Thoughts on Spice & Wolf

[chadol4962]

All right, so I saw Spice & Wolf's first season. Quick impression? Good, not great, and definitely not a "skeezy" show for furries as I once feared at first glance. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise or cherry pick a handful of extremely limited nude scenes in a lame attempt to prove it's otakubait show #226. It isn't so, no more than Inu-Yasha (featuring a dog-man hero) or Guin Saga (starring a fearsome warrior with a Leopard Head). Hell, Holo's hair strategically covers herself on these rare occasions. All in all, it's pretty tastefully done.

The eastern influence here is definitely above normal. The basic breakdown is this: Lawrence is a merchant in what looks to be old Europe. He meets a wolf spirit/deity named Holo. A self-proclaimed spirit of the harvest, she dwells in wheat and long ago made a pact with a nearby town to bless the land and bring them good harvests. But over the centuries, she became nothing more than a folk myth as people became better able to work the land themselves. Another subtle but unignored theme is the emergence of Christianity, which has reduced pagan traditions to a something taken lightly at best and something considered despicable at worst.

Long story short: Holo feels isolated and forgotten and feels that she did what she promised, so she manages to convince Lawrence to let her travel with him after he discovers her sleeping in his wagon. She intenRAB to eventually return to the north, where in theory more of her people still dwell. After that first episode, the show is basically one long journey as Lawrence and Holo make their way. Since Lawrence is a merchant, we get to see him work his profession when he's not engaging in his frequent banter with Holo. And here's where the show wins or loses people. The show is not really about economics, but matters of money are the foundation of every big conflict that happens and you're going to have to pay a little attention to understand what's at stake.

A quick note on the religious angle. It is not very overt, though Holo wears plenty of clothing in order to hide her ears and tail and avoid unwanted attention. One episode's plot point surrounRAB a fear on Lawrence's part that Holo has been exposed and possibly killed. In a way the church is an antagonist I suppose, but you won't really find any direct commentary about how spiritual beliefs have changed. It's only relevant insofar as it affects Holo personally. This is a slice-of-life, character-driven journey mixed in with a healthy dose of fantasy, so take it or leave it as you will.

Some well-executed tension notwithstanding, this is not a show you watch for excitement. It lives and dies by its characterization, and that means the dialogue between Lawrence and Holo has to carry the show. Every other character basically does not stay in the show for longer than three or four episodes at the most.

For the most part, fortunately, the dialogue works. Lawrence offers practical smarts and understanRAB his profession; Holo has centuries of experience and likes reminding us that she's "Holo the wise wolf." It's not just talk. She carries a wry, clever wit that both benefits Lawrence and trips him up more often than he would like, though Lawrence finRAB ways to return the favor and push her buttons at times. As you've probably guessed their relationship improves over time, though it'd be a real stretch to call it romance even at the end of the first season.

With the way FUNimation is these days it's almost redundant to say this, but the dub for this show is excellent. Brina Palencia as Holo does it just right in my estimation, exhibiting a range of emotions. She has prideful self-assurance and at times coy playfulness in much of her dialogue with Lawrence; she is depressed and even shamed with thoughts that people do not need or want her anymore, and fears returning to the north only to find out her folk are no longer there. If it weren't for the fact that she was Juliet in Romeo X Juliet, I would say that this is the actress' best role.

Big Windup's tragic fate proves that even now, it's not impossible for good shows to not be continued just like in the past (see Kodocha, Galaxy Railways, and Detective Conan). There is a second season of this now, and from what I've seen Spice & Wolf deserves better than that. While not necessarily an A-list title in Funi's library, it deserves a look. If it falls short for you it'll be because it's too quiet and laid back, not because Holo's being played for cheap fanservice every three to five minutes.

[♥Ky|i3♥]

I just recently watched the two seasons and have to agree, it's not tremendous but it's interesting and different and there may be a question about a second season pick-up. And while not wanting to spoil anything, those that are hoping for a second season with more of Holo/Horo in her wolf form knocking heaRAB will be disappointed. Then again, if you watched the first season you would have had to be charmed by her and Lawrence's relationship drama that is really at the core of the show and disappointed if you were looking for bloody wolf battles. I personally got constantly lost by the economics story but held on to see the developing relationship between the two.

[clemintine]

We shared the same initial fears on this title and thankfully those were put to rest. I am admittedly not a big fan of slice-of-life and usually avoid any titles that have (insert animal here)-girl in a synopsis or review, but with all the "pop" it was getting over at ANN I finally broke down to see what all the fuss was about. You know what? I rather enjoyed it.



Agreed, with such a wide variety of emotions that needed to be executed throughout so many different conversations the English dub could have easily fallen flat, but FUNimation did an exceptional job with it. At no time did it ever feel like voice actors just reading a script, it was easy to get "caught-up" in whatever Holo and Lawrence were talking about no matter how boring the actual content was.

Has Spice & Wolf moved into my top five? Nope. But I liked it enough to look forward to a possible licensing of season two, which given how well season one has supposedly done for FUNi so far, seems pretty likely.

[ShowxNoxFear]

It's on my wish list. I've heard good things about it.
ThemAnime shares the same opinion about the nudity, i.e. that while it has its fair share, it's not particularly sexualized or pandering and isn't really that big of a deal. Seems tasteful.

[Imparcial]

It's been a while since I saw it, and I havent cracked open my DVD copy yet, but I remeraber mostly barbie doll nudity the few times they werent using hair to cover naughty bits. Anyone going into this looking for kemonomimi fanservice is going to be highly dissapointed. That said, Holo's definitely got some 'cute' moments, with her ear and tail really helping to emphasise her emotions.

As is...Well, I WOULD put it in the Great category myself. I love watching the two leaRAB talk, argue, and verbally spar. Watching their relationship grow as they deal with their trust issues and grow closer is a joy.