I hope Mamoru-san can read this :)
I'm a huge fan of your works. Wolf Children is my 2nd most favorite movie (not just animated, all movies) the first is How to Train your Dragon 1.
The Boy and the Beast Review
Good The pacing is perfect. You are never too fast or too slow. Always perfect The characters are great. The setting is absolute brilliant, So is the animation.
The movie is great during the early parts. (SPOILER-Alert) Until the main antagonist is reveal (darkness). It not well establish, a bit rushed. The ending felt a little cheesy. Overall, it left me with a nice smile after watching. But compared to your previous works, it don't have that 'Its great to be alive' feeling
My Opinion (HEAVY SPOILERS AHEAD) If I rank all your movies, The Boy and the Beast is in the last place. I observe your at your best when a strong female character is involve. For wolf children and Girl leap through time, it was the protagonist. For summer wars, it was the Head of the clan. Also, as a fellow storyteller, I think the way started (which is great) makes the ending a bit hard to execute. This is a boy/beast or father/son relationship.
In a typical boy/beast story, the beast is either accepted by the society (How to Train you Dragon) or not accepted (Iron giant). This cannot be done in Kumatetsu because doesn't live in the human world.
For a Father/Son story, it usually ends with the son making his father proud and they continue their life but with better relationship. In that kind old ending, Kyuuta will have to stay in Shibuten. But the most conclusive ending is Kyuuta leaving Shibuten (which means also leaving Kumatetsu) and return to the Human World. So your left with a Son-leaves-father ending. Those kind of ending are very hard to execute. It requires a lot of building up. But your left with very little time because you used a lot of it in World Introduction and creating a clear distinction between Human and Beast realm.
I conclude that the plot of The Boy and the Beast requires more than 2 hrs to be executed properly. There is too little time for a Son-leaving-Father ending. So you decided Kumatetsu being in Kyuuta's heart as the ending (which I think felt a bit cheesy).
Overall, The Boy and the Beast is great. 8 out of 10. It has its moments. The story is just to much for a 2hr movie
I'm a huge fan of your works. Wolf Children is my 2nd most favorite movie (not just animated, all movies) the first is How to Train your Dragon 1.
The Boy and the Beast Review
Good The pacing is perfect. You are never too fast or too slow. Always perfect The characters are great. The setting is absolute brilliant, So is the animation.
The movie is great during the early parts. (SPOILER-Alert) Until the main antagonist is reveal (darkness). It not well establish, a bit rushed. The ending felt a little cheesy. Overall, it left me with a nice smile after watching. But compared to your previous works, it don't have that 'Its great to be alive' feeling
My Opinion (HEAVY SPOILERS AHEAD) If I rank all your movies, The Boy and the Beast is in the last place. I observe your at your best when a strong female character is involve. For wolf children and Girl leap through time, it was the protagonist. For summer wars, it was the Head of the clan. Also, as a fellow storyteller, I think the way started (which is great) makes the ending a bit hard to execute. This is a boy/beast or father/son relationship.
In a typical boy/beast story, the beast is either accepted by the society (How to Train you Dragon) or not accepted (Iron giant). This cannot be done in Kumatetsu because doesn't live in the human world.
For a Father/Son story, it usually ends with the son making his father proud and they continue their life but with better relationship. In that kind old ending, Kyuuta will have to stay in Shibuten. But the most conclusive ending is Kyuuta leaving Shibuten (which means also leaving Kumatetsu) and return to the Human World. So your left with a Son-leaves-father ending. Those kind of ending are very hard to execute. It requires a lot of building up. But your left with very little time because you used a lot of it in World Introduction and creating a clear distinction between Human and Beast realm.
I conclude that the plot of The Boy and the Beast requires more than 2 hrs to be executed properly. There is too little time for a Son-leaving-Father ending. So you decided Kumatetsu being in Kyuuta's heart as the ending (which I think felt a bit cheesy).
Overall, The Boy and the Beast is great. 8 out of 10. It has its moments. The story is just to much for a 2hr movie