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 The Wolf Children Ame and Yuki is a 2012 animated film by Mamoru Hosoda, best known for his previous two films The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Summer Wars. It is a drama chronicling the trials and tribulations of a girl named Hana and her children Ame and Yuki. Hana had fallen in love with a man who was a werewolf, and is left to raise their children on her own when he suddenly passes away. Realizing that the city is not a proper place for the kids, she moves out to the countryside. The Miyazaki influence upon this film is profound, with Totoro probably being the most obvious. Despite the movie ostensibly being about anthropomorphic wolves, Hosoda focuses the story on the extremely human struggles of a single mother trying to make ends meet in the face of adversity. I found it incredibly moving, and would say that it's Hosoda's most emotional story yet. It approaches the very relatable issues of parenthood, growing up, and finding your own place in the world.         A lovely, lovely film. I think it could easily be Hosoda's best work yet, but I honestly bounce back and forth on which one is my favorite all the time. At the very least, there is no doubt in my mind right now that Mamoru Hosoda is the best current anime film director. The home video release was on 2/20/2013, so now you can find it by a variety of groups.  
Nate RFB fucked around with this message at May 5, 2013 around 02:39 |
| # ? Mar 10, 2013 21:35 |
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| # ? May 25, 2013 14:32 |
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I'm a really huge fan of his previous works so I'll be sure to give this a chance. One thing I noticed from the screen shots and poster is that the eyes are kind of far apart for the character designs, which kind of weird considering it was done by Sadamoto and it's never been an issue in the past.
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| # ? Mar 10, 2013 22:17 |
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I would definitely say Sadamoto has slightly tweaked his designs this time around, especially for the main characters. If anything it looks like Sadmoto attempted to emulate Miyazaki as well, so I think it works pretty well.
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| # ? Mar 10, 2013 23:28 |
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This is an absolute masterpiece, I posted it in the best of 2012 thread and a repeated viewing has only cemented that for me. I totally agree with Nate that Hosoda is the best director in anime currently.
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| # ? Mar 10, 2013 23:40 |
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Centzon Totochtin posted:I'm a really huge fan of his previous works so I'll be sure to give this a chance. One thing I noticed from the screen shots and poster is that the eyes are kind of far apart for the character designs, which kind of weird considering it was done by Sadamoto and it's never been an issue in the past. I believe Hosada said that they intentionally increased the spacing of the eyes to move the character designs, on the children in particular, further away from the standard moe archetypes. EDIT: VVV haha, well, just relaying what I think I heard second hand maybe... Fangz fucked around with this message at Mar 11, 2013 around 00:46 |
| # ? Mar 10, 2013 23:46 |
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Fangz posted:I believe Hosada said that they intentionally increased the spacing of the eyes to move the character designs, on the children in particular, further away from the standard moe archetypes. 
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| # ? Mar 11, 2013 00:13 |
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Now that I've embarrassed myself enough, here's an interview with Hosada (contains spoilers): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wmv98yHoPY0 EDIT: I especially appreciate how Hosada says he wants to keep challenging himself by making films that are totally different. Fangz fucked around with this message at Mar 11, 2013 around 01:04 |
| # ? Mar 11, 2013 00:47 |
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I got to watching this yesterday and really enjoyed it. It was easily a level below The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Summer Wars for me, but it was still a good film. It is definitely the most emotional story Hosoda has done. Some of the animation felt a bit rough, which is probably thanks to the aforementioned movies (mostly near the opening of the movie, where a fair number of cuts feel off) as well as the high quality of some of the active sequences. The movie does what it wants to do well, but since there's no real dramatic plot line it felt a little less fulfilling than what I personally like to see. As you'd expect from Hosoda the characters feel very real (though Hana's indifference to every major event is a bit startling) and the direction is excellent. The wolf children are charming every step of the way. It did feel a bit odd how the pacing rushes through major plot points -- Wolfman's relationship and death, Ame's big change, and both of the children's wrap-ups, but calmly shows off others. I also didn't care for how the narration was handled. I'd definitely recommend checking this movie out if you haven't seen it. I personally wouldn't consider it as great as the better half of the Ghibli films, or even TGWLTP, but I think many people will call it a must watch.
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| # ? Mar 11, 2013 01:16 |
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The scene that stands out to me the most is the back and forth montage of Yuki and Ame's years in elementary school, perfectly showcasing the growing differences between the two siblings. It's a great example of showing rather than telling. Regarding some aspects of the ending, remembering that it's all from Yuki's point of view in reminisce explains why some of it seems abrupt regarding Ame; he really had grown that distant from Hana and her world. As such his "transformation" felt more sudden to the girls. On a more uplifting note though the narration, which has information only Hana should have known initially, means that Hana and Yuki are still very close and have talked about all of this at length. Poor Hana; by the age of 32 she was a college drop out, a widower, a single mom, and now lives alone. Though she wouldn't regret any of it.
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| # ? Mar 11, 2013 01:36 |
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I adored this movie. I was not a fan of Summer Wars so I came in expecting just....cheese. However the mix of supernatural and reality was a gamble that worked out well for this film. Im surprised I liked it so much, the emotional approach resonated very well with me. A mother's love, community support, perseverance, finding your identity, acceptance in society...there were so many themes like this stacked on top of each other and they did not feel shoehorned in, it all felt very organic. One of my all time favs for sure.
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| # ? Mar 11, 2013 01:38 |
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I guess in the process of making this movie, Hosoda formed his own studio (Chizu)? Though Madhouse was still involved in the production. Kind of reminds me of what Anno did with Gainax/Khara. Also from the looks of it, this movie did quite well at the Japanese box office. I don't know how much TGWLTT brought in, but Summer Wars apparently grossed approximately $18 Million while Wolf Children netted nearly $54 Million. Obviously not in the realm of Ghibli, but still encouraging.
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| # ? Mar 16, 2013 18:43 |
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Nate RFB posted:I guess in the process of making this movie, Hosoda formed his own studio (Chizu)? Though Madhouse was still involved in the production. Kind of reminds me of what Anno did with Gainax/Khara. I'm surprised Summer Wars made so little, it was a really good film. You'd figure it would have at least gotten a bump off the success of TGWLTT. Edit: Finally had some time to watch the movie. It was good, though I liked Summer Wars and TGWLTT more. I'm really glad to see Hosoda continue to experiment and grow as a director though. Centzon Totochtin fucked around with this message at Mar 17, 2013 around 20:16 |
| # ? Mar 16, 2013 18:51 |
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Thanks Nate RFB I forgot that it was this thread that got me looking into it existed. Echoing my comments in the Spring anime thread I loved this film a lot. I enjoyed it, rascally children doing rascally children shenanigans while learning to plant a garden aided and abetted by the local grumpy old man and the other villagers was all  Nature is wunderbar. My problems though: Aaaargh. Why does anime keep doing the fatalistic thing of NO! You cannot be happy straddling two different worlds its ONE OR THE OTHER! No going pass go!  Maybe its because I enjoy too much High Fantasy of where you can have your cake and eat it but the lesson I keep seeing here is "Living as both a Human and a Wolf and being true to the heritage of both your parents is ~hard~ so only bother with one and forget thinking of benefiting from both aspects of yourself." I'm part French-Canadian, an Anglo, descended from Canadian Metis with French-Irish ancestry and I'm pretty sure I'm also part Jewish up there patrilineally; maybe its because I'm Canadian and Canada has this melting pot thing of multiculturalism but I don't reject or deny any of them; I even go as far as researching them for perspective. I think the film should've been 30 minutes to an hour longer and resolve that, have Yuki identify as primarily human but interested in being a little more of a wolf for when she has children and Ame vice versa. I'm okay with the concept that some people are perfectly okay with making absolutist choices but both making what seemed to be polar opposite choices with no middle ground or compromise seems rather unfortunate to me. Well there's always the chance Yuki does make that compromise, its more ambiguous with her but its easy to jump to that conclusion. I rant mostly out of frustration as this has been remarkably common way to resolve things in anime. e: decided to be a little extra careful. Raenir Salazar fucked around with this message at Mar 18, 2013 around 17:43 |
| # ? Mar 18, 2013 17:39 |
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Raenir Salazar posted:Aaaargh. Why does anime keep doing the fatalistic thing of NO! You cannot be happy straddling two different worlds its ONE OR THE OTHER! No going pass go! I read that as less about heritage and more about growing up and deciding who you're going to be when you become an adult. For both Ame and Yuki (particularly for Ame, but also for Yuki too, I think), the crossroads between wolf and human represented childhood, and having to make the choice between one or the other was growing up, regardless of what that choice was. I could be talking completely out of my rear end but that was how I took it.
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| # ? Mar 18, 2013 18:45 |
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God I fucking love Diablo 3 gold, it even paid for this shitty title
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The problem as I find it with that; The father seemed fine as both though, he was mostly human but seemed to like transforming every once in a while. I'm a practical person, sure Ame wants to be a wolf, and Yuki wants to be a normalish human, but I don't think it would've subtracted from the message of growing up to have Ame come down to visit or Yuki go up/have fun as a wolf with Souhei. Growing up means realizing the need to make compromises, not doing that throws me off quite a bit, like its not like Yuki IS a normal human or her children will be, she'll still have to practically speaking live with that aspect of herself for the rest of her life which isn't touched upon.
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| # ? Mar 18, 2013 19:03 |
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The film is really about Hana coming to terms with the reality behind her resolution that she allows the children to make their own choices, and trust them to solve their own problems. The ending is therefore necessary from a narrative point of view. This is not a Ghibli film where the characters can have their cake and eat it. The father was not fine. He was homeless, totally alone except for Hana, and ended up in the back of a garbage truck when his hunting instincts led to his death. Fangz fucked around with this message at Mar 18, 2013 around 19:08 |
| # ? Mar 18, 2013 19:05 |
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Fangz posted:The film is really about Hana coming to terms with the reality behind her resolution that she allows the children to make their own choices, and trust them to solve their own problems. The ending is therefore necessary from a narrative point of view. This is not a Ghibli film where the characters can have their cake and eat it. A necessary contrivance otherwise there would be no story. I am not disagreeing with that interpretation that its about Hana coming to terms with her kids choices, the problem I have is that the choices made seemed like they were limited to just only two irrationally polar opposites with no compromise. e: I'll reiterate that my frustration is more to do with this sort of set up has been noticeable to me overall across the medium as a whole. Raenir Salazar fucked around with this message at Mar 18, 2013 around 19:44 |
| # ? Mar 18, 2013 19:41 |
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Well, that pretty much settles it. With this latest entry, on top of Summer Wars and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, I now like Mamoru Hosoda better than Hayao Miyazaki.
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| # ? Mar 18, 2013 22:46 |
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Broadly speaking, I don't think there is any particular message being sent with the binary nature of the "choice". Certainly Hana would not begrudge the children if they chose to live as both. It's presented to us in black and white terms for the sake of simplicity, and to "surprise" us when the more energetic Yuki decides to live as a human and the more fearful Ame does the opposite. At the end of the day, this aspect is still very much Fantasy, although you could attach a number of metaphors if you so chose (which I don't think was Hosoda's intention).
Nate RFB fucked around with this message at Mar 19, 2013 around 15:38 |
| # ? Mar 19, 2013 14:02 |
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One thing I keep seeing brought up is that Ame seems ungrateful for just turning his back on Hana at the end and running into the mountains, but that's not how I took it at all. When she says "I haven't even done anything for you yet," Ame turns around, surprised, and that read to me like he was thinking, "How can you say that when you've already done so much for me?" And then when he runs into the mountains, it's like his reassurance to her, telling her that she doesn't need to worry for him. I honestly thought it was the perfect way to wrap up Ame's arc. So am I reading into things too much here, or was this blindingly obvious to everyone already?
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| # ? Mar 19, 2013 15:37 |
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AnonSpore posted:One thing I keep seeing brought up is that Ame seems ungrateful for just turning his back on Hana at the end and running into the mountains, but that's not how I took it at all. When she says "I haven't even done anything for you yet," Ame turns around, surprised, and that read to me like he was thinking, "How can you say that when you've already done so much for me?" And then when he runs into the mountains, it's like his reassurance to her, telling her that she doesn't need to worry for him. I honestly thought it was the perfect way to wrap up Ame's arc. It wasn't obvious to me because I too was a little miffed at the conclusion of Ame's arc because he just up and left his mom like that.  I never thought of it like this though. Thanks! She gave him the choice to either be a human or wolf, and he chose wolf. She just helped him grow up enough to be able to make that choice on his own.
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| # ? Mar 19, 2013 15:58 |
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Just finished watching this movie with friends a few minutes ago. The only other Hosoda film I saw before this was The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, but after this film I already have him placed as one of my favorite directors. Now I just need to watch Summer Wars and I'll be all set on Hosoda films. (not counting the One Piece movie he directed, heard it wasn't good anyways)
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| # ? Mar 22, 2013 04:31 |
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Alfalfa The Roach posted:(not counting the One Piece movie he directed, heard it wasn't good anyways) It's pretty much the only One Piece movie worth watching.
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| # ? Mar 24, 2013 16:23 |
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The film has just swept the Tokyo Anime Awards. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/new...yo-anime-awards
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| # ? Mar 24, 2013 22:07 |
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It's been years since I saw it, but I remember the One Piece movie being pretty good albeit extremely weird. It didn't really feel like a OP movie at all and fact gave me Berserk flashbacks. I think this was mostly a positive.
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| # ? Mar 24, 2013 23:24 |
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Am I the only one who wanted to smack Ame upside his head and ask him what the gently caress he was talking about when he said "Somebody has to take over his role and do what he's been doing all this while"? Cuz last time I checked Fox Sensei's "role" was: 1. Eat rabbits 2. Piss on trees/rocks/everything 3. Get laid??? I mean, I get the whole "I will head the call of the beast within me" thing, but that was really stupid. EDIT: Hana seems like a really nice lady, but I sure wish she were a teensy bit more critical of Ame's life choice. Maybe float the idea that he's decided to run around in the hills alone, at least in part, because that's easier than dealing with bullies/interpersonal conflict. It wouldn't work of course, but at least she'd get points for trying. GloomMouse fucked around with this message at Mar 26, 2013 around 06:34 |
| # ? Mar 26, 2013 06:25 |
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GloomMouse posted:Am I the only one who wanted to smack Ame upside his head and ask him what the gently caress he was talking about when he said "Somebody has to take over his role and do what he's been doing all this while"? I believe Fox Sensei's role was being the kami of the forest/mountain and maintain its spiritual balance and stuff. Like in that one episode of Mushishi
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| # ? Mar 26, 2013 07:02 |
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Raenir Salazar posted:I believe Fox Sensei's role was being the kami of the forest/mountain and maintain its spiritual balance and stuff. Like in that one episode of Mushishi
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| # ? Mar 26, 2013 12:50 |
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Nate RFB posted:That's exactly what he was. Hence why Hana left a standard sort of offering. I think it was essentially an allegory for the pain of motherhood and seeing your children grow up and leave you. Right after the dad dies, Hana knows that the kids will have to choose between the human or wolf world. Ame absolutely had to leave for both choices to be fulfilled (along with mirroring the father's disappearance from Hana's life). Hana even mentions that he's already an adult wolf at his age, so he's already fully grown and able to make that choice by then. Add in the Japanese "kami of the forest" idea and you can understand that pull that Ame felt. Obviously in a more realistic story, Hana and Ame would have discussed his choice more and maybe he would have been dissuaded from becoming a full-on wolf, but that would have resulted in a weaker message. The song that plays over the credits summed up the entire film. For parents (mothers especially), you try your best to raise a kid and at some point, that child has to make their own path in life. All you can do is hope it's a good path. Man, such a great film. Making me tear up just remembering some of the scenes again.
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| # ? Mar 26, 2013 13:32 |
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I've seen Mushishi and I get the forest kami angle, but I don't think one line about how Ame visits twice a year with a rabbit would weaken anything at all. I'm going to watch it again, but the more I think about it, the more I have a problem with the message(s) in the movie. Something about Yuki makes hard decisions, but Ame following the path of least resistance. Hana just kind of standing there saying "I fed you, and kept you from getting lynched. What more do you want? I'm not going give any input about your life choices." Which is a-okay because those choices are apparently rigidly defined by God, and binding to boot.
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| # ? Mar 26, 2013 20:43 |
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Hana went chasing after Ame in a typhoon to bring him back; she was very much not OK with his apparent lifestyle choice and said as much to him earlier. But that belayed the problem with the whole situation; as a human, Hana can not 100% relate to what Ame is going through (The whole thing with "Sure a wolf can live on its own after 10 years" thing). She can teach him stuff out of book and provide him the freedom to pick but can not grasp the instincts that may or may not be in his genes, and when they may take charge. I'm not sure what to make out of your interpretation about what Hana should or should not decide for her children; it's bit unsettling. Like, OK I know I had previously said that I don't think Hosoda was trying to go for a deep metaphor here (like equating this situation to sexual orientation or something), but a large point of the movie is that there is really only so much a parent can decide for their offspring and at some point they have to start making choices for themselves and there are some things the children absolutely should decide on their own. Ame and Yuki were in an incredibly unique situation, but the principle was the same. Hana just didn't realize it had come so quickly for Ame, as while from her perspective he was only a child, mentally he had "been a wolf" for much longer. It wasn't a matter of making hard choices or not (Yuki or Ame), it was just the way they were. Yuki loved being at school and interacting with other people, and Ame loved the forest. It was where they were most comfortable. To force the decision on Ame, while "normal" for Hana the human, would have simply not worked for Ame the wolf. What do you mean by visit with a rabbit? If you mean, why doesn't he visit Hana, well for all we know he does from time to time. Or she visits him on the mountain; it's not like they are worlds apart. E: Related to this and the main theme of the movie itself, make sure you (well, everyone) read the translation for the ending song as the credits roll. It's pretty 
Nate RFB fucked around with this message at Mar 26, 2013 around 21:51 |
| # ? Mar 26, 2013 21:43 |
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How old are the kids at the end of the film? When ame is running with the fox he is a small wolf. Then the fight scene, rain, basketball, the flood stuff. At the end ame is a giant wolf, and yuki and her friend are noticeably older. If the kids were around in their early teens Ame's arc makes is more fitting imo.
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| # ? Mar 26, 2013 21:58 |
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The film covers 13 years. Japanese kids generally attend their first year of middle school between the ages of 12-13. The narrative also states that Hana had spent 12 years raising them, though it's unknown whether this means up until Yuki left for middle school or when Ame left for the woods.
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| # ? Mar 26, 2013 22:07 |
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I'm not articulating myself very well, and I'll watch the movie again to make sure I'm not making a mountain out of a mole hill, but I'll try to stumble through this:Nate RFB posted:I'm not sure what to make out of your interpretation about what Hana should or should not decide for her children; it's bit unsettling. Like, OK I know I had previously said that I don't think Hosoda was trying to go for a deep metaphor here (like equating this situation to sexual orientation or something), but a large point of the movie is that there is really only so much a parent can decide for their offspring and at some point they have to start making choices for themselves and there are some things the children absolutely should decide on their own. Ame and Yuki were in an incredibly unique situation, but the principle was the same. Hana just didn't realize it had come so quickly for Ame, as while from her perspective he was only a child, mentally he had "been a wolf" for much longer. I said that Hana should give some input about, and a little healthy criticism of, Ame's choice to abandon all aspects of his humanity in order to act like a beast. There is a point between her passivity and acting like a tyrant. It most likely wouldn't have made a difference, but you're still supposed to try. Hana and the movie appears to believe that a parent's job is to keep a child alive up to the point where they make a life choice, any life choice, and then Mission Accomplished. Should she pass judgement on Ame if he decided to exact bloody vengeance for all of the wolves humans have killed? I would say she should, but even in a less hyperbolic scenario it's not somehow wrong for a parent to sit in on at least some of the decision making process. As for [mentally he had "been a wolf" for much longer] Ame was the more timid of the two children, and didn't really want to do the whole 'be a wolf' thing until: 1) a near death experience, 2) a visit to the sad wolf in the zoo, with a 'I wish I could talk to Dad' moment right after (He thinks of Dad as his idealized wolf half, not as just a parent), and 3) bullying/ostracism at school. If Ame was a normal human boy we wouldn't be surprised if this had a profound effect on his outlook on life, and there isn't any indication that werewolf kids are any different. He sounds exactly like an adolescent boy proclaiming that he's going to run away and join the circus or become a sky pirate, to avoid the hard parts of getting along with folks. No coincidence since he is an adolescent boy. However, unlike the average kid, Ame can actually proceed with his plan to run away because he has the physical traits of a wolf. He envisions himself as Fox Sensei's successor, but unless the movie is quite a bit more ~magical~ than I think it is (maybe the typhoon was caused by Fox Sensei's passing?! It wasn't), this is just a young boy's power fantasy. I'm sure that everyone posting in this thread thought that they had a pretty firm grip on things when they were 12-13, and then looked backed later and said "good god I was stupid!" as well as "Mom was right when she told me that I was being dumb" I don't buy the magic wolf genes explanation/excuse, and neither should Hana. Nate RFB posted:It wasn't a matter of making hard choices or not (Yuki or Ame), it was just the way they were. Yuki loved being at school and interacting with other people, and Ame loved the forest. It was where they were most comfortable. To force the decision on Ame, while "normal" for Hana the human, would have simply not worked for Ame the wolf. And yet it worked for Yuki the wolf? Neither one of them are wolves, nor are they human, but they are both human-enough like most fictional fantasy races. I refuse to accept that they are so different that Hana just has to let them do whatever, and I really refuse to accept that Ame got more "wolf genes" so he gets a special pass on being a dick (see below re: Typhoon walkabout). Anyway, nobody is forcing anyone to do anything. When I said hard choices, I was referring to the fact that Yuki did love going to school, but kept running into problems. She also kept facing those problems and dealing with them even though staying away was the easier choice. She even revealed her nature to the boy! She is building a future for the werewolves, and walking the same path as Hana, or more like running it. Compare this to Ame who followed what I think is the path of least resistance to become a wolf alone forever, essentially running away in the opposite direction of Yuki, Hana, and even his father (the real one that hooked up with a human). Nate RFB posted:Hana went chasing after Ame in a typhoon to bring him back; she was very much not OK with his apparent lifestyle choice and said as much to him earlier. Hana chased after Ame because she loved him and didn't want him to run away into a goddamn typhoon. Ame ran off into a typhoon because young boys are jerks. Seriously, he had to go right then? At least wait until the storm passes, and maybe say good bye to you're family, gently caress. Nate RFB posted:What do you mean by visit with a rabbit? If you mean, why doesn't he visit Hana, well for all we know he does from time to time. Or she visits him on the mountain; it's not like they are worlds apart. If the movie wants me to know that they are still in actual contact it can go right ahead and say it, rather than show Hana hearing a wolf howl to show that they are together "in spirit" thank you very much. This whole post makes me seem quite a bit more annoyed than I am, and I do like the movie. Maybe it just because of the narrators focus, or maybe it's because I liked TGWLTT so much, and this isn't quite as good to me idk. EDIT: good grief this looks like an SCP report GloomMouse fucked around with this message at Mar 27, 2013 around 10:59 |
| # ? Mar 27, 2013 09:58 |
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I think in general you're just looking into things too deeply and attributing themes and interpretations that the movie doesn't necessary actually portray because in the end much of the premise is Fantasy and/or going out of its way to treat many issues as simply as possible.GloomMouse posted:I said that Hana should give some input about, and a little healthy criticism of, Ame's choice to abandon all aspects of his humanity in order to act like a beast. quote:As for [mentally he had "been a wolf" for much longer] Ame was the more timid of the two children, and didn't really want to do the whole 'be a wolf' thing until: 1) a near death experience quote:He envisions himself as Fox Sensei's successor, but unless the movie is quite a bit more ~magical~ than I think it is quote:And yet it worked for Yuki the wolf? quote:If the movie wants me to know that they are still in actual contact it can go right ahead and say it, rather than show Hana hearing a wolf howl to show that they are together "in spirit" thank you very much. I hope this didn't come off as too snarky. The movie is certainly not faultless and Ame's story could have probably been delivered better, to say nothing of the black and white nature of the themes that feel overly simple (I actually like this but I can see why it might bother someone else). I'm just not sure your criticism is necessarily touching on the right points given what the movie does or does not tell us straight up. Nate RFB fucked around with this message at Mar 27, 2013 around 12:37 |
| # ? Mar 27, 2013 11:35 |
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GloomMouse posted:I'm not articulating myself very well, and I'll watch the movie again to make sure I'm not making a mountain out of a mole hill, but I'll try to stumble through this: Hana's challenge is to distinguish what is best for her children from what she wanted. She had always resolved that when the time comes, it would be up to the children to make that choice. That's what's best for them. If she believed that the however hard she tried with Ame, that she can at best force him to be an unhappy human, is that really the best for him? Or would she just be forcing her wishes on him? Hana's choice is to support whatever decision the children make, to try to expose them and inform them, for sure, but then to help them however she can. What does criticising Ame's decision do, other than merely make him feel bad about a choice that he had already made? Hana's case for remaining human had already been made: it was made in the entire years of Ame's childhood as a human. What would hurting Ame achieve? This, at least, is Hana's decision, and it's consistent with her character. Hosada did say the film was inspired by his own mother, and Ame to some extent on his personal decision to take up animation instead of teaching at a local school, which be suspected was his mother's preference. The film does have a viewpoint, for sure, on the relationship of parents to children. I reckon it's not a flaw if you don't share it. Fangz fucked around with this message at Mar 27, 2013 around 12:21 |
| # ? Mar 27, 2013 12:17 |
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Watching this movie felt like if the director read this and decided to produce something that didn't outright take a poo poo in one's brain but dealing with similar issues.
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| # ? Mar 27, 2013 13:41 |
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Maybe my problem with accepting the choices made in the movie have to do with the handling of Ame's choice. Comparing the poo poo Yuki has to deal with to the... how about barebones?... showing of Ame's choice. It's presented as a fairly simple and straight-forward one: be a human or a wolf. Ame doesn't fit in with humans -> Enjoys being a forest creature -> Chooses to become a full-time wolf. He integrates into forest living with ease because there are no real obstacles standing in the way of this. Instead we get scenes of running through forest streams and mountain vistas. Regardless of the specifics of why and when, Hana is happy that Ame is happy, the end. Yuki just seems to have more going on with her story, and by the end she's like 90% human 10% wolf. The movie doesn't seem to accept full-human as a valid choice, even though full-wolf is perfectly doable. Like, she can give it a shot, but she'll always have some wolf in her. Kind of annoying for a simple, black/white tale. Nate RFB posted:It's just a bizarrely specific and negative interpretation. And I'm not sure if it's really all that important or necessary to the themes of the movie other than being wishy washy about the "hard choice" or whatever being portrayed. There is absolutely no reason to think Ame interacts with his family ever again, and this is 100% inline with his decision to go full wolf and wander the mountains doing wolf things. If it makes you happy to think he still shows up in person, well okay, but I think that was kind of the point of the "He choose his own path" Dad-vision and having Hana hear him howl to show that he's okay out there and she doesn't need to worry about him. Whether this is negative or not depends on how well his choice and manner of departure sits with you I think.
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| # ? Mar 28, 2013 02:44 |
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Ame's story is definitely less developed than Yuki's. Now it's possible that this was intentional to a certain extent, that since Yuki is the narrator and Ame kept to himself his decision is meant to feel sudden. I think the more likely answer though is that the movie is already 2 hours long and Hosoda probably focused on Yuki's story first and couldn't fit in more Ame. I think what is there gets the point across but there is no denying that Yuki's plight is the main attraction of the final third of the movie while Ame is used more as a contrast to Yuki's story.GloomMouse posted:The movie doesn't seem to accept full-human as a valid choice, even though full-wolf is perfectly doable. Like, she can give it a shot, but she'll always have some wolf in her. Kind of annoying for a simple, black/white tale. quote:There is absolutely no reason to think Ame interacts with his family ever again, and this is 100% inline with his decision to go full wolf and wander the mountains doing wolf things. If it makes you happy to think he still shows up in person, well okay, but I think that was kind of the point of the "He choose his own path" Dad-vision and having Hana hear him howl to show that he's okay out there and she doesn't need to worry about him. Whether this is negative or not depends on how well his choice and manner of departure sits with you I think.
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| # ? Mar 28, 2013 12:31 |
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| # ? May 25, 2013 14:32 |
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WHEN I DIE BERRY ME INSIDE DAA LOUIE STORE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGcCSskIixw the equal not directed by him http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqaXxSBZTZc
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| # ? Apr 5, 2013 17:26 |
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