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is a 2015 Japanese
animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...
action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...
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adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme sp ...
fantasy film Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered a form of speculative fiction alongside science fiction ...
written and directed by Mamoru Hosoda. The film stars the voices of
Kōji Yakusho , known professionally as , is a Japanese actor. He is well known for his starring roles in ''Shall We Dance?'' (1996), ''Cure'' (1997), ''Memoirs of a Geisha'' (2005), '' 13 Assassins'' (2010), '' The Third Murder'' (2017), ''The Blood of Wolv ...
,
Aoi Miyazaki is a Japanese actress. She is known for her roles in '' Nana'' and '' Virgin Snow''. Career Miyazaki started working in the entertainment industry at the age of four. Initially she appeared mostly in commercials, magazine advertisements, and ...
, Shōta Sometani,
Suzu Hirose is a Japanese actress and model. Despite her young age, she is widely regarded as one of the most promising Japanese actresses of her generation. Biography Hirose debuted as a model for Japanese fashion magazine '' Seventeen'', alongside her si ...
,
Kazuhiro Yamaji is a Japanese actor and voice actor affiliated with the Seinenza Theater Company. He has been married to Romi Park since 2020. Filmography Live-action films * 2000: '' Whiteout'' (Takayoshi Yoshikane) * 2001: ''Inugami'' (Takanao) * 2004: '' K ...
,
Mamoru Miyano is a Japanese actor and singer. He is best known for his roles on ''Steins;Gate'', ''Durarara!!'', ''Death Note'', '' Soul Eater'', ''Wolf's Rain'', ''Ouran High School Host Club'', '' Ajin: Demi-Human'', '' Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood'', '' ...
, Kappei Yamaguchi, Keishi Nagatsuka,
Kumiko Asō , better known by her stage name , is a Japanese actress. She is also a model and has participated in several commercials. Career In 1995, Asō made her film debut in ''Bad Guy Beach''. With her role in the 1998 film '' Dr. Akagi'', she receive ...
, Haru Kuroki, Sumire Morohoshi, Momoka Ōno,
Masahiko Tsugawa , born Masahiko Katō (加藤 雅彦 ''Katō Masahiko''; January 2, 1940 – August 4, 2018) was a Japanese actor and director. Career Tsugawa was born January 2, 1940, in Kyoto, Japan. After acting as a child, he made his major debut at the age ...
, Lily Franky and
Yo Oizumi is a Japanese actor, comedian, television personality and voice actor. He is a member of the theatrical and musical unit TEAM NACS, and is represented by Creative Office Cue. His wife Kumiko Nakajima is a drama producer at Fuji TV. In 1995, ...
. It was released on July 11, 2015. It won Animation of the Year at the 37th Japan Academy Prizes and grossed at the Japanese box office.


Plot

Nine-year-old Ren has recently lost his mother. With no news of his father and refusing to live with his legal guardians, Ren flees into the streets of
Shibuya Shibuya (渋谷 区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern half) and Shibuya Station. As of April 1, ...
. Ren steals some food and sleeps in an alley, reminiscing the aftermath of his mother's funeral. In the Beast Kingdom, the grandmaster has decided he will retire in order to reincarnate as a deity and names two potential successors: the popular Iōzen, who is also the father of two children, and the powerful Kumatetsu, who is lonely and lazy. The Grandmaster suggests that Kumatetsu find a disciple in hopes of inspiring him to succeed him. While wandering the streets of Tokyo with his makeshift companion, Tatara, Kumatetsu meets Ren and suggests that the boy becomes his disciple. Though Ren is fiercely opposed, he follows Kumatetsu back to the Beast Kingdom out of curiosity but is unable to go back to the human world. As he watches a battle between Iōzen and Kumatetsu, Ren is impressed with Kumatetsu's persistence despite the lack of support from onlookers. When Ren cheers for him, Kumatetsu is easily defeated. However, the Grandmaster declares the actual duel of succession has not come yet. Taking Ren as a disciple, Kumatetsu gives him a new name, Kyūta. Their initial training sessions go poorly, but Kyūta realizes that he can learn from Kumatetsu by imitating him while performing his household chores. The boy gradually discovers that he can predict his master's movements, and can dodge and move adeptly in combat. They soon begin training together. After eight years, the teenage Kyūta has become a distinguished
kendo is a modern Japanese martial art, descended from kenjutsu (one of the old Japanese martial arts, swordsmanship), that uses bamboo swords (shinai) as well as protective armor (bōgu). Today, it is widely practiced within Japan and has spread t ...
practitioner. Moreover, through his relationship with Kyūta, Kumatetsu gains his own following of supporters, including the younger son of Iōzen, Jirōmaru, who wishes to be trained by Kumatetsu. Kyūta finds a way back to the human world, and befriends Kaede, a young student. In the process, Kyūta finds his father, who had been searching for Ren since he disappeared and wants to catch up. Torn by his double life, he is unable to reconcile the resentment he had as Ren and the lack of connections he has as Kyūta. When he rejects both his father and Kumatetsu, he discovers a powerful void within himself that nearly overwhelms him, until Kaede gets him to calm down and gives him a bracelet that has helped her when she becomes anxious. On the day of the succession duel, Kumatetsu loses confidence without Kyūta's encouragement and is nearly subdued by Iōzen. However, Kyūta has been secretly watching and reveals himself, helping Kumatetsu defeat Iōzen. When Kumatetsu is declared the winner and the new lord, Iōzen's elder son Ichirōhiko is revealed to be a human who had been found on the streets of Tokyo as an infant and adopted by Iōzen. Having developed a vacuum in his heart like Kyūta, unwilling to believe that he is a human and not a beast, Ichirōhiko manifests telekinetic powers and seriously injures Kumatetsu with Iōzen's sword. Kyūta is nearly overtaken by his own emptiness and tries to kill Ichirōhiko, but regains his senses with Kaede's bracelet as Ichirōhiko is consumed by darkness and disappears. Kyūta decides to leave for the human world to fight Ichirōhiko. When Kaede refuses to leave him, they are attacked by Ichirōhiko, who takes the form of a destructive whale. Unable to hold his own against Ichirōhiko, the young man decides to use the vacuum within himself to absorb his opponent's negative energy and then kill himself, saving everyone else. However, Kumatetsu uses his new privilege as the lord and reincarnates as a deity, taking the form of a sword "to be handled with the heart" in reference to their first training session together. He merges with his pupil's form, filling his empty void within him. Together, the two manage to defeat Ichirōhiko without killing him. Ichirōhiko wakes up surrounded by his adoptive family. Meanwhile; back in Shibuya, Ren is talking to Kumatetsu (who now resides inside him) and the two have a heartfelt moment together, with Kumatetsu promising to always be there for Ren and threatening to beat him up from the inside if he wavers again. In the aftermath, Ren celebrates his victory with Kaede in the Beast Kingdom and returns to the human world. After reconciling with his father and himself, Ren decides to live once again in the human world with Kumatetsu forever residing in his heart.


Voice cast


Release

The film was released on July 11, 2015 in Japan. The film received its International Premiere at the
Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...
and its UK Premiere at the BFI London Film Festival on October 16, 2015. In December 2014, Gaumont secured international sales outside Asia and theatrical distribution rights in France. The film was released in France on January 13, 2016.
Funimation Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...
licensed the film for the United States release; it opened in select theaters there on March 4, 2016. It has been licensed by
StudioCanal StudioCanal S.A.S. (formerly known as Le Studio Canal+, Canal Plus, Canal+ Distribution, Canal+ D.A., Canal+ Production, and Canal+ Image and also known as StudioCanal International) is a French film production and distribution company that owns ...
for the UK and Ireland release,
Madman Entertainment Madman Entertainment Pty. Ltd., also known as Madman Films, is an Australian distribution and rights management company headquartered in East Melbourne, Victoria, specialising in feature films, documentaries and television series across theatri ...
for the Australian release, and Mongrel Media for the Canadian release.


Reception


Box office

The film was #1 at the Japanese box office during its opening weekend, replacing Avengers: Age of Ultron, and earning approximately on 492,000 admissions from 457 screens. In its second weekend, ''The Boy and the Beast'' earned $3.89 million, marking a 29.1% decline and dropping to number two, overtaken by '' Hero 2''. The film was Japan's second highest-grossing film in the year 2015 with a total box office gross of (converted from yen) . The film ranked #28 at the American box office during its opening weekend on March 4, 2016. As of March 16, 2016, the film has an American box office gross of $474,308.


Critical response

The review aggregation website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
reported that 88% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 69 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "''The Boy and the Beast'' combines familiar parts to create a gripping, beautifully animated adventure with inventive storytelling to match its visual appeal."
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc D ...
, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 65 out of 100 based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Mark Schilling of ''
The Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...
'' said that the film "has more in common with the “Harry Potter” series than the usual female-centered Miyazaki fantasy" and would later say that the storyline "stays centered on Kyūta’s long, vexed struggle to become not only strong, but also whole." Richard Eisenbeis of ''
Kotaku ''Kotaku'' is a video game website and blog that was originally launched in 2004 as part of the Gawker Media network. Notable former contributors to the site include Luke Smith, Cecilia D'Anastasio, Tim Rogers, and Jason Schreier. History ...
'' said ''The Boy and the Beast'' "is an entertaining coming-of-age adventure on one hand and an excellent thematic exploration on the other. This is one of those films that is perfect for any age group—there’s something for everyone in this one." Charles Solomon of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' said the film "is a bracing tale of two flawed individuals who find the love and discipline they need to assume their rightful places in their respective worlds." Peter Debruge of ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' called it "an action-packed buddy movie that strategically combines several of Japanese fans’ favorite ingredients: conflicted teens, supernatural creatures and epic battles." Peter Keough of ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' gave the film 2.5 out of 4 stars and wrote that Hosoda "does know how to mix an eclectic array of film plots and concepts into a mish-mash that seems original." Pat Padua of ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nat ...
'' wrote, "But it is the world of man, not beast, that makes this coming-of-age movie most touching." While popular in Japan, in the west the film has a more mixed reaction. Andy Webster of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' was more critical of the film, saying "Mr. Hosoda is skilled with fight scenes, and his settings — the pastel-hued Jūtengai and the drab Shibuya, evoked at times with surveillance-camera perspectives and crowd-paranoia angles — are impressive. But the characterizations and conflicts here are strictly generic." Sherilyn Connelly of '' The Village Voice'' said that the film "works with many common anime tropes but doesn't find anything new to say about them." Marc Savlov of ''
The Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...
'' gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and said "A huge success in Japan, this thrilling, if overlong, epic from director Mamoru Hosoda (''Wolf Children'', ''Summer Wars'') is part ''Karate Kid'' and part Japanese folklore." Jacob Chapman of Anime News Network had a mixed response to the film and said "''The Boy and The Beast'' is the kind of movie you put on to please a kid with its loudness and color, but promptly leave the room to do something else.


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boy And The Beast, The 2010s action adventure films 2010s fantasy adventure films 2015 anime films Animated teen films Anime with original screenplays Coming-of-age anime and manga Films adapted into comics Films directed by Mamoru Hosoda Films set in Tokyo Nippon TV films Funimation Gaumont Film Company animated films Gaumont Film Company films Isekai anime and manga Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year winners Japanese action adventure films Japanese fantasy adventure films 2010s Japanese-language films Madman Entertainment anime Toho animated films Films scored by Masakatsu Takagi