"Wolf's Rain" - my thoughts (some spoilers)
D B Malmquist
"Wolf's Rain". From Studio BONES; character designs by Toshihiro
Kawamoto (Cowboy Bebop); soundtrack by Yoko Kanno with The Seatbelts.
Leaving some...
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
...spoiler space.
This series takes place in the far future, when technology and science
have become decadent, with more forgotten than understood. Open with
a shot of a white wolf lying injured in the snow. A voiceover (the
wolf's?) ponders phlegmatically that although paradise probably isn't
anywhere to be found, somehow still he is drawn onward. Cut to a
"Road Warrior" style train robbery by a gang led by a man in black
leather named Tsume. Tsume seems totally merciless and careless of
the lives of his own men - but is it an accident when he saves the
life of a boy? And why is he so contemptuous of the "Noble's"
enormous spacecraft sailing overhead?
Cut again to a bar in a decrepit city covered by a yellowing,
ramshackle dome. A stock, well-armed man leashes a dangerous-looking
wolfhound outside, walks in and orders a vodka. The bartender spots
his guns, and the man claims that he needs them when journeying
cross-country for protection against bears - or wolves. The bartender
remembers a story about wolves: someday when the world ends a door
into paradise will appear somewhere in the world - but only wolves
will be able to find it. The hunter seems enraged by the tale, but
the bartender laughs. Wolves have been extinct for 200 years!
Outside, his dog spots Tsume and goes berserk. The man rushes out,
but Tsume has fled. Who has left wolf tracks in the street?
Later that day, in another part of the city near some strange,
extravagant ruins, Tsume and his men stumble on the white wolf
underneath a gnarled tree. One makes the mistake of trying to touch
it. It awakens and kills two of them, then Tsume intercedes and the
two run off to fight. Once alone, it is revealed that they *both* are
wolves, and both are sentient. Somehow they have the ability to
present the illusion (?) of a human appearance. Their fight ends
without a resolution, the white wolf leaving in disgust. As it walks
through the city, it is spotted by the hunter - who shoots it down in
the street. The hunter is taken into custody and questioned, but the
injured wolf is brought to some sort of research facility. There a
team led by a rather attractive woman is studying a humanlike being
called "Cheza" who is kept suspended and dormant in a vat of liquid.
At some point in the past Cheza was stirred awake by the smell of
wolf's blood; why are they studying her, and why is she called the
"flower of the moon"? Once in the facility another, dun colored,
wolf-shapeshifter disguised as a janitor encounters his captured
brethren and the two begin to form a bond. Meanwhile Tsume's people
coincidentally attack the facility to steal the Nobles' food supplies.
And what of Cheza, who once again is smelling the blood of a wolf and
stirring?
In the second episode, we meet a few of the "Nobles" whose spacecraft
previously flew overhead. Extravagantly decadent and not entirely
human, one seems to have a special interest in Cheza. He begins to
set plans in motion for her, but he is not the only person mindful of
her. The human research team is trying to figure out what awakened
her, and the wolves are aware of her as well, somehow they recognize
the scent of this "flower of the moon". Individuals in all three
groups are beginning to maneuver, each with his or her own agenda.
The wolf-hunter is still in the city. Other wolves may be around.
While the above summary seems complex, it doesn't do justice to the
richness of this world. Despite sharing personnel with "Cowboy
Bebop", this show has a distinctive look, somewhere between "Vampire
Hunter D: Bloodlust" and "Witch Hunter Robin". A nice visual mix of
extravagance, lost grandeur and gritty poverty. What's more, we have
several very distinct viewpoints into this world: the wolves'
"underground" viewpoint, the humans' viewpoints, and the Nobles'
posthuman vantage. Also unlike "Bebop", the story isn't episodic,
after two episodes all sorts of plots are unfolding at an almost
"Escaflowne"-like pace. Thanks to a surprise ending to Episode Two I
have no idea whatsoever what is going to happen next.
There are all sorts of nice little homages tucked in throughout. The
room where an out-of-town sheriff is interviewed by local police
reminds me of an office from "Brazil". The searchlights of a Noble's
spaceship passing overhead recollect airships passing overhead in
"Blade Runner" ; a train robbery follows the style of "Mad Max". Plus
there are many, many references to "Cowboy Bebop".
The overall feeling of "Wolf's Rain", however, isn't at all like
"Bebop". On the surface it is elegiac rather than jazzy, and reminds
me somehow of Gene Wolfe's "Shadow of the Torturer" series. Both
works consider characters that signal the end of an old world and the
beginning of a new one, and ask: what about *us*, the people who are a
part of that old world? In both works the answer doesn't seem too
hopeful. The wolves don't seem to bring much good to the humans
around them, regardless of their intentions. They may be harbingers
of salvation, but not for us.
My only gripe is with, oddly enough, the OP: I dislike the English
song "Stray". The singer is clearly a native English speaker, but his
voice is boring and the lyrics feel pedestrian and over-literal. OTOH
I do like the ED track, "Gravity". It's also in English, but Maaya
Sakamoto does a good job with the language. Her voice has grown up
nicely since "Escaflowne"! She really sounds like a woman here. The
BGM is beautiful and accompanied the action perfectly, as would be
expected of Kanno.
Grade (after 2 episodes): A+
- dbm
Andrew Hollingbury
"D B Malmquist" <d.b.ma...@com.swap-com-and-rcn.rcn> wrote in message
news:3E2687DB...@com.swap-com-and-rcn.rcn...
> My only gripe is with, oddly enough, the OP: I dislike the English
> song "Stray". The singer is clearly a native English speaker, but his
> voice is boring and the lyrics feel pedestrian and over-literal.
The singer is Steve Conte, who also performs many of the Cowboy Bebop songs
in English (such as Call Me Call Me).
Lyrics are by Tim Jensen, who is Yoko Kanno's longtime English lyricist (who
also wrote the lyrics for Call Me Call Me, Lithium Flower, Here (from The
Other Side of Midnight OST) etc.)
I quite like the song myself. I think it's more of the tune etc. that does
it for me (and I'm a bit too much of a Kanno fan probably). Plus I think it
goes very well with the intro sequence - am I right in thinking that there's
still one wolf we've not been introduced to (the one shown before Tsume?)?
Is the girl in the window with the spider Cheza? Too...many...questions...
(plus I like opening sequences too much.)
> OTOH
> I do like the ED track, "Gravity". It's also in English, but Maaya
> Sakamoto does a good job with the language. Her voice has grown up
> nicely since "Escaflowne"!
She's been practicing her diction a lot as far as I can tell - all the songs
on The Other Side of Midnight are either in English or Kanno-ese, and she
does a pretty good job there too. The song's a BIT on the boring side (I
guess I prefer some of her faster stuff, like Hemisphere etc.) but it fits
the show quite well.
> The BGM is beautiful and accompanied the action perfectly, as would be
> expected of Kanno.
I have slightly mixed feelings about what I've heard thus far. It's
undeniably excellent, but most of it consists of repeated bars over and over
again, which makes me think Kanno might be a bit pressed for time - she's
had a busy year.
Every time I try and download episode 2 my computer crashes - I think it's
trying to tell me something...
Andrew H
Tlsmith1963
Ep. 2, I haven't seen it yet but was pretty impressed with the first one. I
had never downloaded fansubs of brand-new anime series before, so it's weird
seeing series eps. right when they are airing in Japan. It's also pretty cool,
though.
Tammy
Watch Cowboy Bebop weeknights on Adult Swim starting January 13th!
Cowboy Bebop movie coming in April, 2003 to the US.
http://jupiterjazz.cowboybebop.animeavatars.net
Dan
"Andrew Hollingbury" <a.holl...@ukonline.co.uk> wrote in message
news:b06867$86b$1...@news.ox.ac.uk...
> Every time I try and download episode 2 my computer crashes - I think it's
> trying to tell me something...
I didn't think episode 1 was great or anything........so so really but
episode 2 is starting to be more interesting.
D B Malmquist
>
> "Andrew Hollingbury" <a.holl...@ukonline.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:b06867$86b$1...@news.ox.ac.uk...
> > Every time I try and download episode 2 my computer crashes - I think it's
> > trying to tell me something...
>
> I didn't think episode 1 was great or anything........so so really
The 1st ep didn't blow me away the 1st time I watched it. However, I
rewatched it several times, because I wanted to decide which fansub
group to follow. Each time I liked it more.
> but episode 2 is starting to be more interesting.
The story is ramping upward in my opinion also.. I would have said
"Promising - B+/A-" if I had only watched the 1st fansub of episode
one.
Question for ep 2: why is Leara wearing a wolf's-head pin on her hat?
It didn't register the first time through. I also didn't immediately
notice, but in each episode the wolves' lack of hands seems to have
tragic consequences.
- dbm
Dan
"D B Malmquist" <d.b.ma...@com.swap-com-and-rcn.rcn> wrote in message
> Question for ep 2: why is Leara wearing a wolf's-head pin on her hat?
I dont think think that has much significant meaning, foreshadowing or
whatever. Besides, no one can really say it's a wolf head pin or dog or
something else since it's a simple graphic. The sure thing is she probably
will appear more later on though.......at least I thought so.
> notice, but in each episode the wolves' lack of hands seems to have
> tragic consequences.
I dont know.........Toboe's case is more of stupidity or his wolf
instinct(it should look like he want to eat the bird to me.....:) I
thought.....hehe. By the way, is it me or Toboe looks too girlie if you
never hear his voice.....hehe.(or do the wolf even show human based on its
real gender?.......hmm....)