AaronBaron64

I'll keep this brief and spoiler free, the movie has 2 main point-on-the-nose aspects as i see it, First is the alleged cliche 'Hero-savior of the day' saves the damsel in distress and saves the town and walks away as the titular hero, Second is the reality of being the center of attention that comes with being a hero and also all the focused hurt. He saves the damsel in distress like any good natured hero script would have him do but this butterfly effect leaves scores of innocents dying and the ending being cinematic and like classic Kurosawa fashion, leaves the final thoughts up to the viewer.

Ok, ok, this is the most bonkers movie i've ever seen in my life, expected no less by the famed Masaaki Yuasa(devilman crybaby guy). The sheer visuals alone is enough to take you to the tipsy lane and doesnt let you go home easy, the movie is just jam packed with content, 30 mins feels like a 2 hour watch, and after the 1 hour mark i had to take a break from overworking by brain to exhaustion just trying to keep up itself! if anything watch this alone first and then with friends, the expierence is surreal after you're done with it, or should i say when Yuasa is done with you, looking forward to more from this extremely talented, visually addicting and insightful director. From boy to love....

Mamoru Hosoda has a distinctive style of portraying motion of both the characters and as well as the motion of time. This movie definitely has those DNA elements but it's done so poorly, Hosoda's previous works , 1)the girl that leapt through time ,shows the passing of time in the teenage years from the view of a girl , melancholic and full of unexpected surprises . 2)wolf children , passing of time from a mothers point of view, its so rewarding watching the children grow up and going on their own paths . 3)summer wars, passing of time from a generational point of view, when the old ways of life are now being integrated instead of overtaken is a very unique view and Hosoda nailed it. But This movie(the boy and the beast) was trying to show the passage of time from a father's perspective , as the imagery of paternal care is every where throughout the film but is done is a way that comes of mediocre, we don't feel when Ren/kyuta(protagonist) grows , we don't feel him learn, it just happens and its a disappointment when we go from watching a 9 year old boy to a 17 year old in just 30 min in a 2 hour film. For a film that supposed to be an empathatic one, it has alot of story beats that revolve one the outside instead of the inside as one would expect from a film about growth( as growth can come only from the inside) and the movie tries to do so with its various 'emotional' dialogues and scenes that honestly feel so out of place. And now comes the real reason why this film was underwhelming, the supposed antagonist, this person was so out of place and filled it dumb obvious Moby dick references that I almost felt insulted at the film trying to push the 'darkness of mankind' thing so far that it just comes of being so childish , a terrible conclusion Is it worth a watch? Sure Is it worth carrying it throughout ur life? Absolutely no