Wolf's Rain
a review by Lenlo
a review by Lenlo
The early 2000's were a rough time for anime. It produced some incredible works, from Welcome to the NHK to Tokyo Godfathers, my favorite animated movie ever. However it was also smack-dab in the middle of the industries transition from cel animation to digital. Entire pipelines changed, the animation process became completely different, leading to a glut of poorly produced, visually abysmal series. It was in this time that Studio Bones was born. One of the more prolific studios still working today, Bones had to get it's start somewhere. And it's one of their earliest works that I am here to talk to you about today. I present to you, originally written by Keiko Nobumoto, directed by Tensai Okamura, with music written and performed by Youko Kanno, the early 2000's Sci-Fi adventure: Wolf's Rain. Let's dive into it!
Oh and really quick before we get to deep, just ignore the Omegaverse tags if those are still there. Those are stupid and have nothing to do with the series. There is no Alpha/Beta/Omega crap. Just enjoy the cool Wolves dangit. Onwards we go!
Be warned, this review contains minor unmarked spoilers for Wolf's Rain. It also contains major spoilers in some sections however these will be heavily marked to avoid accidents. Additionally this review also covers the 4 episode OVA containing the true ending to the series..
As usual, the best place to start when talking about an anime is with its animation. Overall, I think Wolf's Rain looks pretty good. While not always the most animated of shows, when Wolf's Rain wants to sell a moment it more then has the ability to do so. The clip above for instance is from episode 1, and is filled with everything from bombastic effects work with its explosions to smooth and expressive character movement. This is what you can expect when Wolf's Rain decides to up the ante, and can primarily be seen in the opening episodes, as well as the final OVAs. There are also occasional bursts of action here and there throughout the rest of the shows run, however you shouldn't expect it to be an "every episode" sort of event.
Of course animation is only half the story, if that depending on who you talk to. What really makes Wolf's Rain's production stand out to me, and distract you from the occasional funny shot, is the direction and overall background work. Directed by Tensai Okamura, of Stink Bomb and Darker than Black fame, Wolf's Rain has some absolutely stunning scene compositions. Wolves silhouetted against the moon, flowers glowing in the light, a lonely man standing on the edge of a tough decision. Some might call this rather basic when it comes to visual language, but even if that were true it's still more then most anime give you. Okamura brings out a lot of the character's emotions just through how a scene is shot, before any spoken dialogue. Combine that with the overall beautiful background work, which really brings the world alive, and you have an overall rather strong production.
For a few examples of this, here are some of my (spoiler free) favorite shots. All of these are either early on in the series or meaningless without proper context. Feel free to take a gander!
The only real issue with Wolf's Rain's production is that it was created during the transitionary period between Cel and Digital animation. While either one of these are fine, I personally prefer Cel, this transition leaves Wolf's Rain with a lot of issues. One of the biggest being that there no good 4k or HD way to watch the show. There are upscales of course, but those aren't particularly good as the source itself isn't HD. This means that a lot of the actual artwork can get kind of blurred or weird at times. And depending on the release you're watching, you might get some artifacts. Of course the designs and actual artistry put into the show are still good, it all still holds up. However you can't help but think what it would be like had Wolf's Rain a proper modern day HD release.
That aside, overall I would say Wolf's Rain is a strong production sadly brought down by the era it was created in. Luckily for both it and you however, production isn't the only (or even most important) reason to watch a show. For that, we need to get to the story!
The world and narrative is where I think Wolf's Rain really shows it's true strengths. While the production and presentation of can sometimes be lacking, the actual content is beautiful. The world of Wolf's Rain is one in decline. Everyone, everything, everywhere, is falling apart. Wolves are a dying breed, thought to be extinct, walled cities are the last bastions of civilization in the ruined hell-scape or untamed wilds that make up the world. Each one ruled through force by a power-hungry Noble, creating their own little paradises in this departing world. And none of this is there just to "be cool", there is lore and history behind it all, slowly revealed as the story progresses, though admittedly mostly in the back half. Overall, the setting of Wolf's Rain is great, and the perfect place for this kind of story.
If I were forced to levy criticism towards it however, it would have to be that it occasionally feels more like a theme park then a world. The individual locations are all great, each one fitting into the wider picture with their own stories. Whether it be a city on the edge of the ocean, the last stop for those to beaten down to pursue Paradise further, or a haunted forest. Individually, they work. However occasionally the connective tissue between these locations makes... not a lot of sense. There are a number of travel montages throughout Wolf's Rain, where our lead character run through multiple biomes and backdrops as they head to the next "important" location. And often it will show them going from a snowy tundra to a blistering desert, a lush forest to a ruined city. The backgrounds and scenes are pretty, yes. But the connections are awkward.
As for the narrative itself, it's in a very similar place. The broad strokes are fantastic. Our leads, Kiba, Tsume, Hige and Toboe, join together on a quest to find Paradise, a place exactly as it sounds. Along the way they are hunted, either by soldiers simply wanting a wolf pelt or by Nobles seeking to make Paradise their own. The individual run-ins with the soldiers and Nobles, the little arcs that take place at each location, are great. And the way Wolf's Rain uses their nature as wolves, this whole thing about people not believing they exist anymore and thus seeing them as humans while simultaneously casting shadows as wolves or jumping between their human form and wolf form in a scene to get different points across, is great! It's just the connective tissue between these plot points that I find a little bit awkward.
Take for example a scene early on in Wolf's Rain, first 5 episodes, where the characters are passing through a ruined city. (Spoiler warning for Episode 5, tldr some weird pacing).
On the topic of pacing there is one big issue we need to talk about: Recap episodes. Most shows, they have one or two, something to help space out production. Wolf's Rain? It has 4. In a row, back to back. Now this isn't a huge deal, as that's why the OVA exists. It's the intended finale to the show, and something you should watch if you intend on watching the main series. What this means though is that there is a sequence of 4 episodes in the middle of Wolf's Rain's run that are just... wastes of your time. While it may sound a little disappointing to realize you aren't getting a 30 episode sci-fi epic, trust me, just save yourself the 2 hours.
Recaps aside, overall Wolf's Rain's narrative is good. The story is cohesive and straight forward enough that you can't really get lost, and it's focused so much on the characters that you'll end up watching just for their journeys more then anything else. Meanwhile thematically Wolf's Rain did a terrific job of exploring it's core themes in interesting and understandable ways, filled with loads of religious symbolism and with a solid, satisfying ending to tie it all together. In short, Wolf's Rain story is good mmmkay.
Speaking of characters, this is perhaps my favorite part of Wolf's Rain. That or the OST, I'm undecided. Wolf's Rain makes the intelligent decision of keeping its cast size small, with only about 10 legitimately important characters throughout its run. And of those, only maybe... 7 are on screen at any given time? Of course this doesn't mean those are the only characters, others exist. But they are all secondary roles, existing to flesh out the world and support the important characters story. And what a story they are supporting. While 10 might feel small to some, Wolf's Rain gives all of them tremendous attention, with each one getting a fully fleshed out arc within the larger overarching story. From Kiba, our lead role, to Hubb and Cher, initially introduced as a side-plot in the opening arc. All of them are important by the end.
To give you an example of this, I need to dive into spoilers. So fair warning, I will be talking about Hubb Lebowski's journey throughout Wolf's Rain in this small section. If you haven't seen the show, don't read it. Just know that he goes from a rather straight laced detective who only ever did what others expected of him to self-actualized ideal of a man who continued to walk forward even when faced with insurmountable opposition. Pretty good right? Anyways, on with the spoilers.
And by the end? As I said, he becomes this sort of ideal. Someone dedicating themselves to something greater than them, sticking it through until the end. Who knows they can't make it all the way but is committed and sees it through for those they care about. In setting out to find Cher, he slowly finds his true self, his resolve. Compare this to who he was at the start, someone who never made any decisions for themselves and only went along with what those around them wanted. This is what I mean by self-actualization. And while he isn't able to make it to Paradise, that being meant for the wolves not humans, he is still the man who made it the farthest. As if he was the closest human to truly deserving Paradise, almost awakening to the great truth Darcia drops later on.
The point is, Hubb is a great character, as are the entire cast.
This brings me to my one and only gripe with Wolf's Rain's characters: Cheza. Cheza is, in the simplest of terms, Wolf's Rain's McGuffin. She is the plot device that sets everything in motion and is easily the most important character to what is happening. Which is why it's so sad that she's barely a character for most of Wolf's Rain's run. To be fair, in the middle of the series she does have some pretty great episodes where she grows and comes into her own as a character. And those were great, I think everyone will love her there! But by the half-way point she becomes robbed of her agency, given barely speaking lines, and is generally reduced to the aforementioned McGuffin. I hold to the statement that her arc comes to a satisfying conclusion like everyone else's, and in the context of the show what little agency she does have is impressive and makes sense. But as a viewer? I couldn't help but wish for more.
All in all, I would say Wolf's Rain's characters are great. It has some rough spots, with Cheza being the biggest one. I wouldn't go into it expecting any particularly strong female leads. But even with her issues, Cheza ends the show in just as satisfying a position as anyone else. Really that just goes to show the strength of Wolf's Rain's narrative, and how interwoven with the characters it is, that it works like that. The point is this though: If you're looking for a character driven sci-fi adventure, I think Wolf's Rain can scratch that itch.
With that we come to my other contender for favorite aspect of Wolf's Rain, the OST. Composed by Youko Kanno of Cowboy Bebop and Vision of Escaflowne fame however, with vocals by Italian singer Ilaria Graziano, that should come as no surprise. The woman is downright prolific, composing some of the most iconic music tracks in anime history (Performed by the Seatbelts). She continues that trend of excellence here, with Wolf's Rain. From haunting instrumental tracks like "Sleeping Wolves" that sound like wolves howling in the wind to more somber ones like "Leaving on Red Hill". From resolute action like "Tsume no suna" to the iconic sweeping epic that is "Shire (White)". Youko Kanno absolutely nails the ambience Wolf's Rain needs. Easily the most standout part of the OST however are the vocal tracks.
I'm talking about the hauntingly beautiful "Strangers", as performed by Raj Ramayya, and the way it basically presents the entire story of Wolf's Rain in a single song. Or the world weary "Heaven's Not Enough" and it's depiction of the ruined world the story takes place in. You also have the folksy "Run, Wolf Warrior, Run" and the playful "Valse de la Lune", both breathing a bit of life into what has otherwise been a rather bleak sound profile so far. And of course I can't not mention some personal favorites like "Amore Amaro" and "Tell Me What the Rain Knows". The point is, Youko Kanno has worked with an incredible range of vocal talents, and it feels like she called on a lot of them when it came time to record Wolf's Rain's music. Because these are some of the best vocal tracks I've heard in a long time.
Of course no OST can be perfect. Every show has it's share of mediocre tracks, and Wolf's Rain is no exception. Some like "coração selvagem" just come off as discordant messes while others, such as "Could You Bite The Hand" feel like they just don't fit the quality of the rest of the track list. And some are just forgetful, like "Go To Rakuen", with it's rather standard orchestral arrangement. Luckily these tracks are few and far between, with only a single song, "Visions of Flame", being what I would call legitimately bad. And even then it may just be my own taste in music, I suspect this appears somewhere on someone's favorite list. Overall, I would call Wolf's Rain's OST beautiful, and it's going on the list of OSTs I'm going to try and find in vinyl. Will I succeed? Probably not. But a man has to try.
With that we come to the personal section of the review. This is where I take off the reviewer hat, drop any sort of structure or pretense and just try to let you see behind the curtain a bit at what my personal experience with Wolf's Rain was like. Naturally, this is no holds barred spoiler territory. If you do not want to be spoiled, do not read this section. I will talk about the ending, in very explicit detail. If you just want a tldr, I thought it was very good! I was very satisfied! If that isn't enough for you though, or you've seen the show and want to have a conversation, read on.
Wolf's Rain did this by framing the loop not as a reset, but rather as another gradual step on the journey. As a necessary part of their overall goal. To really understand what I mean by that, and why I like it so much, I need to talk about what I believe to be Wolf's Rain's overarching theme: The eternal pursuit of perfection. The entire show is about our characters trying to reach this fabled promised land, their "Paradise". A place only Wolves, the original people from which all others have sprung from, can reach. And during their journey the Wolves will face many trials and tribulations, forcing them to grow and overcome their personal demons along the way. Those who fail, or unable, find themselves wondering off the path, while the rest become challenged by the Noble Jagara, a Devil-like figure. It's all incredibly religious when you think about it.
The Wolves are the true believers, the true people from which all others originated. Humans, Nobles, they are simply Wolves that have forgotten what they are, or deluded themselves into thinking otherwise. This is why humans like Hubb, Cher and Quent can make the journey but they can't actually arrive at Paradise. The closer to a wolf you are, the more self-actualized you become, the farther you can go. Thus why a corrupted and cursed wolf like Darcia, one who forced the change upon himself, ends up corrupting Paradise with his human eye after the new loop has begun. It's like... Original Sin, or the first evil, a leftover of the previous world and a representation of how we have not yet reached Paradise.
Yet it isn't all for naught, as while Darcia corrupted Paradise, we are still one step closer. Because while the last loop had a False Flower in the form of Cheza, an artificial Flower Maiden that eventually fell apart, this new loop still has real Lunar Flowers in it. Giving our leads, Tsume, Kiba, Hige and Toboe another real chance at perfection. And it's that chance that makes Wolf's Rain's usage of loops perfect to me. We know the broad strokes of the story, we know it's going to happen much the same way again and again and again. This season of Wolf's Rain was but one attempt of many. But we also know that every attempt brings them closer to success, so while they failed you get that satisfying feeling of knowing what the ending is supposed to, and eventually will, be.
So yeah, Wolf's Rain transformed from this fun, dark little sci-fi adventure to this religious depiction of the eternal pursuit of perfection. Of how, despite the fact that we can probably never truly reach it, we should strive for it anyways. Because it is that pursuit that makes our world better. Because even if you can't reach Paradise, that doesn't mean you can't still make the world better along the way. Plus all of the character arcs and how they fit into this, the way every single character ends up dying in this pursuit only realizing/getting what they truly wanted IE family/acceptance/love in their final moments, is just beautiful.
All in all I went into Wolf's Rain expecting some weird Omegaverse Werewolf stuff and came away with a beautiful sci-fi adventure about the perpetual strive for perfection. Is it perfect? Is it my favorite thing ever? No, it doesn't crack my top 10. There are some pacing problems, Cheza is a bit of a disappointment at times, and the 4 recap episodes are disappointing. But the fact that it's in the conversation, that I can understand why someone else might have it that high? I think that's a pretty clear sign of it's quality. At the very least, for anyone who enjoys dark sci-fi adventures, I think Wolf's Rain will be well worth their time. It certainly was for me.
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