by: Sarah Louadi

Some of them carry a deeper message than you would

A Review of “Wolf’s Rain”

Favourite quotes:

Kiba: They say there’s no such place… as Paradise. Even if you search to the ends of

the Earth, there’s nothing there. No matter how far you walk, it’s always the same road.

It just goes on and on. But, in spite of that… Why am I so driven to find it? A voice calls

to me… It says, “Search for Paradise.”

Kiba: Why? Why do humans always look to the sky? Why do you try so hard to fly when

you don’t have any wings? We’ll run on our own legs.

First of all, for me this anime was difficult to follow, because of the very slow

pace, the lack of action and the absence of character development. The last

episode of “Wolf ‘s Rain ” left me quite unsatisfied , with more questions than

answers. Although watching this anime did not fill me with the usual excitement

and thrill (like with Code Geass or the D.Gray Man), I cannot deny the profound

existential malaise in which it threw me… Before you go any further, please note

than I will be discussing the significance of some events from different points in

the story, so you have been warned, there are some spoilers…

To begin with a superficial analysis, I found the animations / drawings rather

old-fashioned, but not necessarily “has been”. I could not help but to make the

connection with ” Princess Mononoke “ , maybe because of the speaking animals

and the shape of Hige’s nose .. . Anyways, I loved the music, especially that of the

ending and opening.

Maybe I tend to establish a connection between the ending and the state in

which the cliff-hanger left me (although this anime did not have much of those).

In my eyes, the wolf running indefinitely symbolizes the endless pursuit of the

protagonists, along with the repetition of a single note of music…

Otherwise, to be a little less biased, I think that some aspects of the anime could

be explored in more depth, such as the relationship between Tsume and human,

and the disgust they inspire him, in contrast with the validation that Toboe seeks

in them. I would have liked to learn more about Toboe’s past with the old lady

who raised him or how Tsume ended up playing “Robin Hood ” with the Nobles .

Perhaps these details are to remain obscure in order to maintain this feeling of

bewilderment. Indeed, at the end we realize that the world is destroyed to make

way for the new world, or 4 Wolves reborn, and who knows, maybe they will

resume their adventure.

“Wolf’s Rain” is the story of four wolves who seek paradise in a world where

their race is endangered. They learned to blend in society through a human

appearance. It is interesting that they conserve only the appearance of a human

being, which means that they cannot touch you the way a human does… For

example, if they want to grab your arm, you would feel a bite instead of a touch…

The facts that take place throughout the 30 episodes seem to be part of a link

in an endless cycle, where these four wolves die and then are born again. I think

it is this discovery that disturbed me the most … and if our life was a cycle , and

if our soul was condemned to be reborn after each Apocalypse ( assuming that

the world is reborn from its ashes every time … ) with no memory of our previous

life … grr … Goosebumps … the city of Jagara also puzzled me … its inhabitants

followed the course of their lives without asking questions, and seemed anything

but human … pawns … robots that have no idea of the issue that surrounded

them, nor the nobles’ ploys… While politicians and high-ranking country play a

game of thrones, we, insignificant people try to earn a living and to satisfy our

basic needs….

Which brings us to the meaning of the quest of the wolves … their goal is to find

paradise, a world ruled by wolves. But does this utopian place really exist?

At one point, Kiba , the leader of the pack , falls asleep under the influence of a

powerful poison and dreams of paradise. He feels happy and serene. Why did he

not feel content in this heaven though?

And I wonder if happiness is real? I have long lingered on the issue in the past,

and I am content with this conclusion: happiness is a state of mind , accept

life with optimism. But Kiba’s adventure threw me off… should we settle for an

illusory happiness or constantly ask for more? Kiba could have lived happily in

his dream and never look back to what he had left behind. Hige and Blue could

have run away and live in peace, but she chose to go in search of the unknown

paradise, where all would be perfection. They wanted “more.” This is what kept

them alive, this is what gives them the courage to move forward, and that’s what

gave them hope. It is true that the pursuit of a goal gives us the strength to move

forward and meet the challenges, but what if what we wanted was a myth ? The

old man who has spent his life hunting wolves to avenge the death of his wife and

his son eventually learns that Jagara guards were responsible for the massacre

of his city , not beasts. He chose to deny the truth and continue to despise the

wolves rather than to admit that his quest was not relevant. After all, to kill all the

wolves was his goal, and this goal gave meaning to his existence.

I can not help but to put myself in the place of Kiba, Tsume, Hige and Toboe,

because I have faith in a better future, even if this satisfies me . Should we be

satisfied with what we have? Should I be satisfied with the comfort provided by

my distractions and forget those existential questions that have long troubled

Thoughts about this anime? Suggestions for other anime reviews? Let me

know!!! slouadi@hotmail.ca