History Anime / ChirinNoSuzu

* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: The end.

* [[ADogNamedDog A Wolf Named Wolf]]: Only in the dub. See SpellMyNameWithAnS for his original name.

* [[ADogNamedDog A Wolf Named Wolf]]

* ChekhovsGun: The bell Chirin wears around his neck proves to be significant. It is stated early on that he wears it because his adventuring causes him to get lost, and his mother needs to hear the bell ring to find him. This precise situation happens early on. At the end of the film, he still wears the bell around his neck. That bell is the only thing that allows the sheep to identify him, but they reject him because they cannot believe that someone they knew turned into a ferocious beast. When he vanishes (and presumably dies and becomes a ghost), everyone can hear his bell ring from the mountains. The song at the beginning of the Japanese version of the film pretty much reveals that the ringing bell is a symbol and a reminder of the tragedy of Chirin.

** Finally, [[spoiler: Chirin kills Wolf. Wolf is not upset by this, and in fact says that he is proud of Chirin]]. The sheep do not thank Chirin for this, but instead cast him out. There is absolutely no sense of victory here.

* SayMyName: After Chirin [[spoiler:kills the wolf]], he stands in the mountains yelling "WOOOLF!"

* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: The entirety of the movie goes on both extreme ends of scale.

* StockholmSyndrome: More properly defined as Identification with the Aggressor, as Chirin decides to become like the wolf so that he won't have to be a victim anymore and then starts to view him as a father. In fact, the film [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructs]] Identification with the Aggressor by showing Chirin becoming just like Wolf, if not worse. Oh, and he loses everything because of it, among other things.

* [[UsedToBeASweetKid Used To Be A Sweet Little Lamb]]: Used to chilling effect in this film. In the English version, the sheep reject Chirin because they apparently do not remember him and they are convinced that no fearsome beast like him could have come from their farm. In the Japanese version, the sheep reject Chirin because they recognized the bell he still wore around his neck and they could not reconcile the fact that the lamb they used to play with had grown up to become such a fearsome beast, which makes no difference either way, as it still conveys the same message.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: The original Japanese script somehow manages to go even [[DarkerandEdgier Darker and Edgier]] than it already is. The wolf kills the entire flock of sheep, not just Chirin's mother, leaving him with a horrible case of survivor's guilt and questioning why he is still alive. Also, Chirin doesn't tell the wolf that he's out for revenge (so the audience don't know either) until they go to attack the sheep again & Chirin surprise kills him, leaving Wolf to utter [[IronicEcho the same words]] as Chirin did as a lamb. Then Chrin regrets his revenge and is left alone.

* YouCantGoHomeAgain:

* ItGotWorse

* LullDestruction: Dialogue, narrations, and noises like grunts, gasps, cries, etc (mostly from Chirin as a lamb) fill spaces where there originally is silence, or nothing comes out of the characters mouths. [[TropesAreNotBad Sometimes this works]], but then there are times where it can be quite... {{Narmy}}

* LullDestruction: Dialogue, narrations, and noises like grunts, gasps, cries, etc (mostly from Chirin as a lamb) fill spaces where there originally is silence, or nothing comes out of the characters mouths. [[TropesAreNotBad Sometimes this works]], [[{{Narm and sometimes...}}]]

* LullDestruction: Dialogue, narrations, and noises like grunts, gasps, cries, etc (mostly from Chirin as a lamb) fill spaces where there originally is silence, or nothing comes out of the characters mouths. [[TropesAreNotBad Sometimes this works]], {{Narm and sometimes...}}

* Determinator: Chirin constantly follows Wolf, determined to learn how to become stronger. [[ItGotWorse Then when he does become his apprentice...]]

* HumansAreBastards: Wolf said "In order for some to live, others must die." He is basically referring to this trope. Sure, no humans appear in this story, but considering how the characters in this story are like humans...well, you get the idea.

* DownerEnding

* ChekhovsGun: The bell Chirin wears around his neck proves to be significant. It is stated early on that he wears it because his adventuring causes him to get lost, and his mother needs to hear the bell ring to find him. This precise situation happens early on. At the end of the film, he still wears the bell around his neck. That bell is the only thing that allows the sheep to identify him, but they reject him because they cannot believe that someone they knew turned into a ferocious beast. When he vanishes (and presumably dies and becomes a ghost), everyone can hear his bell ring from the mountains. The song at the beginning of the Japanese version of the film pretty much reveals that the ringing bell is a symbol and a reminder of tragedy. That bell ends up serving the purpose of reminding everyone of the tragedy of Chirin.

* HeelFaceDoorSlam: Used literally and figuratively with Chirin. This is one of the reasons the film is so tragic.

* LackOfEmpathy: Chirin does start out with empathy. In fact, he glances at several groups of animals composed of mothers and their children as he travels around. This reminds him of what he has lost (his mother). However, after the incident involving a snake and a bird's nest of eggs, he decides to embrace this trope. He does regain at least some empathy by the end of the film, but by then it is too late. This is one of the reasons this story is a tragedy.
* LonersAreFreaks: Wolf, because he is a [[IncrediblyLamePun lone wolf]]. Chirin becomes a loner and a freak, which leads to tragedy.

* TheyPlottedAPerfectlyGoodWaste: One of the reasons this story is a tragedy is because Chirin had so much potential and wasted it utterly and completely. Characters from TheLionKing, Disney/{{Bambi}}, and TheLandBeforeTime suffered similar losses and managed to lead fulfilling lives. Chirin did not.

* YouCantGoHomeAgain: This is one of the reasons this story is a tragedy.

* TheyPlottedAPerfectlyGoodWaste: One of the reasons this story is a tragedy is because Chirin had so much potential and wasted it utterly and completely. Characters from TheLionKing, Disney/{{Bambi}}, and TheLandBeforeTime suffered similar losses and managed to lead fulfilling lives. Chirin did not. He could have stayed on the farm, and have grown up to be its protector. He could have found a way to make the sheep realize that their lives were pathetic, sad and empty. He could have become their leader. None of these things happened, which was exactly what was intended.

* ReptilesAreAbhorrent

!!This movie provides examples of:

* StockholmSyndrome: More properly defined as Identification with the Aggressor, as Chirin decides to become like the wolf so that he won't have to be a victim anymore and then starts to view him as a father. In fact, the film brutally [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructs]] Identification with the Aggressor by showing Chirin becoming just like Wolf, if not worse. Oh, and he loses everything because of it, among other things.

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chirin_no_suzu_2758.jpg
[[caption-width:250:Sure, it starts out this way, [[DarkerAndEdgier until...]].]]

* GonnaFlyNowMontage

* BloodKnight: The Wolf.

* BloodlessCarnage: The wolf was clearly trying to eat Chirin and his mother was killed when she threw herself in front of him. Yet there are no marks on her body. Nevertheless, the death still manages to be quite graphic and depressing.

* FridgeLogic:
** Whoever owns that farm should simply repair the hole in the fence.
** Why are almost all the sheep ewes? Is Chirin the only male lamb out of his entire flock? Why are there no rams in the flock?
** Why did the sheep just sit there like useless idiots when Chirin breaks down into hysterical weeping over his mother's corpse? Why did they not even try to offer help or comfort to him?
** If Chirin could headbutt right through a thick tree, why was he unable to headbutt right through Wolf?
** Why did Wolf not put up much of a fight against Chirin in their final battle?
** The collar around Chirin's neck. It just seems to mysteriously get larger when we see him as a adult, it should have either fallen/broken off by then or cut into his neck.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: The original Japanese script [[BeyondTheImpossible somehow]] manages to go even [[DarkerandEdgier Darker and Edgier]] than it already is. The wolf kills the entire flock of sheep, not just Chirin's mother, leaving him with a horrible case of survivor's guilt and questioning why he is still alive. Also, Chirin doesn't tell the wolf that he's out for revenge (so the audience don't know either) until they go to attack the sheep again & Chirin surprise kills him, leaving Wolf to utter [[IronicEcho the same words]] as Chirin did as a lamb. Then Chrin regrets his revenge and is left alone.

* OmegaCast / {{Minimalism}}: There is only two named characters in the entire story.

* TheyPlottedAPerfectlyGoodWaste: One of the reasons this story is a tragedy is because Chirin had so much potential and wasted it utterly and completely. Characters from TheLionKing, {{Bambi}}, and TheLandBeforeTime suffered similar losses and managed to lead fulfilling lives. Chirin did not. He could have stayed on the farm, and have grown up to be its protector. He could have found a way to make the sheep realize that their lives were pathetic, sad and empty. He could have become their leader. None of these things happened, which was exactly what was intended.

* TruffautWasRight: The film presents the moral that revenge is totally not cool. The film essentially goes out of its way to avert this trope. How well did it work? Well, take a look at the MisaimedFandom entry in the Your Mileage May Vary section.