The Boy and the Beast (2016)

People continuously praise Studio Ghibli, but meanwhile there's other anime films that deserve spotlight, and The Boy and the Beast is one of them. Although the two lead characters share a familiar and repetitive chemistry, the film has affective storytelling and superb animation to back it up. A dazzling blend of coming-of-age and fantasy. If you enjoy Hayao Miyazaki's films, do consider viewing Mamoru Hosoda's work: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars, Wolf Children, and The Boy and the Beast.

"Bakemono no ko" is a very interesting movie with a couple of very good ideas, well developed, with a nice direction and an engaging drawing style.Ren's mother dies, and he has to go to live with some relatives. However, he is not very happy, all angst and desperation and decides to run away. Lost in Tokyo, a beast meets him and offers him to become his apprentice. Kumatetsu, the beast's name, is strong, and wants to become the next Grandmaster. However, he is also lazy and all his disciples end leaving him. Ren decides to follow him and ends in the 'beast world', a kind of parallel world, where he and Kumatetsu will be forced to understand each other.Subtlety be damned, "Bakemono no ko" has its purpose on its face (and on its title, and in every corner of its running time). From "Moby Dick" allusions, to mirrors or the beast-human conundrum, Mamoru Hosoda and the plot don't care about being too obvious. However, the delivery is really good, the pace nice, the characters engaging and easy to relate to and the story sweet but also poignant. The biggest problem is the need to have characters fight as if this was another fighting anime (Dragon Ball or Yu Yu Hakusho style). The need to be strong becomes too much related to physical force and defeating the other, something that could have been developed in a smarter way.Otherwise, a movie worth checking.

Mamoru Hosoda is arguably one of the best filmmakers working in animation today. And nowhere is that more clear than in the Boy in the Beast. Coming off fresh from other fantastic animated films such as The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Wolf Children, Hosoda crafts a funny, compelling, bittersweet, and well animated tale about mentorship and confronting your demons.The struggles the main characters go through is done in a way that's both plausible and implausible at the same time. I really love films that allow you to relate to a character's dilemmas in a way you wouldn't expect. I also really love the relationship between the titular characters. I normally don't get into relationships that are mostly shouting and arguing, but the two share a relationship more reminiscent of a bickering father and son rather than something more obnoxious or dark. Both characters have their flaws that you would think would make them unlikable, but each has their own reasoning for being how they are and either side is completely understandable and relatable. As the film progresses, you slowly learn that both characters are on the same side of the same coin.Its only downfall in my opinion is the third act. Without giving anything away, it's fine for what it is, but it mainly came off as kinda forced and not explored quite as well as some of the other aspects of the film. It's not terrible and it doesn't really harm the film as a whole, I feel it would've come off a lot stronger if it was explored a lot more.But besides that, I absolutely freaking loved The Boy and the Beast. Mamoru Hosoda truly is gifted with the craft of telling stories through Japanese animation. Many people have been referring to him as the next Hayao Miyazaki. But honestly, I don't think that's necessarily true. Both are great directors and both have this wonderful ability to take realtivley dumb ideas and somehow make them plausible. But Hosoda is something entirely different. I connect to his films in a different way than I do Miyazaki's. Each has their own style and their own means of forming a connection with their audience. And this film truly connected with me.

This film has a strange world. A lot of animals lives there like people. They can speak a word, and have their society. In the world, they think that people have big dark in own hearts. Then a human boy strays such a world. And he grows up with one of the animals, a bear. The bear is selfish, but strong. The bear and the boy spend a lot of time together, and they like a family. And the bear changes own character. They become strong together.He becomes an adult, and he can go our real world. Then he meets a girl, and he knows his unknown would. He is absorbed in studying, especially he likes reading "Moby Dick." In addition he meets his real father. He confuses, he should live with his really father or the bear. This story's ending is he tries to help another human boy, who lives in the strange world. The boy has big darkness, it is expressed as Moby Dick. This story tells us what is family. The boy has a strong bonds with the bear even if the bear doesn't his real father. Other hand, he doesn't have it with his real father. After all, it is important to spend time together. It makes a strong bonds. Also darkness of people is expressed as Moby Dick. It is a good metaphor. But Moby Dick doesn't have only darkness. It is like a god, and has a divinely beautiful body. However it is expressed as darkness of people. It is nonsense.