Not long ago, Hayao Miyazaki was the only name in anime to mean anything to me. Then I became aware of his fellow directors and writers Isao Takahata and Satoshi Kon. Now I've finally seen enough of Mamoru Hosoda's work to keep an eye out for his style.
In a modern Japanese city by night, nine-year-old human runaway Ren happens to encounter Kumetatsu, a cloaked bear apparently vacationing from a secret magical realm of feudal-style anthropomorphic mammals. Kumetatsu will become the next lord of the Beast Kingdom if he can defeat crowd-favorite boar Iôzen, and the current lord has advised him to acquire an apprentice warrior in the meantime. He bucks the trend by inviting normally unwelcome Ren, who comes if only to avoid the human authorities. Ren doesn't immediately warm up to the idea of this new master — he won't even share his name with Kumetatsu, leading to the new dubbing "Kyuta" — but each sees untapped potential in the other.
Indeed, it's hard to say which of them develops more when they're together. Kyuta never grows visibly brawny, but he does become swift and graceful. Kumetatsu learns to move less predictably. Both take on more responsibility than they ever thought they could handle.
Don't get me wrong: The interactions between them are usually far from heartwarming. Kumetatsu is impatient, wrathful, and lousy at instruction. Kyuta learns best by imitation, which initially annoys his "master." Even after years of training, they keep shouting rudely and angrily at each other. Neither would likely make any headway if not for the encouragement by a gentle porcine monk. Kumetatsu's lackadaisical monkey friend, meanwhile, tends toward counterpoints along the line of "Just give up already," but still somehow Kyuta credits all three for shaping his life in a positive direction.
About halfway thru the two hours, a montage rapidly advances Ren/Kyuta to age 17. He then rediscovers the human city and finds himself alternating between the worlds, partly to catch up on his more mainstream education; partly to enjoy the company of Kaede, a sympathetic girl around his age; and partly to reunite with his biological father, whom he hadn't seen since well before he ran away. (His parents had divorced, and when his mom died, he refused to live with her relatives.) The difficulty of leading or choosing between two lives feeds into a darkness within him — a darkness reputedly unique to humans, hence their scarcity of acceptance among beasts. But he's not the only resident of the Beast Kingdom with this darkness, and the two will come to blows....
In stories of humans and anthros meeting, it's rather common to make humans out to be more wicked or at least more dangerous. Fortunately, the humans herein (more present than you might expect) are no nastier overall than the beasts, and Ren/Kyuta abandons his resentment of his own kind. But those who fail to control their capacity for hatred become... powerful sorcerers? Yeah, this story deviates from reality a bit much to make itself useful as a fable. I suppose the point is that we can all keep our inner demons in check by keeping something good close to our hearts, but it's presented so metaphorically that I wonder who can benefit from the lesson.
The movie is at its most tender when former foes and jerks patch things up. I'm pleased to say that I did not see the resolution coming; in fact, I can think of few endings anything like it. In a way, it's quintessentially Japanese, but it should feel kind of refreshing to the west.
The visual artistry? Don't expect much more cuteness from the animals than from the humans, but the designs are good all the same. Also, I'm pretty sure some urban backgrounds were photographs or possibly paintings thereof; as such, they might draw you in more or pull you out.
Oh yeah: Early on, Ren meets a tiny, squeaky, non-anthro critter who takes to nesting in his hair. He calls her(?) Chiko and tentatively identifies her as a baby mouse, but if she is one, she's abstract. From what I can tell, Chiko has three functions. First, she seems like an anchor in morality. We can always look to her for a clue of when Ren/Kyuta is on the wrong track, and perhaps she softens him a little. Second, sometimes she senses a danger before he does. Third, she's just adorable.
I can see how TBatB sold much better in its native land and didn't gain the attention of the Academy. But I for one would have liked to give it an Oscar nod sooner than that other Boy and the... title.
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