Anime Review: Spice and Wolf
Okay, so this is my last anime title for this summer's binge. (For real, this time!) Classes start next week, so my break is sadly, almost over. I decided to wrap things up with Spice and Wolf.
Spice and Wolf is a rather unique series, in that the various plot arcs all revolve around business dealings, rather than being more action oriented. I seem to remember seeing someone call it the 'economics anime', and that fits. All the plots have to do with economics. Sounds pretty boring, right? But it isn't. It's actually done really well; it's exciting and fun to watch.
I really liked the music, which surprised be a bit. Both opening themes are slow and almost melancholy, which is not the type of music I normally like. But the more I listened to it, the more it grew on me. And it did fit the series. The endings were more upbeat and cute. And the background music was very nice, as well. Some very pretty pieces, and some good suspenseful ones.
I liked the art style. Visually, the series is very pretty. Holo is just plain cute. Though, she has always looked more like a fox than a wolf to me. (It's the coloring, I think.)
As for the cast, there are only two main characters, those being Lawrence and Holo. I honestly really liked them both, and I liked how they would banter back and forth. Holo sniping at Lawrence wasn't too surprising, but he soon began responding in kind. It was rather run to watch; it wasn't the cranky bickering one often sees between (potential) couples in anime. It was much more...good natured than that, I guess. Like it was a game to them. Verbal sparring. Once or twice someone would go a little far and say something that stung, but you could tell by their reactions afterward that it hadn't been intentional.
There really is no secondary cast. Each story arc has people in it, but after the arc completes, we never see any of them again. And honestly, most of them didn't make any particular impression on me. Well, Chloe from the first arc did. I hated her guts. =P She wanted her village to not have to rely on Holo any more, fine. Her attitude was a bit ungrateful, but whatever. But what got me was that she came after Holo after she'd already left the village. It made no sense! Chloe didn't want to rely on Holo for the harvest...but Holo had already left, meaning they didn't have to rely on her anymore. And then, toward the end, when Holo's in wolf form, towering over her like she might eat her? And Chloe starts whining about gods always being so unfair...I wanted to slap her silly. You went out of your way to go after someone who was already leaving you alone...you tried to hand her over to an organization that would most likely kill her. And you tell your minions to kill Lawrence, just because he tried to protect her. And you have the unmitigated gall to whine that it's unfair when it looks like she might kill you for it? Ugh! I kind of wish Holo had eaten her. =P
As for the story arcs, I found them surprisingly exciting, given the subject matter. Although I will say, some of the economics went over my head. (And I've had three economics classes so far!) I think I'd have understood it if they just took the time to actually explain things properly. That was one flaw this series had, though. Everyone you see talking economics (Lawrence, Holo, various merchants) already knows about it, so they don't really explain anything. They just say one thing, then immediately lead into the next, and keep leaping from there. Without ever telling you how they got from point A to point B. A lot of shows will have one character who's really young, or inexperienced, or even just plain stupid. (I'm looking at you, Gourry!) They exist largely to give the writers an excuse to have the other characters explain things to the audience. Spice and Wolf could have used that. It does make sense that a being as old as Holo would have an understanding of things, and it makes her a better partner for Lawrence, true. But from a storytelling standpoint, it might have been better for her to have been ignorant of economic things, so Lawrence could explain it to her (and thus, the audience).
There was one other little thing that bothered me a bit, though. There are a couple of occasions when someone causes trouble because they think that Lawrence and Holo are being inappropriate, being an unmarried man and woman traveling together. So what I want to know is this...why doesn't Lawrence just claim Holo is his wife? I have no idea if it would be common for a peddler to bring his wife along on his travels, but even if it wasn't...that would still be less 'scandalous' than everyone thinking that the two were in an unmarried sexual relationship. Heck, he actually does call her his wife once or twice in the very beginning. So why doesn't he continue that? I can maybe see not wanting to say that to people he deals with regularly, since he expects that Holo will only be with him for a short while. If he told a long-time business associate that he was married, they might remember that and ask after Holo in the future. So, I can see using a different story in those instances. But a lot of the people he talks to are ones that it seems he's just meeting. And if it's someone he'll likely never see again...why not just claim her as his wife? The whole story arc with Amarty could have been averted, if he'd claimed to be her husband, rather than letting her claim him as her creditor. (I mean, yeah, she does owe him money. But that's not why they're traveling together!) I guess they just wanted an excuse for drama...that's probably why they did it that way.
And finally, the romance. I said above that I liked both Lawrence and Holo, but this was one thing about them that drove me a little nuts. You could tell from reasonably early on that they were becoming fond of one another. But each time they had a serious moment, it seems like one of them (often Holo) would make a joke of it, or otherwise avoid making any real progress in their relationship. Hell, at one point Holo says something to Lawrence about how he should just speak his emotions plainly. But neither of them do, for damn near the whole series. I'm not a huge fan of 'will they or won't they' type things, to begin with. If it's clear to the audience that both parties are interested, then make them get together, already! That's kind of what happened here. (I can't tell you how many times I wanted to yell at the screen, "Just kiss already!")
You could see that Lawrence was attached to Holo...I think the audience probably knew before he did. Silly man. I don't think he realized until the arc where that other merchant tried to steal Holo away from him. His friend pointed out just how fired up Lawrence was, running madly about town, trying to block the other merchant's plans. And you could see it on his face when he realized what that meant. (Plus, he spent a lot of time giving heartbroken looks to Holo/the other merchant, whenever he thought she might forsake him for the other guy.)
I think Holo knew earlier. She alludes to the fact, but doesn't say it outright. And Lawrence doesn't understand what she's referring to; he can be surprisingly dense when he wants to be. =P But you could tell that she was coming to care for him, and that it scared her. So, watching them both continue to dance around each other during that second season...ugh. They had so many chances to just lay it all out. Confess their feelings, be blunt, whatever! But no, that would be too easy. And this comes from the source being a long series of light novels, I'm sure. All we got by the end was Lawrence admitting that he loves her, and one very chaste kiss. Holo doesn't even admit that she feels the same way, which annoyed me. I get that she was scared, but once she knew he wanted her, too, what's to fear? If he doesn't want to leave you, and you don't want to leave him, then you both agree! Bleh. I was hoping for a more satisfying resolution to the romance. Maybe the light novels are better?
Final verdict? I liked it. It's an interesting and unique series, though you may need to look up some of the economics, as they don't explain things well. According to Wikipedia, the original form of this series is a lengthy series of light novels. And shockingly enough, they've been released in English! So, yeah, I think I'll need to be reading those. I want more!
Spice and Wolf is a rather unique series, in that the various plot arcs all revolve around business dealings, rather than being more action oriented. I seem to remember seeing someone call it the 'economics anime', and that fits. All the plots have to do with economics. Sounds pretty boring, right? But it isn't. It's actually done really well; it's exciting and fun to watch.
I really liked the music, which surprised be a bit. Both opening themes are slow and almost melancholy, which is not the type of music I normally like. But the more I listened to it, the more it grew on me. And it did fit the series. The endings were more upbeat and cute. And the background music was very nice, as well. Some very pretty pieces, and some good suspenseful ones.
I liked the art style. Visually, the series is very pretty. Holo is just plain cute. Though, she has always looked more like a fox than a wolf to me. (It's the coloring, I think.)
As for the cast, there are only two main characters, those being Lawrence and Holo. I honestly really liked them both, and I liked how they would banter back and forth. Holo sniping at Lawrence wasn't too surprising, but he soon began responding in kind. It was rather run to watch; it wasn't the cranky bickering one often sees between (potential) couples in anime. It was much more...good natured than that, I guess. Like it was a game to them. Verbal sparring. Once or twice someone would go a little far and say something that stung, but you could tell by their reactions afterward that it hadn't been intentional.
There really is no secondary cast. Each story arc has people in it, but after the arc completes, we never see any of them again. And honestly, most of them didn't make any particular impression on me. Well, Chloe from the first arc did. I hated her guts. =P She wanted her village to not have to rely on Holo any more, fine. Her attitude was a bit ungrateful, but whatever. But what got me was that she came after Holo after she'd already left the village. It made no sense! Chloe didn't want to rely on Holo for the harvest...but Holo had already left, meaning they didn't have to rely on her anymore. And then, toward the end, when Holo's in wolf form, towering over her like she might eat her? And Chloe starts whining about gods always being so unfair...I wanted to slap her silly. You went out of your way to go after someone who was already leaving you alone...you tried to hand her over to an organization that would most likely kill her. And you tell your minions to kill Lawrence, just because he tried to protect her. And you have the unmitigated gall to whine that it's unfair when it looks like she might kill you for it? Ugh! I kind of wish Holo had eaten her. =P
As for the story arcs, I found them surprisingly exciting, given the subject matter. Although I will say, some of the economics went over my head. (And I've had three economics classes so far!) I think I'd have understood it if they just took the time to actually explain things properly. That was one flaw this series had, though. Everyone you see talking economics (Lawrence, Holo, various merchants) already knows about it, so they don't really explain anything. They just say one thing, then immediately lead into the next, and keep leaping from there. Without ever telling you how they got from point A to point B. A lot of shows will have one character who's really young, or inexperienced, or even just plain stupid. (I'm looking at you, Gourry!) They exist largely to give the writers an excuse to have the other characters explain things to the audience. Spice and Wolf could have used that. It does make sense that a being as old as Holo would have an understanding of things, and it makes her a better partner for Lawrence, true. But from a storytelling standpoint, it might have been better for her to have been ignorant of economic things, so Lawrence could explain it to her (and thus, the audience).
There was one other little thing that bothered me a bit, though. There are a couple of occasions when someone causes trouble because they think that Lawrence and Holo are being inappropriate, being an unmarried man and woman traveling together. So what I want to know is this...why doesn't Lawrence just claim Holo is his wife? I have no idea if it would be common for a peddler to bring his wife along on his travels, but even if it wasn't...that would still be less 'scandalous' than everyone thinking that the two were in an unmarried sexual relationship. Heck, he actually does call her his wife once or twice in the very beginning. So why doesn't he continue that? I can maybe see not wanting to say that to people he deals with regularly, since he expects that Holo will only be with him for a short while. If he told a long-time business associate that he was married, they might remember that and ask after Holo in the future. So, I can see using a different story in those instances. But a lot of the people he talks to are ones that it seems he's just meeting. And if it's someone he'll likely never see again...why not just claim her as his wife? The whole story arc with Amarty could have been averted, if he'd claimed to be her husband, rather than letting her claim him as her creditor. (I mean, yeah, she does owe him money. But that's not why they're traveling together!) I guess they just wanted an excuse for drama...that's probably why they did it that way.
And finally, the romance. I said above that I liked both Lawrence and Holo, but this was one thing about them that drove me a little nuts. You could tell from reasonably early on that they were becoming fond of one another. But each time they had a serious moment, it seems like one of them (often Holo) would make a joke of it, or otherwise avoid making any real progress in their relationship. Hell, at one point Holo says something to Lawrence about how he should just speak his emotions plainly. But neither of them do, for damn near the whole series. I'm not a huge fan of 'will they or won't they' type things, to begin with. If it's clear to the audience that both parties are interested, then make them get together, already! That's kind of what happened here. (I can't tell you how many times I wanted to yell at the screen, "Just kiss already!")
You could see that Lawrence was attached to Holo...I think the audience probably knew before he did. Silly man. I don't think he realized until the arc where that other merchant tried to steal Holo away from him. His friend pointed out just how fired up Lawrence was, running madly about town, trying to block the other merchant's plans. And you could see it on his face when he realized what that meant. (Plus, he spent a lot of time giving heartbroken looks to Holo/the other merchant, whenever he thought she might forsake him for the other guy.)
I think Holo knew earlier. She alludes to the fact, but doesn't say it outright. And Lawrence doesn't understand what she's referring to; he can be surprisingly dense when he wants to be. =P But you could tell that she was coming to care for him, and that it scared her. So, watching them both continue to dance around each other during that second season...ugh. They had so many chances to just lay it all out. Confess their feelings, be blunt, whatever! But no, that would be too easy. And this comes from the source being a long series of light novels, I'm sure. All we got by the end was Lawrence admitting that he loves her, and one very chaste kiss. Holo doesn't even admit that she feels the same way, which annoyed me. I get that she was scared, but once she knew he wanted her, too, what's to fear? If he doesn't want to leave you, and you don't want to leave him, then you both agree! Bleh. I was hoping for a more satisfying resolution to the romance. Maybe the light novels are better?
Final verdict? I liked it. It's an interesting and unique series, though you may need to look up some of the economics, as they don't explain things well. According to Wikipedia, the original form of this series is a lengthy series of light novels. And shockingly enough, they've been released in English! So, yeah, I think I'll need to be reading those. I want more!