Wolf Children

Milan Records presents the score to Wolf Children composed by the Japanese musician Masakatsu Takagi on vinyl edition.

Milan Records presents the score to Wolf Children composed by the Japanese musician Masakatsu Takagi.

Wolf Children is a Japanese animated film directed by acclaimed filmmaker Mamoru Hosoda (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars, The Boy and the Beast). Hana and her two children, Ame and Yuki, live a happy life but harbor a secret: the children’s father is a wolf-man. When he brutally disappears, Hana decides to leave the city to raise her children close to a splendid forest.

The score to Wolf Children was composed by the Japanese musician Masakatsu Takagi. Takagi has gone on to compose the scores to Hosoda’s subsequent films “The Boy and the Beast” and “Mirai of the Future”.

This vinyl release features a selection of original music curated from the film by Takagi, including the beautiful track “Mother’s Song” performed by Ann Sally. Wolf Children is pressed on transparent green vinyl and housed in an internal euro sleeve featuring concept art from the film.

Wolf Children (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) LP

Also available:
Wolf Children (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) Digital Album 24 tracks
Wolf Children (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) Cd Album 24 tracks

Hana, a student attending a college on the outskirts of Tokyo, falls in love with a 'wolf man' who has the blood of wolves in his veins. They move in together, and soon Hana gives birth to two “wolf children” who are half-wolf half-human. They name the older child, a girl born on a snowy day, Yuki ('snow'), and the second child, a boy born on a rainy day, Ame ('rain').

The family's humble but happy life suddenly comes to an end when the wolf man is killed. Hana promises herself that she will raise their children well on her own and decides to move into a dilapidated house in the countryside rich in nature, where the children can one day decide for themselves to be 'human' or 'wolf.' There, she meets Nirasaki, who teaches her how to farm, and the other kind people of the village. Although her initial motive to move to the countryside was to stay away from the prying eyes of neighbors, she comes to appreciate the mysterious bond between people.

One snowy day, Ame almost drowns in a river trying to catch a kingfisher. After he is rescued, he excitedly recounts his first 'hunt,' and the experience brings on a big change in the timid boy. Meanwhile, Yuki, now six, wants to 'be like everyone else' and starts attending the village elementary school after promising Hana that she will not 'transform into a wolf in front of other people no matter what happens.' However, provoked by an innocent comment from a transfer student, Sohei, she inadvertently breaks her promise. Yuki is heartbroken, thinking she can no longer stay at the school, and Hana kindly watches over her distraught daughter.

Ame, who enters school a year later, has a hard time fitting in. 'Instincts of the wild' have awakened in him, and he is drawn to the new world he has discovered in nature. Yuki tries to convince him that 'they should live as humans,' and they get into a violent fight. Yuki, who had always been physically stronger than her younger brother, is now no match for him, and she is badly beat. Both Yuki and Ame have started to walk down their own respective paths in life. 'This is what I wanted but why am I so worried?' Hana confesses her uncertainty to the photograph of the wolf man.

Then comes the fateful day when a terrible storm hits the village and the mountains. Despite Hana’s regret that she still hasn’t done anything for her children, Ame and Yuki face decisions that set the course of their lives.

More info at: Studio Chizu