Anime Reviews Reviews

Anime Review: Wolf’s Rain (2003) by Tensai Okamura

It is always a pleasure to revisit great titles of the past and the recent, impressive ultimate edition of “Wolf's Rain” by proved a great opportunity to do so for a title that seems to have been almost completely forgotten.

Buy This Title

According to an old legend, when the end of the world comes, a place known as Paradise will appear. However, only wolves will know how to find it. Although wolves are believed to have been hunted to extinction nearly two hundred years ago, they still exist, surviving by casting illusions over themselves to appear human. Freeze City is a northern city in a world where the majority of people live in poverty and hardship. Kiba, a lone wolf in search of the Lunar Flower, which is the key to open Paradise, arrives in the city, and after many trials and tribulations, ends up with three other wolf-humans, Tsume, Hige and Toboe, searching for Paradise. Their trip brings against them Quent Yaiden and his dog, Blue, among a number of human enemies and friends, while Cheza, the flower maiden, and Lord Darcia the Third and Jaguara eventually emerge as key characters, although in completely opposite roles.

To begin with, the anime has an unusual format, featuring 30 episodes instead of the usual 24 or 26, but four them, placed roughly in the middle of the series, are just a recap of what has already transpired. This aspect, which has been repeatedly criticized, and the fact that the title as a whole has not aged particularly well in terms of design, may dull the experience of watching “Wolf's Rain” but the truth is that these are the only two faults of the title.

On the other hand, the pros are many. The detail on the characters may not be of the highest degree (by today's standards that is) but their conception and implementation is top notch, with Toshihiro Kawamoto doing a great job in creating many easily distinguishable characters that look equally cool as both wolves and human. Furthermore, the villains are all impressive, with Jaguara's dance and Darcia's transformation being among the greatest traits of the title.

Where “Wolf's Rain” truly thrives, however, is in terms of narrative. The parallels between human and animal nature work impressively in presenting a number of social and philosophical comments, with the concept of the alpha male, bonding, the rich and the poor, dignity and the lack of it, despair and hope, friendship and betrayal being just some of the few that are examined. The concept of war and its consequences also take center stage, while the story also communicates an ecologist message, regarding the way human ways have led to the extinction of many animals, and subsequently, to the loss of Paradise, both literally (in the story) and metaphorically (in reality, with Paradise symbolizing a place where humans live in harmony with nature).

The road movie/dystopia style of the narrative also helps in both communicating the comments and in making the story entertaining, while through the many episodes, allows for the protagonists to be thorough analyzed, thus succeeding in connecting the viewer with them. That the peripheral characters also enjoy equal levels of analysis is another testament to Keiko Nobumoto's excellent writing.

The action is also quite good, with the protagonists getting into many fights, even among themselves, the various war-like incidents, and the overall chasing that is quite frequent in the series, with Bones' animation finding its apogee in these scenes and particularly the final fight, which is probably the most impressive and definitely the most brutal in the whole series.

This review would not be complete without mentioning Yoko Kanno's excellent soundtrack, with songs featuring vocals by various artists, including Maaya Sakamoto, Raj Ramayya, Ilaria Graziano, Steve Conte and Joyce, whose voices give a truly international sense to the anime, while fitting perfectly with the overall visuals. Particularly the opening song, “Stray” by Steve Conte, will definitely stay on mind.

“Wolf's Rain” may look its age visually, but remains a true classic, another masterpiece of the golden age of anime.

About the author

Panos Kotzathanasis

My name is Panos Kotzathanasis and I am Greek. Being a fan of Asian cinema and especially of Chinese kung fu and Japanese samurai movies since I was a little kid, I cultivated that love during my adolescence, to extend to the whole of SE Asia.

Starting from my own blog in Greek, I then moved on to write for some of the major publications in Greece, and in a number of websites dealing with (Asian) cinema, such as Taste of Cinema, Hancinema, EasternKicks, Chinese Policy Institute, and of course, Asian Movie Pulse. in which I still continue to contribute.

In the beginning of 2017, I launched my own website, Asian Film Vault, which I merged in 2018 with Asian Movie Pulse, creating the most complete website about the Asian movie industry, as it deals with almost every country from East and South Asia, and definitely all genres.

You can follow me on Facebook and Twitter.

  • I’ve adored Wolf’s Rain since I was young… First anime I ever watched, I think I was 10? It has some flaws that I believe were budget related, but they are few and the rest of the show far outshines them. I hope some day more media comes out for it. I’ve rewatched so many times… Lol

  • Subscribe to Our Newsletter

    >