manganews.net

I picked up Wolf's Rain from my local bookstore to review it because I really liked the anime. However, absolute fanaticism is really the only reason why I can see anyone buying the two-volume manga release of Wolf's Rain.

Wolf's Rain takes place in a post-apocalyptic future where the entire planet is covered with snow, judging from a background that has what looks remarkably like the Golden Gate Bridge in it. Wolves are thought to have been extinct for centuries. However, unbeknownst to humanity, wolves are actually living among them disguised as humans. Four such wolves find each other and go on a quest for Paradise. This is the basic storyline of both the anime and manga.

The artistic style is consistent with the anime. The characters are drawn with some reference to real life and the coloring helps create the bleak mood of the post-apocalyptic world. Because of this, rare instances of the typical comical facials expressions in manga feel out of place in this serious series.

The Wolf's Rain manga is, in short, a condensed version of the anime. It brings nothing new to the series and, if anything, makes the storyline much more confusing. The whole thing feels rushed, as if the main objective was to deliver the main points of the story in the least amount of pages possible. Unless you're a die-hard fan or need a crash-course on the series, don't bother buying this. The anime is much better.