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Wolf Children is a boy meets girl tale.
Boy meets girl at Uni, Boy turns out to be a wolf… Okay, so they’re young adults when they meet, and it’s at Tokyo University where Hana (Aoi Miyazaki) meets her prosective significant other, Ôkami (Ôsawa Takao).
He’s quite shy when they first encounter each other in the lecture room, but he reveals himself to be a wolf at night time, whilst being his normal, usual self during the day. Alas, he dies in an accident, leaving Hana alone to raise their young children, Yuki and Ame, Yuki being one year older than Ame.
Children can be unpredictable at times, but for Yuki, she’s able to turn into a wolf on a whim, which will rather lead to questions in her neighbourhood, so Hana buys an Akiya to renovate, out in the countryside.
In her attempts to grow some vegetables, I learned that dried leaves can be used as fertiliser, and for Hana, there’s plenty around because they just fall off the trees. However, some of this goes off, and there’s help from the neighbours with a food exchange – because everybody needs good neighbours…
But before you can say, “We’re gonna need a bigger vegetable patch!”, she’s on her way, but can she persuade assistance from the grumpy grandpa neighbour?
Meanwhile, for her children, Yuki has struggled to fit in with schoolgirls in her year, and inadvertently scratches a boy, thus potentially revealing her roots. For Ame, he befriends an old wolf in woods, known as The Teacher, but how will that situation fare?
Overall, Wolf Children is largely very sweet and gentle, but you don’t really just how much it’s seeping into you as you watch it.
That’s because the film is all about growing up – not only to see how Hana copes, but also for how her children grow up and forge their own paths in life – and whilst I didn’t appreciate the growing up aspect fully as the flim played out, it reminds you during the closing credits – with stills from the movie – that not only is your childhood fleeting, but it disappeared a bloody long time ago, and it’s not coming back… and THAT is the kicker.
One question about a scene late on, so I’ll put it behind a spoiler banner…
And another thought about the ending, so again, a spoiler banner…
This is the third film we’ve had at Odeon from Mamoru Hosoda in recent weeks, following The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Summer Wars, and there’s plenty more anime to come from other directors, with Princess Mononoke going down a storm in IMAX, and I’ll be seeing that soon.
NOTE: There are no mid- or post-credits scenes.
Wolf Children is in cinemas now, and is available to buy on Blu-ray.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 117 minutes
Release date: August 15th 2025
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1 (35mm)
Studio: Universal Pictures
Cinema: Odeon Trafford Centre
Rating: 8/10
Director: Mamoru Hosoda
Producers: Justin Cook, Carly Hunter, Takuya Itô, Yûichirô Saitô, Takashi Watanabe
Screenplay: Mamoru Hosoda, Satoko Okudera
Music: Masakatsu Takagi
Voice Cast:
Hana: Aoi Miyazaki
Ôkami otoko: Ôsawa Takao
Yuki: Haru Kuroki, Momoka Ôno
Ame: Yukito Nishii, Amon Kabe
Sohei: Takuma Hiraoka, Megumi Hayashibara
Hosokawa: Tadashi Nakamura
Yamaoka: Tamio Ôki
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.