In an alternate, futuristic world, the planet is slowly sliding into entropy for humans and the part-alien Noble caste that rules the world and has led it into ruin.

The apocolypse is on the horizon, but the end of the world will come not with a blaze of combat and the herald of trumpets, but with a final dying gasp of a planet ruined by simple human greed.

None feels this more keenly than the race of Wolves, shapeshifters who can transform from wolf to human at will and who exist partly in the world of beasts and partly in that of man, always hiding from and hunted ruthlessly and to the point of extinction by the human race.

Five unlikely Wolves, each with a dark and painful past, are drawn together to rescue a mysterious girl, Chesa, part human and part night-blooming flower, genetically engineered by the Nobles as the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy that will bring forth a new Paradise from the cold corpse of the world.

So begins an epic quest against the blasted face of the world. To each of the large cast of characters, Chesa represents hope, redemption and rebirth. Some wish to use her. Others to help her, but only with the help of the Wolves can she open the way to Paradise.

People who love truly epic quests with a modern/futuristic edge and funny yet tragic characters.

The sense of decay, of beauty and wonder fading away, that pervades the world and gives it an intense yet wistful tone.

The sense of a struggle against the inevitable. The struggle itself matters, even though the situation seems hopeless and may well be fruitless.

Watch it again and see all the little nuances I had missed before.

Inspired to write my own novel, "Skinchanger."

It's brilliant (and I don't use that term lightly). It's probably my all-time favorite anime.

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Created Jul 29, 2006 at 1:58am • Submit your own review...