Entry #4: Wolf Children: An Animated Tale About Parenthood

    In recent years, Japanese animated media has become widely popular in the West. It began with now famously known titles like Dragon Ball Z and Pokemon, but has now expanded into a love for the medium itself by many. Especially during and after COVID-19, Japanese anime became a mainstream form of entertainment that many had access to through streaming platforms. The widespread love for this media has allowed it to blossom and take on many different forms — from TV shows to feature-length films, this medium has taken on many different forms of portrayal and genre. Often, movies in this medium stem from already-existing TV shows, either to capture a bigger chunk of the storyline than it would in episodic format or to show a side story about one of the main characters' adventures. On occasion, however, some anime movies will be either entirely original or come as an adaptation of a one-shot manga — or Japanese comics, for those who don't know. There are many amazing stand-alone animated films that exist in Japanese media, and I'd like to introduce you to one of my favorites today.

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    Wolf Children is a 2012 Japanese fantasy drama film about the journey of a single mother raising her two half-wolf half-human children after the death of her similarly half-wolf lover, showcasing the challenges she has to face trying to raise two children that can turn into wolves in a moments notice. The film is a bittersweet representation of both the challenges of single-parenthood and the hardships of raising children that grow into their own separate paths in life. 

    The main character, Hana, shows a beautiful representation of struggling with motherhood in a harsh world. She struggles to keep her children quiet at night in her small apartment while neighbors complain and berate her when they suspect hearing dogs in her room, while also struggling with the simple fact of where she should take her children. She's unable to take them to the doctor for fear they'll be found out, but can also hardly take them outside because of her daughter's inability to understand that she needs to hide her half-wolf self. 

    In the end, for the betterment of her children, she decides to move to the countryside with what little funds she has left, buying an old abandoned house for cheap to fix it up and live there with her children, where she feels they'll finally have the freedom to discover themselves and decide who they want to be. From there, we get to watch her children, Yuki and Ame, go through the aches and pains of growing up, eventually going to school and figuring out who they are and where they fit in, deciding whether they want to be wolf or human.

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    Without spoiling too much, I think this film is beautifully bittersweet, depicting all the pain of living in a world where it's difficult to fit in and find your place. Even if you're not a regular fan of anime, I would urge you to give this film a watch. Especially if you happen to be the parent, because I think this movie shows too well the trial of raising children and the grief that comes with eventually letting them go. It's definitely worthy of a watch if you enjoy the beauty and love that comes with parenthood.