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* TheBardOnBoard: The basic story of the movie is Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet, but instead of the leads being a man and woman from feuding families, they are a male wolf and goat who form a maybe-romantic-maybe-platonic relationship who decide to defy the expectations of their respective species, [[spoiler: with a much happier ending]].
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* AmbiguousTimePeriod: We never see any other evidence of humans besides the abandoned barn that Mei and Gabu initially meet in, the lack of humans makes it unclear if the story takes place in the past, present, or perhaps some [[AfterTheEnd Post-apocalyptic future]] where [[HumanitysWake humans are extinct]].
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* AmbiguousTimePeriod: We never see any other evidence of humans besides the abandoned barn that Mei and Gabu initially meet in, the lack of humans makes it unclear if the story takes place in the past, present, or perhaps the future in some [[AfterTheEnd Post-apocalyptic future]] setting]] where [[HumanitysWake humans are extinct]].
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* AmbiguousTimePeriod: We never see any other evidence of humans besides the abandoned barn that Mei and Gabu initially meet in, the lack of humans makes it unclear if the story takes place in the past, present, or perhaps some [[AfterTheEnd Post-apocalyptic future]] where [[HumanitysWake humans are extinct]].
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* OneDialogueTwoConversation: Mei and Gabu's first interaction and blossoming friendship is built on such a conversation. When the two of them are in the dark barn that stormy night, each is under the impression they're speaking to their own kin. When Mei brings up he lives in the valley of sheep, Gabu comments on how he probably has plenty to eat there. Both are agreed [[ExactWords it's a place of bountiful food]], but the thunder drowns them out before they can say out loud what their respective idea of food is.
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* OneDialogueTwoConversation: OneDialogueTwoConversations: Mei and Gabu's first interaction and blossoming friendship is built on such a conversation. When the two of them are in the dark barn that stormy night, each is under the impression they're speaking to their own kin. When Mei brings up he lives in the valley of sheep, Gabu comments on how he probably has plenty to eat there. Both are agreed [[ExactWords it's a place of bountiful food]], but the thunder drowns them out before they can say out loud what their respective idea of food is.
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* OneDialogueTwoConversation: Mei and Gabu's first interaction and blossoming friendship is built on such a conversation. When the two of them are in the dark barn that stormy night, each is under the impression they're speaking to their own kin. When Mei brings up he lives in the valley of sheep, Gabu comments on how he probably has plenty to eat there. Both are agreed [[ExactWords it's a place of bountiful food]], but the thunder drowns them out before they can say out loud what their respective idea of food is.
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This page should only have tropes of the film, not the book
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* {{Bookends}}: [[spoiler:Gabu eventually ends up fighting an entire wolf pack to protect Mei, just like Mei's mother did in the film's opening. They even fight the same pack leader!]]
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* {{Bookends}}: [[spoiler:Gabu eventually ends up fighting an entire wolf pack to protect Mei, just like Mei's mother did in the film's opening. They even fight the same pack leader!]]leader.]]
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* GenderConcealingWriting: Since the children's books didn't establish Mei's gender, everyone at the time assumed it was a BoyMeetsGirl love story, and the story was well established as a romance for over a decade. But the 2005 film firmly established Mei as male, and the creator [[WordOfGay revealed]] that Mei was always ''intended'' to be male, but that ultimately his gender was not relevant to the story.
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* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Averted twice. When Mei and Gabu are on their DeathMountain and slowly starving to death, Mei offers himself to be eaten by Gabu so that Gabu may live. Gabu, rejecting this, goes out to dig for grass to feed Mei, but confronts his wolf pack and decides Mei may be worth dying for, and attacks them. Gabu survives the fight and an avalanche, albeit with amnesia.]]
* HideYourGays: The children's books deliberately hide Mei's gender, making everyone at the time assume it was a boy-meets-girl love story. It wasn't until the movie that it was made clear both Mei and Gabu are male. The film still makes the homosexual romance aspect a bit subtle since Mei and Gabu never do anything beyond {{holding hands}} and hugging.
* HideYourGays: The children's books deliberately hide Mei's gender, making everyone at the time assume it was a boy-meets-girl love story. It wasn't until the movie that it was made clear both Mei and Gabu are male. The film still makes the homosexual romance aspect a bit subtle since Mei and Gabu never do anything beyond {{holding hands}} and hugging.
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* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Averted [[spoiler:Subverted twice. When Mei and Gabu are on their DeathMountain and slowly starving to death, Mei offers himself to be eaten by Gabu so that Gabu may live. Gabu, rejecting this, goes out to dig for grass to feed Mei, but confronts his wolf pack and decides Mei may be worth dying for, and attacks them. Gabu survives the fight and an avalanche, albeit with amnesia.]]
* HideYourGays:The children's books deliberately hide Mei's gender, making everyone at the time assume it was a boy-meets-girl love story. It wasn't until the movie that it was made clear both Mei and Gabu are male. The film still makes the homosexual romance aspect a bit subtle since Mei and Gabu never do anything beyond {{holding hands}} and hugging.hugging, but their relationship is heavy on the HomoeroticSubtext.
* HideYourGays:
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* ItWasADarkAndStormyNight: Gee... [[TitleDrop you think]]? (Only in this case it's less horrific.)
%%* KnightInShiningArmor: Gabu, bravely fighting to protect Mei.
%%* KnightInShiningArmor: Gabu, bravely fighting to protect Mei.
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* ItWasADarkAndStormyNight: Gee... [[TitleDrop you think]]? (Only in this case it's less horrific.)
%%*Mei and Gabu first meet one stormy night, with both of them taking shelter at a barn.
* KnightInShiningArmor:Gabu, Gabu bravely fighting fights to protect Mei.
%%*
* KnightInShiningArmor:
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* PseudoRomanticFriendship: Mei and Gabu only say they are "best friends" or "secret friends". Their relationship dynamic and dialogue still come off as highly romantic, though.
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* PseudoRomanticFriendship: Mei and Gabu only say they are "best friends" or "secret friends". Their relationship dynamic and dialogue still come off as highly romantic, though.romantic.
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** And then there's the whole scene of Gabu getting distracted by Mei's butt while they walk to their picnic. While it's ostensibly just a matter of [[CarnivoreConfusion Gabu finding Mei particularly tasty-looking]] from that angle, the prevalent UnresolvedSexualTension in the film makes it seem almost like Gabu is getting DistractedByTheSexy.
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* HideYourLesbians: The children's books deliberately hide Mei's gender, making everyone at the time assume it was a boy-meets-girl love story. It wasn't until the movie that it was made clear both Mei and Gabu are male. The film still makes the homosexual romance aspect a bit subtle; Mei and Gabu only say they are "best friends" or "secret friends" and they never do anything beyond holding hands and hugging. Their relationship dynamic and dialogue still come off as highly romantic, though.
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* HideYourLesbians: HideYourGays: The children's books deliberately hide Mei's gender, making everyone at the time assume it was a boy-meets-girl love story. It wasn't until the movie that it was made clear both Mei and Gabu are male. The film still makes the homosexual romance aspect a bit subtle; subtle since Mei and Gabu only say they are "best friends" or "secret friends" and they never do anything beyond holding hands {{holding hands}} and hugging. Their relationship dynamic and dialogue still come off as highly romantic, though.hugging.
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* PseudoRomanticFriendship: Mei and Gabu only say they are "best friends" or "secret friends". Their relationship dynamic and dialogue still come off as highly romantic, though.
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The anime series has its own page
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* AllCGICartoon: The anime series.
* AmbiguousGender: More like deliberately ambiguous in presentation, but not in conception. Since the children's books didn't establish Mei's gender, everyone at the time assumed it was a boy-meets-girl love story, and the story was well established as a romance for over a decade. But the 2005 film firmly established Mei as male, and the creator [[WordOfGay revealed]] that Mei was always ''intended'' to be male, but that ultimately his gender was not relevant to the story.
* AmbiguousGender: More like deliberately ambiguous in presentation, but not in conception. Since the children's books didn't establish Mei's gender, everyone at the time assumed it was a boy-meets-girl love story, and the story was well established as a romance for over a decade. But the 2005 film firmly established Mei as male, and the creator [[WordOfGay revealed]] that Mei was always ''intended'' to be male, but that ultimately his gender was not relevant to the story.
* AFriendInNeed: [[spoiler:Gabu casting aside his own fierce hunger to find food for Mei and protect him from the wolves pursuing them.]]
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* AFriendInNeed: [[spoiler:Gabu casting aside his own fierce hunger to find food for Mei and protect him from the wolves pursuing them.]]
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* AFriendInNeed: [[spoiler:Gabu casting aside GenderConcealingWriting: Since the children's books didn't establish Mei's gender, everyone at the time assumed it was a BoyMeetsGirl love story, and the story was well established as a romance for over a decade. But the 2005 film firmly established Mei as male, and the creator [[WordOfGay revealed]] that Mei was always ''intended'' to be male, but that ultimately his own fierce hunger gender was not relevant to find food for Mei and protect him from the wolves pursuing them.]]story.
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* InterspeciesFriendship: Mei the goat and Gabu the wolf are best friends. Although their relationship dynamic may lead you to think of them as [[InterspeciesRomance lovers]]. No one else is happy with it.
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* InterspeciesFriendship: Mei the goat and Gabu the wolf are best friends. Although their relationship dynamic may lead you to think of them as [[InterspeciesRomance lovers]]. No one else is happy with it.
* MakeUpOrBreakUp: [[spoiler:With all their kin watching from afar, Mei and Gabu must either deceive each other or stay true to each other.]]
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* MakeUpOrBreakUp: [[spoiler:With all their kin watching from afar, Mei and Gabu must either deceive each other or stay true to each other.]]
* MeaningfulName: "Mei" is the Japanese onomatopoeia for the noise a goat makes and "gabu" is the one for biting.
* MeaningfulName: "Mei" is the Japanese onomatopoeia for the noise a goat makes and "gabu" is the one for biting.
* MeaningfulName: "Mei" is the Japanese onomatopoeia for the noise a goat makes and "gabu" is the one for biting.
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* QueerRomance: Please, like it wasn't obvious? One of the best examples of how it is not [[ValuesDissonance inherently]] family-unfriendly.
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* QueerRomance: Please, like it wasn't obvious? One of The story is about the best examples InterspeciesFriendship between a male goat and a male wolf, although their relationship dynamic may lead you to think of how it is not [[ValuesDissonance inherently]] family-unfriendly. them as [[InterspeciesRomance lovers]].
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* RomanticComedy: Especially their first date and picnic.
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%* TenderTears
* TheyHaveTheScent: They always do. Everyone knows what goats smell like and what wolves smell like, unless they come down with the sniffles, that is. The wolves also know Gabu's unique scent.
* TheyHaveTheScent: They always do. Everyone knows what goats smell like and what wolves smell like, unless they come down with the sniffles, that is. The wolves also know Gabu's unique scent.
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* TheyHaveTheScent:
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seems a bit complainy.
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* NecessaryWeasel: The start of the friendship is not written believably. The fact that Mei so easily decided to trust and befriend Gabu, a wolf, after having a single pleasant conservation in a shack makes him seem really [[IdiotBall gullible and naive]] and comes off as foolish and farfetched even with the film's attempted justifications, particularly when he decides to ''go to sleep'' next to Gabu and nearly gets his ear eaten off. It's obvious what Gabu was thinking, and Mei can't even see it. But, it's all needed for the premise of the film to work.
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%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.
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The Lost Woods has been split between a video game setting of the same name and Enchanted Forest. Cutting non-examples, zero-context potholes and ZCEs.
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* KnightInShiningArmor: Gabu, bravely fighting to protect Mei.
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* TheLostWoods: The forest Mei and Gabu wander through [[spoiler:while escaping their pursuers.]]
* LoveHurts: Boy, does it.
* LoveHurts: Boy, does it.
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*
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Yaoi Guys has been made a disambig page
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* YaoiGuys: ''Male'' Mei with Gabu in the film. But as [[AmbiguousGender his gender was previously always intentionally ambiguous]], this only applies when his portrayal was very obviously male. This trope is not in full force in the storybook versions, as it's left for the audience to decide for themselves. And it's most definitely not in force for the CGI version, where Mei was specifically {{Gender Flip}}ped to female.
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* FurryReminder: While the goats are guilty of it as well, the wolves especially have a lot of humanlike behaviour, such as occasionally walking around on two legs, somehow making complex things such as a 'lid' on the hole they throw Gabu in, one wolf is wearing an eyepatch, and they have long and serious discussions. Come the climax of the film, Gabu [[spoiler:decides to fight them all to which the following battle turns them all into fully animalistic, vicious wolves, growling, barking, drooling and tearing at each other]].
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* FurryReminder: While the goats are guilty of it as well, the wolves especially have a lot of humanlike behaviour, such as occasionally walking around on two legs, somehow making complex things such as a 'lid' on the hole they throw Gabu in, one wolf is wearing an eyepatch, and they have long and serious discussions. Come the climax of the film, Gabu [[spoiler:decides to fight them all to which the following battle turns them all into fully animalistic, vicious wolves, wolves; growling, barking, drooling and tearing at each other]].
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God help you if you confuse this with ''[[VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry Higurashi no Naku Koro ni]]'' or ''Manga/HiganbanaNoSakuYoruNi''.
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God help you if you confuse this with ''[[VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry Higurashi no Naku Koro ni]]'' or ''Manga/HiganbanaNoSakuYoruNi''.
''[[Manga/TheUnforgivingFlowersBlossomInTheDeadOfNight Higanbana no Saku Yoru ni]]''.
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Compare ''WesternAnimation/TheFoxAndTheHound'' and ''Anime/NightOnTheGalacticRailroad''. Contrast ''Anime/RingingBell'', a DarkerAndEdgier anime also exploring the relationship between a wolf and a sheep.
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Compare ''WesternAnimation/TheFoxAndTheHound'' and ''Anime/NightOnTheGalacticRailroad''. Contrast ''Anime/RingingBell'', a DarkerAndEdgier anime also exploring the relationship between a wolf and a sheep.
an ovicaprid.
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* FeudingFamilies: Wolves eat goats. Goats flee from wolves. They can never be friends.
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* FeudingFamilies: Wolves eat goats. Goats flee from wolves. They can never be friends.
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* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: The way Beach's name is spelled in katakana (ビッチ, "bitchi") suggests it's actually meant to be rendered in English as ''Bitch'' (as "beach" would be more like "biichi"). Given the target audience, the different spelling in the translation is likely intentional.
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%% * GettingCrapPastTheRadar: The way Beach's name GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is spelled in katakana (ビッチ, "bitchi") suggests it's actually meant to be rendered in English as ''Bitch'' (as "beach" would be more like "biichi"). Given the target audience, the different spelling on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the translation is likely intentional.future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.
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* ActorAllusion: [[ThoseTwoBadGuys Beach and Zack]] are a bumbling, comedic duo of wolves in this film. In RealLife, the voice actors, Tetsuya Yanagihara and Yoshiyuki Hirai, are a comedic duo in Japan known as [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America_Zarigani America Zarigani]], formed in 1994.
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* ActorAllusion: [[ThoseTwoBadGuys [[BumblingHenchmenDuo Beach and Zack]] are a bumbling, comedic duo of wolves in this film. In RealLife, the voice actors, Tetsuya Yanagihara and Yoshiyuki Hirai, are a comedic duo in Japan known as [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America_Zarigani America Zarigani]], formed in 1994.
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Zero context example
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* ConspicuousCG: Some of the terrain stands out ''juuuuuust'' a bit. [[SceneryPorn Not]] that it's any uglier for it.
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** The only brief time we see Mei getting mad is when he wakes up to Gabu sneaking back after having eaten some mice, to which Mei accuses him of doing it "every time when I sleep", and they have a small argument. It's rather reminiscent of a wife scolding her husband for eating midnight snacks or drinking behind her back.
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** The only brief time we see Mei getting mad is when he wakes up to Gabu sneaking back after having eaten some mice, to which Mei accuses him of doing it "every time when I sleep", and they have a small argument. It's rather The scene is reminiscent of a wife scolding her husband for eating midnight snacks or drinking behind her back.
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** The only brief time we see Mei getting mad is when he wakes up to Gabu sneaking back after having eaten some mice, to which Mei accuses him of doing it "every time when I sleep", and they have a small argument. (Sounds like a wife scolding her husband for eating midnight snacks or drinking behind her back.)
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** The only brief time we see Mei getting mad is when he wakes up to Gabu sneaking back after having eaten some mice, to which Mei accuses him of doing it "every time when I sleep", and they have a small argument. (Sounds like It's rather reminiscent of a wife scolding her husband for eating midnight snacks or drinking behind her back.)
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* AudioAdaptation: The film received a Drama [=CD=] [[https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71VwTi0UOUL._SL1011_.jpg that was released in 2006]], a year after it's release in Japanese theaters.
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[[caption-width-right:361:This movie has slightly more [[UnresolvedSexualTension sexual tension]] than ''Disney/TheFoxAndTheHound''.]]
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[[caption-width-right:361:This movie has slightly more [[UnresolvedSexualTension sexual tension]] than ''Disney/TheFoxAndTheHound''.''WesternAnimation/TheFoxAndTheHound''.]]
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Compare ''Disney/TheFoxAndTheHound'' and ''Anime/NightOnTheGalacticRailroad''. Contrast ''Anime/RingingBell'', a DarkerAndEdgier anime also exploring the relationship between a wolf and a sheep.
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Compare ''Disney/TheFoxAndTheHound'' ''WesternAnimation/TheFoxAndTheHound'' and ''Anime/NightOnTheGalacticRailroad''. Contrast ''Anime/RingingBell'', a DarkerAndEdgier anime also exploring the relationship between a wolf and a sheep.
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''Arashi no Yoru ni'' (''"One Stormy Night"''), a 1994 Japanese children's book and 2005 Japanese animated film about the deeply [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romantic_friendship romantic friendship]] (or [[StraightGay relationship]], depending on whom you ask) between a goat named Mei and a wolf named Gabu. It starts [[TitleDrop one stormy night]] when Mei and Gabu, both separated from their companions and terrified of lightning, happen to take shelter in the same barn. There in the dark where they can't see each other's species, they strike up a conversation and learn they have a lot in common. They promise to meet each other again at the same place, and say "one stormy night" as their secret phrase. Imagine their surprise the next day when they discover the truth! Mei and Gabu like each other so much already that they decide to put aside predator and prey in order to be secret friends. However, it's only a matter of time before their respective groups find out they've been fraternizing with the enemy, and brand them as traitors. Will these two be able to find a way to stay together?
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* FearOfThunder: Mei and Gabu both.
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* FearOfThunder: Mei and Gabu both.both meet each other while hiding from thunder.
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* GeneralRipper: [[spoiler:Giro.]]
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* TheGlomp
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* OddFriendship: Mei and Gabu.
* ParentalAbandonment: Mei and Gabu's mothers have both already died. Gabu's father is mentioned once, but otherwise fathers are nowhere to be seen. Averted in the books, where Giro is Gabu's father.
* PartiallyCivilizedAnimal: The goats and wolves.
* ParentalAbandonment: Mei and Gabu's mothers have both already died. Gabu's father is mentioned once, but otherwise fathers are nowhere to be seen. Averted in the books, where Giro is Gabu's father.
* PartiallyCivilizedAnimal: The goats and wolves.
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* OddFriendship: Mei and Gabu.
Gabu are a scraggly wolf and a tiny goat who become close.
* ParentalAbandonment: Mei and Gabu's mothers have both already died. Gabu's father is mentioned once, but otherwise fathers are nowhere to be seen. Averted in the books, where Giro is Gabu's father.\n*
%%* PartiallyCivilizedAnimal: The goats and wolves.
* ParentalAbandonment: Mei and Gabu's mothers have both already died. Gabu's father is mentioned once, but otherwise fathers are nowhere to be seen.
%%* PartiallyCivilizedAnimal: The goats and wolves.
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* RuleOfRomantic
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* TenderTears
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* UnrelatedInTheAdaptation: Giro is Gabu's father in the books.
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* WhatYouAreInTheDark: During the climax of the movie when [[spoiler:Mei and Gabu are trapped in a blizzard and set to starve to death]], Mei relents that while he'd never want to get eaten if given the choice, [[spoiler:he'll let Gabu eat him so at least one of them can survive]]. At this point Gabu is completely isolated from anyone who might influence his decision on what to do, [[spoiler:and can't even hide that fact that his instincts would have him eat Mei]], but even after promising ''to'' Mei that he'll do so, he doesn't. [[spoiler:He'd rather freeze to death looking for food for both of them than eat Mei, even with no strings attached whatsoever.]]
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* WhatYouAreInTheDark: During the climax of the movie when [[spoiler:Mei and Gabu are trapped in a blizzard and set to starve to death]], Mei relents that while he'd never want to get eaten if given the choice, [[spoiler:he'll let Gabu eat him so at least one of them can survive]]. At this point Gabu is completely isolated from anyone who might influence his decision on what to do, [[spoiler:and can't even hide that fact that his instincts would have him eat Mei]], but even after promising ''to'' Mei that he'll do so, he doesn't. [[spoiler:He'd rather freeze to death looking for food for both of them than eat Mei, even with no strings attached whatsoever.]]]]
* {{Yakuza}}: Gabu's pack has several shades of it, both in mannerism (the trilled R's typical of JapaneseDelinquents, Giro's behavior) and looks (Giro's scar, Barry's red hair resembling DelinquentHair). Heck, Giro's original voice actor, Riki Takeuchi, is famous in Japan for his several roles in Yakuza movies!
* YaoiGuys: ''Male'' Mei with Gabu in the film. But as [[AmbiguousGender his gender was previously always intentionally ambiguous]], this only applies when his portrayal was very obviously male. This trope is not in full force in the storybook versions, as it's left for the audience to decide for themselves. And it's most definitely not in force for the CGI version, where Mei was specifically {{Gender Flip}}ped to female.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: [[spoiler:The price Mei and Gabu pay for loving each other.]]
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* {{Yakuza}}: Gabu's pack has several shades of it, both in mannerism (the trilled R's typical of JapaneseDelinquents, Giro's behavior) and looks (Giro's scar, Barry's red hair resembling DelinquentHair). Heck, Giro's original voice actor, Riki Takeuchi, is famous in Japan for his several roles in Yakuza movies!
* YaoiGuys: ''Male'' Mei with Gabu in the film. But as [[AmbiguousGender his gender was previously always intentionally ambiguous]], this only applies when his portrayal was very obviously male. This trope is not in full force in the storybook versions, as it's left for the audience to decide for themselves. And it's most definitely not in force for the CGI version, where Mei was specifically {{Gender Flip}}ped to female.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: [[spoiler:The price Mei and Gabu pay for loving each other.]]
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[[quoteright:361:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Arashi_no_Yoru_ni.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:361:This movie has slightly more [[UnresolvedSexualTension sexual tension]] than ''Disney/TheFoxAndTheHound''.]]
''Arashi no Yoru ni'' (''"One Stormy Night"''), a 1994 Japanese children's book and 2005 Japanese animated film about the deeply [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romantic_friendship romantic friendship]] (or [[StraightGay relationship]], depending on whom you ask) between a goat named Mei and a wolf named Gabu. It starts [[TitleDrop one stormy night]] when Mei and Gabu, both separated from their companions and terrified of lightning, happen to take shelter in the same barn. There in the dark where they can't see each other's species, they strike up a conversation and learn they have a lot in common. They promise to meet each other again at the same place, and say "one stormy night" as their secret phrase. Imagine their surprise the next day when they discover the truth! Mei and Gabu like each other so much already that they decide to put aside predator and prey in order to be secret friends. However, it's only a matter of time before their respective groups find out they've been fraternizing with the enemy, and brand them as traitors. Will these two be able to find a way to stay together?
God help you if you confuse this with ''[[VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry Higurashi no Naku Koro ni]]'' or ''Manga/HiganbanaNoSakuYoruNi''.
Compare ''Disney/TheFoxAndTheHound'' and ''Anime/NightOnTheGalacticRailroad''. Contrast ''Anime/RingingBell'', a DarkerAndEdgier anime also exploring the relationship between a wolf and a sheep.
----
!!This series provides examples of:
* ActorAllusion: [[ThoseTwoBadGuys Beach and Zack]] are a bumbling, comedic duo of wolves in this film. In RealLife, the voice actors, Tetsuya Yanagihara and Yoshiyuki Hirai, are a comedic duo in Japan known as [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America_Zarigani America Zarigani]], formed in 1994.
* AllCGICartoon: The anime series.
* AmbiguousGender: More like deliberately ambiguous in presentation, but not in conception. Since the children's books didn't establish Mei's gender, everyone at the time assumed it was a boy-meets-girl love story, and the story was well established as a romance for over a decade. But the 2005 film firmly established Mei as male, and the creator [[WordOfGay revealed]] that Mei was always ''intended'' to be male, but that ultimately his gender was not relevant to the story.
* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: While they're searching for Gabu and Mei, one of the wolves in Giro's pack becomes really excited about seeing some pretty flowers.
* AwardBaitSong: ''Star'' by Aiko, which plays over the credits.
* BeastAndBeauty: Mei is the "beauty", but more in that the bestial Gabu finds him irresistable ''[[CarnivoreConfusion to eat]]''.
* BirdsOfAFeather: Mei and Gabu bond over their similar personalities and backstory.
* {{Bookends}}: [[spoiler:Gabu eventually ends up fighting an entire wolf pack to protect Mei, just like Mei's mother did in the film's opening. They even fight the same pack leader!]]
* BreakTheCutie: [[spoiler:Mei's perfect faith and devotion to Gabu is never strongly challenged until near the end, when he is reunited with Gabu only to find out that Gabu had a TapOnTheHead and has IdentityAmnesia and cannot remember anything that happened, and that goat meat is and has always been Gabu's absolute favorite food. Mei has his only real loss of composure in his horror that the one he loves has forgotten him and wants to eat him as an indifferent stranger. But Gabu's memory is quickly jogged when Mei cries about the one stormy night together when they first met -- their "[[TitleDrop Arashi no Yoru ni]]".]]
* CarnivoreConfusion: Gabu loves goat meat. Gabu loves Mei. Mei loves Gabu. [[spoiler:Mei is willing to be eaten by Gabu if only one of them can live. Gabu has an emotional meltdown. This trope is used to subvert the UnresolvedSexualTension trope.]]
* ConspicuousCG: Some of the terrain stands out ''juuuuuust'' a bit. [[SceneryPorn Not]] that it's any uglier for it.
* DeathMountain: [[spoiler:The impassable snow-covered mountain Mei and Gabu must pass to find their freedom.]]
* DisneyDeath:
** [[spoiler:Mei appears to die after he and Gabu fall over a waterfall. He lives.]]
** [[spoiler:After the avalanche, Mei thinks that Gabu has been killed. Gabu does turn out to be alive, [[IdentityAmnesia but]]...]]
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything:
** The only brief time we see Mei getting mad is when he wakes up to Gabu sneaking back after having eaten some mice, to which Mei accuses him of doing it "every time when I sleep", and they have a small argument. (Sounds like a wife scolding her husband for eating midnight snacks or drinking behind her back.)
** As they're preparing to leave the secret cave Gabu hides them both in during the wolf attack, the pair's conversation turns to the full moon and how much they simply enjoy being with each other. It gets quite emotional, and the camera pans away as they decide to skip going home and just spend the night in the cave together. They don't get back to their respective homes until late the next day. The whole thing almost has a DidTheyOrDidntThey feel to it.
* DownerBeginning: It starts with Mei and his mother being attacked by wolves, to which Mei runs away while his mother stays behind to fight them, but ends up eaten.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler:After going through so much together with no likely chance of a happy ending, Mei and Gabu get to stay together forever without having to worry about their kin getting in their way.]] Though, it's bittersweet in that [[spoiler:Mei will never see his friends and family again]].
* FeudingFamilies: Wolves eat goats. Goats flee from wolves. They can never be friends.
* FamilyUnfriendlyViolence: Not in Japan where the film was originally made and marketed. In the United States, it's probable parents might be uncomfortable letting their children see a movie where a goat rips off a wolf's ear with her teeth barely minutes in!
* FearOfThunder: Mei and Gabu both.
* {{Flashback}}: Gabu's memories of his childhood with his mother and the other wolves.
* ForbiddenFriendship: Or StarCrossedLovers, depending on your interpretation. Mei and Gabu are very, ''very'' good friends, but since their species are natural enemies, both their kin won't approve their relationship.
* FurryReminder: While the goats are guilty of it as well, the wolves especially have a lot of humanlike behaviour, such as occasionally walking around on two legs, somehow making complex things such as a 'lid' on the hole they throw Gabu in, one wolf is wearing an eyepatch, and they have long and serious discussions. Come the climax of the film, Gabu [[spoiler:decides to fight them all to which the following battle turns them all into fully animalistic, vicious wolves, growling, barking, drooling and tearing at each other]].
* AFriendInNeed: [[spoiler:Gabu casting aside his own fierce hunger to find food for Mei and protect him from the wolves pursuing them.]]
* GeneralRipper: [[spoiler:Giro.]]
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: The way Beach's name is spelled in katakana (ビッチ, "bitchi") suggests it's actually meant to be rendered in English as ''Bitch'' (as "beach" would be more like "biichi"). Given the target audience, the different spelling in the translation is likely intentional.
* GhibliHills: The idyllic Pleasant Mountain where Mei and his goat kin live. [[spoiler:Also the Emerald Forest where Mei and Gabu are finally free to be together.]]
* TheGlomp
* GlowingEyesOfDoom: Gabu and his pack [[spoiler:when he decides to fight them.]]
* GoKartingWithBowser: [[spoiler:When Mei and Gabu's kin each learn that the two have been spending so much time together as friends, they are horrified and angered (respectively) at what they see as an ultimate blood betrayal.]]
* GreenHillZone: For the goats, every place away from Pleasant Mountain. It's beautiful, there's lots of food, and goats can be killed in broad daylight.
* HappilyEverAfter: [[spoiler:Both Mei and Gabu get through the mountain and once Gabu recovers his memory, they can live a happy life together without having to worry about others getting in the way of their friendship.]]
* HaveYouTriedNotBeingAMonster: Gabu does, and [[spoiler:it ends up nearly killing him and giving him EasyAmnesia]].
* HeroicBSOD: [[spoiler:Mei gets this after Gabu disappears towards the end of the film.]]
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Averted twice. When Mei and Gabu are on their DeathMountain and slowly starving to death, Mei offers himself to be eaten by Gabu so that Gabu may live. Gabu, rejecting this, goes out to dig for grass to feed Mei, but confronts his wolf pack and decides Mei may be worth dying for, and attacks them. Gabu survives the fight and an avalanche, albeit with amnesia.]]
* HideYourLesbians: The children's books deliberately hide Mei's gender, making everyone at the time assume it was a boy-meets-girl love story. It wasn't until the movie that it was made clear both Mei and Gabu are male. The film still makes the homosexual romance aspect a bit subtle; Mei and Gabu only say they are "best friends" or "secret friends" and they never do anything beyond holding hands and hugging. Their relationship dynamic and dialogue still come off as highly romantic, though.
* HomoeroticSubtext: Lots of it. This is a ''very'' gay film. But it's also for children, so there are no explicit sexual overtones that aren't wrapped heavily in [[FauxSymbolism symbolism]] (such as CarnivoreConfusion).
* IdentityAmnesia: [[spoiler:After Gabu has a TapOnTheHead (well, an avalanche), when he and Mei are next reunited, Gabu doesn't remember who he is or where he came from, except that goats are his absolute favorite food.]]
* IfItsYouItsOkay: Mei doesn't want to be eaten by a wolf or anyone, unless that wolf is his friend Gabu and there's no other choice.
* ImagineSpot: Mei and Gabu finding out where each other lives and imagining what it must be like to be there.
* InterspeciesFriendship: Mei the goat and Gabu the wolf are best friends. Although their relationship dynamic may lead you to think of them as [[InterspeciesRomance lovers]]. No one else is happy with it.
* ItWasADarkAndStormyNight: Gee... [[TitleDrop you think]]? (Only in this case it's less horrific.)
* KnightInShiningArmor: Gabu, bravely fighting to protect Mei.
* LittleGuyBigBuddy: Mei the little goat and Gabu the big wolf. Look at them! Just ''look'' at them!
* TheLostWoods: The forest Mei and Gabu wander through [[spoiler:while escaping their pursuers.]]
* LoveHurts: Boy, does it.
* MamaBear: Mei's mother during the DownerBeginning, who fiercely protected him from an entire wolf pack and [[HeroicSacrifice gave her life]] in the process.
* MakeUpOrBreakUp: [[spoiler:With all their kin watching from afar, Mei and Gabu must either deceive each other or stay true to each other.]]
* MeaningfulName: "Mei" is the Japanese onomatopoeia for the noise a goat makes and "gabu" is the one for biting.
* MeadowRun: [[spoiler:Mei runs happily across the meadow towards Gabu, but Gabu actually has IdentityAmnesia and is running towards Mei to catch his prey.]]
* MistakenIdentity: When Mei and Gabu first meet in the old barn, they can neither see each other nor smell each other, but they can talk to each other, and they become friends there. Only later does Mei realize that Gabu is a wolf (not another goat) and Gabu realizes that Mei is a goat (not another wolf). By this time, they have decided to be friends and they stay true to it.
* {{Mordor}}: Gabu's home, Chomping Hills. At least if you're a goat. [[spoiler:Or if you're a wolf who befriends goats.]]
* TheMourningAfter: [[spoiler:After Gabu's apparent death, a month passes by. But Mei is dejected to the point of feeling unable to keep on going without Gabu.]]
* NecessaryWeasel: The start of the friendship is not written believably. The fact that Mei so easily decided to trust and befriend Gabu, a wolf, after having a single pleasant conservation in a shack makes him seem really [[IdiotBall gullible and naive]] and comes off as foolish and farfetched even with the film's attempted justifications, particularly when he decides to ''go to sleep'' next to Gabu and nearly gets his ear eaten off. It's obvious what Gabu was thinking, and Mei can't even see it. But, it's all needed for the premise of the film to work.
* NoAccountingForTaste: Mei looks ''very upset'' when he catches Gabu sneaking back after yet another night of catching and eating mice.
* OddFriendship: Mei and Gabu.
* ParentalAbandonment: Mei and Gabu's mothers have both already died. Gabu's father is mentioned once, but otherwise fathers are nowhere to be seen. Averted in the books, where Giro is Gabu's father.
* PartiallyCivilizedAnimal: The goats and wolves.
* PlotMandatedFriendshipFailure: [[spoiler:Just when Mei and Gabu get through the mountain, Gabu loses his memory after getting hit by an avalanche. He tries to eat Mei and Mei is heartbroken by apparently having lost his best friend. Until Gabu recovers his memory when he hears Mei say "One stormy night".]]
* PoorCommunicationKills: Inverted at Mei and Gabu's first meeting; it's ''because'' the pair aren't specific about what they mean by "food" that they can get along... at first.
* PredatorPreyFriendship: It's a story of a wolf and goat who become best friends against the odds and against the will of their families.
* QueerRomance: Please, like it wasn't obvious? One of the best examples of how it is not [[ValuesDissonance inherently]] family-unfriendly.
* RaisedByGrandparents: Mei was raised by his grandmother after his mother died.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: The goat elder. [[spoiler:And in abstract, his objection to Mei befriending a wolf is reasonable in context -- if the wolf is not absolutely trustworthy to all the goats, it's a grim threat to their survival.]]
* TheReveal: When Mei and Gabu meet for the second time, they see each other for the first time and realize they are different species. Eye-widening BodyLanguage follows.
* RomanticComedy: Especially their first date and picnic.
* RuleOfDrama: Yes, Mei and Gabu. Cross the giant mountain ahead of you that spells out nearly certain doom. It's not like you could go ''around'' it.
* RuleOfRomantic
* SayMyName: Through the course of the movie, Mei and Gabu speak/yell the other's name in times of peril and/or uncertainty.
* SceneryPorn: The ''scenery'', not the characters. [[RuleThirtyFour Not that that doesn't exist.]]
* SecretRelationship: Gabu and Mei conceal their association from both their kin.
* TheSmurfettePrinciple: There seems to be only one female in Gabu's pack [[spoiler: or two counting his deceased mom]], in stark contrast with Mei's flock. [[TheVoiceless She also doesn't have single line of dialogue in the whole movie.]]
* SuicidalGotcha: [[spoiler:Twice. First when Mei and Gabu suddenly decide to jump into the river together to be swept far away from the suspicious eyes of their kin. Then again when Mei and Gabu are fleeing their wolf pursuers in the forest and Gabu makes a brave leap he's never been able to make before.]]
* TakeAThirdOption: [[spoiler: Either act as TheMole for your kind, or have Mei be devoured by Gabu? Naaaaaah, just jump in the flash-flooded river!]]
* TakeMyHand: [[spoiler:Gabu acts quickly to save Mei from being swept away by a fast-flowing river.]]
* TemptingFate: While heading towards the mountain, it starts snowing. Mei and Gabu comments that it'll probably clear up the next day, only for it to cut to them braving their way through a blizzard.
* TenderTears
* TheyHaveTheScent: They always do. Everyone knows what goats smell like and what wolves smell like, unless they come down with the sniffles, that is. The wolves also know Gabu's unique scent.
* TitleDrop: Repeatedly, though understandably. Though at times it almost seems to come close to being their [[BoundAndGagged safe-word]]...
* TookALevelInBadass: Gabu is a pretty friendly and non-threatening wolf throughout most of the film. However, once he's finally had enough of his pack chasing him and Mei, ''shit goes down.''
* TrrrillingRrrs: In the Japanese dub, Barry does it quite a lot when he's angry.
* UnresolvedSexualTension: PlayedWith. Whether PlayedStraight or a ShipTease, scenes were [[WordOfGod intentionally]] arranged to appear like this. In particular, the scene where Gabu stares at Mei's rump while they're walking was based on the Creator/MarilynMonroe walk, making it appear that Gabu was having a MaleGaze moment.
* WasItAllALie: [[spoiler:Suspected by Mei and Gabu's kin once their relationship is discovered that the other of the pair was TheMole to gather information about their enemies. Suspected briefly by Mei and Gabu themselves before being dismissed and proven wrong.]]
* WhatYouAreInTheDark: During the climax of the movie when [[spoiler:Mei and Gabu are trapped in a blizzard and set to starve to death]], Mei relents that while he'd never want to get eaten if given the choice, [[spoiler:he'll let Gabu eat him so at least one of them can survive]]. At this point Gabu is completely isolated from anyone who might influence his decision on what to do, [[spoiler:and can't even hide that fact that his instincts would have him eat Mei]], but even after promising ''to'' Mei that he'll do so, he doesn't. [[spoiler:He'd rather freeze to death looking for food for both of them than eat Mei, even with no strings attached whatsoever.]]
[[caption-width-right:361:This movie has slightly more [[UnresolvedSexualTension sexual tension]] than ''Disney/TheFoxAndTheHound''.]]
''Arashi no Yoru ni'' (''"One Stormy Night"''), a 1994 Japanese children's book and 2005 Japanese animated film about the deeply [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romantic_friendship romantic friendship]] (or [[StraightGay relationship]], depending on whom you ask) between a goat named Mei and a wolf named Gabu. It starts [[TitleDrop one stormy night]] when Mei and Gabu, both separated from their companions and terrified of lightning, happen to take shelter in the same barn. There in the dark where they can't see each other's species, they strike up a conversation and learn they have a lot in common. They promise to meet each other again at the same place, and say "one stormy night" as their secret phrase. Imagine their surprise the next day when they discover the truth! Mei and Gabu like each other so much already that they decide to put aside predator and prey in order to be secret friends. However, it's only a matter of time before their respective groups find out they've been fraternizing with the enemy, and brand them as traitors. Will these two be able to find a way to stay together?
God help you if you confuse this with ''[[VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry Higurashi no Naku Koro ni]]'' or ''Manga/HiganbanaNoSakuYoruNi''.
Compare ''Disney/TheFoxAndTheHound'' and ''Anime/NightOnTheGalacticRailroad''. Contrast ''Anime/RingingBell'', a DarkerAndEdgier anime also exploring the relationship between a wolf and a sheep.
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!!This series provides examples of:
* ActorAllusion: [[ThoseTwoBadGuys Beach and Zack]] are a bumbling, comedic duo of wolves in this film. In RealLife, the voice actors, Tetsuya Yanagihara and Yoshiyuki Hirai, are a comedic duo in Japan known as [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America_Zarigani America Zarigani]], formed in 1994.
* AllCGICartoon: The anime series.
* AmbiguousGender: More like deliberately ambiguous in presentation, but not in conception. Since the children's books didn't establish Mei's gender, everyone at the time assumed it was a boy-meets-girl love story, and the story was well established as a romance for over a decade. But the 2005 film firmly established Mei as male, and the creator [[WordOfGay revealed]] that Mei was always ''intended'' to be male, but that ultimately his gender was not relevant to the story.
* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: While they're searching for Gabu and Mei, one of the wolves in Giro's pack becomes really excited about seeing some pretty flowers.
* AwardBaitSong: ''Star'' by Aiko, which plays over the credits.
* BeastAndBeauty: Mei is the "beauty", but more in that the bestial Gabu finds him irresistable ''[[CarnivoreConfusion to eat]]''.
* BirdsOfAFeather: Mei and Gabu bond over their similar personalities and backstory.
* {{Bookends}}: [[spoiler:Gabu eventually ends up fighting an entire wolf pack to protect Mei, just like Mei's mother did in the film's opening. They even fight the same pack leader!]]
* BreakTheCutie: [[spoiler:Mei's perfect faith and devotion to Gabu is never strongly challenged until near the end, when he is reunited with Gabu only to find out that Gabu had a TapOnTheHead and has IdentityAmnesia and cannot remember anything that happened, and that goat meat is and has always been Gabu's absolute favorite food. Mei has his only real loss of composure in his horror that the one he loves has forgotten him and wants to eat him as an indifferent stranger. But Gabu's memory is quickly jogged when Mei cries about the one stormy night together when they first met -- their "[[TitleDrop Arashi no Yoru ni]]".]]
* CarnivoreConfusion: Gabu loves goat meat. Gabu loves Mei. Mei loves Gabu. [[spoiler:Mei is willing to be eaten by Gabu if only one of them can live. Gabu has an emotional meltdown. This trope is used to subvert the UnresolvedSexualTension trope.]]
* ConspicuousCG: Some of the terrain stands out ''juuuuuust'' a bit. [[SceneryPorn Not]] that it's any uglier for it.
* DeathMountain: [[spoiler:The impassable snow-covered mountain Mei and Gabu must pass to find their freedom.]]
* DisneyDeath:
** [[spoiler:Mei appears to die after he and Gabu fall over a waterfall. He lives.]]
** [[spoiler:After the avalanche, Mei thinks that Gabu has been killed. Gabu does turn out to be alive, [[IdentityAmnesia but]]...]]
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything:
** The only brief time we see Mei getting mad is when he wakes up to Gabu sneaking back after having eaten some mice, to which Mei accuses him of doing it "every time when I sleep", and they have a small argument. (Sounds like a wife scolding her husband for eating midnight snacks or drinking behind her back.)
** As they're preparing to leave the secret cave Gabu hides them both in during the wolf attack, the pair's conversation turns to the full moon and how much they simply enjoy being with each other. It gets quite emotional, and the camera pans away as they decide to skip going home and just spend the night in the cave together. They don't get back to their respective homes until late the next day. The whole thing almost has a DidTheyOrDidntThey feel to it.
* DownerBeginning: It starts with Mei and his mother being attacked by wolves, to which Mei runs away while his mother stays behind to fight them, but ends up eaten.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler:After going through so much together with no likely chance of a happy ending, Mei and Gabu get to stay together forever without having to worry about their kin getting in their way.]] Though, it's bittersweet in that [[spoiler:Mei will never see his friends and family again]].
* FeudingFamilies: Wolves eat goats. Goats flee from wolves. They can never be friends.
* FamilyUnfriendlyViolence: Not in Japan where the film was originally made and marketed. In the United States, it's probable parents might be uncomfortable letting their children see a movie where a goat rips off a wolf's ear with her teeth barely minutes in!
* FearOfThunder: Mei and Gabu both.
* {{Flashback}}: Gabu's memories of his childhood with his mother and the other wolves.
* ForbiddenFriendship: Or StarCrossedLovers, depending on your interpretation. Mei and Gabu are very, ''very'' good friends, but since their species are natural enemies, both their kin won't approve their relationship.
* FurryReminder: While the goats are guilty of it as well, the wolves especially have a lot of humanlike behaviour, such as occasionally walking around on two legs, somehow making complex things such as a 'lid' on the hole they throw Gabu in, one wolf is wearing an eyepatch, and they have long and serious discussions. Come the climax of the film, Gabu [[spoiler:decides to fight them all to which the following battle turns them all into fully animalistic, vicious wolves, growling, barking, drooling and tearing at each other]].
* AFriendInNeed: [[spoiler:Gabu casting aside his own fierce hunger to find food for Mei and protect him from the wolves pursuing them.]]
* GeneralRipper: [[spoiler:Giro.]]
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: The way Beach's name is spelled in katakana (ビッチ, "bitchi") suggests it's actually meant to be rendered in English as ''Bitch'' (as "beach" would be more like "biichi"). Given the target audience, the different spelling in the translation is likely intentional.
* GhibliHills: The idyllic Pleasant Mountain where Mei and his goat kin live. [[spoiler:Also the Emerald Forest where Mei and Gabu are finally free to be together.]]
* TheGlomp
* GlowingEyesOfDoom: Gabu and his pack [[spoiler:when he decides to fight them.]]
* GoKartingWithBowser: [[spoiler:When Mei and Gabu's kin each learn that the two have been spending so much time together as friends, they are horrified and angered (respectively) at what they see as an ultimate blood betrayal.]]
* GreenHillZone: For the goats, every place away from Pleasant Mountain. It's beautiful, there's lots of food, and goats can be killed in broad daylight.
* HappilyEverAfter: [[spoiler:Both Mei and Gabu get through the mountain and once Gabu recovers his memory, they can live a happy life together without having to worry about others getting in the way of their friendship.]]
* HaveYouTriedNotBeingAMonster: Gabu does, and [[spoiler:it ends up nearly killing him and giving him EasyAmnesia]].
* HeroicBSOD: [[spoiler:Mei gets this after Gabu disappears towards the end of the film.]]
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Averted twice. When Mei and Gabu are on their DeathMountain and slowly starving to death, Mei offers himself to be eaten by Gabu so that Gabu may live. Gabu, rejecting this, goes out to dig for grass to feed Mei, but confronts his wolf pack and decides Mei may be worth dying for, and attacks them. Gabu survives the fight and an avalanche, albeit with amnesia.]]
* HideYourLesbians: The children's books deliberately hide Mei's gender, making everyone at the time assume it was a boy-meets-girl love story. It wasn't until the movie that it was made clear both Mei and Gabu are male. The film still makes the homosexual romance aspect a bit subtle; Mei and Gabu only say they are "best friends" or "secret friends" and they never do anything beyond holding hands and hugging. Their relationship dynamic and dialogue still come off as highly romantic, though.
* HomoeroticSubtext: Lots of it. This is a ''very'' gay film. But it's also for children, so there are no explicit sexual overtones that aren't wrapped heavily in [[FauxSymbolism symbolism]] (such as CarnivoreConfusion).
* IdentityAmnesia: [[spoiler:After Gabu has a TapOnTheHead (well, an avalanche), when he and Mei are next reunited, Gabu doesn't remember who he is or where he came from, except that goats are his absolute favorite food.]]
* IfItsYouItsOkay: Mei doesn't want to be eaten by a wolf or anyone, unless that wolf is his friend Gabu and there's no other choice.
* ImagineSpot: Mei and Gabu finding out where each other lives and imagining what it must be like to be there.
* InterspeciesFriendship: Mei the goat and Gabu the wolf are best friends. Although their relationship dynamic may lead you to think of them as [[InterspeciesRomance lovers]]. No one else is happy with it.
* ItWasADarkAndStormyNight: Gee... [[TitleDrop you think]]? (Only in this case it's less horrific.)
* KnightInShiningArmor: Gabu, bravely fighting to protect Mei.
* LittleGuyBigBuddy: Mei the little goat and Gabu the big wolf. Look at them! Just ''look'' at them!
* TheLostWoods: The forest Mei and Gabu wander through [[spoiler:while escaping their pursuers.]]
* LoveHurts: Boy, does it.
* MamaBear: Mei's mother during the DownerBeginning, who fiercely protected him from an entire wolf pack and [[HeroicSacrifice gave her life]] in the process.
* MakeUpOrBreakUp: [[spoiler:With all their kin watching from afar, Mei and Gabu must either deceive each other or stay true to each other.]]
* MeaningfulName: "Mei" is the Japanese onomatopoeia for the noise a goat makes and "gabu" is the one for biting.
* MeadowRun: [[spoiler:Mei runs happily across the meadow towards Gabu, but Gabu actually has IdentityAmnesia and is running towards Mei to catch his prey.]]
* MistakenIdentity: When Mei and Gabu first meet in the old barn, they can neither see each other nor smell each other, but they can talk to each other, and they become friends there. Only later does Mei realize that Gabu is a wolf (not another goat) and Gabu realizes that Mei is a goat (not another wolf). By this time, they have decided to be friends and they stay true to it.
* {{Mordor}}: Gabu's home, Chomping Hills. At least if you're a goat. [[spoiler:Or if you're a wolf who befriends goats.]]
* TheMourningAfter: [[spoiler:After Gabu's apparent death, a month passes by. But Mei is dejected to the point of feeling unable to keep on going without Gabu.]]
* NecessaryWeasel: The start of the friendship is not written believably. The fact that Mei so easily decided to trust and befriend Gabu, a wolf, after having a single pleasant conservation in a shack makes him seem really [[IdiotBall gullible and naive]] and comes off as foolish and farfetched even with the film's attempted justifications, particularly when he decides to ''go to sleep'' next to Gabu and nearly gets his ear eaten off. It's obvious what Gabu was thinking, and Mei can't even see it. But, it's all needed for the premise of the film to work.
* NoAccountingForTaste: Mei looks ''very upset'' when he catches Gabu sneaking back after yet another night of catching and eating mice.
* OddFriendship: Mei and Gabu.
* ParentalAbandonment: Mei and Gabu's mothers have both already died. Gabu's father is mentioned once, but otherwise fathers are nowhere to be seen. Averted in the books, where Giro is Gabu's father.
* PartiallyCivilizedAnimal: The goats and wolves.
* PlotMandatedFriendshipFailure: [[spoiler:Just when Mei and Gabu get through the mountain, Gabu loses his memory after getting hit by an avalanche. He tries to eat Mei and Mei is heartbroken by apparently having lost his best friend. Until Gabu recovers his memory when he hears Mei say "One stormy night".]]
* PoorCommunicationKills: Inverted at Mei and Gabu's first meeting; it's ''because'' the pair aren't specific about what they mean by "food" that they can get along... at first.
* PredatorPreyFriendship: It's a story of a wolf and goat who become best friends against the odds and against the will of their families.
* QueerRomance: Please, like it wasn't obvious? One of the best examples of how it is not [[ValuesDissonance inherently]] family-unfriendly.
* RaisedByGrandparents: Mei was raised by his grandmother after his mother died.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: The goat elder. [[spoiler:And in abstract, his objection to Mei befriending a wolf is reasonable in context -- if the wolf is not absolutely trustworthy to all the goats, it's a grim threat to their survival.]]
* TheReveal: When Mei and Gabu meet for the second time, they see each other for the first time and realize they are different species. Eye-widening BodyLanguage follows.
* RomanticComedy: Especially their first date and picnic.
* RuleOfDrama: Yes, Mei and Gabu. Cross the giant mountain ahead of you that spells out nearly certain doom. It's not like you could go ''around'' it.
* RuleOfRomantic
* SayMyName: Through the course of the movie, Mei and Gabu speak/yell the other's name in times of peril and/or uncertainty.
* SceneryPorn: The ''scenery'', not the characters. [[RuleThirtyFour Not that that doesn't exist.]]
* SecretRelationship: Gabu and Mei conceal their association from both their kin.
* TheSmurfettePrinciple: There seems to be only one female in Gabu's pack [[spoiler: or two counting his deceased mom]], in stark contrast with Mei's flock. [[TheVoiceless She also doesn't have single line of dialogue in the whole movie.]]
* SuicidalGotcha: [[spoiler:Twice. First when Mei and Gabu suddenly decide to jump into the river together to be swept far away from the suspicious eyes of their kin. Then again when Mei and Gabu are fleeing their wolf pursuers in the forest and Gabu makes a brave leap he's never been able to make before.]]
* TakeAThirdOption: [[spoiler: Either act as TheMole for your kind, or have Mei be devoured by Gabu? Naaaaaah, just jump in the flash-flooded river!]]
* TakeMyHand: [[spoiler:Gabu acts quickly to save Mei from being swept away by a fast-flowing river.]]
* TemptingFate: While heading towards the mountain, it starts snowing. Mei and Gabu comments that it'll probably clear up the next day, only for it to cut to them braving their way through a blizzard.
* TenderTears
* TheyHaveTheScent: They always do. Everyone knows what goats smell like and what wolves smell like, unless they come down with the sniffles, that is. The wolves also know Gabu's unique scent.
* TitleDrop: Repeatedly, though understandably. Though at times it almost seems to come close to being their [[BoundAndGagged safe-word]]...
* TookALevelInBadass: Gabu is a pretty friendly and non-threatening wolf throughout most of the film. However, once he's finally had enough of his pack chasing him and Mei, ''shit goes down.''
* TrrrillingRrrs: In the Japanese dub, Barry does it quite a lot when he's angry.
* UnresolvedSexualTension: PlayedWith. Whether PlayedStraight or a ShipTease, scenes were [[WordOfGod intentionally]] arranged to appear like this. In particular, the scene where Gabu stares at Mei's rump while they're walking was based on the Creator/MarilynMonroe walk, making it appear that Gabu was having a MaleGaze moment.
* WasItAllALie: [[spoiler:Suspected by Mei and Gabu's kin once their relationship is discovered that the other of the pair was TheMole to gather information about their enemies. Suspected briefly by Mei and Gabu themselves before being dismissed and proven wrong.]]
* WhatYouAreInTheDark: During the climax of the movie when [[spoiler:Mei and Gabu are trapped in a blizzard and set to starve to death]], Mei relents that while he'd never want to get eaten if given the choice, [[spoiler:he'll let Gabu eat him so at least one of them can survive]]. At this point Gabu is completely isolated from anyone who might influence his decision on what to do, [[spoiler:and can't even hide that fact that his instincts would have him eat Mei]], but even after promising ''to'' Mei that he'll do so, he doesn't. [[spoiler:He'd rather freeze to death looking for food for both of them than eat Mei, even with no strings attached whatsoever.]]
