The Boy and the Beast [Deluxe Edition] [Blu-ray] [2 Discs] [2015]

Boy and the Beast is created by Hosoda Mamoru, who also created Summer Wars a while back. This time, the story takes place between two separate world, the human world and the beast world. It centers around a young boy named Ren, who just lost his cherished mother. Not wanting to be taken in by other immediate family, he runs away only to stumble upon the beast world. The movie includes Blu-Ray, DVD, and a digital copy. Having those 3 formats enables flexibility on viewing the movie. It also comes with both English and Japanese vocal audio, making this a good value for those who want to view the movie in its original form (with translated subtitles of course). Translation is about average. The English dub is okay but my preferred audio is Japanese. There are places where the translation in the subtitle is off. While I do not know why that is the case, it is a bit off-putting when the translation doesn't match up to what's really spoken. Overall, this is a great anime movie. My niece and nephew both enjoyed it. Highly recommended.

The latest feature film from award-winning Japanese director Mamoru Hosoda (Summer Wars, Wolf Children): When Kyuta, a young orphan living on the streets of Shibuya, stumbles into a fantastic world of beasts, he's taken in by Kumatetsu, a gruff, rough-around-the-edges warrior beast who's been searching for the perfect apprentice. Despite their constant bickering, Kyuta and Kumatetsu begin training together and slowly form a bond as surrogate father and son. But when a deep darkness threatens to throw the human and beast worlds into chaos, the strong bond between this unlikely family will be put to ultimate test-a final showdown that will only be won if the two can finally work together using all of their combined strength and courage.

Summer Wars is one of my all time favorite works of anime. The Boy and the Beast has quick found its way to the top of my list. What is so amazing about both films is how they are able to depict Japanese culture in a subtle and natural fashion. Summer Wars showed what it is like to be a part of a Japanese family. The Boy and the Beast is a coming of age story that gives a glimpse into the master-student relationship, if somewhat unorthodox. The fight scenes are superb, and some of the imagery is quite evocative. I purchased this film strictly from the reputation of the director and seeing one trailer, and I have to say that I am extremely satisfied with my decision.

This anime almost slipped past me. I hadn't heard anything about it before, and I just so happened to be in Best Buy looking to buy another movie, when I spotted this one. I read the box and it sounded pretty good. And looking at the pictures on the back, I was sold. If you liked 'Summer Wars', then you should like this. I actually liked this anime better than 'Summer Wars', and thats saying something, because I LOVE 'Summer Wars'. I watched it like six times after I got it that month, but before that, I watched it like four or five times on my DVR (recorded it off Toonami). ...I can't wait to see the next anime movie they release.

With the retirement of the great Hayao Miyazaki I was worried I would see a predictable dip in studio Ghibli's quality but if this film is any indication of what is to come than I would say that Miyazaki's legacy is in good hands as Mamoru Hosoda writes the next chapter in Ghibli's story. I find this work to be a wonderful coming of age story where the main character literally grows up in front of you. Better than his previous work, "Wolf Children" my hope is that this upward trend in his work continues. Though Wolf Children is no slouch and definitely worth picking up if you lo,Ed this film.