History Literature / ArashiNoYoruNi

[[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?

A CG-animated TV series, subtitled ''Himitsu no Tomodachi'' (Secret Friends), began airing on Creator/TVTokyo on April 4, 2012. It is noteworthy for depicting Mei as a girl, compared to the books in which Mei's gender isn't specified (though the author later said Mei was supposed to be male all along), and the movie in which Mei is depicted as a boy.

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.
* FanVid: ''Arashi no Yoru ni'' is [[https://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=arashi+no+yoru+ni+amv&aq=f very popular]] for making anime music videos, especially of the LGBTFanbase variety. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MulpQxbKttY Here,]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etFHtwF06hY try]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZj5Z1UKrJE some]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTk8-e_xzN8 video]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORrZgNYe2lQ links.]]
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsCHDWGvNu0 And we watch the moonrise on the hilltop, you and I~]]
* 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.]]
* GenderFlip: The TV show apparently portrays Mei as a girl instead of a boy like in the film. The English dub even changes the spelling of the name to May.
* 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 Hide Your Gays]]: 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.
* PinkGirlBlueBoy: In the series Mei has pink eyes (and fur) while Gabu has blue eyes.
* 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.]]
* {{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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* 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 and tearing at each other]].

God help you if you confuse this with ''[[VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni]]'' or ''Manga/HiganbanaNoSakuYoruNi''.

God help you if you confuse this with ''[[VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni]]'' or ''Manga/HiganbanaNoSakuYoruNi''.

* [[HideYourLesbians Hide Your Gays]]: 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" and they never do anything beyond holding hands and hugging. Their relationship dynamic and dialogue still come off as highly romantic, though.

!!Provides examples of:

* 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!]]

** [[spoiler:After the avalanche, Mei thinks that Gabu has been killed. Gabu does turn out to be alive, [[IdentityAmnesia but...]]]]

* 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.]]

* FanVid: ''Arashi no Yoru ni'' is [[http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=arashi+no+yoru+ni+amv&aq=f very popular]] for making anime music videos, especially of the LGBTFanbase variety. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MulpQxbKttY Here]], [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etFHtwF06hY try]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZj5Z1UKrJE some]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTk8-e_xzN8 video]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORrZgNYe2lQ links]].

* 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 and tearing at each other.]]

* 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; Mei and Gabu only say they are "best friends" and they never do anything beyond holding hands and hugging. Their relationship dynamic and dialogue still come off as highly romantic, though.

* SceneryPorn: The ''scenery'', not the characters. [[RuleThirtyFour Not that that doesn't exist]].

* 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]].

* TakeAThirdOption. [[spoiler: Either act as TheMole for your kind, or have Mei be devoured by Gabu? Naaaaaah, just jump in the flash-flooded river!]]

''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?

''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?

* 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.

* DescriptionCut: 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.