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Wolf's Rain follows the journey of four wolves drawn to the scent of Lunar Flowers in a post-apocalyptic future.
In a postapocalyptic future, humans think wolves have been hunted to extinction; but some survive, and have learned to pass for human in a new twist on the werewolf legend (or indeed on Pompoko). Lone wolf Kiba is on a quest to find the legendary Lunar Flowers, whose scent can lead the wolves to a paradise where they can live freely and without fear.
Tsume is a renegade wolf who betrayed his pack and now lives as a human-form scavenger. Full of self-loathing, he first opposes Kiba but then joins him. Hige and Toboe are hardly more than cubs, but once they learn about Kiba's quest they join him. The pack meets Cheza, a girl engineered from plants, who can open the way to the paradise of the Lunar Flowers; but others are seeking the key for their own ends.
Only after tragedy and suffering will the four young wolves attain paradise-which, in a typical anime twist, soon turns out to be more than originally expected, with the science-fictional future of the original setting also alluding to a secret past that links humans, wolves, and another, even more sinister foe. This, however, can stretch the viewer's patience a little-despite a relatively low running time, the series suffered from production delays and scheduling conflicts that led to its broadcast in several different slots, with hiatuses that led to four recap episodes.
If the makers had spent less time recounting the story so far, they might have had more than enough space to finish the entire run within the requisite 26 episodes. Instead, the story wasn't finished on TV, but on video, numbered as if to comprise TV episodes 27-30. Yoko Kanno's musical team and the Warsaw Philharmonic do a beautiful job of supporting the atmosphere and character development. The art and design are moody, dark, and understated, making for a technically unadventurous but attractive series. Original creator Keiko Nobumoto, who similarly documented a loner's quest in the future world of Cowboy Bebop, delegated story and art duties on the manga adaptation to Toshitsugu Iida.
On a historical note, wolves were worshipped by northern Japan's indigenous Ainu race, but were wiped out by 1905-the extinction of wolves regarded as a sign of the march of progress and the dismissal of the old gods, in the style of Princess Mononoke.
Tsume is a renegade wolf who betrayed his pack and now lives as a human-form scavenger. Full of self-loathing, he first opposes Kiba but then joins him. Hige and Toboe are hardly more than cubs, but once they learn about Kiba's quest they join him. The pack meets Cheza, a girl engineered from plants, who can open the way to the paradise of the Lunar Flowers; but others are seeking the key for their own ends.
Only after tragedy and suffering will the four young wolves attain paradise-which, in a typical anime twist, soon turns out to be more than originally expected, with the science-fictional future of the original setting also alluding to a secret past that links humans, wolves, and another, even more sinister foe. This, however, can stretch the viewer's patience a little-despite a relatively low running time, the series suffered from production delays and scheduling conflicts that led to its broadcast in several different slots, with hiatuses that led to four recap episodes.
If the makers had spent less time recounting the story so far, they might have had more than enough space to finish the entire run within the requisite 26 episodes. Instead, the story wasn't finished on TV, but on video, numbered as if to comprise TV episodes 27-30. Yoko Kanno's musical team and the Warsaw Philharmonic do a beautiful job of supporting the atmosphere and character development. The art and design are moody, dark, and understated, making for a technically unadventurous but attractive series. Original creator Keiko Nobumoto, who similarly documented a loner's quest in the future world of Cowboy Bebop, delegated story and art duties on the manga adaptation to Toshitsugu Iida.
On a historical note, wolves were worshipped by northern Japan's indigenous Ainu race, but were wiped out by 1905-the extinction of wolves regarded as a sign of the march of progress and the dismissal of the old gods, in the style of Princess Mononoke.
Episodes
| Season/Ep# | Name | Airdate | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1 - 30
|
Wolf's Rain |
||
|
1 - 29
|
High Tide, High Time |
||
|
1 - 28
|
Gunshot of Remorse |
||
|
1 - 27
|
Where the Soul Goes |
||
|
1 - 26
|
Moonlight Crucible |
07/28/2003 | |
|
1 - 25
|
False Memories |
07/21/2003 | |
|
1 - 24
|
Scent of a Trap |
07/14/2003 | |
|
1 - 23
|
Heartbeat of the Black City |
07/07/2003 | |
|
1 - 22
|
Pieces of a Shooting Star |
06/30/2003 | |
|
1 - 21
|
Battle's Red Glare |
06/23/2003 | |
|
1 - 20
|
Consciously |
06/16/2003 | |
|
1 - 19
|
A Dream of an Oasis |
06/09/2003 | |
|
1 - 18
|
Men, Wolves, and the Book of the Moon |
06/02/2003 | |
|
1 - 17
|
Scent of a Flower, Blood of a Wolf |
05/26/2003 | |
|
1 - 16
|
Dream Journey |
05/19/2003 | |
|
1 - 15
|
Grey Wolf |
05/12/2003 | |
|
1 - 14
|
The Fallen Keep |
05/05/2003 | |
|
1 - 13
|
Men's Lament |
04/28/2003 | |
|
1 - 12
|
Don't Make Me Blue |
04/21/2003 | |
|
1 - 11
|
Vanishing Point |
04/14/2003 | |
Series Credits
| Person Name | Episode Count | |
|---|---|---|
 |
Shukou Murase | 1 |
 |
Keiko Nobumoto | 1 |
 |
Tensai Okamura | 1 |
 |
Yoko Kanno | 1 |
| Yoshiyuki Takei | 9 |
To edit the cast, go to an episode page.
Original US Poster Art
General Information
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Recurring Appearances
| Tsume first in City of Howls |
7
|
| Kiba first in City of Howls |
7
|
| Hige first in City of Howls |
7
|
| Cheza first in City of Howls |
6
|
| Blue first in City of Howls |
6
|
| Darcia first in Toboe Who Doesn't Howl |
5
|
| Toboe first in Toboe Who Doesn't Howl |
5
|
| Quent Yaiden first in City of Howls |
4
|
| Hubb Lebowski |
4
|
| Cher Degre first in City of Howls |
2
|
Top Editors
-
eravariel
27 points
- dragaroo 11 points
- CalAggie 6 points
- Obsidian609 5 points
- tigerex78 4 points
