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. 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, Ichirōhiko and Jirōmaru, 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 become 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. Though Ren cheers for him, Kumatetsu is easily defeated. However, the Grandmaster declares the actual duel of succession has not come yet.
Ren refuses to reveal his name so Kumatetsu decides to call him 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 practitioner. Moreover, through his relationship with Kyūta, Kumatetsu gains his own following of supporters, including 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, 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, Kyūta considers using the vacuum within himself to absorb his opponent's negative energy and killing himself. However, Kumatetsu uses his privilege as the new grandmaster 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 the empty void within him. Together, the two manage to purge Ichirōhiko’s darkness. Ichirōhiko wakes up surrounded by his adoptive family, not remembering what had happened. 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. After reconciling with his father and himself, he decides to live once again in the human world with Kumatetsu forever residing in his heart.
The film was released on July 11, 2015 in Japan. The film received its International Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and its UK Premiere at the BFI London Film Festival on October 16, 2015.[12]
In December 2014, Gaumont secured international sales outside Asia and theatrical distribution rights in France.[13][14] The film was released in France on January 13, 2016.[15][16]Funimation licensed the film for the United States release;[17] it opened in select theaters there on March 4, 2016. It has been licensed by StudioCanal for the UK and Ireland release, Madman Entertainment for the Australian release,[18] and Mongrel Media for the Canadian release.[19]
Reception
Box office
The film was #1 at the Japanese box office during its opening weekend, replacing Avengers: Age of Ultron, and earning approximately US$5.4 million on 492,000 admissions from 457 screens.[20] 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.[21] The film was Japan's second highest-grossing film in the year 2015 with a total box office gross of (converted from yen) US$48.6 million.[3]
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.[22]
Critical response
The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes 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."[23]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 65 out of 100 based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[24]
Mark Schilling of The Japan Times 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."[25] Richard Eisenbeis of Kotaku 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."[26] Charles Solomon of the Los Angeles Times 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."[27] Peter Debruge of Variety called it "an action-packed buddy movie that strategically combines several of Japanese fans’ favorite ingredients: conflicted teens, supernatural creatures and epic battles."[28] Peter Keough of The Boston Globe 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."[29] Pat Padua of The Washington Post wrote, "But it is the world of man, not beast, that makes this coming-of-age movie most touching."[30]
While popular in Japan, in the west the film has a more mixed reaction. Andy Webster of The New York Times 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."[31] 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."[32] Marc Savlov of The Austin Chronicle 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."[33] 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.[34]
