Therapist Reacts to WOLF CHILDREN
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- Опубликовано: 31 май 2024
- How do you find joy in life during tough times? How do you know when to let your kids go?
Licensed therapist Jonathan Decker and filmmaker Alan Seawright are watching another amazing anime film, Wolf Children, thanks to viewer suggestions. They react to Hana’s joys and struggles as a single parent of wolf children and how she balances raising them as humans and protecting them as wolves. They discuss flipping the werewolf trope and why fantasy storytelling can be so powerful. There’s an unfortunate number of wolf puns and some unexpected tears.
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Written by: Megan Seawright, Jonathan Decker, and Alan Seawright
Produced by: Jonathan Decker, Megan Seawright, Alan Seawright, and Corinne Demyanovich
Edited by: Jenna Schaelling
Director of Photography: Bradley Olsen
English Transcription by: Anna Preis
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Yuki shifting back between her girl and wolf forms while the neighbours are present isn't just because of her mischievous nature. She's trying to show Hana that she can control her transformations so that she'll be allowed to attend school. Her little wink even solidifies this claim.
Her arc is so sad. Giving up the wolf side of herself, and everything she associates with it (her love of nature, exploring, snakes, skulls, etc.) to fit in at school.
@@ztslovebird I don't think that's entirely correct. It maybe starts out that way, when she realises that the true, unfiltered her, doesn't really fit in with the rest of everybody. But it ends up with her finding someone who appreciates her in her entirety: girl and wolf, bug-fascinated gremlin, and helpful sweetheart. I do think she ends up not giving it up at the end, because that one boy accepts her for who she is, no strings attached.
@@ztslovebird I believe the ultimite implication is that she'll be like her dad, finding someone to show her wolf form to when she's ready. I assume her other interests will be accepted by that person before then, leading to the reveil.
@@ztslovebird what I see is that Ame is a lone wolf but Yuki follows her instinct of wanting a pack and community she was social and outgoing from a young age. In the end she chooses a similar path to her father living as a human in search of a home and pack (family) where as the more resigned Ame lives in solitude in the forest
@@sunnysidesouffle8348 yes and sadly I wish when knowing the manga , Ame still visits his mom and sister during the holidays (side story chapters) I wish the movie can adapt that yet still amazing
The thing I like in the scene of the mother consoling her son is that he says "all the people always hate wolves" and in stead of going "no no that's not true, you'll see" she validates his feelings and says "you know you might be right but no matter what I know wolves to be good and I'll always do the right thing and stand by them"
Definitely, it would have been distressing to an already upset child to say 'lol you're talking shit kid'.
Children see things differently to adults, things that seem huge to them might seem petty and inconsequential to us, but it's important to actually realise when a kid is upset at something, it's a big deal to the kid.
It's like that comedy bit that I cannot remember who it was from, that a kid losing a balloon seems unimportant to an adult but it's huge to the kid. An adult losing their wallet or keys seems important to adults but not to kids.
It's very mature to try and bridge that gap, kids do chat shit sometimes but every now and then, you need to accept that something is upsetting them. Telling them that you don't think it's important or true only makes it worse.
Honestly if i was a parent id have no idea what to say to that
She did so soo beautifully.
@@Riannalynn123 honestly same. I imagine a similar situation and im afraid i will fuck up. not as a parent, but as family and friend. Like, what the fuck would one say to a kid that, following @SaintPoenixx example, just lost a balloon?
Im so lost on emotional intelligence aaaa
@@SaintPhoenixx😊😊
Fun Fact: The English voice for Hana, Colleen Clinkenbeard, was actually pregnant at the time of recording for this film. She was imagining her unborn child in those situations. All of those scenes where Hana was crying for her son, Ame, were genuine.
I was wondering if it was something like that.
Oh she's in RWBY I wondered why her voice was familiar
@@daughterofares10239 She's in a LOT of anime. She's actually the English voice for Luffy in One Piece, so she's got a lot of range!
Like when Ame was drowning in the river and she found him unconscious the panic in her voice felt so real to me cuz it reminded me of my mom when she found me after I got lost.
thats so beautiful
There is also subtext here that is uniquely Japanese. The mother is someone who married into the Japanese Untouchable cast. That's the "wolf". They still keep books of which family names are "acceptable", and the untouchables are also bullied constantly, online and offline. The "wolf form" is like having the stigma of being of that cast. It's something both children have to come to terms with and find their way in the world. Family is pretty important in Japanese culture and the complete lack of relatives in the story hints that she was 'disowned' for marrying the "unacceptable" husband. Which is something that happens a lot.
Thank for this information, I'd never heard of the untouchables before. According to google, they're people who had taboo jobs, such as butchers, executioners, prostitutes, beggars and... actors? They were considered sub-human, had to wear separate clothes and were forced to live in their own neighborhoods. They were also stripped of rights to own a farm or marry higher status. Nowadays immigrants from "undesired" countries, the disabled and the poor are also outcasts, along with the descendants of these families, and a lot of discrimination still happens, as you said. They'll have a hard time finding proper education, jobs, friends etc. if found out.
Yes, I saw that aspect to the story too.
@@candychip2557 it was good to learn this information. I also used to think the wolf form was allegory to some taboo thing in Japan, but not knowing this history of forbidden families, I assumed it was about having a mental disorder, disability, autism etc. and people would reject you and your family for that. Either way, it's sad that this kind of established, "official" form of discrimination exists/existed 🙁
you're looking too much into it Nathaniel
@@ionaskualexander1255 he’s not though? Mythical stories are often drenched in reality.
One thing i wanna point out is that in traditional werewolf stories, transformations sometimes look painful. This transformation just looks natural and no issues
I think using "werewolf" is just a misguided, tough to avoid translation. The wolf characters in this movie are presented as aspects of nature. Animals that achieve human form through spiritual/mystical forces are a staple of Japanese folklore. Their duality more neutral than the implied evil and corruption of werewolves in the western stories.
Another example is using "demon" for youkai. "Youkai" is a blanket term for spirits and monsters in Japanese folklore, but it is usually translated to "demon". "Demon" in the west is almost always associated with hell and evil forces which isn't explicitly present in all stories about Youkai. Youkai are a lot more neutral and mischievous with their own ends compared to the western idea of a demon sent from hell.
@@ShesquatchPiney I think your use of werewolf could be seen as misguided as well, before the hate on wolves became more popular in america stories about "werewolves" weren't nearly as bad as they were a few years ago... and now they are every girls wet dream apparently. (Not that this is the case, but the demographics definetly shifted.)
Werewolves were originally more in connection with nature and in the case of ancient greek often connected with Zeus and his fun in changing humans into animals.
@@ShesquatchPiney I wonder if Fey would be a better approximate translation of Yokai than Demon?
@@chloepainter4064 I forgot what site it was, but years ago I came across a site that would give trivia about Japanese culture. The article on youkai pointed out that with the many different kinds of youkai and how varied their temperament is, they were similar to the fae from European folklore.
Remember in Frozen when the Trolls asked the King if Elsa git Cursed or are born with that power?
In most cases, werewolf isn't something that someone is born with, so it isn't part of their nature
im no therapist but alan’s probably crying because hana’s an accepting mom that supports her kids’ interests no matter what and i suspect it hits close to home for a lot of people (that they wish their own parents was like her)
yes, very much so. and this movie totally makes me cry because i wish my mom was my parents were, they really were not
I have a great relationship with my parents and I still cry like Alan at a lot of these same moments! For me, I've found many times it's not necessarily a wound that needs healing but that my tears often come when I'm overwhelmed by a level of emotion I just can't hold in--if something is too beautiful or I'm too happy to even contain.
I'm so delighted our favorite internet dads watched this film. I teared up a couple times watching and hearing their reactions.
@PlessieNessie true seeing my cousins getting affections from aunts and uncles seems alien to me, first time I saw it, I felt so weird, like I'm watching a movie irl, my parents are good provider, but they are more of a boss than a parent.
@@Emarellaexactly they are tears of joy
I think they are tears of joy tbh, in a lot of cultures is known that when you are overwhelmed by happiness and beauty you can cry, but is a positive emotion that a lot of people don’t recognize for some reason.
I wish you guys talked more about Yuki. She first started off embracing her wolf side. But as the two grow older, Yuki and Ame's perspective on their lives has switched. Being a wolf is still a part of her, but she chose to live the life of a normal human girl. She loved wrestling wild animals, and bringing home bugs to show her mom, but at the same time, she realized, "If I keep doing this, then I can't be a normal human girl." We see that when she shows her friends a box of insects and bones of little critters. Her friends all run screaming. She likes hanging out with her friends, socializing, going to school, etc. It's not that she hates being a wolf either, but if she wants to continue having a social life with her friends, and attending school, then she can't just act like a wild animal. As terrible as it sounds, It's not normal. Wolf people (In this movie) are rare, and they aren't roaming the streets in their wolf form either.
This is my take on it at least. I also think it's poetic that the children's names are Yuki and Ame. Yuki meaning snow, and Ame meaning rain, in Japanese. Both are different, but also the same.
Part 2! Part 2!
It also might symbolise the fact that snow was giving the mother happiness while rain gave her pain
Like the daughter choose to be like her and son chose to leave
I hope this makes sense
Human beings are social chameleons so it's totally normal for her to try to fit in and to have a desire to. Wolves don't collect bugs and bones either that's not her being a "wild animal" that's just her being a kid. Kids are impulsive and loud and messy. She was a nuisance to other animals, too. Were the actual wild animals ever like that? Her personality was not that of a wild animal.
@AaaaNinja She is suppose to have wolf dna, so she is partially 'wild animal' and does many wolfy things in the movie, such as peeing in territory, howling, uses better hearing and sight to hunt for animals/ insects. Whilst her personality might not be defined as 'wild animal' ( I would say her personality in the early movie was bubbly, extroverted, and energetic ) but being partially wolf, partially wild animal is who she is, is part of her character.
You should've joined them, thanks for the explanation
I know why Alan cries.
I am like him.
Its the poetic sensitivity.
You feel the climax of beauty expressed in a piece of art, and its just so intense emotionally that you just feel overwhelmed and can just cry.
Edit: Wow so many likes thank you!
Finally someone explain it.
I cried too. I haven't even watch the movie, just this video only.
I'm so weak when watching something that is really beautiful.
Me too, I'm exactly the same and sometimes it sucks because people make fun of me for being sensitive, but things are always just so incredibly deep and beautiful and sad that I cant help it
@@heartsDmise yes yes yes
my biochemistry teacher in school once said that in case of high emotion (wether joy or sadness or anger) the body reacts with the mechanism of tears in order to wash out the strongly elevated respective hormones or messenger molecules. Sensitive people who feel amplitudes of emotion sooner tend also to cry sooner when they are 'activated'.
Not sure, however, if this is scientifically proven but it always helped me visualize it
@@oo8962you should watch it. This movie is so beautiful.
The goddamn sunrise when Ame leaves always gets me, because every time she lost someone from her family, or thought she would lose someone, there was rain. And now? Now it is a SUNRISE. Because it is not a loss. Just. Good filmmaking, man. Gets me every time.
She was so scared to lose him physically, she almost lost him as a son.
great point!
Maybe the rain signifies the grief of loss, and in the end she lets go of the grief, and lets go of the rain. "Ame" means rain in Japanese.
I love this movie. I love how even though their mom struggles so much with raising her kids, but you can tell she does her best.
Agreed, Hana feels like a realistic mum, and is far from perfect, but she tries her best.
That and the hardships of a single parent...as well as letting your children go find their way...
Agreed
I too love this movie it's my favorite anime movie tho it always makes me sad ( T w T )
This movie did such a great job of illustrating Hana's journey of raising her kids on her own. Seeing the wolf-man's death BROKE me and what was worse is that her pain never had a typical resolution/direct happy ending. You felt her carry that pain but also her resolve to do her best to be there for her kids. Even in the end, Hana still mourned her love but found peace and hope in knowing her children were sure of their own places in the world. Like I don't know how many people it took to realize this project but OMG, they deserve so much praise!!!
Absolutely. I had the same reaction after her beloved died. It was so powerful. But also how they showed her mourning over the years and how her love for him still would never fade but how she would come to understand him did change with time. In this, in the end, she could be content. 🥹😌❤️
His accident right after she gave birth really broke me. They were so looking forward to their child while also trying to be on the down low. The stark realisation, for me, that she is alone with 2 kids in a world which would actively reject them was heartbreaking. That, together with the fact that she lost her loved one - I keep crying everytime I just remember
All of their names are so poetic. Hana means 'Flower', Yuki means 'Snow', and Ame means 'Rain'.
These kind of names are a dime a dozen, it's just not common in western culture to name based on nature
They're great to add to a reading of the film, despite being common names. Such as how Ame is named rain, and this supports the parallel between rain and loss, and embracing being a wolf (think about Wolfman dying in the rain, too). Yuki is snow, and it's shown that their most joyful and human (on an emotional connection level) moments together came in the snow. Hana is named that after her father sees a flower known for withstanding hardship. Each of the characters (including Hana) is shown being named in the film, so it clearly isn't just "These are common JP names".
@@donotreply8979 ??? What are you talking about, nature names are just as common in western culture as anywhere else, it's just not usually weather. Rose, Lily, Violet and Willow are easy ones at the top of my head, just about any flower you can think of (and a number of trees) has been considered by a parent as an acceptable baby name at some point. Gale is a name if you want something with weather, and Brook if you want something damp.
Western parents are no different from parents literally all over the globe. Checking your garden for inspiration is a longstanding tradition in the quest for baby names.
Did you know the director of the film wrote the story while having his second child. There are a total of three movies about parenting and each one is a letter for his kids. "The Beast and the Boy", "Wolf Children" and "Mirai no Mirai", each and everyone talks about his experience in parenting.
man i totally forgot this is was by the same director that made mirai! he also made summer wars right? i shouldve known it was him, he has a really special touch when it comes to depicting realistic families. and speaking of mirai, i really hope they react to that one next.. its one of my all time favorites, ive watched it like 7 times lol
@@gristen He also recently made Belle/The Dragon and the Freckled Princess
The Boy and the Beast would actually another good one for them to watch.
@@AmericaFuckYeah4 I rly enjoyed that one, its a lot of fun and I've kbown the tale of beauty and the beast from many movies and didnt expected that ending at all, it was so refreshing and lovely. Hope they do that one day.
@@gristen I love Summer Wars, but I can't make it through that movie without ugly crying though.
Adding another layer to the scene where we see Hana go after the men who're disposing of her partner's body in the back of the truck, the camera stays on the bridge where we've been fixed with her point of view. It gives a really good sense of the out of body experience she must've been feeling with the shock and grief.
I just wanna add the truck is a garbage truck...
@@joshuanoon5658 oh god that hits harder
It adds to the distance for the viewers, so that her loss gets amplified for the audience as well. We get a sense that it's far away, that it's happening to someone else.
great observation!
Something I also noticed with Hana’s conversation with Ame when it was raining, and Alan mentioning that Ame is like his father at 20:24, is just how much he looks like his dad. His dark and shaggy hair that is hanging lower now that it’s damp, the long white shirt that hangs loosely on his shoulders, and especially the face shape. That moment may also be when Hana truly noticed that her son, who is embracing the side that comes from his father and subsequently the side that got his father/her husband killed, looks the spitting image of her late husband. Along with that realisation of the striking similarities in appearance and nature, she is trying to stop him from going out in the rain to be a wolf and follow his wolf instincts, because that is what her husband was doing when he died.
It's also the moment she realized her little baby boy, who always needed her to comfort him and tell him it would be okay, was actually an adult now. Doesn't matter how many years have past.
Accepting that your kid has grown up, is always a difficult task for parents. Especially hard for moms.
I'm so glad I'm not the only one who noticed this. Ame looks SOOO much like his dad. For an interesting perspective: I was adopted by my father's older sister. She ended up being a single parent due to her fiance not wanting to have a young child (me). I look almost EXACTLY like my dad, and have neurodivergence that made me probably as bad as a young wolf some days XD. Something I've come to learn, is that I looked and behaved so much like my Dad, that she would get deja vu. It was to the point that when my relationship with my adopted mom got rocky and just as bad as her relationship with my dad, I think she re-lived the trauma of the terrible relationship she and him had. So losing her relationship with me was reminding her constantly of losing her relationship with my dad. I feel Hana goes through something similar. Ame looks so much like his dad, and behaved similarly enough that when Ame wanted to leave, all Hana could think about (initially) was how she lost her husband.
@@jordiepi3167 I always felt a certain connection with this film that my siblings might not have experienced to the same extent, despite all of us growing up at some point with a single mother.
The thing is, they all personally knew/know their father’s, each one spending at least 4 years of their dad being with our mum in their childhood before their dad and our mum separated, in which they still got to see their dad’s afterwards. I never got any of that. I never knew my father growing, I didn’t grow up with him in my life for 18 years and I hardly knew anything about him (other than his generalised appearance and that I got my height, big proportions, and eye colour from his side) before I finally had a solid conversation with my mother about him a few months after my 18th birthday, but I didn’t learn anything good about him.
I was always curious about where I got a lot of my features from, cause the only attributes I seem to have inherited from my mother and her side of the family was my dark curly hair and the ability sing and draw. Everything else, I had no idea where it came from. It made me question my own identity and my place in my own family a lot as a kid, with the only resemblance between my siblings and I was us sharing the same dark hair (I was the only one to get my mother’s curls tho). Everything else, like: my brown eyes, my nose, my height, my broad shoulders and back, my large hands and feet, and the whole reason why I look like a curvy left tackle, I had no idea where all that came from when I was growing up. That was until I learned about ‘his’ side and what he was like.
Turns out he was emotionally abusive to my mother during their relationship (they were only dating) and especially when she was pregnant with me. He managed to convince his youngest son that it was ok to physically abuse my mum’s eldest son (the boys were both 6 at the time) and for both his sons to emotionally torment mum’s current only daughter (my sperm donor’s eldest and only daughter so far stayed out of it and wouldn’t listen to his bs). She broke it off with him about halfway through her pregnancy but informed him that the offer stands where he can visit me if he wants to be in my life but she needs to be present. Furthermore, when I was about 5 or 6 and having had no interactions with ‘him’ whatsoever, my so called “father’s” family was calling my mother and saying all these awful things about her. Turns out, my gene donor told his entire side of the family that my own mother was denying him any access to me, whether it being visitation rights or just generalised information about me. My mother immediately shut that down and called him out on his absolute bs, stating that she has never denied him anything when it came to knowing about his daughter, how he never even attempted in getting to know me either through her or by directly meeting me in person.
It actually started to scare me at the point when my older sister (on my mum’s side) said that I looked like my other siblings (‘his’ kids), resulting in me almost having a breakdown because what I learned about him disgusted me and I feared that I was anything even remotely similar to him. Later on, I came to terms with the fact that despite me looking like him, I will never be the person he was
@@Kaithestressedowl I'm a little emotionally compromised at the moment, but wow (in the most sympathetic way possible.)
My dad his own mental health problems, and at the time and no way to treat them. So he turned to drugs. His sister (my adopted Mom) used to tell me "If you keep going on this track you're going, you'll end up just like your Daddy: flipping burgers at 32".
As I've gotten older, I've come to terms with a lot. The version on my Dad I got from my Adoptive Mom ( a low life druggie, who threw his life and talents away) was so skewed. He was a diagnosed Paranoid Schizophrenic with Manic Depressive Disorder, who wasn't in therapy. Of COURSE he turned to self medication. Was it right? No. But he wasn't the monster of a man she told me he was. And when his kid (Me) turned out to have possible Autism (still haven't gotten that professionally diagnosed) well...
All this is to say, I can definitely sympathize with being compared to a man who NO ONE would want to be compared to. While I was lucky enough to have a Dad who was a generally good guy, just someone who needed more help than people would give, I am so sorry you weren't given the same. But we aren't our Dads, for better or worse. We're human just like everyone else, and we get to decide who we are. ☺️
@@jordiepi3167 PERFECTLY SAID. And now I’m crying 😭
I love that Hana asking Ame not to leave was because she felt like she had more she needed to give him to be prepared for life on his own. Even though, as a wild animal, he won't need it. She fears she's lacking because she doesn't know anything about preparing him for that, and doesn't want him to suffer because she 'failed' him. Her parenting style is completely selfless, it's so clear how much she loves them.
In Japan they don't so much have 'people that turn into animals' as they have 'animals who learn to become human' and the father is that. He doesn't become a monster when he turns into a wolf because he is *always* the wolf, he just looks human at times.
Ngl its lowkey a petpeeve of mine whenever i see people calling the dad/kids werewolves when they are totally different things
Exactly, he's more like a wolf spirit, who can take a human form to blend in when he wants.
Wolfs Rain explains it perfectly!
Alan's ongoing feude with geese will never fail to crack me up xD
Fear the cobra chickens!
And it wasn't even a goose in the movie, right? Wasn't that a cormorant?
I’ve been chased by geese. I get it.
Here in Tahoe we have Canadian Geese, sans winter season…
I can assure you, they are definitely ~THE MOST AGGRESSIVE CANADIANS,~ & should be warned about to tourists to not “poke the bear,” though are not.
I hear more about close encounters with Canadian Geese than I do our local (Black (thankfully not Brown/Grizzly) Bears.
I’m not saying the latter are timid ~at all.~
Just please educate oneself before heading into the wild/great outdoors to avoid needing First Aid, OR a possibly pricey ambulance ride to + stay at South Shore’s Level II-III Trauma ER, AND/OR a possibly more expensive helicopter flight to + stay at Reno’s ER if Barton’s ER can only stabilize one’s predicament & send them to a better capable ER above the Level II-III.😅
Basically, don’t be stupid - even “in town” with ~any~ wildlife ESPECIALLY THEIR YOUNG!
*The question is not:*
Can I hug the bear cub?☺️
NO! THE QUESTION IS:
WHERE’S MOMMA BEAR?!😨
Goose Side Note 1:
Have you seen the TEETH/SERRATION on the beaks of some species of Geese?!? If you have not been thru or seen the bruises, scratches, bites, &/or blood drawn by at least 1 goose (likely warranted) attack then at least know it’s possible. Do not “poke the bear.”
Goose Side note 2 & Question:
I wonder if Alan would find any solace, &/or solidify his Anti-Goose/Geese Bias playing Untitled Goose…? Then again, would he at all ever consider becoming a Goose?🤣
Small detail I noticed.
When Hana runs towards the garbage truck and they ride away and she collapses, there's one guy who reaches out their umbrella to shield her from the rain. Even when they had no idea why she was so distraught, they still extended a small kindness. Just something I saw.
Hanna's little "For me," when she's begging Ame not to go back to the mountain always struck me. All through their childhoods she asked her children to behave, to be good, "For Daddy." To give them a connection to him. Here she's asking her son to choose his conection to her. From Ame's reaction, that might be the first time she'd ever done that.
Thank you for covering this beautiful film, and yes, please do another episode on comunity. Maybe one where you focus more on Yuki?
In the subtitled version I watched, Hana says "But... I haven't done a single thing for you." to Ame, which makes him turn around in shock. It seems like her thinking is that, yes, she's raised him and his sister, she brought them out to the country so they could grow up freer and make their choices as to who and what they'll be, but that that is a GIVEN. Housing them, feeding them, loving them, teaching them, etc. is all basic and not something she has "done" for them. For those of us that grew up with parents who would say things like "I feed and clothe you, I don't beat you" to make us feel bad, Hana's thinking is wild (and heartbreaking... we wish we had her as a mom).
You could do another video about finding community with Hana's neighbors and Mr. Nirasaki, but you could also include Yuki's journey into adulthood. It would be nice, since she's the narrator of the film and all. Also, I want to point out how it's interesting that Yuki, the one who turned into a wolf and was the most outgoing, was the one who chose to live as a human, whereas her timid brother was the one who ultimately became a wild wolf. Going in, I think most people expected the opposite.
Thank you for putting that in the words because you just made me realize where a belief about parenthood I’ve had for years now came from.
Oh, this so much so. Too many parents see their kids drifitng into their own individual selves and decide to lash out at them. Using the "I give you the basics to live, therefore, I've done everything for you".
It truly takes an introspective person to see the true nature of being a parent. I know my mother is the opposite to Hana in every way. Wanting me to be like her, requiring a man to be happy, believing giving the basic is enough, and so on.
I adore this movie for so many reasons.
I guess you could say he was more of a lone wolf😏I'll see myself out 😅
I think the reason they chose opposite is because what they wanted in the end: Yuki wanted to be “a part of a pack”. She found that with her humanity but became afraid that her wolf nature would drive everyone away, until Sousuke helped her accept it and have a confidante. Ame wanted to find his own place in the world and preferred to be alone with nature after overcoming his initial perceptions, hence he chose his wolf side.
I second for further episodes, one for community, & another for Yuki.🙏
I always found it interesting too how Yuki totally embraces her wolf form as a kid and is super confident in who she sees herself to be whereas Ame is the exact opposite but as they grow you see them both completely flip to where Yuki becomes rather insecure and uncertain and Ame is the confident one who embraces himself for who and what he is. We see that a lot in our own kids as they grow up.
You know, it's actually quite realistic. Girls have a tendency to struggle more with self identity than boys especially around the beginnings of puberty.
I am someone who is pretty much a completely different person as an adult than I was a kid, so I see myself in these wolf kids. It's really great to see that sort of change in fiction that you find in real life, especially since I don't see that sort of thing a lot in media.
Yes I love this aspect from the movie too. It shows how realistically, kids can grow into a totally different direction from when they're young and sometimes it's not a bad thing, that it's just part of a growing process. I love how the show explore that and embraced that.
Thank you! It is one of my favorite aspects of the movie! Also, when you look at Yuki and Ame as characters it makes sense. Yuki was always the outgoing, social kid, whereas Ame was always shy and reserved. Yuki finds joy and fun in being a wolf as a child, because she is so easygoing and never worries, but Ame is scared that him being part wolf is a bad thing. Yuki being the social butterfly she is, learns that she can't show her wolf self if she wants to go to school, and so to make her social life better she has to hide away the wolf - this becomes and insecurity, as she just wants to be "normal" and fit in, something we as humans (and wolves) instinctively try to do, because not having a pack used to mean you would die (in the wild).
But with Ame being shy and reserved, it makes perfect sense why he would feel better out in nature, out in the wild, away from other people. He is literally a lone wolf. He was never gonna flourish surrounded by people. Yuki was only ever gonna be happy as a wolf, if she could keep both her life as a human and as a wolf, and she didn't have to hide.
I think it's heartwarming and bittersweet that Ame can carry his mom all the way down a mountain, from humans' perspective, as a 10 year old. But this also shows that he's more than that and is already grown enough to know himself. And a part of that is because of her. Some kids are very intelligent and know who they are to their core and can carry that through their life but every kid is strong enough to walk without their parents having to carry them.
A small subtext thing, the kids' names tell a great deal about their characterization both at the beginning, and their eventual conclusions. "Yuki" has a few different meanings depending on the kanji (japanese written-characters) used, but typically means either "Snow," or "Happiness," and is a VERY common japanese name (as is Hana); and because we never see how the kids "spell" their names, either meaning could apply. Yuki starts the movie as a very cheerful, energetic child, who eventually finds herself wanting to be as normal as her name.
Ame is a somewhat rarer name, and typically has only one meaning, "Rain." Ame starts the film as a very sensitive, morose kid, who gets scared easily, but grows to be someone who is soft-spoken, and still often morose, but also proud, individualistic, and necessary to the environment around him, just as his very unique name suggests.
I wished they had covered the scene between Ame and Yuki fighting about being either human or wolf. It was sad watching them drift apart as they chose one side of themselves instead of embracing both.
I knowww huh I wish they would’ve talked about that scene as well!
I think it's not because they chose a side it's about where they felt they belonged I mean it's just the way I see it
Oh yeahhh, that was such a pincale moment ):
@@banshee22 I agree, though as someone who is biracial, and wasn't given the choice to choose, I *despise* a forced dichotomy. It's ok if one feels more "at home" with one side or another, so long as the choice to embrace *both* is allowed and accepted. I really wish Yuki had been allowed that. It was the one thing that soured me to this movie.
I feel they chose to not include for one major reason. This episode was about the mom's struggle ultimately, and so the focus was on her. That being said, I'd love them discussing the kids mindsets as the grew and the community the mom found herself in.
I love that while Hana couldn’t teach Ame to be a wolf, she was still able to teach him. She taught him to be brave, to be himself, and gave him the chance to find who he really is. That line at the end from Hana saying “what have I taught you” and Ame looking so shocked is one of the most heartbreaking things in this movie for me, because even though Hana’s done so much, she couldn’t see it and felt like she failed, and then Ame showed her that in reality she’d done everything. I dunno, the whole scene pulls at my heartstrings
I saw this movie when I had just found out I was pregnant with my husband's and my second child. I ugly cried so hard at the death of "Wolf-man," my husband offered to stop the movie. I insisted we keep watching after I regained my composure. I'm so glad I saw the whole thing. It was incredibly well done and evoked lots of big emotions. Thank you so much for sharing your insights. I had tears throughout your video. Great job, Alan and Jonathan 👍
To me it makes perfect sense the paths Ame and Yuki chose. Ame is an introvert and introverted people tend to prefer nature and as extroverted as Yuki is, it makes sense she’d want the hustle and bustle of human life.
As a mother who started her journey young, this movie is my absolute favorite. It will never not move me to tears. It helped show me that children growing up isn't sad, its beautiful, and watching their journey forward is not motherhood ending, its their life beginning.
Beautifully put. Thanks for sharing.
@@CinemaTherapyShow Always delighted to!
the part where Hana says "Anrent I supposed to teach you an important life lesson?" hits hard, but in the Latin American translation she says "This is what you want? but I haven't done anything for you yet" which makes the way that Ame turned around so so meaningful cuz, you can see he is thinking "what are you talking about, you gave me everything" but she refers to teach him something that he will appreciate and carry on the rest of his life, she feels she dint reach that point yet and is so beautiful
The original Japanese says something more like "I haven't done anything for you yet", which I think is also a stronger sentiment than what they chose for the English dub.
@@jessiec668 Yes, I always found that line absolutely heart-wrenching. She's been struggling and figuring out what to do all on her own in challenging circumstances and it just spells out the fact she feels in that moment like a total failure. Like she did nothing for them.
Then Ame shows her she did exactly what she was meant to, and I just sob into a pillow for a year.
@@jessiec668 Yes exactly. When I first watched the movie I cried at that part,and specially to Ame's shocked reaction when she said that,vecause to me it sounded like she was saying she havent done enough for him, which is absolutely untrue.
Me rompió el corazón, creo que es de lo peor que puede pensar un padre
I wish the English translation was more accurate to the Japanese dialog because it really matters. When they change things like this and ruin the meaning, it makes me so annoyed...
Colleen Clinkenbeard is SUCH a talented voice actress. The fact that she does incredible, dramatic, heart-breaking voice work in this, and is also LUFFY, is insane range.
when she said “But I still haven’t don’t anything for you!" it absolutely broke me and I couldn't stop crying. such a great movie, I love it.
It always strikes me how this movie ends with Hana just… *taking a breath.*
Like it’s only at that point that she can finally unclench and think to herself “that’s it, my job’s done, I did well.”
I am not a licensed therapist, but I've got to say that at least this moment I can totally see why the scene where the mom and the kids are playing in the snow and howling together makes Alan cry. I mean, aside from the fact that it is simply a beautiful moment, this parent is accepting their child's differences and helping them to feel joy in their differences. Whereas Alan has talked a lot about how his mother loves him but doesn't get him and there is that gulf in that relationship. So I could totally see how this scene would bring up a lot of complicated feelings for him.
This is exactly what I was thinking. Alan is crying because that's the relationship he wish he had with his mother when he was a child. I know because I feel the same
yeah I was thinking the same
Theropized pah pow!
I couldn’t agree more. It is such a beautiful scene that really does have actually a lot of power.
Yeah I feel that
As a single mother with a daughter and son similarly apart in age as Yuki and Ame, this movie hits HARD. I cry every time. The scene that always gets me most is when she asks "haven't I supposed to have taught you something by now?"
She pours her everything into her children and yet she still doubts herself. I feel that. And I hope I can someday feel the joy for my children that she feels for her children.
I wish they would’ve talked about Yuki’s journey from being very tomboy to settling in to a more feminine role, her fights, and the scene where the boy says he’ll keep her secret.
Also from this movie, i love the scene were she's torn between taking her ill daughter to the hospital or to the veterinarian... her desparation, frustration but ability to find a middle ground solution hits me hard
Wolf Children got me because I had no childhood. All the joyful moments make me cry, just like Alan, because I feel like I didn't get to enjoy having fun as a child. Now that I have a daughter, it gets me because I get to live a "second" childhood with her, and she's loved and she's safe, and she knows it.
Thank you for putting this into words.
Oh, god, i actually started bawling so hard at the scene where Ame leaves. I had already started to tear up when Alan was crying because I am a friggin empath and when other people cry, I cry, but that scene just made me a sobbing mess for 5 minutes.
Me too. I haven't even watch the movie. The combination of the beautiful scene+music+watching alan crying for some reason makes me cry too. I suspect it's probably because I rarely cry in my life and just keep bottling my emotions
Something I only noticed when watching your commentary on the movie, is how much an "adult" Ame (I don't know if he is an adult at this point in time, I suppose from a wolf's perspective he is) looks almost identical to his dad in his wolf form.
Maybe THAT was another reason why it was so heartbreaking for Hana to let go, maybe in a sense she's afraid of losing her son the same way she lost her husband
i vividly remember violently sobbing at the very end of the movie and downloading the entire soundtrack on itunes. literally one of mamoru hosoda’s best works
My friend responded to the end with "why didn't she just go after her daughter? Her son was going to leave anyway." I'm like...don't you have a kid...how does this not make sense.
I have an intense love-hate relationship with this movie. I hate change, I hate letting go. This movie TRAUMATIZED me as a kid with its beauty and even today I cannot watch it without breaking down! Being from a single-mother household really makes its messages hit different🥺
Don’t mind me skipping through this whole video bc I can’t relive these emotions 😅
Same.. it made me so sad when I watched it as a kid 🥲
I’m glad I’m not the only who feels this way 😭 It was so hard to watch/like this movie as a kid (especially coming from a single-mother household) but I’ve really grown to appreciate it over the years
Exactly. My immediate reaction to Ame leaving his mom was "WTF AME YOU CAN'T JUST DO THAT" but now that I'm older I'm glad she let him go. And i doubt it was the last time they saw each other, it was healthy for both of them to let Ame go
SAAAAAME! I can't watch the video yet because I have plans later and need to not be crying the whole day! 😅
I grew up both in a single mother household, and for a short time in a single dad household before my dad got remarried because my parents were divorced. I saw my mom in Hana, myself in Yuki, and my little brother in Ame. Both my little brother and I have a difference from our older brother and our younger sister, and I compare that to Yuki and Ame's wolf side. My mom helps my little brother and I embrace that side of ourselves like just Hana does for her kids.
One series you both will definitely love and cry to is Violet Evergarden. It’s incredible visually and talks about the meaning and impact of letter writing. What does it mean to say “I love you” post civil war?” is something the show tackles and you both will definitely love it. It’s an incredible show for future therapists and viewers alike. It’s incredibly healing yet heartbreaking all at once.
I would love to see you both give the series a go and analyze it 😊
Oh god, Violet Evergarden DESTROYED me emotionally. They'd definitely love it.
Best part is that every episode is worth its own discussion, they could make a complete little series out of it!
Yes! If you like feels go with Violet Evergarden.
Violet Evergarden and Your Lie In April are two anime short series that have made me sob like a baby.
Hope they do it
Yes PLEASE 🙏🏻 Also suggesting VEG
The first time I watched this movie, it was right after my mother passed away. It was... difficult.
Okaasan No Uta - Mother's Song
"No matter which of the two roads you choose,
I would probably no longer be able to gaze at you from afar
Someday, when you set out on your journey,
I'm sure I will see you off with a smile"
Absolutely love this movie.
Another bit of subtext about the rain scene is that Ame's name also means "rain." So when Hana catches herself from finishing that sentence, and the sound of the rain grows louder and louder, it can be interpreted as Hana finally realizing who Ame is, and is truly seeing/hearing him for the first time.
Oh wow, that is so beautiful! ❤❤😢
YESSS, Exactly!
ohhhhhhh beautiful detail
My family spent two hours joking at my grandmother's funeral about her life. As we started to leave everyone went quiet all at once. That moment in time was both joy and grief.
The best memorials for people are the ones that have as much laughter as tears. The first close family death I experienced was when I was 25 and my mom's father died, the funeral was a boring Catholic affair but the big family dinner we all had together after was an absolute scream as we remembered and talked about all the things about him that made us laugh, and all the things about us that made him laugh (or get grumpy, which was him laughing when found something funny but didn't think it was appropriate to laugh at).
Then the next year my father died unexpectedly, and it affected so many people that the people he worked with at his government job rented a huge hall and put together an amazing memorial for him where there was as much laughter as anything else. A few of his closest coworkers had everyone he'd worked with send them in a written anecdote about my dad and these wonderful people printed them out and matched them with photos of him and them and each of me, my mom, and my brother (who was also in his twenties) was given a book full of these photos and anecdotes about my dad, each of them a little different from the others. 21 years later, it's one of my most cherished posessions, and every year or so I pull i out and re-read it and I always laugh as much as I cry.
Also when my mom's mom died years later, the funeral was all solemn and boring but oh goodness, the wake the night before was a great time! It was an open casket viewing, and we filled her pockets with chocolate bars, her favourite candies and Scrabble tiles, and I'm pretty sure my uncle slipped a beer and some cigarettes in there too and we all laughed at all the good memories.
@Bun Helsing’s legacy I’m not going to lie I geared up just reading that. That’s absolutely lovely. I’m sorry for your loss.
After my Grammy’s funeral some of the younger great grandchildren got bored while the adults talked. So I led them to a flat grassy area at the church and we played an impromptu game of baseball using a wiffle ball and bat and a few miscellaneous items like my heeled shoes for bases,
At first I felt bad and told my dad as much, then he reminded me that Grammy loved baseball and would have loved that we had played a game at her funeral.
On my dad's last day, we gathered around his hospital bed and talked about Family holidays, fond memories and that, if you were to ask him how he's doing right now in the induced Coma, he'd respond with "dazzling" as he always did.
This gave all of us a much needed lighthearted Break in between the grim discussions on wether or not to shut down the life support.
I've seen this movie a dozen times, cried each and every time. And I cried again just at these clips. Wolf children is truly a wonderful movie that hits deep no matter how many times you've seen it.
What gets me about the wolf man's death is that it's his co workers who pick him up and they just...never know
god i didnt even realize that
I always thought it was kind of fascinating that Yuki was the one who went to live life as a human, and Ame went to live life as a wolf. With him being so quiet, in hindsight, it makes sense, but given how at ease Yuki seemed to be in her wolf form, the movie does a good job in making you think you know where the story is going to go, only to take a hard left and it works INCREDIBLY well. I really hope they react to the fight scene-you feel more bad for Hana than the kids. And it's interesting to note that YUKI started it by slapping her brother, and egging him on by saying "wanna fight?" sure he escalated it, but she shouldn't start something she couldn't finish.
It works well because it takes the time to show why and how they're changing and growing. Yuki's outgoing and adventurous nature lends itself well to wolfhood as a young girl, but as she grows older it drives her to want to make friends and embrace people which makes sense but unfortunately doesn't leave as much room for her wolf side. Meanwhile, Ame's shy and introverted nature at first seems to point him away from his wolf side, seeking the security of home and family until he realizes the wilderness is where he truly feels at home and helps him to embrace his wolf half fully. It might seem like a hard left turn, but there's a logical consistency from the very beginning and it's perfect because in real life as children we often don't know who we are or want to be and growing up isn't straight forward. I also like that Yuki doesn't completely abandon her wolf side as she gets older and it's a struggle for her to hide that part of herself from Sohei. For her at least, choosing a side isn't easy or even fully possible so it's important for her that Sohei can accept her duality when so many of her friends wouldn't. It's such a nice parallel of her father opening up to Hana, It's all so beautiful 😭
It makes perfect sense. Yuki was driven towards being social and outgoing, and in a world that consisted of three people exactly, it wasn't a choice to be either human or wolf. She was both - all the time. Then she grew up enough to understand that it was a secret, and that segregated the wolf from the human. She was always seeking approval in many small ways. And thus, since approval came from friends, she inclined more and more to human.
There are quite a few important moments in Yuki's life that turned her more and more towards the human and also classical feminine. Like the girls running away because of her treasure box. And gaining approval for the dress her mother made.
Ame was much more introverted, sure, he learned slowly, by watching, listening waiting. The wolf stories he listened to made him feel rejected, and dejected, so unconsciously he rejected the wolf aspect. There were three pivotal moments that defined who he would become. The first when his mother told him that, she would always support the wolf. It was the opening, and acceptance he needed to integrate his wolf and human side. The second when he caught the kingfisher, it gave him confidence and courage. And the third when his natural introverted tendencies lead to his isolation in early school days, and also bullying.
But also importantly, he found acceptance in the mountains through the fox - a mentor - a father figure almost - that he never had. I suppose that could classify as a fifth moment.
@@kelseykwolek8241 Ame was being bullied at school. Picture books and books in general want wolves dead. He saw that the wolves in the reserves, by humans, are sad, depressed. In the mountains, he takes care of all the animals.
I actually found that part of the story to be stereotypical and expected. I'd have been more interested if Ame had a story where he was quote and withdrawn and found a way to live among humans and Yuki lived half as a wolf and half human since she shifted well between both and her arc was about finding balance between the two.
@@stemcareers8844me too it annoyed me a lot. It felt like they just didn't want to show a girl in that place because women "can't behave like that"
I am right there with Alan in crying through this movie. This tugs at my heart strings so hard! The persistence, courage, poise, and grace the mother has throughout all of the tragedies is Happy Tears territory.
We love Happy Tears!
If you want happy tears id recommend you watch the boy the mole the fox and the horse a lot of powerful lines for a short film
Oh right I'm glad you watched the dub too. I don't mind either way but the english dub for this movie really is phenomenal
23:28 That's exactly it. He didn't put it into human words or a hug but he did say it by howling. Everything was packed into that howl to show his mom who he is and Hana understood it
I'm honestly surprised that you didn't cover the fact that Yuki who was more in touch with the wolf before, after the accident chose to embrace the human side of herself. While her brother Ame who had been so timid before decided to embrace the wolf side.
Yuki tried to fit in with the humans, and she pretty much had a moment like her Father did with her Mother. Hana was supportive of her just as much as she was her son and Yuki managed to find her own acceptance. By the way they are only a year apart making her 11 so she went to the middle school. Because of where it was she is living a dorm life.
So Hana in a way as Yuki said since she narrates that it was like her Mother lived a fairy tale for 10 years raising her wolf children.
I find it interesting how the children switch roles between whose's more human and more wolf. In the beginning, Yuki is more wolf than Ame and Ame is more human than Yuki. In the end, they have completely switched roles. It nicely reflects how people gain and lose traits at different points in life. For example confidence. Some are confident when they are young and begin to doubt themselves as they grow older while others start having little to no confidence, but become confident when they have grown older.
And then Ame looks like his father. And Yuki falls in love with a human like her father. :) ❤
@@sunnicorran9244 falls in love? I didn’t get that impression at all.
@@SusanaCanales1 She cared about him enough to reveal her wolf side. Just as her father took that leap for their mother. I mean....says a lot really.
@@TheRibottoStudios yeah, but that doesn’t mean romance. You can trust a friend that much as well.
@@SusanaCanales1 fair point
Wolf Children is the very definition of family. It deals with loss of a family member, being a single parent, teaching your children and also learning how to let your children go😊
Hello Adam. You are not damaged. I also cried during the snow scene and I often cry when I see or hear something beautiful, too. I experience things deeper than most people, and when something moves me to my core, I just bawl my eyes out. I used to be ashamed of it, but today, I'm not. It's usually happening if I've been stressed for a couple of days and I keep it all inside, and when I hear or watch something like the snow scene in Wolf Children, all these emotions come out in tears. Let them.
I LOVE Wolf Children and I'm so happy they're reacting to this.❤
Thanks for watching! :)
It's amazing how all the times Alan cried were the ones that made me cry, too. Happy tears, sad tears, this movie made me cry a few times and stays one of my alltime favourites.
I like how Jono, at some point, says "I usually know why you cry, but today...". Reminds me of my own best friend and the times we can understand each other completely, and the times we don't, and both are beautiful.
i watched wolf children when i was 13 years old and I cried all the joyful and sorrowful tears that alan did in this video, safe to say that 6 years later, now 19, I'm crying those same damn tears
🤝Me watching it around the same age, now 20. Crying all the same.
same here. 2nd time I watched it when I was 20 with my mother. She raised me as a single mother for 9 years
Crying again also
I think I was 13 too when I saw it first! I watched it on my little iPod alone in my room and sobbed 😂. I’m 19 now too and I need to watch the whole movie again
@@lindseywolthuis9535 I remember I was late to school one morning bc I was watching the end of wolf children and I was recovering in the car all the way to school 😭😭
Hana is a perfect imperfect mother. An archetype depicted not idealistically, but humanely. That's why this film opens up emotions nothing else ever has, and why it makes me cry every single time. Especially the ending song.
Jesus every time I see even a clip of this movie I break into tears. It’s just so raw, emotional, and real.
19:00 the sheer shock in realizing what she was about the say and the silent but palpable regret and shame in that moment when she realized she was about the take the choice that she had worked so hard to create for her kids from her kids and then the shift to backing down from commanding to attempting to reason through her own feelings of grief and loss not just for her husband but also the life she had built in the face of such loss. I think most parents feel a twing of grief the first day of school and even more of a sense of loss when they have raised their children into adults... its not like grieving a death, but more the closing of a chapter of life, no longer is she going to be solely responsible for providing for her children and she has to let go of Ame's paw so that he can be his own person. We saw a similar issue when Yuki wanted to go to school.... Hana wants so badly to let her kids be ABLE to make that choice but didnt seem to emotionally prepare her self for when they DO out of fear that they will be harmed.... but thats the thing about life, parents cannot guarentee their childrens safety in the real world.... all you can do is teach them how to best protect themselves.
As a single parent who is a combat vet, there’s a crazy amount of parallel between battle sense and parent sense.
Hana is hands down one of the best fictional moms ever!
Truer facts have never been stated. She's the GOAT.
So true!!!!
I ALWAYS cry watching these scenes. This movie is such a pure work of art, combining the sad and the joyful, the hardships of life and its, well... simplicity
This was great. Wolf Children has been my favorite movie for years. One of the best scenes in all animation is the one where Sensei takes Ame through the forest and showing him the ways of animals without any dialogue. I adore it so much, it's up there with the heritage of the wolf scene from Balto in how excellent it is.
The rain swelling when Ame has made up his mind is also meaningful because it's literally his name. Ame and Yuki, Rain and Snow. One born in Spring, one in winter.
You know what, Alan? I'm also crying right here. I'm not only crying for things that makes me sad, but also for something beautiful or seeing other people's joy. However, I think there is a beauty in crying 😂
I showed this movie to my mom when I was a teenager and our relationship had become very strained. It's one of the few memories I have of us sharing an experience that we both could connect to.
My friend pointed out that Yuki learning to her human side fits with the idea that girls
cannot be wild but boys can she loved the idea of her being the one to embrace her wolf side but when she suppresses it to fit in she said it made her so sad and angry
I think instead for Yuki it was because she’s more social. She Needed a “pack”, which she found with friends and the boy she develops feelings for. She chose humanity so that she could have a pack, not because she lost her wildness.
Another important thing i want to point out is that she chooses to show the boy her wold side, as if to say, “this is also a big part of me and if you’re going to love me you must learn to love it too”. This shows she is not denying her inner wolf and instead is embracing it and demands the same of the boy.
Crazy fact the ending song for movie actually translated means "A Mother's Song" in English. This movie indeed was about everything mothers and their children go through. It never fails that emotional rollercoaster.
I know it's easy to forget, but the whole movie is technically a flashback narrated by Hana's daughter, Yuki. Which is a pretty refreshing writing choice. ^^
Omg I never paid attention to that!!
Wolf Children never fails to make me cry. Its such a beautiful story.
I feel you so hard Alan, the scene Hana running with her kids on the snowy mountain, with that orchestra. It gets me everytime! Partially due to my connection with wolves. It is a beautiful scene!! Any super joyful scene makes me cry just as much with sad scenes.
I was crying too during the snow scene, and while it was this happy, free moment, something in the music kept that thread of loss present and it's a powerful reminder of every time some unexpected happiness breaks through a depressive slump. For someone, anyone, that struggles to feel worthy of good things, to be guided through a moment of pure joy in a way that makes you feel it so intensely, it is extremely moving.
Yes!
Thank you - I was struggling to put this into words but I had the exact same response, hints of nostalgia of such a joyful experience, but also tempered by the awareness of all the pain just on the outskirts of it, waiting to claw you back down
for me it is the fact that the unexpected joys and sorrows of life tend to be mirrors for each other. also not to underestimate the music and what it brings to the scene, I think that song alone could make me cry
Personally i cry when there’s something beautiful not out of sadness but out of sheer joy and it’s very blissful when that ahappens, because I’m extremely happy
"Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms" is a movie about motherhood with an adopted child and it is a stronger recommend if you like wolf children
Underrated as heck, hope they react to it too. The story is so beautiful
Yeah tottaly! I rewatched recently, such a beautiful movie. I made and edit and fanart for mothers day. The first time i watched it broke me so much i legit cried like a 5 year old who's icecream fell off to the ground.
Oh dear gosh, yes! I second this recommendation! You want a musical score that makes you cry? That will do it.
Yes!!! I love that one too!
Totally! I would LOVE a video about that film
Alan, you are not the only one, who starts sobbing at the snow scene. I watched the movie for the first time not long after I moved away from home and it really helps with homesickness, because we had a very similar family dynamic as Hana and the children. Although the situation was a little bit different, my father being abroad constantly due to work, us being "left behind" in a foreign country as immigrants and to top that one child was neurodivergent and the other had a chronic illness - my mother was in a similar hard spot as Hana. But in between the everyday hardships and struggles, there were a few moments, where we could be "us" and forget everything painful and just be happy. So this scene really reminds me of these moments and I just always start crying when I hear the music.
My mom raised me as a single mom from when I was 4 up until I was 13. She's such a good mother and this movie really hits hard for both me and her
I do love the relationship between Hana and wolf man. He's quiet and likes to listen to her. She's cheerful and sunny but still needs time to adjust to what he is. It still breaks me that the rubbish collectors don't let her take him, not even assuming that he's her pet just... taking him away.
from what I remember of the movie they wouldn't be allowed to let her approach because they know he's a wolf, and a wild animal like this could be a carrier of dangerous diseases ! not to mention she has two babies (with very weak immune systems), so it's not surprising that they push her away. They're doing their jobs
I don't think you understand how large wolves are and how ridiculous it would be to assume it's her pet
Oddly enough, I read the manga that was based on the movie. In said scene, Hana just bolts over to the workers and though her crying she says, "Wait... That PERSON is--". She calls her husband in his wolf form a PERSON, and the workers don't pay attention to her. The workers probably thought Hana had lost her mind or something, calling a wild wolf a "person". Maybe that's just me? IDK
I WAS REALLY HOPING YALL WOULD DO WOLF CHILDREN!! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND DOING "In This Corner of the World" IF YOU GUYS HAVE THE TIME!
I SECOND THIS RECOMMENDATION!!
I agree, the movie was such a roller coaster of emotions! My roommate and I were just sitting there going “aww this is so sweet, a bit slow, but sweet.” Then “oh wait, no! Girl! No! Stop!”
@@TorleeOwO RIGHT!!!!
@@AerisAerith1991 YEAAA
They already did 'Grave of the Fireflies'. How much pain do we have to put them through?
(14:50 When you feel a strong emotion, being it blind rage or pure joy, your brain gets overwhelmed and seeks release through tears.)
This movie is one of my favourites. The journey each character goes through is beautiful. Throughout the movie, Ame and Yuki experience their life in this line between wolf and human in different ways, on top of their childhood and teenager years, and end with the opposite life of what they thought they wanted on those first years. It feels fullfilling. And Hana... You've said all I had to say about her. I love her story. The end always makes me smile with tears still fresh.
So, I actually cry during joyful or wholesome moments in movies or books as well. It baffled me for years (especially considering I don't actually cry in my every day life at all...happy, sad, what have you), but I came to a realization a few years ago.
It's what I call an Overabundance. My heart becomes too full and I let myself cry. It's cathartic and it's an expression of pleasure and happiness...of relief that there are good stories in the world. Sappy, but true.
I would LOVE a second episode on this about the human side of this story - the farming community and Yuki growing up. But I'm so glad you covered this film at all. The ultimate Mother's Day movie, to me.
I too would love to see a second episode! In addition to seeing how the community helps, I would love to hear some more thoughts on Yuki. She is both the narrator and seems like a kind of foil for Ame. At first, she seems to to act more like a wolf instinctively than Ame, but over time, she seems to reverse her position after many positive experiences as a human and negative experiences as a wolf, culminating in another heart-wrenching scene.
@@megabyte01 Yeah, I always found Yuki's story the more moving of the two (although I cry through most of this movie) so I found the exclusion of her story a little sad!
I would love to see you guys do _Howl's Moving Castle._ It really has a great message about self-esteem.
We're working on a video for it!
Thank you!
@@CinemaTherapyShow If you do, don't forget it's based on a book series! and the reason for her age swapping is actually explained there. can't wait!
@@CinemaTherapyShow I will also be looking forward for it as well!
That's a great idea! And am happy that they are working on it.
Though I personally still think they should do some kind of Top Ten best Family and Kids movies...
Along the lines of "healthiest message" under which _Little Mermaid_ probably isn't falling.
I'm so happy you guys did this one! It's such a beautiful movie! Hana had children who became confident enough to choose their own paths themselves regardless of what anyone thought and that's most definitely the signs of a good parent. Can you do Belle next?
Alan and I have something in common with the joyful tears. I would rather be moved to tears through beauty than sorrow, there is way too much sorrow, but sorrow makes beauty and joy that much more meaningful.
In Japanese, Hana means Flower, Yuki means snow, and Ame means rain. Just thought I'd bring that up because the use of weather and nature in this movie to punctuate huge moments is such a nice touch.
It hit me while watching this movie is that Ame's and Yuki's name translates literally into rain and snow respectively from Japanese. I sense a connection between the two names and the big turning points in the movie when the family was playing in the snow and when Ame went into the forest during the storm.
this is probably one of my favourite movies ever. i showed this to my family, and my mom cried and asked how i even found something like this. took a while, but i got a dvd of it and the art is just beautiful
Why all the Ame's side, i LOVED the arc of Yuki's growing, starting as a rebel and "maturing". You should really do one for her.
I remember watching Wolf Children at a viewing party and thinking it was going to be a furry romance so I checked out but that scene with the father hit me like a truck and realized just how sad and beautiful this film was. I love how it wasn't about the romance but how Hana raises the children and that was so unique to me.
I remember watching this movie as a teenager and it being one of the first movies to truly hit me with grief, the way the wolf man is shown in the gutter with his eyes open, absolutely brutal. It hit me harder than any movie death had ever hit me before.
Same. Left me kind of shocked for a while, and it's not even that bad as a scene.
I just wanted to mention, not only is the subtext in bringing up the sound of the rain that Hana is remembering his father.
It's also her realizing that this is a defining moment for Ame becoming who he is. Ame is the Japanese word for rain.
I read this manga a few years back, and Ame’s choice to leave to be in the wild broke me. I could never understand back then why he’d choose to leave his mom and sister. Now that I’m in college, I think I understand. He’s not leaving them, he’s going on to live his own life. He loves his family dearly, but also loves the life he’s chosen. I love my family, but I don’t think I could live at home full time again like in high school. We grow, and we have to leave the nest. It might hurt, but we cherish everything we have.
This and a silent voice are definitely tearjerkers, but in a good way. We need more movies like this.
I agree
Definitely- especially when you come from a difficult childhood- sometimes it teaches you emotionally about yourself things that you wish you could have learned as a child
An episode dedicated to Yuki and her identity crisis and how she protected them on her brother would be great, you guys know probably better how to name that 😂 but that would be awesome pleasaase do it
yes yes yessss :D
YESSS!!! that'd be amazing
Agreed
Yes, I was sad they barely even mentioned her.
i loved the shift between the older sister being more in touch with her wolf side as a child and then shifting over to her human side later in life while her younger brother essentially does the reverse. It's a good show of how people change and adapt to what they prefer.
8:59 This made me get up and check. My dressers are still wall-anchored even though no one is at risk of pulling them down anymore.
I think Ame's reaction to the wolf's role in story books also has a solid, if maybe unintentional, analogy to growing up as an immigrant in any nation. My experience growing up hispanic in the US meant that outside of a few caricatures, I didn't often see myself in the books and shows I watched and surrounded by rhetotic about negative stereotypes and claim. Japan being a mostly homogenous nation (and can be pretty xenophobic from what I understand) probably has its fair share of non-japanese and mixed japanese kids with not a lot of positive representations and a whole lot of negative rhetoric for people outside of the traditional Japanese presenting standard.
As a mixed-race person (although not of Japan) I personally think likening it to representation for mixed-race families would do the movie a disservice because it would then get into the weeds of having to choose one side when, rather than focusing on picking one culture to stick to, someone of mixed-race would ideally be able to embrace both. It just falls apart a bit as a metaphor there! But it really is a beautiful movie for showing a model parent working to raise kids who aren't growing up exactly how she might have imagined them to be.
I hadn't thought of it that way. It's interesting that you take that perspective, in that it kinda fits with the perspective change that has happened to wolves from when those story books were written. Before the invention of Firearms, wolves were so incredibly dangerous to us that these books told us "fear wolves, they will eat you, full stop" and don't screw with them, which is very much in keeping with most peoples perspectives on "outsiders" or "the other". Now, as the world has changed, we have to change our perspective on those who aren't like us, e.g. wolves are endangered almost every where, and we need to treat them with respect.
@@MelodicEmpathy i think you misinterpreted their meaning. they weren't talking about the whole movie. they were talking about the one specific scene where ame is negatively affected by seeing part of his identity only portrayed as villainous.
but also japan is only so homogenous today cause of the genociding of the minority populations in the past, like the ainu. i think the analogy can be for any minority population
@@jennym3883 my mistake then, typically when people apply a reading of a movie I see them apply it to the whole (I do know other mixed race people who do not like this movie because they did apply that reading to the whole movie and took it to mean that you must pick one side of your heritage instead of both). So, personally, I just think it's a messy topic to bring into the conversation to begin with when I don't think the rest of the movie really fits.
There's one bit in this film that always breaks my heart, and that's Yuki trying to fit in at school, and how she changes herself to fit in. I get it, it makes sense, and Hana helping her by making her a new dress is great, but it always hurts
This was a movie that really stuck with me as a child. I’ve laughed and cried many times throughout the years watching it. Thank you so much for reacting to it. I would also recommend any other Chizu movie, they’re all amazing!
This movie is truly a masterpiece. It is as special and as beautiful as the magic the studio Ghibli produced with their movies. I feel like I am in that movie, feeling their pain, joy, love, and change. It’s a movie that just feels real and human. It’s so imperfect in the way the characters move or react.