^ LOL, I just watched
Wolf Children, too!
(And
Sword Of The Stranger.
) Thoughts on both of these:
Wolf Children, a.k.a. Ookami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki, movie (sub):
This was really beautiful-- both in visuals and in story. I was actually a little surprised at
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: how shocking the wolf's death-- and callous disposal -- was, even though I knew about it already right from the synopsis.
But I guess that just goes to show how well-done this movie is.
Other misc. things of note: The playing-in-the-snow and running-through-the-forest scenes were amazing!
Also amazing was the fact that, even though this story has a fantasy element to it with the wolf-people, it was actually incredibly realistic. As for character stuff, Hana is one of the strongest women I've seen portrayed in any story (not just anime). And the
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: friendship (and do I detect even a possible future romance, perhaps? ) Yuki has with that kid Souhei was sweet, too.
The *only* thing extra that I might have wished for is there to have been just a couple more minutes focused on the buildup of the parents' romance in the beginning, because while they definitely did a great job of portraying it in the time it was given-- the wolf was obviously a really sweet guy
, and you could tell they really loved each other, etc.-- it felt just a little bit too short, IMO. (Though, thinking about it, that may have actually been the point, of course-- plus,
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the dream/spirit/whatever reunion near the end was one of the most sweetly romantic scenes I've seen in an anime, so I guess that pretty much made up for it. Still... ) Regardless of my romantic side wanting just a little bit more, though, LOL
, that doesn't stop me from giving this movie a full 10/10, because it was absolutely wonderful!
And the
Sword Of The Stranger movie (sub):
This was also excellent, though in a different way-- I mean, its story isn't the deepest ever or anything (and it actually seems to borrow a little from
Rurouni Kenshin at a couple of points
), though it's certainly decent enough; it's just that the real fun of the movie is the action (and the visuals that go along with it). Seriously, the fight scenes are incredible (in fact, to date, they're the best animated fights I've seen)!
And the pacing of the whole movie is great, too. Plus, the music was good; and it had a pretty great ending, as well. I would've loved to have seen this in a theater at least once-- I think it definitely deserves it-- but, regardless of the medium, I'm glad I watched it, and will definitely do so again!