I've just viewing finished Wolf's Rain. In the following personal reaction, I will try to avoid giving away too much and will speak in generalities, but it might still be better to see the series first if you want to avoid any possible spoilers.
One study of this anime series by Susan J. Napier tends to focus on a nihilistic approach. She sees this anime as dramatising a fruitless attempt to engage with a complex and essentially meaningless world through the form of a fairy tale. The human condition {conveyed by the metaphor of the wolf character avatar} has as its reward only the heroism of the struggle. She notes that the heroism shown is principally developed through masculinity and thus represents only a partial answer which must ultimately fail. Yet she doesn't show that the incorporation of a feminine anime principle would change anything.
Despite the brilliance of Napier's analysis, I don't agree with her at all. I think she minimises or ignores the final vital sequence at the very end of the final episode. The fairy tale has at its core Tolkien's concept of the "eucatastrophe" i.e. the denial of a final defeat. In Wolf's Rain this concept is developed through the quest for Paradise which can be defined as cyclic regeneration, a sweeping away of the dross and debris of failed attempts to control Nature and the acceptance of a rebirth. To me the end of the series was a deep affirmation of growth, cleansing, and the certainty that "Though lovers be lost, Love is not". Thus, I feel that the final message which Napier feels is negative is in reality positive and proof that a new beginning is possible; Life and Love and Beauty will always spring from the sacrifices of those who have faith in those qualities. The search for Paradise is, therefore, a great quest across the wheel of Time and Life; each successive search brings the goal closer.
Wolf's Rain is a sensitive yet dynamic attempt to engage with spirituality which I think rivals that of Ghost in the Shell. The sensitive use of colour with its dark and sombre hues reinforces the very serious message of this remarkable anime. In addition there is an evocative and beautiful soundtrack combined with an excellent English Dub. I would highly recommend this wonderful series.
One last point. The plot diverges significantly in some respects from the excellent Manga which is quite a bit more upbeat!
One study of this anime series by Susan J. Napier tends to focus on a nihilistic approach. She sees this anime as dramatising a fruitless attempt to engage with a complex and essentially meaningless world through the form of a fairy tale. The human condition {conveyed by the metaphor of the wolf character avatar} has as its reward only the heroism of the struggle. She notes that the heroism shown is principally developed through masculinity and thus represents only a partial answer which must ultimately fail. Yet she doesn't show that the incorporation of a feminine anime principle would change anything.
Despite the brilliance of Napier's analysis, I don't agree with her at all. I think she minimises or ignores the final vital sequence at the very end of the final episode. The fairy tale has at its core Tolkien's concept of the "eucatastrophe" i.e. the denial of a final defeat. In Wolf's Rain this concept is developed through the quest for Paradise which can be defined as cyclic regeneration, a sweeping away of the dross and debris of failed attempts to control Nature and the acceptance of a rebirth. To me the end of the series was a deep affirmation of growth, cleansing, and the certainty that "Though lovers be lost, Love is not". Thus, I feel that the final message which Napier feels is negative is in reality positive and proof that a new beginning is possible; Life and Love and Beauty will always spring from the sacrifices of those who have faith in those qualities. The search for Paradise is, therefore, a great quest across the wheel of Time and Life; each successive search brings the goal closer.
Wolf's Rain is a sensitive yet dynamic attempt to engage with spirituality which I think rivals that of Ghost in the Shell. The sensitive use of colour with its dark and sombre hues reinforces the very serious message of this remarkable anime. In addition there is an evocative and beautiful soundtrack combined with an excellent English Dub. I would highly recommend this wonderful series.
One last point. The plot diverges significantly in some respects from the excellent Manga which is quite a bit more upbeat!