The Boy and the Beast

The movie was great, it was wonderful, a memory that I will never forget. I hope that one day they will release the second movie of this anime and I hope that one day it will be fulfilled

I expected more magic things from an anime like this with a director like that.

Mamoru Hosoda, one of the contemporary Japanese anime directors, frequently follows certain patterns in his feature-length anime films. Certain elements are usually linked to each other by bearing symbolic meanings. Different creatures become family members. An object, usually an image, takes us back and forth in time. Tradition plays an important role in shaping modern life. In this review, I will explain these recurring elements in five different anime films that Hosoda produced after the 2000s: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006), Summer Wars (2009), Wolf Children Ame and Yuki (2012), The Boy and the Beast (2015), Mirai (2018). We will look at how Mamoru Hosoda reproduces the issues of family ties and childhood, creatures and strangers, traditions and roots, classical master-apprentice relations, country and city, time and space in his unique narrative style. Full review: https://guncesinema.com/en/from-aliens-to-family-from-family-to-roots/

It mixes fantasy, coming of age and martial arts, and becomes a fantastic adventure with impressive action, beautiful animation, memorable characters and an emotionally affecting narrative.

Overall the film is beautiful and fun. It does feel a little overloaded at times with too many things trying to be accomplished. The ending monologue should just be ignored as it hits all the wrong emotional notes. For the most part the film is a fiery exciting ride which matures the main characters maintaining their sense of fun all the way.

The cliche fantasy aspects are justified through Hosada's direction of human spiritualism throughout the picture. The lessons learned and the dynamic character relationships are strengthened by flowing, beautiful, action-packed animation. It's some of the best animation to grace his work- the team should be commended. The boy is a brilliantly refreshing coming-of-age character.

Beneath (or maybe parallel to) our world lies a secret land, populated by mythical creatures and governed by a strict, traditional code. Orphaned by his mother and abandoned by his father, one angry young boy finds his way between the two planes and begins an apprenticeship with a tenacious, if temperamental, fighting bear. Together, they learn and grow, developing physically as well as spiritually, but never completely reaching a full, placid understanding. Their mutually headstrong ways stand in the way of such a harmonious accord. This is where the real interest of the film lies, a father-son relationship that's complete with bumps, warts and stubborn deadlocks. Its fantasy landscape is magical and fascinating, colorfully realized and teeming with life. I just wanted to dwell there for the duration. Later forays back into the human world are an unwelcome distraction, even if they lead to greater depth for the main character, and the climactic battle falls into the same category. It's completely out of left field, under-explained and off-key; a poor match for the softer, more resonant touch that was evident in earlier acts. While it's in the sweet spot, The Boy and the Beast is animated magic. The hand-to-hand fight scenes and training montages are especially wonderful, smoothly and precisely animated with just enough exaggeration to remind us it's an anime. Very good when it's in the zone, but that focus doesn't last forever.

What starts out as a runaway boy version of Spirited Away becomes a deep examination of our own inner "beasts" with some striking animation and creative storytelling, if not the best execution - in other words, Hosoda may have "bitten off a little more than he could chew" with this one.

After "Wolf Children", masterful storyteller Mamorou Hosoda continues depicting familial relationships in thematic explorations and stirring rare emotions in this meeting between the transformed "Jungle Book" and "Beauty and the Beast" within the realm of "Spirited Away", finding constancy in the charming animation and heart that is more riveting and equally great to the previous aforementioned masterpiece, solidifying his directorial skills as theatrical must-sees at Miyazaki's level of greatness but somewhat more emotionally engaging as well meaningful. (A)

Heartwarming story of self-discovery, determination, and the family we make.