How much have I seen when I wrote this review?: First 4 episodes and counting

Alternate Title: ウルフズ・レイン
Genre: Action | Adventure | Drama | Science Fiction | (a hint of) Fantasy
Company: BONES
American Licsensing Company: Not Licensed yet
Format: tv series, probably will be 26 episodes
Dates: 01/06/03
Original Creator: Keiko Nobumoto | BONES (not based off a manga)
Age Rating: 15-18 and up

Synopsis: In some distant future, it's common knowledge that all wolves have been extinct for 200 years. However, it seems this fact is false. Kiba, a lone wolf wanders into a city, trying to sniff out the Lunar Flowers that are suppose to lead whoever follows the scent to paradise. The source of the smell is Cheza, also known as the Flower Damsel, a girl who sleeps in what appears to be suspended animation in a lab. She and the wolves are drawn to each other, and Kiba hopes to find paradise once he finds the source of the scent of Lunar Flowers, which he soon finds out is Cheza. However, once Kiba finds Cheza, she is kidnapped by a mysterious person called Darcia, and his search begins anew. Before he leaves the city, he meets 3 other wolves, Tsume, Hige and Toboe. All four wolves have very different personalities and ideas, and their friendliness towards each other is a little rough around the edges. However, they soon band together to continue to search for the Lunar Flowers, and hopefully be lead to paradise.

What I've thought so far: I was really curious about this series since I first saw info about it mid-December 2002. It further intrigued me because this series is by BONES, the company that made RahXephon which I had just finished watching, and they seem to be a rather new company, or I'm just now hearing about them.

This series just now started airing in Japan, and I've managed to get my hands on every episode so far online, as each one episode is quickly translated and subtitled by anime groups online. The online groups are so fast in their work, that usually they have the newest episode ready and online in usually less than a week after it's been aired in Japan. It's been a nice treat for me!

Any hoo, the series also sports music by the infamous Yoko Kanno (Cowboy Bebop, Escaflowne, Arjuna, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex) who composes her take on Brazillian music. I really haven't been too impressed so far, but it's good, and the opening and closing songs are beautiful (and in English, which is becoming a common trend in music themes for anime).

So far, this series has been a hot little number for visuals, voices, story and music. I love all the characters (and of course our four guys who are all pretty boys). It's been interesting, since the "gimmick" of the show is that there is no explaination of how the wolves change their appearances from being wolves to human and back again. But, an explaination isn't necessary, and it's a lot easier to relate to a character that looks human. Plus, they had to have their pretty boys for this series too. LOL

This series has the mystery and intrigue of .hack//SIGN and Noir without the goddamnn boredom and horrible pacing. This series has its quiet moments, but also plenty of action and plot development, and vast amounts of character development! (THANK YOU GOD!) I can say all this after just 4 episodes!

About the only thing that hasn't seemed too original about this series is that it seems to have a little Cowboy Bebop influence in it. Hige looks like a younger and slightly chunkier version of Spike. Also, Native American Indians have appeared to Kiba in the same way they did to Spike in the same mystic kind of fashion. In both series, the main character wakes up groggily, sees vaguely a fire and an old chief. I'm sure like Bebop, the chief will end up saying something meaniful to Kiba during his flashbacks, much like the way it happens to Spike. Both series have music composed by Yoko Kanno, but that's not important at all. ^_^

Now we just have the hope the ending doesn't suck royally and that the pacing will remain good, as well as the plot and charcters, and all its originality will remain...well...original! It looks like this series has a good balance of many things, and hopefully will rock the anime world!

Websites:
Wolf's Rain (Official Website in Japanese)
STRAY: Wolf's Rain (One of the first English sites, by me acutally!)

Have a website about this series, or do you know of a good one? Want me to link to it on this review? Well, the feel free to email the sucker to me! Just make sure to put "Review Link" in the subject.