The Boy and the Beast (Bakemono no Ko) is a well-articulated Japanese animation fantasy film directed by Mamoru Hosoda. The plot focuses primarily on Ren, a nine-year-old boy whose life changes for the worst when his mother dies. With no father around and refusing to accept his relatives, Ren runs away to the crowded and busy shibuya filled with anger and sadness deep within himself.
While he was exploring the city, Ren finds a secret way out into a place called Jutengai where he meets anthropomorphic beasts. In this enchanted water country, Ren meets Kumatetsu a fierce bear who is a warrier in search of a disciple. Kumatetsu is one of the two candidates for the new lord of Jutengai but due to his hot temper and reckless personality, he is completely incapable of keeping any pupils.
Finding potential in Ren, Kumatetsu decides to personally mentor him and also names him Kyuta after the boy’s age when they meet him. Even as Kumatetsu is not very effective as a teacher and Kyuta constantly questions his methods, a certain measure of camaraderie develops between the two children with the help of their training and education. The nature of their relationship is equally violent and gentle; the two can be compared to a dysfunctional family that survives on love and loyalty. The pupil gives physical power and sedeuranias, while the master receives patience, compassion, and some leadership qualities.
With each passing year, Kyuta gets proficient in fight warfare and develops a healthy sense of self-ego within himself. Still, he feels torn between the sense of being one of the beastmen and belonging to the human races. As a teenager, he bumps into the real world once again but this time he meets Kaede, a compassionate and clever girl who rescues him from the emotional turmoil he is in. This meeting greatly oppresses Kyuta Bing Yu as he has to ask himself who he is and where he really belongs.
The world of beasts and the world of humans begin to assimilate as the positive aspects of this tale darken with the emergence of an evil force. It is not only the physical enemies that Kyuta has to face, but he has to fight with himself where one half of him is completely different from the other. The peak is reached towards the final showdown between Kyuta and the human-beast, Ichirōhiko, whose character throughout the film embodies the unfavorable aspect of humanity and isolation.
Eventually, The Boy and the Beast is a film about growing up, looking for one’s place and their family, and the search for their true self. But it is expressed in a sci-fi film that does not stray away from the exploration of heavy subjects such as identity crisis, parent-children relationship, and the conflict between humanity and animal within oneself.
Cast & Crew:
Director: Mamoru Hosoda
Hosoda is known for his masterful mix of whimsicality and poignancy in such films as Summer Wars (2009), Wolf Children (2012), and Mirai (2018).
Main Voice Cast (Japanese):
- Ren/Kyuta (young): Aoi Miyazaki
Miyazaki is an actress based in Japan, you may recognize her from such films as Nana and Virgin Snow. You can hear how perfectly she feels Ren as a child and how her voice betrays his fragility.
- Ren/Kyuta (teen): Shota Sometani
Sometani is an accomplished actor, and he makes a convincing teenage Kyuta, who is torn between two worlds.
- Kumatetsu: Kōji Yakusho
Yakusho is a grizzled figure of power, whose Kumatetsu’s voice remains just as gruff as it is powerful, completing the charmingly imperfect instructor role well.
- Kaede: Suzu Hirose
As Kaede, Hirose is a loving albeit resilient person who assists Kyuta in coming to terms with himself.
Main Voice Cast (English Dub):
- Ren/Kyuta (young): Luci Christian
- Ren/Kyuta (teen): Eric Vale
- Kumatetsu: John Swasey
- Kaede: Bryn Apprill
- Production Crew:
- Screenplay: Mamoru Hosoda
Music: Masakatsu Takagi
The music consists of a rich breadth of strings and some emplaced instrumental acoustic where the themes of the film and the sights have their own compositions.
Animation Studio: Studio Chizu
Hiroshi Yamazaki’s own animation studio responsible for high-quality animated movies using hand-drawn and computerized art.
Themes & Analysis:
Boy and the Beast tackles a number of diverse and equally striking themes:
Mentor-Student Dynamics: Difficulty in relationships and self-control are particular character flaws for both Kumatetsu and Kyuta, but they are a source of great strength to each other. The film places a lot of difference on the relationship that develops between Kumatetsu and Kyuta. Kumatetsu’s attempts to develop into a figurehead structures Kyuta’s struggle to understand herself, and they eventually make each other whole, on a father-son basis.
Biculturalism and Accentuation of Belonging to Two Cultures: The film deals with transcendence and includes shots where Ren/Kyuta has to struggle with being a human and a beast based on the context. His conflicts with abandonment and a rigorous need to belong has both physical and emotional angst embedded into these traits, rather than just in human interaction with others.
Fathers and Sons: This theme is constant in the film; not only in the dynamics which exists between Kyuta and Kumatetsu but in regards to Ichirōhiko, whom, even in these circumstances, lacks paternal authority. The story has a dimension of the conceptualization of parents with focus on biology, and adoptive parents and how it affects the upbringing of a child.
Humane Emotion versus animalistic Imprint: Nothing facilitates the evolution of society more than the creatures and the humans’ worlds. The memos emphasize emotional intelligence as well as strength of will. As their beasts are brute forces, their humanity’s proportion embodies reason and emotion. It is all the more so since Kyuta is on a quest to reconcile the two in him.
IMDb Ratings:
The average rating from IMDb is 7.6/10.
The critics praised those films, indicating that there were no only positive points. There were complaints, but in general, the audience’s feedback is also positive. It turns out that the combination of great animation, storytelling sparks emotions and deepest philosophies captures viewers’ attentiom.
Critical Reception:
N Positive Criticism:
While The Boy and the Beast has received positive critical acclaim, it is in its characters and their development that most audiences have appreciated the film. This was shown in Hosoda’s case, with the director receiving praises for embedding emotions to which people relate in his fantasy world.
Negative Criticism:
Some critics have said that in the second part of the film the rhythm of events is disrupted, and many plot lines that have been introduced fight for the audience’s attention. The action packed climax might have been seen as a tad short given how much duel Kyuta and Kumatetsu participate in relative to the slow opening where the relationship of Kyuta and Kumatetsu is paramount.
Awards & Accolades: Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year (2016): The film was very well received in Japan and won the awarding body. The Japan Academy Film Prize for The Best Japanese Animated Feature. Nominated for Annie Award for Best Animated Feature – Independent (2016): The Boy and the Beast was also awarded with a nom of animated works as well, participating in Annie Awards. Conclusion: The Boy and the Beast is an exquisite eye candy tale accompanied with deep emotional undertones and explores the key aspects of human self – its senses of self-identification, of belonging, as well as of enjoyments of being a mentor and having one. This work is one of the prominent works of Mamoru Hosoda with well crafted universe, balanced character development and stunning undertones. Therefore Mamoru Hosoda was established as one of the contemporary unscrupulous animators in Japan. Animated film lovers will enjoy this film as it deals with strong naked human feeling under the plot of fast-paced action.
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