wolfs rain i

dir. Tensai Okamura

writer Keiko Nobumoto

music Yoko Kanno

Ep. 1 "City of Howls"

Ep. 2 "Toboe, Who Doesn't Howl"

Ep. 3 "Bad Fellow"

Characters

Kiba - the white wolf, alpha

Tsume - lone wolf, cross-shaped scar on his chest

Hige - endless appetite, powerful nose, dog collar becomes necklace in human form

Toboe - the naif, youngest, raised by a human woman, silver bangles on wrist

Quent & Blue - seeks to exterminate wolves because he considers them demon spawn

Detective Hubb - Cher's ex-husband, law enforcement in the domed city, Quent initiates him into the secret world of wolves. Not sure if he'll stick around now that the wolves have left the domed city.

Cher - Hubb's ex-wife, lead scientist studying the Flower Maiden Cheza. Not sure if she'll stick around now that the wolves have left the domed city.

Summary

Wolf's Rain has an odd premise. In a diesel-punk world, people assume wolves have been eliminated. Little do they know wolves still walk among them in human clothes. These aren't werewolves; they aren't wolves that can shapeshift into human shape. They "cast a spell" on humans to make them see the wolves in the guise of humans.

The show opens with Kiba, the white wolf, descending from the mountains to the domed city in search of Paradise. He smells Lunar Flowers. However, he is injured on this first leg of his journey. He encounters Tsume, a lone wolf personality, who has been leading a gang of humans in supply raids against the Nobles of the domed city. Tsume warns Kiba to hide his true form from the humans but Kiba refuses because of his wolf pride.

On Kiba's tail is Quent, a sheriff from a mountain town. Quent hates wolves and calls them demons. His companion is Blue, a black, blue-eyed dog. Quent has come to kill Kiba and any other wolves he might find. He scoffs at the old pagan belief that, when the end of the world comes, wolves will find the way to Paradise.

Most of the denizens of the domed city don't recognize Kiba as a wolf, thinking him just a big white dog. But Blue sees him as a wolf, a power possessed by all dogs (perhaps animals in general). Quent shoots Kiba but the police arrive, taking both Kiba and Quent into custody.

Detective Hubb interrogates Quent and gets the story on wolves. Hubb isn't willing to believe wolves survived the culling 200 years ago. Hige, another wolf, helps Kiba escape, convincing the white wolf to set aside his pride and cast the illusion of human form so that they can walk right out of the station.

Meanwhile, Tsume's next raid goes bad and a young boy member of his gang falls. Tsume tries to save him by grabbing his shoulder but because human form is merely a guise, he bites the boy's shoulder. The boy falls to his death.

Tsume's gang abandons him because he "isn't like them." They also blame him for the boy's death. Tsume wanders the domed city and eventually runs into Toboe, a young wolf he has become infatuated with a young girl Lira. Although he rescues Toboe, Tsume refuses to be friendly, adhering to his lone wolf mentality. Toboe accuses him of only befriending humans because they will never be as strong as him.

Kiba and Hige get captured on purpose to re-enter the police fortress to scent out the source of the Lunar Flowers. A Noble arrives, in black with wild black hair and a white mask, and seems to knock out all the humans he encounters rather than hurting him. He confronts Detective Hubb's ex-wife Cher, a scientist studying the Flower Maiden Cheza. The Noble removes his mask, revealing a strange, animalistic golden eye that renders Cher unconscious.

The Noble takes Cheza, who has been stirring ever since wolf blood spilled when Kiba and Tsume briefly scuffled. He is able to see Kiba and Hige for what they are. Cheza awakens and lets out a high-pitched scream that the wolves can all hear. Toboe describes it as "saddening." The Noble says he will meet the wolves in Paradise before leaving.

Kiba and Hige then plan to leave the domed city in search of Paradise now that the smell of Lunar Flowers is gone. Lunar Flowers seem to have some connection with the wolves being able to find Paradise. Toboe joins up with the two wolves with Kiba quickly assuming the alpha role.

Tsume's gang, who have been captured, turn on him and lead the police to him. Quent's dog Blue attacks Tsume but he gets away, dropping his human guise for his wolf form to escape police looking for the man leading the gang.

Kiba leads the wolves to Tsume and convinces him to join them in leaving the domed city. Tsume is reluctant but recognizes that, as a wanted man and without a gang, he cannot remain in the city. Toboe stumbles and falls but Tsume saves him by biting his shoulder. This scene imitates the earlier death of the young boy in his gang, indicating Tsume's appropriate place among the wolves as those who are strong enough to be handled (and helped) by other wolves. Hubb, still not quite willing to believe the evidence, seeks out Quent for more information and learns about the Book of the Moon, a pagan text that contains the mythology of wolves. Humans, for instance, were made from wolves and to be their messengers.

As the four wolves leap from a wall into the arctic harshness outside the domed city, Hubb and Quent arrive. Quent fires at Tsume but Hubb intercedes. He says he still only sees a human. After the wolves are gone, Quent takes the detective to where the wolves left and shows him the paw prints leading away. Hubb struggles to believe the incontrovertible evidence of his eyes.

Speculation

The Nobles are possibly fallen angels. Given their high social  place (Hubb notes "only the nobles are still allowed to fly") and their awareness of Paradise, this seems plausible. Plus, there is the repetition of the feather motif. The Noble who takes Cheza has hair that faintly resembles feathers. When he removes his mask to ensorcel Cher, there briefly appears what look to be black feathers. And as the wolves are leaving and the Nobles have Cheza in their flying ship, feathers continuously rain down on Hubb and the police.