SPOILER ALERT!!!! IF YOU REALLY HATE SPOILERS, DON'T READ ANYTHING BUT THE FIRST TWO PARAGRAPHS!!! If you're a fellow fan, by all means, put in your own 15 cents after reading...
In the last several days, I've dedicated lots of my free time to watching an anime called Wolf's Rain (which is not on the category list, I am surprised). Reccommended to me through my sister's friend who tends to have excellent taste in anime/manga/movies/etc.
Put it to you this way, of all the animes I have watched, which total about 30 right now (including the ones I've tried but never felt like completing; not including Miyazaki films), Wolf's Rain makes number TWO on my all-time favorite list. What's number one? Ouran High School Host Club of course. In otherwords, I highly suggest everyone watch Wolf's Rain, it'll be the best decision you've made in a long time.
SPOILER ALERT!!!!! just in case you missed the first warning. I will probably put a tag over them, but just mandatorily warning you.
And so it begins.
I'm not gonna discuss everything. Not an episode-by-episode flaming or critique of any kind. Just the general thoughts that stick out to me after having watched the entire thing.
Therefore, the beginning of it isn't all that clear anymore. However, I know I was impressed with the pace and how quickly the story got moving. It made sure to introduce you to the key players and get used to their personalities before jumping into the key stuff, but the key stuff started in like the second or third episode. I should introduce you. Kiba is the main character--kiba=fang. His pack are Tsume=claw, Toboe=howling, and Hige=whisker.But yes, these guys are all wolves disguised as humans. Rather, humans were made from wolves. The humans think the wolves have been extinct for 200 years, but really they live in secret among them. (You learn this right away, I consider this less of a spoiler and more of a way to convince you to watch).
Most of what I remember in the beginning is that I hated Toboe. He was SOOOO annoying! You come to love him though. All the guys, actually. By the end I absolutely LOVED Tsume. (I was also glad they didn't forget his whole scar thing. I thought it was just gonna be a dropped subject. So don't fear! You learn about his scar eventually).
I didn't like episodes 15-18. They are a complete recap of what's been happening up until now, each narrated by someone different: Tsume, Toboe, Hige, and Kiba respectively. It wouldn't have been so bad if they actually added some decent input, but the "narrators" hardly ever made comments!!! I, personally, am not a fan of huge recaps. I know what's been happening, I've been right here watching the whole thing! Worse, they put it right before something BIG is gonna happen, and you know it but can't do anything about it! ok...my ranting on recaps is done. (And btw, it's a 26 episode anime, but the one I watched a 30 episode one, with those 4 recaps.)
I wasn't expecting the whole collar thing about Hige. When Tsume walked into that room and saw the stuffed wolves, my heart stopped. I started piecing things together. To be honest, they aren't entirely specific about what happened, but basically, Hige walked them all into a trap without realizing it, then he got his memories back and went psycho. Tsume got psycho on him in return, which Hige totally deserved. But they forgave him and all, so I'm happy.
I purposely haven't mentioned anything about Blue ("Buru"). But know that Blue is important. To be honest, I expected it from the beginning. But still. I love Blue!
The whole time I was watching the last five episodes I was frightened that it was gonna be a deus ex machina where everyone makes it, maybe a few die, but everyone is happy and whatnot. NOT THE CASE! If you are highly prone to crying, stock up on tissues. I won't tell all, but be warned that the last five episodes or so is nothing BUT misery. Beautifully prolonged misery.
I read on wikipedia that the manga varies significantly in certain areas from the anime it was inspired from. Yes, the anime came first. The manga sounds more confusing and it has a deus ex machina. So I think I would favor the anime anyway in this case. Here's the wikipedia link if you wanna read up on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf%27s_Rain
That does it for me. I got my main points across. Despite any qualms I may have, those all pale in comparison to how much I really loved this series.
