![]() Wolf's Rain does indeed do bleak and dark very well, but it also manages to balance it with hope and optimism. Of course there are some stunning shows made with that recipe, Texhnolyze springs to mind, and there's no rule saying that the Armageddon needs to be bright and shiny and have a mascot animal. ![]() Said shows would be bleak, dark and relentlessly depressing. I've seen plenty of apocalyptic anime series some better than others, and by and large the most common theme is a dystopian, nihilistic vision of the future, and a pervading sense of hopelessness and inevitability. Wolf's Rain is about the end of the world, or rather the end of a world. Frankly I'm at the point now where I will buy a show, simply because it has her name attached to it. Her score can be breathtaking, evocative, soaring, as well as subtle, gentle and mesmerising. As for the music, well it is Yoko Kanno, and not only does she choose the most worthy and interesting of projects to compose for, but her music, as always lifts the anime into the stratosphere in terms of quality. There's certainly nothing to complain about here. It's a good English dub from what I sampled, up to the standards demanded by the story and the characters, and on a par with the original actors. That said, even the Japanese stereo offers splendid audio, expressive but not overbearing, and adequately conveying the action and the music, especially after having a little Prologic applied to it. As my preference as always is for the original language version, I'm a little disappointed that there's no surround option here. Sound You have a choice between DD 5.1 and 2.0 Surround English, as well as a DD 2.0 Stereo Japanese track. ![]() The character designs are excellent, memorable and well animated (both human and lupine), and there's no doubt that the imagery from this show will stay with you long after other shows have been forgotten. It makes you wish that this was made in a wider format, but the 4:3 frame is put to good use regardless. The animation is of consistently high quality, bordering on the cinematic, something that is breathtakingly made clear in the show's opening sequence, a bandit raid on a train. The show is bleak, moody and atmospheric, and that is reflected in the subdued palette, and rundown depressed future dystopian world design. It's the transfer that this show deserves, coming from Studio Bones, with consistently high production values and standards. The anime looks absolutely stunning on these discs. Aside from the slightly lower resolution, the image is clear and sharp throughout, and gratifyingly free of artefacts and compression. Picture Wolf's Rain gets a NTSC 4:3 regular transfer on these Region 1 discs. They will be pursued in their quest by humans seeking power in the waning days of the world, and who want to wrest paradise away from the wolves. Cheza is unique, a genetic creation, and together with Kiba, Toboe, Hige and Tsume, the five of them will take the long and perilous journey to Paradise. Lunar Flowers are meant to point the way to Paradise, but this time the scent leads Kiba to a strange girl named Cheza, held in an experimental tank. But their lives change when a fourth wolf named Kiba wanders into the city, following the scent of Lunar Flowers. Three wolves live in a domed city, Tsume, the leader of a gang that raids the authority for food and wealth, Toboe, a young wolf that was adopted by humans, and has been living on the streets since his 'grandmother' died, and Hige who makes living among humans seem effortless. Wolves walk among humans, disguised in human form, and with good reason when some people interpret the legend as a story of the final days, and see wolves as heralds of the apocalypse. The legends say that only wolves can find this paradise, but wolves have been extinct for two hundred years. There is an ancient legend, one that tells of a paradise on Earth, something that is sorely needed in a time where people huddle together in enclosed cities, while all that remains outside are barren wastelands.
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