Bakemono no Ko

Two souls, living very different lives, wander alone and isolated in their respective worlds. For nine-year-old Ren, the last person who treated him with any form of kindness has been killed, and he is shunned by what is left of his family. With no parents, no real family, and no place to go, Ren escapes into the confusing streets and alleyways of Shibuya. Through the twists and turns of the alleys, Ren stumbles into the intimidating Kumatetsu, who leads him to the beast realm of Shibuten.

For Kumatetsu, the boy represents a chance for him to become a candidate to replace the lord of the realm once he retires. While nearly unmatched in combat, Kumatetsu's chilly persona leaves him with no disciples to teach and no way to prove he is worthy of becoming the lord's successor.

While the two share different goals, they agree to help each other in order to reach them. Kumatetsu searches for recognition; Ren, now known as Kyuuta, searches for the home he never had. As the years pass by, it starts to become apparent that the two are helping each other in more ways than they had originally thought. Perhaps there has always been less of a difference between them, a boy and a beast, than either of the two ever realized.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Kumatetsu Main

Yakusho, Kouji Japanese

Ren Main

Miyazaki, Aoi Japanese

Kaede Main

Hirose, Suzu Japanese

Chiko Supporting

Morohoshi, Sumire Japanese

Hyakushuubou Supporting

Franky, Lily Japanese

Ichirouhiko Supporting

Miyano, Mamoru Japanese

Tatara Supporting

Oizumi, Yo Japanese

Iouzan Supporting

Yamaji, Kazuhiro Japanese

Soushi Supporting

Tsugawa, Masahiko Japanese

Kyuuta's Father Supporting

Nagatsuka, Keishi Japanese

Bezerra, Wendel Producer

Cook, Justin Producer

Saitou, Yuuichirou Producer

Kawamura, Genki Producer

Reviews

Jul 15, 2015

nineup

Recommended

So, I have never cried from anime or any movie. I did however, cry when watching Bakemono no Ko (about 4 times). (Update: Idk why I teared up so much tbh, could just be a sign of my maturity)

Story: 8
I really didn't think the story was that great, but it was good enough to be a successful movie. The growth of the characters was probably the best I have seen in an animated movie; you feel happy when the characters are happy. One main thing I didn't like, however, was the fact that when Kyuuta goes to the human realm, the bakemono realm is totally ... neglected. In addition, the final conflict/climax was really predictable, making it a bit dull. Nevertheless, I was touched by the actions of the characters towards the end. Overall, it wasn't an outstanding story but definitely a good one.

Art: 9
Besides the people, the background art was really realistic like it was in Wolf Children. Overall solid art.

Sound: 10
I don't know of an anime with "bad sound" so I always give a 10 in this section. When I was in the theatre while watching this, the explosions and stuff were kind of loud, but that just intensified the experience. I also liked the theme song by Mr. Children, which fit quite well with the story.

Character: 10
I have never ever cried from a character's actions. But even when Kyuuta cheers for Kumatetsu in the beginning I teared up. The student-teacher relationship between Kyuuta and Kumatetsu (always arguing) seems a bit stereotypical, but somehow it was unique as they were able to compete with one another to benefit from each other. Both Kyuuta and Kumatetsu gave up their lonely lives to accommodate each other.

Enjoyment: 9
If you liked Wolf Children, you will probably like this as well. Since it was directed by the same person; the stories are completely different, but have similar feelings attached to them. I can't explain why, but I feel really excited after watching it and it was probably my favorite anime movie. Maybe it is just because I haven't seen any good anime movies since I was like 10, but this movie is really going to stay with me.

Overall: 9
Go watch this movie, I watched it the 4th day it came out and I don't regret it. If an English dub comes out I really suggest watching the Japanese version (subbed) because I have a feeling that the English version will not be able to convey the same emotions that the original did.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Mar 16, 2016

GaryL

Mixed Feelings

Hosoda is here again with another modern tale, expanding the themes from his last movie about coexisting with another species. At first glance, the movie feels like his 2006 feature The Girl Who Leapt Through Time in terms of atmosphere. They both start with a chill slice of life feeling that gains weight as it progresses. The difference is that TGWLTT is more likeable, whereas The Boy And The Beast takes a good 20 minute for you to get invested with the world and characters here presented.

The beast world is portrayed as a rustic place that still resembles bustling modern day cities, with ... people walking around conducting the businesses giving you the impression that former is not unsophisticated, but simply culturally different than the boy’s hometown Shibuya. That’d be perfect, but things are not as simple. There’s also more supernatural elements involved that I’ll talk about more later.

The cinematography is sweet. Vivid but not unnecessarily colorful. It’s satisfying but not awfully memorable. The soundtrack is well balanced, capturing the busy and frenetic environment while still managing to sound somewhat relaxing. The directing is a pro, filled with Mamoru’s trademarks lateral shots and some clichéd montages that still manages to be creative and exciting. The animation is also great, keeping up with the quality well-established in his previous film. The action sequences are fast without being exaggerated and the choreography reminds me of older Jackie Chan’s movies, although less comical.

The movie focus a lot on relationships. The main one between Kyuta and Komatetsu being by far the best. Wolf Children (I can’t help but compare these movies since they share a lot of similarities) was also about motherhood, TBATB is also about growing up and the way these two characters learn to become better together is the most entertaining thing the movie has to offer. There are also side stories involving other human characters. One of them exists simply for plot conveniences that could be cut out from the movie while another is more believable, creating a more stable bound to the human world for Kyuta enhancing the duality dilemma he suffers from. However, the most problematic one is hard to explain without spoiling, so I’ll try my best. Let’s say there’s a key plot event that takes place in the second half of the movie that could’ve been improved a lot if a certain rivalry was better established. It comes out of nowhere and harms the movie so badly that it becomes hard to actually care about it. That was actually worsen by the fact that everything that comes after it plays out so conveniently and predictably. The supernatural excess doesn’t help either. The movie is way more fantastical than it should’ve been in my opinion. There’s an specific element that feels out of place, making the movie’s flaws even harder to ignore. To put it simply, the third act is not good, it’s just messy. Oh yeah, I also think the tone of the movie could be more consistent, but maybe that’s just a nitpick.

The reason why I keep comparing The Boy And the Beast with Wolf Children so much is because if feels like a big step back for Hosoda. He was known for not knowing how to finish a film, (as obviously seen in The Girl Who Leapt Through Time) and WC was his only film that was satisfying in its entirety. The fact that TBATB have such a problematic third act is disappointing to say the least. I apologize again for turning this review into a filmography analysis, but it was an easy way to illustrate my point.

With all that said, if you are curious about the movie, go watch it. It’s not that bad if you don’t compare to Hosoda's previous efforts. It is charming and entertaining on its own way and it has several qualities too good to be ignored, just don’t go in expecting to watch an animated masterpiece.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Nov 26, 2017

Suzhoukid65

Not Recommended

I wanted to like this anime so much. I saw everyone's reviews and recommendations and I had high hopes.

What I did like was the relationship between the boy and the beast. I thought this was very cute and it warmed my heart. I also liked the relationship between the boy and his love interest. I also thought that was nice because it didn't feel forced or artificial.

What I didn't like was that the last third of the movie didn't feel like it fit the first two thirds of the movie. If this was a long anime series, and it transitioned this way I ... would probably be able to accept it. But I felt like it moved too quickly for it to be effective.

As for the tear jerking ending, I didn't respond that way at all. I thought this was necessary and everyone got what they wanted. Actually, I was satisfied with it.

I am not going to spoil the ending but I dont like how the boy dispatched the bad guy.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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