible, not Memorable
Let's get the nasty out of the way shall we? The animation, while moody and pretty, takes some pretty obvious shortcuts when action comes into play, with jerky character movements and explosions being reduced to an unmoving, painting-like picture. While stylish, it seems just a cop-out from a production company that had a lot of other things going on. A couple times (end of Episode 14 comes to mind) the lack of animation leaves you puzzled as to what actually transpired.

Sound: (10) Another Masterpiece by Yoko Kanno.
The music fits the mood perfectly, accentuating the emotion and never getting in the way. The Japanese voice acting is excellent. Fans of Death Note's Light Yagami may be interested in hearing that Kiba is voiced by Mamoru Miyano. The English dub is done pretty well too, with Tom Wyner doing such an excellent job as Quent Yaiden that I prefer his voice to the original.

Story: (10) Knocks Your Socks Off
Let's just be honest shall we? as anime fans we are bullied quite a bit with our endings. How many truly great shows have you watched to be let down by the ending, or no ending at all? This story stays true to the premise established in the very first episode. That search for something that no one can define, or know truly how to begin to look for, but necessarily striking out for it in favor of the alternative. And the last 4 episodes (27-30) are filled with so much emotional power, that you will forgive the series any of its faults.. and baby, the ending delivers. trust me.

Character Development (8) You'll Fall in Love With Each of Them
Each character (with the exception of Cheza) at some point gets a bit of time to reflect on their past, with flashbacks included. This is done tastefully, no walls of exposition to interrupt the flow of the story. That said, everyone changes a good deal during the course of the series. Each wolf rubs off on the other, changing them subtly. Motivations change. Nowhere is there a cut-and dry 'evil' character, excepting perhaps one, and even Jaguara has ulterior motives. I also appreciate how Kiba, while strong, is not all-powerful, getting his butt kicked by a pack of wolves one night, and having to get saved by Toboe the next.

Value (9) You Shouldn't Get the Boxed Set
This is where I'll mention the infamous re-hash episodes (15-18) that caused me so much gnashing of teeth back when the show was airing in 2003. Luckily for you if you get the region 1 DVDs you can ignore those 4 episodes entirely, since they put them on one DVD. Region 2 is SOL, as they split up those episodes over two DVDs, hence my knocking down the value one point.

Isnt it amazing how misunderstood this anime is??? I discovered anime thanks to this and cowboy bebop airing on adult swim.

First off, i am going to say that no movie, no tv show, no book, no form of entertainment in this world, has touched me as this anime has. Wolf's Rain is plain and simple the greatest anime i have ever seen.

It all started my spring semester of my freshman year of college when i got back from the library. I was sooo tired yet i could not sleep. My room mate was knocked out and i figured i would watch some television till i fell asleep. Lo and Behold, i was watching Adult swim and then something caught my eye. I saw a white wolf that suddenly became a man within conversation. And then i was hooked.

After i watched one episode i was entranced by the mystery and the story. I did not know what episode i watched, i didnt even know what the name of the show was, yet i was hooked. I didnt really understand about Anime then. All i knew was that Dragon Ball Z was the shit. But then i did some research and i found out the show was called wolf's Rain, and i started on the second episode.

I would look forward to this anime every saturday unaware that it had been around for a while and that i could have gotten it through other means. But every week, i looked forward to each and every episode. Remember the show is 30 episodes and every week i looked forward to an episode since my freshman year spring. I was done by my sophomore year.

So why does this anime mean so much to me?? Because this anime touched me in ways i could not explain. I learnt so much about life, blossoming love, courage, beauty, tragedy and so much more. The story is supremely original on every level and the characters truly become ur friends. People you love and when they laugh u laugh and when they hurt... you weep. Because they mean so much to you.

The story is about wolves trying to find paradise. What is paradise?? what is it like?? how did man fall from grace? These are the questions u as urself when watching this masterpiece.

The animation is perfect. just perfect.

The soundtrack of this anime is probably the one cd i have had on repeat the most. The music is simply astonishing. I have made love with 3 girls to this soundtrack. Not only is the music powerful, but when u hear it, u cant help but remember what the characters were feeling and experiencing at that moment.

This anime stays with you. It touches you at the very core of ur being, if u are willing to search for paradise with them. If u r an anime critic and ur are looking for flaws or u r paying too much attention, u cannot enjoy this anime because wolfs rain is not something you watch. It is something you experiece. it is not entertainment. It is a world to travel to where you meet Kiba, Hige, Tsume, Toboe and Blue. You'll get to know them, love them, laugh and cry with them. And i cried very hard. And though you will say good bye, their howls will stay with you for a long time.

Wow. This has got to be the best anime I have ever seen. Changing anything about it would just spoil it... The animation is fantastic - the combination of 2D and 3D is done in a way that makes you think "Wow, that's nice". It's done well, but not overdone. The fight scenes are a little OTT, but not excessively so.

Sound... The OP and ED themes are fantastic and really suit the story well. "Stray" (the OP) is stuck in my Winamp playlist, simply because I think it's such a great song. The background music is there, but not too overpowering or forceful. Sound FX is very well done - the environment sounds and howls are absolutely spot on. I can't really comment on the Japanese voices; I watched the English dub. That said, the dub was pretty well done - the voices do match the characters well, though I really need to make some time to watch Wolf's Rain through again with the Japanese soundtrack and English subtitles.

OK, the story.. To start with, the storyline moves very slowly. At around episode 10, it's barely crawling. But once you get up to eps 13-14, it gets moving again and the story gets REALLY interesting. The last four episodes are fantastic - real tear jerkers. In four years, I've never seen any movies or TV series that actually made me want to cry.. yet this did. That's some achievement.

Character development is good - every character has their own story, and it's reflected well in their personalities and the way they act.

Value.. Well, the best thing to say about that is, would I buy the DVDs? Hell yeah.

As for enjoyment, well.. saying I loved watching Wolf's Rain would be a major understatement. I was hooked - I even ended up copying it onto my laptop to watch on the train.. I've never done that with any other anime.

After watching Wolf's Rain, watching the likes of Naruto and Bleach just seems a bit, well, pointless really.

Wolf's Rain....

Wow. Thats what I said as soon as this anime was finished. Truly amazing. Just don't forget the last 4 episodes (27-30)! Anyways, here goes the review.

Animation was a huge part of the series. Between the individual styles of the domed cities, the lush rolling landscapes, and the barren deserts of snow and sand, the point of a world in ruin is conveyed quite nicely. Your now usual mix of 2d cel and 3d animation applies here and flows nicely without one overpowering the other. The visuals will keep you interested through each episode. Definately a must 'see'!

The sound is very much so your average bank right here. The spilling of blood tends to get a little over dramatic at times but all in all its a treat none-the-less. The growls and barks are spot on and the environmental samples breathe more nature into the scenes. Not too much to write home about here, really is good the way it is. An amazing experience for anyone.

The music however is where this anime truly shines. Great music abound through each episode. From classical guitar riffs to piano ballads and orchestrated granduer, your not likely to find something like this somewhere else. This is what you need to write home about, and pretty much sets the mood throughout each episode.

The plot was something I enjoyed whole heartedly. And this is also the part most people argue about not just in this anime, but in everyone. We have the four wolves searching for Rakuen (Paradise) on a now desolate Earth. There isn't much more to say than that. But in its simplicity lies its complications. Throughout each episode the wolves will fight constant hardships and slowly learn to fight as a pack to stay alive. Is Paradise really worth all this?

You'll begin to see the treatment and utter hatred for wolves and the disbelief of their continuing existence. And then we are shown a bit more each episode until it blows open and we see how important wolves are. Unfortunately in order to explain the complications of the plot would mean to give away the entire story itself. Never has simplicity been done so well in an anime.

Character development is a crucial part of Wolf's Rain. Each character has there own background story that reflects their personality very well. Some you will know straight off while others are shown at crucial times in the series, all adding to its own dimension. We have four very distinct wolves who conflict in their own interest but will start to learn to survive. In being outcasts and lone warriors, they themselves must unite into a pack of their own. Only then will they learn to survive. Or will it all blow apart?

From the first episodes until the last ones (the true ones, minus those 4 recaps) this series is constantly evolving and throwing new things at you. Its hard for me not to grade this so well when I got so much from this, and cannot stop thinking about it.

Through all the shocks, twists, and sadness lies one of the freshest, well thought out, and truly prime anime to be released in recent times. You won't find another series like this and probably won't in the near future. Never has something been so simple yet so emotionally complicated and mind stirring. By the end this anime should have you shedding some tears.

A deeply philosophical and a thinking man's adventure lies ahead of you. I recommend this to anyone ready to take that step. By the end of it all, all I could do was stand and applaud.