Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf

I truly wanted to enjoy this anime, and I made it through the entire first season. Unfortunately, there was no excitement; the storyline felt dull and repetitive. I kept waiting for something significant to occur, but it never did. To summarize the plot: you witness a wolf god exploiting a kind-hearted man. I had high expectations since this is a remake, and they must have had a reason to redo it. Although I never watched the original, I certainly won't be doing so now. This is, without a doubt, the most tedious show I've experienced. I'm surprised I managed to endure the entire first season; many might have given up long before that, but I was hoping for something to change.

"There is never a shortage of the unexpected when conducting business," says I-only-invest-if-there's-something-to-gain Kraft Lawrence. Seriously, how could someone expect a wolf-girl to be hiding in his wagon as he left town? This one starts, however, with an older Holo reading a bedtime story to a white haired child.

This S&W is a 2024 Passione Studios release that is rated 8.11 on MAL. It is 1 season consisting of 25 23-minute English dubbed episodes with CC available. It's a remake of the 2008 2-season 25 episode original and is based on a manga. This S&W is a 2024 remake of the 2008 original. They took it and made it better than ever. The art is lighter and more sophisticated. People are drawn with realistic elegance with soft coloring and backgrounds are heavy in detail and layering. In a stone Archway every single stone is different. On a cobblestone walkway, there must be 20 different shades of grey. It's quite lovely.

"Kraft" is a merchant and he's really geeky about it. We'll learn alot about the trade from him. His dream is to save up enough for his own shop. His entire adult life has been devoted to that one solitary goal. And solitary he has been... until she stowed away in his wagon. Who is she? She denies deity, but the locals would refer to her as Holo, the wolf God who blesses the wheat and assures the farmers bountiful harvests. With modern planting techniques the people don't see much use for her. She's been forgotten. She wants to go home. Home is north. Far north. She doesn't remember exactly where, though. It's been a few millenia.

These two get into plenty of scrapes. The author geeks out on some of their schemes. Not only is the plot intelligent, but it's very involved at times and could be confusing if one doesn't put down the phone. They often find themselves at odds with the church. If these priests ever got a look at Holo's ears and tail they would crucify her - literally. The plot is mostly identical to the first series. She helps him negotiate the first deal of their life together and does a marvelous job. She gets kidnapped by the church. They meet a Shepherd girl. They smuggle gold. They make a big bet on Pyrite at the big festival in another town. In that same town, Holo has another (very serious) suitor. This occurs in episode 16 when the show is nearly two-thirds completed. At this point, they seem to have an unspoken understanding. Kraft is confident that she won't leave him, but no promises have been made and no declarations of love have been spoken. He does get a little nervous over the thought of losing her. It's clear they're in love by now, but they're both proud people, and neither is in a hurry to admit it. 'Nervous' quickly turns into 'panic'. It's not uncommon for a relationship to go through a cold war, but they can't keep that up forever. Somebody's going to have to break down and admit s/he can't live without the other, or they may not make it.

Kraft picked up a lot of information around this time. In a back alley of sortsm where shady alchemists work, he learned old legends. Excitedly, he rushes to Holo to discuss her origins and where they'll go next. She looks interested and appreciative but very lugubrious. Holo perks back up when Kraft explains that it's going to take a while, at least 6 months. (Later on we hear how he kept a big piece of information from her - because it would hurt and he was waiting for the right time. It becomes a problem). Still, their interaction is so sweet, The first series captured little of this magic.

For the English voice acting, Brina Palencia is Holo and J. Michael Tatum is Kraft Lawrence in both productions. The 2024 version, by far, is the superior production. The mechanics of the romance are far superior. I felt almost nothing in the 2008 version. This show leaves no doubt, these two are falling in love. When the completion of the source material isn't a factor, it is rare for an anime to be remade in such a short time. It seems that others also weren't satisfied with the '08 version; almost everything I didn't like about it has been "fixed." These shows, despite being the same story and same actors, are very different.

Subtle touches, lingering looks, softer voices, rank jealousy ~> the romance is far better in the remake. "You tore up my clothes! Do you know how much they cost me? God or not, you will pay me back..." "70 silver coins isn't enough! Not even close to what you owe me! Do you have any idea how many years it took me to save up for them? I'll chase after you! I'll never rest, I'll follow you to the north!" There's our ML at his most passionate. Is this about money or clothes? Nope. Kraft lacks the verbiage to describe how he's feeling, so he pleads for her to stay in his own jargon. "I do love that coy flustered side of you." She enjoys flirting with him and making him blush. It's cute.

If there's a true "bad guy" in the show, it's the church. Corporate churches are not found in scripture. Parishioners only met in homes until Christianity was dubbed the state religion and blended with the existing religious structure. Every human corporation, churches included, falls prey to pride, greed, and various power grabs. Evil creeps into every human organization. Evil also has a way of creating victims and beguiling them to run toward it. Church is never the problem. Humans are.

Money and the lack of it seems to cause more than half of the world's problems. We're all constantly on the go in pursuit of it. That goes triple for a merchant. Their entire life revolves around it. S&W's motifs revolve around money-making endeavors. It's quite the tutorial on commodities. "How sad that I am merely a transaction," is Holo's fake lament. Kraft looks at everything calculatively. From one aspect, their entire relationship is defined by his struggle between the head and the heart, or the numbers and the incalculable. From moment zero, he allowed her to stay even though she cost him money. Money is dear to him, so he reminds her, but what he's reminding her of is that he's chosen HER over 💱. He loves to bring up the debt, but he'll never actually collect it. He loves to bring it up as a reminder that they are bound together. It's his security. He doesn't even know why he does what he does.

She, on the other hand, has lived a long time, has learned not to trust humans, and has trouble taking him seriously. Jokes are her armor. Kraft is her favorite plaything. "How will you demonstrate your sincerity?" Holo is jealous of the cute shepherd girl and gives way to a moment of truth. "Honey pickled peaches," is his answer. They're mentioned quite often as they become a symbol between the two of them representing his sincerity. A rare commodity indeed. I don't know if that's a thing or not but I'm going to try it one day. If it's not a thing, it should be. TBF, she should reflect on her own sincerity. For the run of the anime, she seems to care about food more than him.

We get to see a bona fide Cabbage-Patch-Kid-Tickle-Me-Elmo fad frenzy. All of a sudden a worthless product becomes collectible overnight as fad fever takes the public. This Pet Rock is pyrite, and a gypsy woman, in proclaiming its magical abilities, sets hearts aflame. Kraft bets on the futures of this worthless item. He basically puts it all on the line for love. For nickel-and-dime Kraft, that's a biiiiig deal!

It leads to a wonderful discussion with one of his buddies. "This is the spineless desperation of a smitten man," his friend tells him. Kraft is in a frenzied state attempting to keep Holo at his side. "For only the most flexible branches can withstand the fiercest winds.... Can you at least feel it? The shift in you? The change that's been taking root ever since your journey together began?" 'The preachers all tell us that there are things that are more important than money!' "Even when this maligned currency is so hard to obtain, how do we, as striving, hungry mortals, possibly gain anything of real value?" Thus a merchant's take on love, Marc's Oscar moment, and quite a nifty bit of writing, being a little bit silly and profound at the same time. Marco is Anglo-voiced by Ian Sinclair, who has a rich mid-range. He's done lots of work on One Piece, and in the period-romcom, Why Raeliana Ended up at the Duke's Mansion-8.6 he's the ML, Noah, and he's Einar in S2 of Vinland Saga-10.

Kraft will never recover his losses. Holo eats alot and he had to clothe her, too. It's all money down the drain. But it's love up the wazoo.

QUOTES🗣

Investment in a pretty woman never ends well, if you ask me.

A good merchant can turn anything into money.

Folklore is often unreliable history propagated by conquering kings with agendas.

There's no such thing as an easy path thru life. But if you love the road you're on, it's not so bad.

"Things don't just wrap up for us after we take our pound of flesh, you know? We still have to go on with our lives after this... we need to find a solution that doesn't involve you killing everyone. There are many other and far better ways to finish things. If we really intend to have a future, then we should make choices that lead us to that future, right?"

Humans are rather peculiar creatures, ever in need of something to worship.

IMHO〰🖍

📣7.6 📝7.2 🎭7.5 💓6 🦋5.5,🎨8 🎵/🔊7 🔚8 ▪ 🌞5⚡4.8 😅2 😭2.5 😱2 😯2 🤢2 🤔5 💤0 🤗4.5

My Age rec: 13+ she has a panic and a crying fit one night because she's worried there is no home to go to. She asks him to make love to hers so that she could have a child so that she won't be alone. He refuses. Language: pr!ck × 1. Rated: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

Re-📺? Might

~Oddball love~

Ao-chan Can't Study-7.8, Beyond the Boundary 7.8, Castle in the Sky 8.4, Chaika The Coffin Princess 8.4, Colourcloud Palace-7.5, The Dragon Prince-8.7, Emma-7.8, Love Chunibyo And Other Delusions-8.4, Maid Sama-10, Made in Abyss.

Even though the story was told differently which is an improvement, their was some missing depth that was added in the old version. However the story felt more fluid and enjoyable. The beginning of the Mid part kinda felt lacking, it seemed they didn't miss any important parts from the story which huge step up. The scenery and the atmosphere felt more realistic and lively compared to the old version. The characters appearance seemed better in the old version specifically speaking about holo since she seemed more mature but this new version is growing on me didn't expect much facial expression but theirs expression where great. The pace of the story was handled better for sure than the old version.

The chemistry has been slow but enjoyable which way better not as rushed as before and the fan service increase Abit but not to much.

A story about a merchant who finds himself bound to a wolf harvest goddess, Spice and Wolf is a grown-up anime on par with Frieren.

It has the will-they/won't-they vibe that's core to most rom-coms, but it's treated a little differently here. They have the problem that Holo, the goddess, is immortal (or at least very long lived) while Lawrence (the merchant) isn't.

Add to that, that it's left a little ambiguous as to if Holo's feelings are the effect of her being bound to him, along with Lawrence's own emotional reservations, and you have the makings of a complex relationship arc.

It can get side tracked on trade from time to time, as wheeling and dealing is its stand in for fantasy violence.

And I'd take any comparison with the original series with a grain of salt. I watched most of the new one, then went back and watched a few episodes of the old one, and I felt like the new one was slightly better.

I will say I'm a fan of the English dub. To me the original Japanese sounds a bit caricatured (Lawrence sounds too generic, and Holo sounds too young).

So far, this rendition of Spice and Wolf has been absolutely godly in quality. Whereas the original had a wonderful, unmatched atmosphere, the remake improves on almost every other quality. The least of which being that when dialogue goes on for a long time, there is far more expression and changes of focus on the scene to keep the audience engaged (making the dialogue less like a chore and more like a dance. So much attention to detail is payed, and the animation is on a level that is both relaxing and highly stimulating (a somewhat unusual combination). After Apothecary and Frieren I did not expect something of this level, but, in my book, this surpasses both.

The somewhat lower rating makes no sense. See for yourself.