Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
virginsoul666
Mamoru Hosoda post Mirai No Mirai is truly lame, I prefer his early works by far, those that heals my heart.
This film especially capture pretty well the difficulties of paternity, being a child, and grow up.
about that, I really think about the love-hate relation with my dad that a I ever feel, and the peculiar feeling of being compared, physically and emotionally, idk I don't want to be like Him, but in some part of my heart I respect Him, I'm sorry dad, I think is the natural course of life.
The upgrowth is violent, and this film portrays that, especially in a specific scene, where Ren beat some idiots, but this occurs out of camera, You only listen, don't see, I like that, because keep a moral compromise with a transcendent idea of destructive and constructive violence, all actions mus…
Read at the sourceFleecyBear
Personal stats: as of Sep 2025, I have completed 194 anime with a mean score of 7.33.
The Boy and the Beast score: 8/10.
Watching this movie was a very beautiful experience. The world is colorful, the characters are lovable, and the connection between the main duo is unforgettable for sure - funny, heartwarming and emotional all at once. The animation is gorgeous, the action is exciting and the sounds really bring everything together to life.
The plot has minor imperfections, but they don't take away emotional value of a story as whole. It’s a beautiful emotional adventure that will surely take up a place in your heart forever.
I regret not seeing this anime earlier! Definitely worth a watch if you like anime that can make you feel both excited and moved.
Read at the sourceLegolaspt
The movie starts with a black screen and a narrator performing a 2 minutes long exposition. This is by far the worst start to a movie I've ever seen. I cannot fathom how no one put a stop to this before it came to air. It made me want to instantly drop the movie, as I knew it'd be trash from that point onward.
And besides the beautiful art style, the next few scenes weren't much better either: the dialogue was terrible, the pacing was immensely boring, and then we headed straight into a flashback.
Overall, despite its appealing art style, the movie quickly fell apart with poor writing, weak pacing, and a frustrating structure that made it impossible to enjoy.
Read at the sourceBensonas
I had high hopes for this. The plot sounded interesting and it held a rather high score on here. Unfortunately, it didn't live up to my expectations. This is likely more my fault than the films, but nevertheless here is my review.
The animation in this film is excellent and to get it out of the way now, is getting a 9/10. The characters have excellent design and are original. The world's look great too. Both the beast world and the human world have their own colour variations with the human world seeming darker and full of pessimism and the beats world lighter and optimistic. The limited fight scenes are incredibly fluid and all round is almost as solid as you will get on the animation front.
Music wise it was average. Maybe I am critical to a fault when it comes to music in anime. Mayb…
Read at the sourceCaeruleus_CCXVI
7.75/10 ~ Great movie but far from perfect
If you read through the comments there is a pretty common factor among most who have watched this one that the 2nd half of the film is not as good as the first, and I would agree with this. The start of the movie is incredible, engaging, interesting and you just want to stay in this world. The problem I found is this should have probably been a short series of 3-6 smaller 1-2 hour movies, the first 50-70 minutes or start really has some fantastic pacing, there is a time skip and all of a sudden the pacing goes out the window and the content covered is the equivalent of 2-5 more parts that could have been made all lasting about an hour or so. Instead we got all of these moments, sub plots crammed into this small hour moment. Its a real shame becau…
Read at the sourceErnacram
Hosoda Mamoru is one of these anime movie directors of these last 10-15 years that, together with Shinkai Makoto, has been hailed as the “new Miyazaki”. On this website also you can find a lot of people comparing his movies to the ones made by Studio Ghibli. But while you can find some similarities between Hosoda’s films and Miyazaki’s masterpieces, I believe that they are only similar on a surface level. That is the case with Bakemono no ko (or “The Boy and the Beast” in the language of yankees). Indeed, the movie deals with themes like facing hardships, growing up, and overcoming family difficulties, themes which we have seen in some of Miyazaki’s movies, and the basic premise is slightly reminiscent of Spirited Away. However the quality of this movie is, in my opinion, nowhere near a Mi…
Read at the sourceLegionIscariot
Spirited Away meets Jungle Book. But not as cool as it sounds.
A cool isekai fantasy that turns into a teenage drama for some reason.
Its a story about 2 outcasts Kumatetsu and Ren (aka Kyuta).
From 2 different worlds, Kumatetsu of the Beast Kingdom and Ren of the human world.
Kumatetsu, as his name implies, is a bear (kuma=bear).
Ren is an orphan* who gets adopted by Kumatetsu as his apprentice. Kumatetsu wants to be the next king of the Beast Kingdom. But although he is strong he is seen as lazy and undependable by the beast folk. Unlike his rival who is adored by all.
However through training Ren, and in turn being trained by Ren, hopefully he may end up being seen in a better light by the other beast people.
The two fight alot at first. Yell alot. But you expect them to eventually…
Read at the sourceDilannohi
STORY(9/10)
The story begins with Ren, a 9-year-old boy who runs away from home and manages to get into the beast realm. Humans are known to hold ''the darkness'' inside them which causes the beasts to give him a bad eye. Yet there's one beast who never cared that Ren, now known as Kyuuta, is a human. That beast is Kumatetsu, his new master. Due to his personality, Kumatetsu is not very liked by others, regardless he is trying to become the Lord. To do so, Kumatetsu needs an apprentice and Kyuuta is his only option, so they start to become codependent (in a good way). Their relationship starts a bit rocky but that adds up to the charm those two have. Kyuuta's training is shown to be beneficial for both sides, so they hold on to it. Over the course of years, we see that they influenced eac…
Read at the sourceveganismo
"Bakemono no Ko" is a captivating film that immerses you in two seemingly disparate worlds, yet finds a surprising connection between them. The plot follows Ren, a nine-year-old boy, and Kumatetsu, an imposing figure from the realm of beasts. Both characters are searching for something missing in their lives, and their destinies intertwine in unexpected ways.
The animation of the film stands out for its uniqueness, reminding me of the "Chihiro" concept but explored from a different perspective. The story grips you from the beginning, immersing you in the intricate streets of Shibuya and then taking you to a fascinating realm of beasts.
What truly makes "Bakemono no Ko" shine is the connection between the two protagonists and how, over the years, they discover that their individual goals…
Read at the sourceRaidzAnimez
I would never have thought this anime would be good. Once I had seen it, I was mind blown on how great is the animation, story and art-style to lovable anime. The characters were so much developed into this film. It didn't waste my time to entertain me. It felt so amazing and a wonderful experience for the family as-well. The art-style matched the film so well. This movie came out in 2015 and it still holds up to this day. It had a happy ending with that being said, it left a good tear in my eye. Amazing character arc as-well with him hating everyone but later on noticing hate is not key. The humor is just so funny, I laughed out loud in so many scenes. I really liked how the pacing was well done! The fight scenes in this movie were really spectacular, but it's not like something that matc…
Read at the sourcenightwolf1923
To keep it simple, good for kids/family but for teens and adults it's not worth the time.
Story
Really promising in the beginning, because we get what we came for, the boy trained by the beast, but later we will get other "emotional" plots that don't have enough time to feel relevant and can become boring and predictable
Characters
Simple but likeable, they have some personal struggles to make them feel more alive but make illogical decisions sometimes
Antagonist
No motivation, no logic, no buildup Visuals and music
Very beautiful, probably why the movie is even relevant
Is it bad? no, but for a 2h movie is just not worth it
Read at the sourceflippyinvader
Finally got Hosada's filmography complete.
Aside from the synopsis I read and the main poster, I was actually thrown for a loop for how the story progressed, I was expecting the whole film to be some kind of Spirited Away affair with more sword fighting. But then we hit the "growing up/training montage" and I was like "Ooooooh...we're going this route!", then our lead boy ends up finding his way back into the human world and starts rebuilding his life there as well. That's when I really dug this film and the emotions really sunk in.
Sidenotes:
- I love how Kumatetsu and Kyuta's dynamic is a lot like Lilo & Stitch, two hotheads with troubled baggage who end up bouncing off each in more ways than they thought
Read at the sourceDrackonath
Now to get this started, I don't really use MAL that much. After watching this movie I felt almost supernaturally compelled to leave a review. I used to have 3 anime that I could not choose from to be my top anime of all time (you can check my profile for them they are my only 10's). Now I will have a 4th, this movie truly blew me away in such a manner in which I have not felt in an absurdly long time. This along with the other 3 I will forever recommend and hold near to my heart. :)
Story: 10
Absolutely wonderful story, it was truly a work of art. The beast world and the human world being interconnected but completely different adds a great feeling. I love the character growth and how they can really leave you feeling for the characters in such a short time. The second half with the dra…
Read at the sourceproviso
TL:DR: Where the movie is good, it's genuinely, uniquely and originally good. Where it's bad, it's hollow, cold and soulless. The director's sincerity and effort are inconsistent and misguided.
Overall a bad movie.
May be worth a watch if you're:
1. looking for novel experiences as opposed to strictly good experiences
2. not too easily dissapointed by a weak second half. _
The first half of the movie is great. Sweet, slow-paced, true to life. It seems like a story you could learn and absorb things from.
The second half is like an episode of eastenders: Hollow, forced, and grating. Melodrama angst and pain for their own sake, without much sense, logic, or justification, either from a narrative standpoint or of plausibility.
Sounds, reductionistic but the second half is so rushed it's…
Read at the sourceNijo24
This movie started out really solid. It was engaging, the Japanese mythological elements adding to the intrigue. What I really loved about it was the atmosphere and cinematography. Mamoru Hosoda seems to specialize in these atmospheric scenes that bring you into the world with how realistic they seem - a combination of the sound, the wide shot, the colors, probably all of these things put together. It's got its own flavor, different from a Miyazaki movie or a Satoshi Kon movie. Around the second half, the movie started to drag a bit. I thought it was too long and I wish they would have kept the conflict centralized around the boy and the beast's relationship. I did find his reunion with his father moving. Anyways, definitely worth watching, memorable in its own way, a solid 8.
Read at the sourcewenchips
(Contains Spoilers; please read after you watch it. Or not.)
I usually love Mamoru Hosoda's films (The Girl who Leapt Through Time, Wolf Children, Summer Wars), so I decided to give this movie a go as well. It looked interesting. It started off okay, but then I felt incredibly disappointed.
The part where they went on this so-called ‘journey’ to discover the true meaning of strength felt watered down/underwhelming. I was hoping that part would have had more screen time and that they’d at least learn something from it or bond somewhat, but it’s the usual bickering between Ren and Kumatetsu throughout the whole thing.
I don’t really understand how Ren could suddenly beat Jiroumaru (the kid who bullied him at first) just like that. He said he knew how to predict Kumatetsu’s footsteps becau…
Read at the sourceshawnoxo
I need to start by saying this is a stunning movie and is worth everyone's time. It is reminiscent of a Disney movie, so it has a nostalgic vibe to it which is always comforting.
The story is quite beautiful, and it's enjoyable being able to see Kyuuta (the main character) experience two worlds and how he is treated differently in both of them.
The father/son, mentor/student relationship that forms between the two main characters is heavily focussed on and is a joy to see.
The main antagonist didn't just appear out of nowhere however it wasn't as heavily built-up as other parts of the film meaning overall I give the whole movie a 9 out of 10
Read at the sourceAcidicfriend
Wasted potential. This film attempts to be both a fantastical set-piece and a grounded view on fatherhood and family and in trying to do both in the way that it did - manages to fall short at both. For every fun, exciting moment the film has in the fantasy world, it has another scene that either bores or dulls the prior experience. It's not Impossible to make a fantasy movie with a down-to-earth story. This just happens to fail at making either side very engaging.
I blame the director for choosing to go about this the way that he did. the first quarter of the film is actually pretty great - energy and emotion is rather high - some mystery is set up and an early fight scene sets the pace for the movie, the visuals are also always consistently amazing - - sadly, the second quarter drastical…
Read at the sourceAlexander_2000
Synopsis:
A boy named Ren loses his divorced mother, which drives him to run away. While on the run from the police, he encounters cloaked beasts. Ren runs after them, discovering a whole new world.
Plot/Story: (Minor Spoiler Warning) [8/10]
[How did it begin?]
An orphan boy named Ren becomes a new disciple to one of the two candidates to become the next grandmaster.
[How did the plot progress?]
The beast and the boy both learn to grow, helping each other with their weaknesses.
Character/Character Development: [7/10]
The main characters were well developed, but the main villain was a bit rushed. How the villain changed from being kind to cruel wasn't explained well in the movie. But the side characters did a great job helping the main character grow.
The character development was en…
Read at the sourceCuriouswanderer
This movie has been sitting in my watchlist for a very long time and today, I finally got to sit down and watch it properly since always college is bringing me down with numerous projects to do.
Anyways I was absolutely impressed by the animation, especially the views of Tokyo city and the animal kingdom that Ren is transported in. You gotta give props to the animators on this one because seriously, I'm sure this movie has taken so many years to get it together!
The fighting scenes were pretty well done too!
Definitely people should give this movie a watch if you're able to hack it for 2 hours straight, its so worth your time!
*******SPOLIERS AHEAD YOUVE BEEN WARNED*********
The characters were pretty good. I like the fact they gave a fatherly vibe throughout the film cause obvious…
Read at the source
