Bakemono no Ko - Movie Anime Review

To be honest, I'm a very rational man when it comes to spiritual or mystical things. I believed that every spiritual/ghostly phenomenon can be explained by science. But, when it comes to the fantasy settings or story, I always love those kind of stories! When I was a kid, I really loved "Spirited Away" by Hayao Miyazaki and I rewatched that movie over and over again. Even the adult me still loves it when I rewatched it again. The same thing happened with this movie anime that I'm going to review on this post. Bakemono no Ko or in english title, The Boy and The Beast (this is not the sequel nor prequel to that Disney Princess Movie, okay?). I was sold when I know that this movie is directed by Mamoru Hosoda. If you don't know him, he is the one who made Toki o Kakeru Shoujo (The Girl who leap through time), Summer Wars, and Wolf Children. Honestly I haven't watched Summer Wars and Wolf Children. But I really really loved Toki o Kakeru Shoujo! Don't worry, I'll watch both of them soon! XD
So without further a due, let's jam!

The story started on a boy named Ren who is running away from his family because his mom just passed away and his dad didn't take care of him because his dad was divorced to his mom before.
Off to a great and uplifting start, isn't it? 

When he walked on a street, he accidentally met Kumatetsu who is a Bear Beast that is looking for apprentice because it's one of the requirements to become the lord of Jyutengai (one of the district in Beast's world). He is one of the two candidates for the lord of Jyutengai.
Ren accidentally found a portal to the Beast's world and later on he met Kumatetsu again, finally he accepts to be Kumatetsu's apprentice.

Kumatetsu and Ren always fight each other, they never get along.
Kumatetsu tried to teach a lot of things to him but the problem is he is not a good teacher for Ren.
Finally, Kumatetsu and Ren learn from each other and it becomes vague whether Kumatetsu is a master or apprentice here and vice versa since they teach each other.
Will Kumatetsu finally become the lord of Jyutengai? Will Ren go back to the human world again?

This is a family friendly movie, and the theme is about parenthood and adulthood. The main dish of this movie is the relationship between Kumatetsu and Ren. Kumatetsu is like a father figure for Ren, but Kumatetsu is like a very childish father, easily triggered, and cocky at times. While Ren's character is a likeable angsty teenager. So to sum up his character, he is an angsty teenager with some daddy's issue ^___^;
But seeing them grow and developed by teaching each other really entertains me and feels uplifting.

 

Kumatetsu is trying to teach Ren how to swing a sword

You will see them arguing over something, like, a lot!

 btw is it just me or that pigman looks like Patkay from "Journey to the west"?

The animation is stunning! The fight scene was really fluid and felt real. That to be expected from Mamoru Hosoda's movie! The visuals are beautiful. And the soundtrack was good too!

This is just beautiful, dude!

This is one wallpaper material 

My minor problem with this movie anime is I wished that we see more of Kumatetsu and Ren together in the later arc, because I really like their relationship in this movie.


So should you watch it? Yes, you should watch this movie, it's not as good as Toki o Kakeru Shoujo, but it's still entertaining and enjoyable to watch. It's a family friendly movie, go watch this with your parents or your family since it's really rare to find a "family friendly" anime these days. hahaha!


That's all from me guys, I hope you enjoyed this short review of mine,

Thanks for reading! :D