Disclaimer: I'm not very familiar with anime or Japanese movies.
During the movie I had a hard time understanding how the whole "werewolf"-part of the movie was helping it. It adds an unneeded layer, that feels tacked on to appeal to young adults in the post-twilight world. The movie is a nice story about a woman in a difficult situation working hard - making her own luck - to keep her family safe and happy. The mother is an inspiring figure, and the children are cute, and you can clearly see the love between them. The struggles the children face are similar to what many children does, and so I'm sure people of all ages can relate to (parts of) this movie. But then there's the wolves.
I'm not saying that movies in general should strive to be realistic, and using wolves to represent a part of human nature is bad. I'm just saying that I didn't feel it added anything to this story, and it could have been told just as well without it. At the same time: if I had enjoyed the werewolf "mythos" more, then I might have gotten even more out this movie (and story) than I did.
The animation is very well done, and there are several beautiful shots in this movie. I liked the soundtrack as well.
During the movie I had a hard time understanding how the whole "werewolf"-part of the movie was helping it. It adds an unneeded layer, that feels tacked on to appeal to young adults in the post-twilight world. The movie is a nice story about a woman in a difficult situation working hard - making her own luck - to keep her family safe and happy. The mother is an inspiring figure, and the children are cute, and you can clearly see the love between them. The struggles the children face are similar to what many children does, and so I'm sure people of all ages can relate to (parts of) this movie. But then there's the wolves.
I'm not saying that movies in general should strive to be realistic, and using wolves to represent a part of human nature is bad. I'm just saying that I didn't feel it added anything to this story, and it could have been told just as well without it. At the same time: if I had enjoyed the werewolf "mythos" more, then I might have gotten even more out this movie (and story) than I did.
The animation is very well done, and there are several beautiful shots in this movie. I liked the soundtrack as well.