Spice and Wolf Final Thoughts

And it's finished. Or at least, the first half is finished. I'm thinking there's a second season coming just around the corner.

In the meantime...

Spice and Wolf was a bit of a bumpy ride for me. I think that I like the idea behind Spice and Wolf more than the actual show. The good thing about it is despite that, the show was not disappointing. I suppose, in a way, Spice and Wolf delivered -- in terms of storyline, characterization, and production values.

Meet the "Spicy Wolf" - Holo made a very memorable entrance: lying buck-naked under the moonlight on the back of a wagon. It was all very tastefully presented, of course.

First up, I've already said that Spice and Wolf has the advantage of having a somewhat unique concept. Instead of taking the more convenient road of feeding viewers with the usual fare from the fantasy genre -- e.g. swords, knights and ladies fair, magic, evil villains, etc. -- Spice and Wolf takes you to a most unusual route -- medieval trade.

The show tries to be logical in its approach, so I can appreciate that. In some respects, the makers were able to get their point across, but most of the time, the ideas are so thick you'd have to slice them with a scalpel first to even get the gist of it. Still, kudos for even trying.

To be frank, economics bore me. To make something as uninteresting as business seem like an object of fascination (even if it's only for a moment) is an accomplishment in itself. At the very least, I'm glad for the mental exercise it gave me. To go out on a limb, the business angle gives the very basic storyline of Spice and Wolf more dimension than it probably would have had the makers decided on swords and magic.

Pact with a wolf - Lawrence and Holo seal the deal with a typical handshake

So what's the story?

It's exactly what the teasers say: A traveling merchant meets a spicy (or should I say "saucy"?) wolf. Lawrence and Holo never got to the North though, which gives me all the more reason to believe that there is a second season coming up.

As for characterization, it's actually what I like best about this show. Lawrence and Holo are unlike most anime characters. For one, they are adults with adult concerns and adult sense of self. That means, a lot less drama and zero angst. The characters actually undergo little development. Instead, the story allows the viewers a glimpse of the different sides of each character without getting them to undergo some major catastrophe and character change as a result.

The almost kiss (?) scene - As usual, Holo takes charge

One of the highlights of each episode is the banter exchange between the two main characters. Probably, the wit and humor did not translate well into English, but I found the Lawrence-Holo interaction a bit tiresome in the later episodes. Even the ending did not evoke as much reaction from me. I thought it was bland and the humor seemed forced.

Another downside to the anime is the production value. I'm not familiar with many works by IMAGIN studio so I don't have anything to compare Spice and Wolf to. But let's just say that you don't want to plug this show for its awesome production, let alone animation style and technique.

However, one good thing about the visual impact of Spice and Wolf is the character designs and countryside backgrounds. They're not all consistently great but you can see their potential and it's good. The details of castles and medieval towns especially are very well done and you can see the amount of research done just to depict a somewhat realistic setting for the anime.

Wolf eyes - Holo's true form

All in all, I like Spice and Wolf for its concept. It's probably not a very memorable anime for me and I'd probably shelf it if I didn't think the studio is going for a second season. Out of a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 as the highest, I give it a 6, just a point above average.