The Essentials
Name: Spice and Wolf
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Episodes: 13
Released: January 8, 2008 – March 23, 2008
Based On: Spice and Wolf light novels by Isuna Hasekura
Director: Takeo Takahashi
Produced By: IMAGIN
US Distribution By: N/A (licensed by Kadokawa Pictures USA)
Major Japanese Cast
Holo: Ami Koshimizu
Craft Lawrence: Jun Fukuyama
Nora: Mai Nakahara
Kuroe: Kaori Nazuka
Zeren: Daisuke Namikawa
Major English Cast
N/A
Scores
Animation: 8/10 (x 4 = 32 pts)
Story: 6/10 (x 4 = 24 pts)
Music: 9/10 (x 4 = 36 pts)
Coherence/Story Arc: 8/10 (x 2 = 16 pts)
English Dubs: N/A
Gut Score: 6/10 (x 5 = 30 pts)
Total: 138/190 (72.6%)
Review
Spice and Wolf is about a traveling merchant, Craft Lawrence, and the harvest wolf god Holo. Holo had always blessed the wheat crop of the country area called Yoitsu, causing good crops, but over time, as better ways of growing the crops were developed, the people of the area stopped relying on Holo’s help, and so she escapes the area by hiding in Lawrence’s wagon.
While Lawrence doesn’t appreciate the company to start with, Holo has a keen eye (and ears) for a good – or bad – deal, a trait which Lawrence eventually starts to appreciate. In return for this, Lawrence agrees to eventually agree to travel with Holo to return her to her homeland in the north.
The primary thing that drives this show along is Holo and her personality and interactions with Lawrence – especially since they are largely the only two major characters in the entire series. While Holo is indeed an intriguing character, it’s hard for a single character to carry an entire series, and that ends up being the case here. I think Spice and Wolf would have been good had either more gone on or the length of the show was cut in half or so, but a show about economics dragging on for 12 or 13 episodes just doesn’t work that well. Oh yeah, and Holo being naked half the time is kind of annoying to me.
The technicals of the show – the animation and music – are good enough, I suppose, and this may be a worth series to watch if you’ve already seen everything else, but there are just so many other series out there which are better and more entertaining to watch than this.
First Watched: January – March 2008
Do I Own: No
Do I Recommend: No
