The movie ending resonated with me. Hana, after expending all her energy and reshaping her life to raise her children, finds herself alone when they begin for their own individual journeys. In a mere 13 years, she witnesses her children defining their own paths, and the moment when she admits she hasn't taught her son enough struck a chord with me. It was frustrating to see him leave, as it seemed like she hadn't gained as much in comparison to what she had sacrificed for them. i realize parenthood isn't about getting back. I realized that I too left my parents a year ago for college and haven't seen them since. Our relationship has been reduced to a weekly phone call, and it makes me sad. I regret watching this movie; my chest feels too heavy, and I dislike this feeling.
It always puts a smile on my face whenever I see someone upload an analysis video on Wolf Children. When I first watched this movie in high school, I absolutely hated Yuki's arc because it was so depressing to see this lively little girl with unique interests and so much pride in her wolf side seemingly throw that all away to become an ordinary girl. Especially since that decision was spurned by the other girls' rejection rather than genuine curiosity about being more feminine and it looks like Yuki completely gave up her nature related hobbies rather than just doing them on her own time. But after hearing what you said about the nuances of conformity, I see things a bit differently. While Yuki being wild and rambunctious was endearing, that kind of behavior can get you into trouble if taken too far. Yuki came close to revealing her wolf side a lot during the film and her waving wild snakes around so flippantly near the other girls could have gotten them hurt. It's good to be energetic, but we also need to take into account how our actions affect others. And while I don't necessarily like the way Yuki's transition to more modest behavior was executed, it does make sense for her character. Yuki has always enjoyed being around people from a young age (there was a scene when she tried to form her own 'pack' with Ame), so it's natural that she would change herself so that others would more easily accept her. And you could make the argument that Yuki had already explored as much of her wolf side as she wanted to in childhood and she was simply ready for something else. Plus Yuki's still only twelve years old, so who's to say that time and the knowledge that there are people like Souhei who accept her true nature won't cause her to let her inner wolf out every now and then?
Yeah, true. Figure birds and flying insects, for instance. I bet someone would, at some point, make a fantacy book or movie about them, if they didn't exist in real life. In other words, would Ame and Yuki being warewolves be such a big deal, if it had already been known that warewolves existed?
@@cyrusalexander950 I am afraid considering how minorities (especialy religious, sexual and gender) are treaten I thing it would be seen as big deal by many people.
@b1_1nnies I wouldn't call Ame a villain, more like a kid with a lot of tunnel vision. He's so eager to throw himself into his new life as a wolf, something that gives him purpose after a life of meandering and moping about, that he doesn't consider his family's feelings on the matter like his mother's concern or how what's good for him is not necessarily good for his sister. A lot of the criticism towards Yuki is probably because she takes a more forceful approach in trying to get her brother to go to school. Yeah, Ame went way too far with their fight, but she was the one who turned it physical by throwing the eraser and slapping him. Her desire to be a normal girl can also be conflated with conformity, something the west tends to view as throwing away your individuality to be a cog in the machine.
@@cassie6146 I meab yes she is overbearing and thinks she knows best, and what best to fit in society, ignoring he, isnt her. And being pushed into that no doubt didnt help showing how people dont have to suck. And yeah their wold side is as legit, so, why not try that? Yuki got of that out a lot and thats enough for her. Plus honestly he seems to have gotten his dads melancholy, and like their dad held onto that which, but its too part of them, probably why Hana felt so strong him leaving? Because he comes after his dad?
I first saw this movie when I was in the 5th Grade. There was something so emotional about it to me, something that truly did stick with me for years and years- I couldn’t exactly pinpoint what it was, but I believed it to be the overall story and the horrifically bittersweet ending. When I finally rewatched the movie in High School, I found that the music was also perfect in every way. Since then, I have ADORED the Soundtrack of this movie. I have few Spotify playlists wherein I DON’T have at least one Wolf Children track in the mix, and Circulation particularly has been my go to listen whenever I experience or remember anything life changing. I mean it. This movie is wonderful in so many ways.
Such a good video. Wolf Children does not just do a great job at "show, don't tell", it shines in its dialogue as well. And, intelligent dialogue is something anime does not do right most times, especially modern anime, I feel.
I’m three years late, but thank you for making such a wonderful interpretation of this movie! Wolf Children is my favorite movie by far, and I love to learn little details I hadn’t remembered when I watched it ages ago or just never picked up on.
I was always wondering what made this anime so special. I mean there are similar movies like "Laputa Castle in the sky" and "Mirai", but they just don't seem to capture the moments as well as "Wolf children" does. This analysis really helped me in writing the fanfiction im working on, thanks!
You beat me to the punch. I was getting ready to make an analysis video on the wordless storytelling of this film, but after a quick youtube search... its already been made, and made really well, to say the least. Enjoyed the vid tons..
I'm a parent of two kids with different needs than your average kid. This film means so much to me. The scenes with Hana and her kids in their early stages of life with Yuki pulling the tablecloth, tipping the dresser, destroying everything and the both of them making ungodly noises at night had to be ripped rom reality.
My friend and I watch movies often, and we have a bad habit of talking through them, mostly about our feelings on it. This was one of the few films where we said nothing throughout and just…experienced it.
Many anime movies have dug their claws or ideas into me for YEARS. Decades even. Those that have are "Grave of Fireflies", "Wolf's Rain" and of course "Wolf Children". They have stuck with me, for MANY years. I was born in the 80's. Not a youngin. Yet these movies or series, have last a VERY lasting impression on me.
This movie being nine years old now. I remember watching it when it first was released, because if my uncle. Some of the scenes are still so touching that it still makes me cry.
You praised the wordless storytelling. I think the sex scene is just another example of that. He just revealed that he’s half wolf. If they were to get together like that and the shadow still showed he was human, it would mean he’s still covering up his true side for her. That she hasn’t accepted him for who he is. Him and his wolf form in the scene is a representation that he’s come out with a secret and she is perfectly fine with it. She understands his secret and she still loves him all the same. Also in terms of her being a very nice person, it’s not like that person doesn’t exist. She’s just a pacifist, and that’s extremely common with people who are alone. They don’t want confrontation and you don’t do things that other parents would do like tell their child off. Having a large amount of patience is common because they’re willing to let things go and slide because they would rather be in the background. Also that’s another case of silent storytelling. Hana is there to be the conductor and for the ride of her children’s lives. She is just there in the background to help them whenever they need it, and this gives them 100% freedom to do whatever they want with their lives and how they go about the world like she wanted. It reinforces the fact that she wants them to choose for themselves. If she was more rule and anger based like a lot of parents are, or got upset at something they did, it would be negating her wish that they could grow up how they want to. Also she’s learning everything from scratch, and so you have the chance of being extremely pacifist or extremely authoritarian because you don’t know entirely what you’re doing. And it’s not like she doesn’t have flaws. Just because she doesn’t fit the “norm” doesn’t mean she doesn’t exist and that she’s a bad character.
I think its because she has too, she has moments wher eits shown she struggles and its very very hard to keep up, and she falters. She probably needed a change of scenery as much for her as ther children. Plus nice she found a place to fit, the villagers, god i love that grumpy old man.
The movie really is a masterpiece. I think it has a good overall plot that effects all the characters in a way that is meaningful to each of them. It really is a story of how Hana succeeds as a mother, even when she fails to recognize her own success. The two children mature from infancy to adulthood.
Thank you for this video. I adore this movie and never really paid attention to the importance of the visual storytelling. I love cinema but i'm always struggling to analyse these things. I hope you'll do other video in the future.
Thank you for the analysis, you brought up a lot of insights and how the use of visual with no words impact the movie! I appreciate it. By the way, there is a manga based on this, the art is a bit different but very good if anyone wants to check it out.
I like this movie because it's so different from others you get comedy, action, romance, thrillers and more. I think of this movie as a story which shows change to love to tragedy to caring to protecting to growing to letting go. I give this movie.(10/10)
You are a master at analyzing great storytelling and breaking down deep themes!!! You inspired me to take deeper look at movies I love! I hope one day, you’ll make another vid! They world needs more videos like this!!!!
great video. you put into words a lot of what i felt about this film. its montages in particular blew me away in how they serve as extended transitions between the time skips.
Dude you really deserve more subs if this Is the level of quality of your work this was really we spoken and really well done all together keep it up dude
Great video! Amazing work. This is a very special movie for me and I’m really happy for having your video to watch. Hope you keep doing these videos, I’m looking forward for your next work.
At first i wasn't really liking the movie when i watched it but after a while i gave it time and it became one of my favorites. It shows that movies doesn't have to have dramatic fight scenes or betrayal every thing doesn't need to be told as well to understand whats trying to be shown. The characters the acting all of it is pretty good and the movie feels realistic in a way.
I have seen a small channel with barely hundred subscribers blow up to 15K over 3 months, with your talent to explain in depth you can gain far more subscribers if you keep up the hard work. I will be your 19th subscriber :)
I watched this movie and expected a masterclass in show, don't tell and pretty much the entire runtime has exposition and omniscient narration in it lmfao holy shit
I still love this movie, but I am bothered by its false dichotomy. An obvious question when watching is why can't you be both a wolf and human? And as you say, the movie does answer it: you die. The father dies because he was a wolf in the human city. But is that really fair? The father does die hunting in wolf form, sure, but are we supposed to believe that every attempt to express one's wolf side in human society is to lead to tragedy? Of course not. Yuki privately shows her wolf form to Sōhei as you mention, and it is okay. One can safely be a wolf and human. If we use the word "masking" in addition to conformity, I think my criticism becomes more clear. Much like how neurodivergent children are taught to act "normal," Yuki is taught to mask, to act human, to hide her interest in reptiles and bones. She's partly taught this by her mother. telling her to hide herself in public, and she's partly taught this by society. If she doesn't act "normal," then "normal" kids will be less likely to be her friend. So she changes. Maybe she finds being a regular human girl fulfilling, and that's totally valid. But given the shots of her looking down while with friends, the film seems to tell us that suppressing is hurting her. In the long run, masking is toxic for neurodivergent people, and there's a movement to accept people for who they are. Even if they are the only werewolves supposedly remaining, there will still be people out there she can relate to. The struggle to find friends is something many queer and neurodivergent folks deal with, and the movie's solution is to befriend cishet people instead. You say that Yuki accepts herself in the end, but does she? Sōhei says he will keep her secret, but he does not say she is still wonderful as a wolf. Yuki only stays in wolf form for a few seconds before immediately turning back. A part of herself is still seen as a secret that must be kept, and that doesn't seem healthy. Once Yuki goes to school, we literally only ever see Yuki in wolf form when she claws Sōhei, when she and Ame fight, and in the brief moment where she reveals her form. Her wolf self is something to hide, and it only comes out in anger. Even if she will end up living mostly human, a better balance could be found than what is presented in the film. Similarly, Ame goes all-in on wolf without being respecting as a human. It was very important for him to leave his mother: I see that, and I'm not suggesting he should have stayed. He also has the right to leave any way he sees fit. Perhaps if he wasn't as forceful, if he hadn't have left suddenly and put up a clear boundary like he did, his mom wouldn't have let him leave. But still, Hana is a kind mother, and she was not narccistic nor toxic. He could have left on a more understanding note, telling her he needs to go but that he loves her. But instead, he just leaves, and we don't see any emotion from him. One could argue that he's a wolf so he won't necessarily have that same emotional understanding as humans, but to that argument I question if that person has ever seen a wolf. Wolves are animals too, and they have emotions and feelings. Ame becames a generic "edgy" guy, and it's not entirely likeable. This discussion brings me to a hidden assumption in the film that you didn't touch upon: despite the film promoting identity discovering, it still upholds traditional gender values. Yuki is a girl, so she must be feminine. Being a wolf is incompatible with being feminine, so being a wolf must be a secret. Ame is a boy, and boys can't be timid, so he must be strong. Hana is a bit of an exception, as she's shown as an independent mother figure, but the film still pushes her children in traditional gender directions. It is totally okay for people to go in whatever direction they choose, but in a story about conformity, the fact that they do these big character shifts (Ame becoming fierce, Yuki being docile) in the direction of gender stereotypes bothers me. I love Wolf Children. I love its simple melancholy feeling of a mother raising her children. The snow scene is one of my absolute favorites. But I find I like the first hour of the movie a lot more than the second half. It's natural for kids to drastically change as they grow up. I'm very different than the self I was in Elementary school. Even still, I find I enjoy the kids' personalities before the large time skip/montage. Yuki's energetic self is cute and endearing and real. Her older self is stiff, normal, cold, always cast in blue light. Ame's younger self is close to his mother and has room to grow, and his older self is emotionally distant and aggressive. I can't help but feel that if the story did allow for a break in the dichotomy, for a larger balance of wolf and human, I might have enjoyed the characters more as they age. I hate Wolf Children so much and I love Wolf Children so much. Thank you for your analysis!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts! I enjoyed reading it, you have a talent to start a channel where you analyse movies/cartoons/anime/etc. Have you ever thought of that?
@@secretregion365 Awwww, thanks so much! I love analyzing stuff, but I'm more into creating my own stuff. If I ever did post analyses, I'll definitely reply here, though!
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
The movie ending resonated with me. Hana, after expending all her energy and reshaping her life to raise her children, finds herself alone when they begin for their own individual journeys. In a mere 13 years, she witnesses her children defining their own paths, and the moment when she admits she hasn't taught her son enough struck a chord with me. It was frustrating to see him leave, as it seemed like she hadn't gained as much in comparison to what she had sacrificed for them. i realize parenthood isn't about getting back. I realized that I too left my parents a year ago for college and haven't seen them since. Our relationship has been reduced to a weekly phone call, and it makes me sad. I regret watching this movie; my chest feels too heavy, and I dislike this feeling.
It always puts a smile on my face whenever I see someone upload an analysis video on Wolf Children. When I first watched this movie in high school, I absolutely hated Yuki's arc because it was so depressing to see this lively little girl with unique interests and so much pride in her wolf side seemingly throw that all away to become an ordinary girl. Especially since that decision was spurned by the other girls' rejection rather than genuine curiosity about being more feminine and it looks like Yuki completely gave up her nature related hobbies rather than just doing them on her own time.
But after hearing what you said about the nuances of conformity, I see things a bit differently. While Yuki being wild and rambunctious was endearing, that kind of behavior can get you into trouble if taken too far. Yuki came close to revealing her wolf side a lot during the film and her waving wild snakes around so flippantly near the other girls could have gotten them hurt. It's good to be energetic, but we also need to take into account how our actions affect others. And while I don't necessarily like the way Yuki's transition to more modest behavior was executed, it does make sense for her character.
Yuki has always enjoyed being around people from a young age (there was a scene when she tried to form her own 'pack' with Ame), so it's natural that she would change herself so that others would more easily accept her. And you could make the argument that Yuki had already explored as much of her wolf side as she wanted to in childhood and she was simply ready for something else. Plus Yuki's still only twelve years old, so who's to say that time and the knowledge that there are people like Souhei who accept her true nature won't cause her to let her inner wolf out every now and then?
Yeah, true. Figure birds and flying insects, for instance. I bet someone would, at some point, make a fantacy book or movie about them, if they didn't exist in real life. In other words, would Ame and Yuki being warewolves be such a big deal, if it had already been known that warewolves existed?
@@cyrusalexander950 I am afraid considering how minorities (especialy religious, sexual and gender) are treaten I thing it would be seen as big deal by many people.
@b1_1nnies I wouldn't call Ame a villain, more like a kid with a lot of tunnel vision. He's so eager to throw himself into his new life as a wolf, something that gives him purpose after a life of meandering and moping about, that he doesn't consider his family's feelings on the matter like his mother's concern or how what's good for him is not necessarily good for his sister.
A lot of the criticism towards Yuki is probably because she takes a more forceful approach in trying to get her brother to go to school. Yeah, Ame went way too far with their fight, but she was the one who turned it physical by throwing the eraser and slapping him. Her desire to be a normal girl can also be conflated with conformity, something the west tends to view as throwing away your individuality to be a cog in the machine.
@@cassie6146 I meab yes she is overbearing and thinks she knows best, and what best to fit in society, ignoring he, isnt her. And being pushed into that no doubt didnt help showing how people dont have to suck. And yeah their wold side is as legit, so, why not try that?
Yuki got of that out a lot and thats enough for her.
Plus honestly he seems to have gotten his dads melancholy, and like their dad held onto that which, but its too part of them, probably why Hana felt so strong him leaving? Because he comes after his dad?
I first saw this movie when I was in the 5th Grade. There was something so emotional about it to me, something that truly did stick with me for years and years- I couldn’t exactly pinpoint what it was, but I believed it to be the overall story and the horrifically bittersweet ending. When I finally rewatched the movie in High School, I found that the music was also perfect in every way. Since then, I have ADORED the Soundtrack of this movie. I have few Spotify playlists wherein I DON’T have at least one Wolf Children track in the mix, and Circulation particularly has been my go to listen whenever I experience or remember anything life changing. I mean it. This movie is wonderful in so many ways.
Such a good video. Wolf Children does not just do a great job at "show, don't tell", it shines in its dialogue as well. And, intelligent dialogue is something anime does not do right most times, especially modern anime, I feel.
I’m three years late, but thank you for making such a wonderful interpretation of this movie! Wolf Children is my favorite movie by far, and I love to learn little details I hadn’t remembered when I watched it ages ago or just never picked up on.
Literally watch this to cry every year because I love this movie so goddamn much, and you perfectly articulated why. Thanks Bichael ♡
I was always wondering what made this anime so special. I mean there are similar movies like "Laputa Castle in the sky" and "Mirai", but they just don't seem to capture the moments as well as "Wolf children" does. This analysis really helped me in writing the fanfiction im working on, thanks!
You beat me to the punch. I was getting ready to make an analysis video on the wordless storytelling of this film, but after a quick youtube search... its already been made, and made really well, to say the least. Enjoyed the vid tons..
Wolf Children Analysis: A Masterclass In Show, Don't Tell
I'm a parent of two kids with different needs than your average kid. This film means so much to me.
The scenes with Hana and her kids in their early stages of life with Yuki pulling the tablecloth, tipping the dresser, destroying everything and the both of them making ungodly noises at night had to be ripped rom reality.
My friend and I watch movies often, and we have a bad habit of talking through them, mostly about our feelings on it. This was one of the few films where we said nothing throughout and just…experienced it.
Many anime movies have dug their claws or ideas into me for YEARS. Decades even. Those that have are "Grave of Fireflies", "Wolf's Rain" and of course "Wolf Children". They have stuck with me, for MANY years. I was born in the 80's. Not a youngin. Yet these movies or series, have last a VERY lasting impression on me.
This movie being nine years old now. I remember watching it when it first was released, because if my uncle. Some of the scenes are still so touching that it still makes me cry.
You praised the wordless storytelling. I think the sex scene is just another example of that. He just revealed that he’s half wolf. If they were to get together like that and the shadow still showed he was human, it would mean he’s still covering up his true side for her. That she hasn’t accepted him for who he is. Him and his wolf form in the scene is a representation that he’s come out with a secret and she is perfectly fine with it. She understands his secret and she still loves him all the same.
Also in terms of her being a very nice person, it’s not like that person doesn’t exist. She’s just a pacifist, and that’s extremely common with people who are alone. They don’t want confrontation and you don’t do things that other parents would do like tell their child off. Having a large amount of patience is common because they’re willing to let things go and slide because they would rather be in the background. Also that’s another case of silent storytelling. Hana is there to be the conductor and for the ride of her children’s lives. She is just there in the background to help them whenever they need it, and this gives them 100% freedom to do whatever they want with their lives and how they go about the world like she wanted. It reinforces the fact that she wants them to choose for themselves. If she was more rule and anger based like a lot of parents are, or got upset at something they did, it would be negating her wish that they could grow up how they want to. Also she’s learning everything from scratch, and so you have the chance of being extremely pacifist or extremely authoritarian because you don’t know entirely what you’re doing. And it’s not like she doesn’t have flaws. Just because she doesn’t fit the “norm” doesn’t mean she doesn’t exist and that she’s a bad character.
I think its because she has too, she has moments wher eits shown she struggles and its very very hard to keep up, and she falters.
She probably needed a change of scenery as much for her as ther children.
Plus nice she found a place to fit, the villagers, god i love that grumpy old man.
Sorry not many views, but thank you for this, i really appreciate your words about this wonderful movie
i love the story and i love your film essay, but god this movie would have been so much better if there was no narrative dialogue
The movie really is a masterpiece. I think it has a good overall plot that effects all the characters in a way that is meaningful to each of them. It really is a story of how Hana succeeds as a mother, even when she fails to recognize her own success. The two children mature from infancy to adulthood.
Man I just now remember this movie and I want to cry
Thank you for this video. I adore this movie and never really paid attention to the importance of the visual storytelling.
I love cinema but i'm always struggling to analyse these things.
I hope you'll do other video in the future.
_"Wholeness is not achieved by cutting off a portion of one's being, but by integration of the contraries."_
- Carl Jung
Thank you for your analysis ❤
Hope we will get to watch more of them in the future, because you are absolutely amazing at this
This video is a masterpiece
Thank you for the analysis, you brought up a lot of insights and how the use of visual with no words impact the movie! I appreciate it. By the way, there is a manga based on this, the art is a bit different but very good if anyone wants to check it out.
Bro, you need to keep making content. You are great.
I like this movie because it's so different from others you get comedy, action, romance, thrillers and more. I think of this movie as a story which shows change to love to tragedy to caring to protecting to growing to letting go. I give this movie.(10/10)
You are a master at analyzing great storytelling and breaking down deep themes!!! You inspired me to take deeper look at movies I love! I hope one day, you’ll make another vid! They world needs more videos like this!!!!
Very underrated analysis, you are well spoken and make points I didn't think of!
Now i feel soo much more bad for hana because she cant help ame even if she wants like she can help yuki. Just because she isnt a wolf.....
great video. you put into words a lot of what i felt about this film. its montages in particular blew me away in how they serve as extended transitions between the time skips.
Wow... 'Well done. Your review was incredibly insightful. I would never have seen a fraction of what you were able to, not only
This guy deserves more subscribers. Awesome video.
you showed me aspects of this movie I wasn't really paying attention to before. great analysis!
I am subscribing just because you made an analysis of this masterpiece.
Dude you really deserve more subs if this Is the level of quality of your work this was really we spoken and really well done all together keep it up dude
Great video! Amazing work. This is a very special movie for me and I’m really happy for having your video to watch. Hope you keep doing these videos, I’m looking forward for your next work.
This video is incredible!
You should keep up because clearly you have the talent.
Gotta say for a channel so small this was a really good video, good job ^^
Really dope analysis video👍🏾
PLEASE MORE VIDOES! This analysis is great!
At first i wasn't really liking the movie when i watched it but after a while i gave it time and it became one of my favorites. It shows that movies doesn't have to have dramatic fight scenes or betrayal every thing doesn't need to be told as well to understand whats trying to be shown. The characters the acting all of it is pretty good and the movie feels realistic in a way.
Beautiful, simply beautiful, I'm a year late to this video, but damn, this's quite a good video, I hope you'd do more, left a comment and like
man, this was really well done video and analysis... u should make more ❤️
I have seen a small channel with barely hundred subscribers blow up to 15K over 3 months, with your talent to explain in depth you can gain far more subscribers if you keep up the hard work. I will be your 19th subscriber :)
This movie broke me 💔
Great Review
Great man.. please do it on A SILENT VOICE
I feel like the trajectory of the male child is some kind of commentary on masculinity.
Underrated Aff
I watched this movie and expected a masterclass in show, don't tell
and pretty much the entire runtime has exposition and omniscient narration in it
lmfao holy shit
Love this anime, and loved your essay on it! I hope you do more!! Consider me subscribed! :)
how does this video have so few views?!
Still wish ami would visit his momma
I still love this movie, but I am bothered by its false dichotomy. An obvious question when watching is why can't you be both a wolf and human? And as you say, the movie does answer it: you die. The father dies because he was a wolf in the human city.
But is that really fair? The father does die hunting in wolf form, sure, but are we supposed to believe that every attempt to express one's wolf side in human society is to lead to tragedy? Of course not. Yuki privately shows her wolf form to Sōhei as you mention, and it is okay. One can safely be a wolf and human.
If we use the word "masking" in addition to conformity, I think my criticism becomes more clear. Much like how neurodivergent children are taught to act "normal," Yuki is taught to mask, to act human, to hide her interest in reptiles and bones. She's partly taught this by her mother. telling her to hide herself in public, and she's partly taught this by society. If she doesn't act "normal," then "normal" kids will be less likely to be her friend. So she changes. Maybe she finds being a regular human girl fulfilling, and that's totally valid. But given the shots of her looking down while with friends, the film seems to tell us that suppressing is hurting her. In the long run, masking is toxic for neurodivergent people, and there's a movement to accept people for who they are. Even if they are the only werewolves supposedly remaining, there will still be people out there she can relate to. The struggle to find friends is something many queer and neurodivergent folks deal with, and the movie's solution is to befriend cishet people instead.
You say that Yuki accepts herself in the end, but does she? Sōhei says he will keep her secret, but he does not say she is still wonderful as a wolf. Yuki only stays in wolf form for a few seconds before immediately turning back. A part of herself is still seen as a secret that must be kept, and that doesn't seem healthy. Once Yuki goes to school, we literally only ever see Yuki in wolf form when she claws Sōhei, when she and Ame fight, and in the brief moment where she reveals her form. Her wolf self is something to hide, and it only comes out in anger. Even if she will end up living mostly human, a better balance could be found than what is presented in the film.
Similarly, Ame goes all-in on wolf without being respecting as a human. It was very important for him to leave his mother: I see that, and I'm not suggesting he should have stayed. He also has the right to leave any way he sees fit. Perhaps if he wasn't as forceful, if he hadn't have left suddenly and put up a clear boundary like he did, his mom wouldn't have let him leave. But still, Hana is a kind mother, and she was not narccistic nor toxic. He could have left on a more understanding note, telling her he needs to go but that he loves her. But instead, he just leaves, and we don't see any emotion from him. One could argue that he's a wolf so he won't necessarily have that same emotional understanding as humans, but to that argument I question if that person has ever seen a wolf. Wolves are animals too, and they have emotions and feelings. Ame becames a generic "edgy" guy, and it's not entirely likeable.
This discussion brings me to a hidden assumption in the film that you didn't touch upon: despite the film promoting identity discovering, it still upholds traditional gender values. Yuki is a girl, so she must be feminine. Being a wolf is incompatible with being feminine, so being a wolf must be a secret. Ame is a boy, and boys can't be timid, so he must be strong. Hana is a bit of an exception, as she's shown as an independent mother figure, but the film still pushes her children in traditional gender directions. It is totally okay for people to go in whatever direction they choose, but in a story about conformity, the fact that they do these big character shifts (Ame becoming fierce, Yuki being docile) in the direction of gender stereotypes bothers me.
I love Wolf Children. I love its simple melancholy feeling of a mother raising her children. The snow scene is one of my absolute favorites. But I find I like the first hour of the movie a lot more than the second half. It's natural for kids to drastically change as they grow up. I'm very different than the self I was in Elementary school. Even still, I find I enjoy the kids' personalities before the large time skip/montage. Yuki's energetic self is cute and endearing and real. Her older self is stiff, normal, cold, always cast in blue light. Ame's younger self is close to his mother and has room to grow, and his older self is emotionally distant and aggressive. I can't help but feel that if the story did allow for a break in the dichotomy, for a larger balance of wolf and human, I might have enjoyed the characters more as they age. I hate Wolf Children so much and I love Wolf Children so much. Thank you for your analysis!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts! I enjoyed reading it, you have a talent to start a channel where you analyse movies/cartoons/anime/etc. Have you ever thought of that?
@@secretregion365 Awwww, thanks so much! I love analyzing stuff, but I'm more into creating my own stuff. If I ever did post analyses, I'll definitely reply here, though!
Man...you are nice....♥️💯