Ookami to Koushinryou II

For those reading this review w/o finishing the first season will be spoiled so be forewarned This anime continues where the last one left off, Horo and Lawrence slowly make their way to Horo's hometown. Along the way they happen upon various opportunities for profit and gain useful knowledge. All that while trying to keep a strong relationship between a human and a goddess. Some also might wonder if this can stand up against the hype from the fame of the last series. I can easily tell you it does, but with one Achilles heel.... Its definitely not story or the cast that brings this show downfrom a perfect 10, its the bad decision to use a completely different production companies to fill in place of the original greats Imagin (animation) and Studio Bihou (Background art). But at the very least keep Studio Bihou as this is what made Spicy Wolf 1 extra special. The animation in S&W2 would appear perfectly the same as before except you will notice many mistakes upon viewing, such as awkward angles, skinny limbs turn to fat limbs, back ground characters, and other minor/major details. Albeit not as exact as the original, it still provides that spice and wolf feel. If the story of Horo and Lawerence are the heart of the show, the background art would have to be the soul of the show. Amazing amounts of detail were made in S&W1. If you rewatch it, you WILL see things that you haven't seen before. Sadly, the 'soul' of the show appears to be bland, lifeless, and uninhabited. So many angry feelings bubble up when i saw how many simple angles and lines are in one show. Towns don't look like towns. They more resemble a horrible copy paste job that does not fit any point of view angle at all. Small intricate details like wheat in wheat fields or cobblestones appear to be nonexistent. It indeed does hinder the experience considerably. But I am confident you will oversee all the faults once you realize that this story is after all, Spice and Wolf 2. Lawrence is still very 'crafty' (heh) and Horo is still foxy as ever. Now that their feelings are more established, we will see more character progression this time around and this alone trumps anything a bad artist can draw up. Most of their emotions are still worn on their sleeves, but now they start to rely on each other implicitly. It's just a wonderful thing to see Lawrence and Horo interact with each other. Like a young boyfriend and girlfriend scheming to do things their way no matter how crazy it may seem. You will also notice how much these two characters have grown from before. For better or worse it does make the chemistry between them much more intense. The acting between the two is something of pure win as you will laugh, cry, and everything in between. Such a play on emotions is also a clever way of dissuading the viewer of thinking one way or another when a choice or problem arises for the fearless duo. This will definitely lead the viewer to varying degrees of thinking about the outcome. Its a formula that definitely works great with a mercantile anime. These situations that they face definitely appear to be more difficult than before and it is apparent through the first story arc. It might be because the stronger relationship between the two or just the trading is more intense. Either way, it will leave you wanting for more. Not in a shounen anime sort of way but more like a good book you just can't put down. Everything pertaining to the light novel appears as anime gold and everything pertaining to animation production (sans the seiyuu cast) seems to have slipped considerably. Do not let the downgrade fool you though, this is till a very solid iteration to Spice and Wolf. As a side note: you will love Training With Horo (S&W2 special #2)

Continuing a beloved series and making it better can be a challenging task to take. This is not much of a problem for anime that are step-by-step adaptations of any source medium. Spice and Wolf, if you don’t know, is one series that won me over from the previous season. Likewise, I was hoping that this 2nd season would have the same positive impact that the 1st season did on me. While it is not better than the first season in many aspects, it possesses the same fascinating qualities that the 1st season had, with a few improvements to the original. It is impossible to reviewa sequel to a show you’ve already reviewed before without writing similar thoughts on certain aspects. It is important to note these aspects from the previous title and determine whether they improved overtime or not. These include how the character progression has matured and whether the plot arcs are just as entertaining or thought-provoking. To start, our lovable duo, Kraft Lawrence and Holo, continue their journey to besting the world of mercantile and business ventures to survive the political landscape. In the beginning, we see these two start their relationship as people who don’t immediately have one that is romantic. It was one that still had a sense of distrust, but they still wanted to have a friendship to work out each other’s problems they are having. With the 2nd season and the amount of development both Kraft and Holo had together, they flourished into blossoming partners that have a great connection to one another. It all works because the pacing of their growth is logically slow and based on realistic expectations. That connection seems inseparable in hindsight, due partly to the brilliant dialogue both Holo and Kraft share. Then that connection soon fades when, in one plot arc, they go there their separate ways because of a fierce argument with each other. What makes this significant is that the relationship is powerfully written that when you see these two characters break off from that connection, you can feel nothing but despair watching it fold through. Emotional investment from observing feelings in a show growing into fleshed-out characters is vital to achieving when you want the audience to care for them in the first place. Spice and Wolf did it brilliantly in the first season, and yet they managed to mold it into something riveting that pulls our emotions without the need to manipulate them. As far as the plot is concerned, there is no sense of improvement or decline in quality in terms of writing. In season 2, there are higher stakes in the amount of depth they put into the troubles of mercantile that Kraft has to face head-on. Kraft uses language that people, who are not necessarily experts in economic jargon, might have difficulty wrapping their heads around. Here, we finally see some critical progress towards a romance in Holo and Kraft’s relationship. The only negative that came of this is how they executed it in a somewhat out-of-character moment that didn’t feel in line with the show's tone as a whole. Yes, I know this review ends on a relatively short note, but that is because I reviewed the first season in great detail. So it would be pointless to rehash similar arguments I have on the art and music because they have no change in quality whatsoever. In other words, they are all magnificent to experience whether you started on the 1st season or not. However, you have to start with the 1st season to gain preconceived notions about what is going on. That is unless you want to watch it for the glorious Holo cuteness, which I can’t blame anyone who has that reason. Grade: A

First of all, I must say this is my 1 review, so I lack of experience, and my English is not the best, but here are my appointments. I don't find words to describe how good was this anime, was a totally new experience, never tought this anime will be like that, so emotional and funny in the same time, so deep when we talk about simple things, that happens in my life everyday, for example, the story of the wagon when is lock on a rock in a road, when we have to thing all the bad things andgood things, to make a worth decision, leave the wagon behind or take the risks and push the wagon fast as possible to don't be assault. The other thing I must say about this anime, is the relationship between this two, The greatest thing about this anime, is the main characters for sure, They are so well done, the are not boring, they don't are like the typical characters in a novel romance you see everyday, they seem real! All the small things, the jokes, the spontaneous hugs, all that stuff make me angry deep inside, cause i feel so jealous about them. For me the best relationship of love have not be perfect, to be true with myself, it cant be, cause what make you love someone? Is not the imperfect things of a person that make you love her? All that make me rate this Anime with a 9. Not masterpiece, because the final make upset to be honest, just a little, I was curious about Horo past, and the anime finish off without answering me all the questions about her past, I cant forget the origin of the journey of them, was all because of her home, I know her city was destroyed, but I know too that she wanted to go anyway to her place. Finally I think everyone should see this 2 seasons of Ookami to Koushinryou, is just too good, too memorable, too different to just avoid.

Compared to the first season i was very disappointed. I was hoping for a second season that flowed the same as the first season and it simply did not. I wont go into too much detail but literally half of the season they are in one town, just one town! And just trying to make one deal! I was hoping for alot more on the road travel and scenery. Not a lot of romance, dragged out scenarios, over drama in my opinion. If a season 3 comes out maybe i will feel better but at the moment i am sorely disappointed.

Merchandise

Links may contain affiliate references

Studio

Producers

Themes