Wolf's Rain [TV]
In a slowly decaying world, a small ray of hope takes form as an old legend. According to the tale, when the world’s end finally arrives, the gates of Paradise will open, and there everyone can live peacefully. However, it is also said; that the now thought to be extinct wolves are the only one who can find the gateway to salvation.
A lone wolf in the name of Kiba travels to Freeze City after being drawn by a unique scent. There, he discovers that three other wolves have also been drawn by the same scent. Together, masked by a powerful illusion to hide themselves from humans, they search through the barren wastelands for the key to Paradise known as the Lunar Flowers, bringing with them their hopes for a better life. However, not only the wolves have been searching for this mystical land, and these other beings are prepared to do anything just to enter Paradise.
About the Show
Wolf’s Rain is a sci-fi adventure anime television series directed by Tensai Okamura, and written by Keiko Nobumoto. Produced by studio Bones, the series aired a total of 26 episodes (plus 4 OVAs) between January 6, 2003 and February 25, 2004.
Main Characters
Cheza
Cheza is an artificially made human from Lunar Flowers, and is intended to be the key to Paradise. She is the Flower Maiden, and thus shares a special bond with the wolves, who constantly saves her from the humans.
Kiba (“Fang”)
Impulsive, prideful, but brave, Kiba is a white lone wolf who initially refused to disguise himself as a human due to his great hatred for them. When he was still a young wolf, Jaguara’s troops slaughtered his pack and burned down their forest. He was the only survivor of this attack, and was taken in by a shaman. The shaman told Kiba that he was saved by the forest for a reason, and that his destiny was to find Paradise.
Tsume (“Claw”)
Usually ill-tempered and cold towards the other wolves, Tsume is a grey wolf who lives in Freeze City and survives by leading a pack of human thieves. His pack was also attacked by Jaguara’s troops, and Tsume was ostracized by his pack after he attempted to flee from battle. Initially, he did not believe Kiba and the legend of the Paradise, but later joins him under the excuse that he is fed up with Freeze City.
Hige (“Whiskers”)
Intuitive and sharp, Hige is a Mexican wolf and appears to be the one who functions best within the human society. Although being serious from time to time, Hige sometimes play as the joker of the pack, and is usually teased about his weight. Through a special collar, Hige was once brainwashed by the humans to lead Jaguara’s troops to the location of other wolves.
Toboe (“Howling”)
Inexperienced and timid, Toboe is a red wolf who is the youngest member of the pack. He often acts more like a puppy, and does not harbor hate toward humans like the other pack members do. He was raised as a pet of an old lady, who was unfortunately killed after an unrestrained act of playfulness.
Season Summary
Kiba meets Tsume, Hige, and Toboe at Freeze City, wolves who were also drawn by scent of the Lunar Flower – the key to Paradise. Together, they search for Cheza, the flower maiden destined to lead the wolves to Paradise. However, she is stolen away by Lord Darcia the Third.
The wolves try pursue Darcia through different cities and ruins to save Cheza, while Quent – a man obsessed in killing wolves – is also hunting them down. After meeting Cheza, Quent’s wolf Blue leaves her master’s service and joins the other wolves in their quest.
The other wolves reach Darcia’s keep, after Kiba decides to go off on his own. They are soon followed by the humans hunting them, and they find Cheza and Kiba against Darcia in a sword fight. Jaguara’s troops shortly arrives and raids the keep, destroying it in the process. Jaguara troops capture Cheza and the wolves regroup to once again save Cheza.
The wolves and humans find themselves in Jaguara’s City, where they believe Cheza is being held. In a failed attempt to rescue Cheza, Tsume, Kiba, and Toboe are imprisoned by the Jaguara. Jaguara then attempts to force the Paradise’s gates open using Kiba’s blood. Darcia, who survived Jaguara’s attack on his keep, interrupts Jaguara’s ceremony which allows the wolves to escape and rescue Cheza. Darcia fights Jaguara with Kiba, and they finally manage to kill her. Jaguara’s city falls into chaos, so the humans and wolves escape.
The wolves, Quent, Cher and Hubb, and Cheza make their way to Paradise. However, Darcia – who is now insane – is hot on their tail. In a very hard struggle towards the gate of Paradise, Darcia manages to kill everyone except Kiba and Cheza. At the place where Paradise’s gateway, Kiba and Darcia fight to the death. Kiba is fatally wounded after the fight, but Darcia dies after his entry to Paradise is rejected. Kiba dies, but was able to witness the world’s rebirth, caused by Cheza’s death.
Quick Review
Story: The series is well-paced, and most episodes do not end with a cliff hanger. The plotline is very interesting, showing the nature of humans and how greedy we can be. The scenes are excellently woven together, creating an amazing and memorable story.
Characters: The characters are also well written, each are unique and are given sufficient development. They are all very likeable, even the villains, and they fill their respective roles in the story.
Animation: The animation is excellent, being able to successfully depict how a post-apocalyptic Earth might look like. The art is dark themed, fitting for the miserable creatures living on a slowly decaying plantet.
Sounds: The soundtrack is absolutely fantastic. The music perfectly sets the mood for each scene, and the voice acting is undeniably great.
Overall, if you are looking for an anime that stands above most, a story of an epic adventure and romance, then Wolf’s Rain is definitely for you.
