Ookami to Koushinryou

"We won't laugh until we get the money, we won't cry until we go bankrupt." If one wishes to switch a bit from action and cute-girls-doing-cute-stuff series, and watch a more serious but yet funny and romantic story, this is the perfect choice. The quote above, said from Lawrence to Holo, represents one of the main features of the anime: the mixture of an economics theme with slice-fo-life elements. From the surface, it sure seems pretty odd, but when you take a deeper look, you see it blend so well with the storyline that long conversations about price raising and market value -boring to many people- endup as things joyful to watch in a way that it's even possible you get excited over commercial deals just as much as you'd be with a mecha fight. Spice & Wolf is a smart anime, with a serious tone and a lot of dialogue, however, it doesn't lose its silly moments and sometimes shows a glance of an heartwarming comedy. Also, I may clarify for those who are still wondering about it, the fanservice in this series is very close to zero, with the exception of few seconds in specific episodes, there is none of if. Then you might ask me "oh, but that girl was naked in pics and in the first episode as well, wasn't she?". Well, of course she was. That girl is a wolf and I've never seen a wild wolf wearing clothes before. With that in mind, there was never such intention to turn this series into an ecchi. I would consider it... realistic (in some extension of course). There is indeed some eroticism in the series, most of the female characters do have a slender look. It might have been a marketing maneuver, in order to catch more viewers in the beginning of the series, who knows. Anyway, it is just a nice eye candy, not a huge appeal and definitely not the major focus of the anime. With that in mind, the summary here in MAL is very nice. It sums up the beginning of the story, and without further spoilers leave that scent of mystery on the air. How lonely would be travel all by yourself? How important it is to have someone with you? Craft Lawrence is a peddler traveling by himself for more then 5 years. he was able to establish himself as a somewhat-known merchant in the territories of South and is working hard with a goal in mind. After a while, he arrives in a agricultural village during a spice harvest festival, do some business, meet up with old friends, and... find a wolf-girl. *ahem* Not just an ordinary wolf-girl, please. She is Holo, The Wise Wolf. To the church, a pagan god. For the villagers, the deity of that region spice harvests. What does she wants with him? What will develop from this? Just watching to find it out. What I found wonderful about this story is the placement and the context of it. The fantasy element plays an important role in the story, although, it is not the "generic style" of fantasy, common in many anime titles nowadays. Instead of doing an story full of magic, wizards, knights, titans... and things like that, Spice&Wolf approaches the folklore and tales from the medieval era. The struggle between believers in other divinities and the holy church, gods living between people and holiness protecting and blessing the fields are just the tip of the iceberg that will develop along the storyline. What is marvelous to see, is that even with all this development, scriptwriters were cautious enough to not let this characteristics takes the spotlight of the show, which should and indeed continued to be, economics and Holo & Lawrence relationship. This series sure has one of the best classic OST I've ever listened to. With the sole exception of ARIA -which has a very similar tone then this series by the way- this was probably the first series I actually paused one episode to search what song was playing and if there were any TABs for it. Along with a great performance, the sound direction in this anime was also superb. Since I'm already on the topic, I'd take a moment to emphasize the difference some VoiceActors can make in an story. Something that I was amused by was the characteristics and the accent they attributed to some characters speech. The geographic location of them would change their way of speaking and some slang, while Holo for example, talks in a completely different way from other characters. She uses an old dialect from Edo period Tokyo. It is great to see that someone did cared about this details. Think about it, indeed would be weird for a 600+ years old wolf, to talk modern Japanese. Spice and Wolf brings up a deep psychological analysis of characters and a lot of development. Do not expect simple or formulaic characters and never underestimate Holo's personality’s complexity. This being a slice-of-life series, of course it would focus on dialogues and characters themselves, however the way these chars interacts with the environment and how the scenario contributes to the normal flow of the story and conversations was also carefully thought. The collabo between animators and writers succeeded into this great "visual interaction" with characters expressions, allied with a marvelous voice acting already mentioned. One notorious example of it, is Holo's physical reactions to some emotions, where instead of just blushing, she would sometimes raise her ears or move her tail. That said, I have no complains with the artwork. In some episodes it was visible that few scenes were rushed, but besides from minor weird camera angles and some lines in the wrong place, there is nothing else to complain. In the end, I'm still enjoying its "afterglow". It was sure over my expectations. I dislike doing "generic" recommendations, but this title is something everyone should watch. But there is a right time for it. If you are new to anime, or if your list contains mostly action/mecha shounen, this is not the right time to watch it. On the other hand, if you're already used to romance or medieval themed dramas this would be a nice pick. Give it a try! Unless you have horror to economics or suffer from fear to math and/or long dialogues, you won't regret it. I wonder why is this series not very popular... It isn't underrated, as we can see, the score it holds here in MAL isn't that high but still above average. But the ranking of popularity is awful low. Maybe due to the studio who made it isn't that famous? It is a jewel in a dunghill after all. Along with this, I would recommend for anyone who enjoyed it, to read the Light Novels. Since the anime adaptation of season 2 just cover till chapter 5, it stops right in the middle of the adventure, which is a pain. While we hope for a 3rd season, read the books!

Overview: Are you tired of action shonen series with a fighting tournament every 2 story arcs? Want to see something different? Anime has many different genres from which to choose: psychological drama, slice of life, echii comedy, sports, etc. How about something REALLY different? An anime centered around trading that mainly teaches the viewer principals of economics like inflation, buying on margin, and short selling stock? Spice and Wolf is a show so uniquely odd that I had a hard time convincing my friends that it actually exists. This is an anime so dialogue heavy and business oriented that it would likely get better ratings onBloomberg than on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. Spice and Wolf also has some well written romance and great characters, so even if you aren't into economics, there is still a chance you will like it. Story 10/10 The story of Spice and Wolf seems simple, but it is very well written and can actually teach the viewer something. It would be an understatement to say that Spice and Wolf is much better at teaching economics principals than Hetalia is at teaching history. For an anime to have such a daringly unique and unconventional story in today's consumer driven media is extraordinary. The setting in medieval Europe reminds me of the famous economic author Ludwig Von Mises and his tendency to use Robinson Crusoe to simplify and better explain complex fiscal theories. The story begins when a travelling merchant discovers an unusual girl with dog ears and a tail lying naked in the pile of wheat he is transporting. Lawrence is obviously shocked by this, but the mysterious girl Holo claims to be a Goddess that controls the harvest and now wishes to leave this village because the farmers no longer believe in her. Lawrence is skeptical, but Holo offers to prove that she is a wolf goddess by transforming in front of him and causing him to faint from sheer terror. Later that night, Holo appears before Lawrence again and convinces him to take her along with him since she needs to travel with wheat as a harvest deity. This is sort of like Dracula and his need to travel with his coffin and soil of Romania. Holo offers her wise advice she has gained from centuries of living to help Lawrence in the world of trading, and Lawrence in turn will eventually take her back to her birthplace in the far north country of Yoitsu. Characters: 10/10 The two main characters are Kraft Lawrence and the wolf goddess, Holo. Kraft Lawrence is a very believable and realistic protagonist. He is a medieval merchant that at first mostly cares about profit and seems to have a Randian Objectivist outlook. However, as the series goes on we see that he does have a heart and he grows as a character. Lawrence doesn't conform to the stereotypes of anime romance leads. He isn't a pushover that lets a harem of girls beat him up all the time. He isn't a secret pervert that gets nosebleeds at the slightest provocation. He isn't a musclebound hero that rescues random damsels in distress. What he is, is a well rounded character that seems like a real person. Since this is tagged as a Romance title, it is not a spoiler that Lawrence eventually begins to develop some feelings for Holo. However, he is reserved with his feelings and doesn't rush head first into a relationship. Lawrence is calm and calculating as one would expect from a medieval broker. The other character is Holo, who calls herself the "Wise Wolf". Holo is centuries old deity that can help crops grow and bring bountiful harvests. However, as mentioned above, she has been abandoned for a new God, which is sort of the Spice and Wolf universe's version of Christianity. This new monotheism denounces the old Gods despite the viewer knowing for a fact that they exist and believes only in 1 God, which the viewer never sees any evidence exists. However, Holo doesn't take revenge because she is not a "jealous God" as God Himself said in the Old Testament. Holo is a very bored god that lives in the field of wheat and longs to return to the place she was born. How Gods are born in this series has yet to be explained as of the end of season 2, but it isn't particularly important. The important thing is that she wishes to return to the land of Yoitsu in the far north. Yoitsu is a very vast land with lots of snow, lots of wolves, and few people. If Holo is an accurate representative of the population, the people of Yoitsu seem to have hair trigger tempers and a propensity to get sauced. I honestly wonder why the English dub didn't just give her a Russian accent and be done with it. Holo is in fact quite wise and knows the ways of the world through her centuries of life. However, she can often act immaturely and has a very sharp tongue. It is shown quite often that Holo is very cautious about developing feelings for a mortal, because she knows that she will be alive for centuries after her love has died. Like Lawrence, Holo is a well rounded and believable character that doesn't just fit into an established mold like "tsundere" or "yandere". A point of criticism from some viewers revolves around Holo's lack of shyness in regards to nudity. The nudity in Spice and Wolf though is very mild and avoids showing nipples or any detailed bits feminine anatomy. It is far more artistic than erotic and realistically displays the attitude that a God would have around mere humans. Sound Track: 7/10 From the absolutely beautiful opening theme to the sickeningly sweet ending theme, Spice and Wolf has a solid OST. The soundtrack is heavy on flute pieces and seems to fit the environment of an alternate Medieval Europe. My only criticism is that some tracks sound a little too silly like the track "Kenshi to Yopparai" which bares a striking resemblance to the famous Torgo theme from "Manos". Art: 5/10 The character drawings are fine, but art isn't really the strong point of this series. The animation is normally OK, but there are scenes that are so poorly animated that it causes unintentional hilarity. Just type: "Spice and Wolf horse" into youtube and see what I mean. Those scenes with horrendous animation are few and far between, but they are in fact there and stick out like a sore thumb. Enjoyment 9/10 I will say that this is a very dialogue heavy anime. There is little action and that alone may throw off many viewers. Parts of the series can get confusing, so if you can't quite wrap your head around an economic concept or a certain sub-plot, don't be afraid to rewind and watch again. This is especially true if you are watching the subbed version and aren't a very fast reader. Spice and Wolf is not an anime for everyone like Cowboy Bebop or Attack on Titan. It doesn't go for a calculated line drive when it can go all out and swing for the fences. As a result, Spice and Wolf will either be a strikeout or an out of the park home run depending on the viewer. Overall 10/10 Spice and Wolf is the kind of anime that only comes around once in a long while. It is a daring and unique series that everyone should at least try. If you watch the first 6 episodes and absolutely hate it (like most of my friends), that is OK. You don't need to torture yourself and finish the whole thing. However, if you have the desire to keep watching, it is a series that won't disappoint.

Wolves are beautiful creatures to look at. You see them creeping around the woods with their pack and ruling the territory that they claim as their own. There is no doubt that they have been the focal point in some anime shows over the years, but when have you seen them being used as an intelligent focal point in a show's narrative? Outcomes Spice and Wolf, a tale that follows two of our heroes in their journey involving mercantilism, convinces us that you can pull off a simple concept and make something brilliant out of it. Spice and Wolf is set up as your typical traveler'stype of story where we follow Kraft Lawrence, a traveling merchant who deals with trading anything that is profitable and makes a fortune out of it. He is then confronted with a Wolf goddess named Holo, who wants to come with him on his travels and help him with his business for reasons that involve establishing a bond between Kraft and her. What is fascinating about the relationship between our two main leads is how perfectly paced the bond is between Holo and Kraft. There is no awkward transition between the two automatically becoming lovers over a day or two into the story, or in this case, episodes if we're being more formal here. The show takes its time to build it up slowly so that we can breathe into the scenes that involve them talking to one another and display them increasing their relationship's strength realistically than relying on pointless melodrama. Not that there is not any drama between the two, but it doesn't come across as being hammy or out-of-place. It fits well with the scene it portrays and succeeds quite nicely. It also helps the show's credit that the way Kraft and Holo enhance their relationship isn't just through romantic dialog or dialog that only involves positive responses. They get into arguments, they disagree a lot, and things don't always work out between each other's plans, just like what a real relationship is like for most people. You see this a lot in anime and movies that tackle romance in a formulaic style that doesn't seem very organic or pragmatic from what relationships are like in a natural world setting. Not that portraying relationships in that way is terrible, but it's refreshing to see something like Spice and Wolf pull it off and do it successfully. Now let us talk about both characters individually. To my surprise, Kraft turned into a very memorable male lead because they built him up around an archetype that could have easily been bland or generic. I say this because when you deconstruct Kraft as a character, there isn't that much to go around other than that he's just a simple merchant and nothing else. The way they write him as this solid individualistic character who can handle any given situation easily comes as a shock, considering how Kraft has to one-up Holo in terms of character traits. Now Holo, the main star of the show, is one of, if not the most outstanding female leads that has ever graced anime. She's witty, sly, and is an absolute joy to watch when she is front and center. Typically any character like Holo could be looked at as a cheap way of shoving in nudity or a generic female character to spice things up, no pun intended. With Spice and Wolf, the way it handles Holo's development and personality is very mature and charming in the witty writing that she is given. It makes for a fascinating character study of how Holo and Kraft come across as very believable characters in how they carry the story forward in a delightful aspect. While relying heavily on economic theory, the story's writing is top-notch and lenient to where it isn't necessarily hard to understand what is going on. Spice and Wolf's economics is grounded upon Medieval lore, where the economy was a little simpler to understand than in today's economic system. What works well in this demeanor is how it doesn't drag on the narrative too much. How the characters explain their economic motives is attractive from an intellectual standpoint and makes for a powerful gripping drama from the way it trickles down to Kraft's eventual financial troubles. Even if you are not a scholar in an economic school, you can still feel the pressure that Kraft and Holo are going through when the eventual climax sets in when they have to find a way to get out of their debt. How they portray the politics involved heavily with the church is intellectually honest in how things were running in the era. They show it with the narrative to good effect on how bribery and trading are done daily between the economic markets that existed in the past. Artistically, Spice and Wolf doesn't break any new ground in animation, but the backgrounds and the character designs are all done superfluously well. The lush colors in the locations of the mountains and trees, the grimy walls that inhabit the cities and towns they go through, and the darkness that surrounds them add to the atmosphere that makes you feel like you're looking at a Medieval world. While the animation isn't unique, the scenes that involve Holo's wolf transformation were done with good effect in its direction to make it mysterious and dark to let us know that she is a living, breathing goddess. Music and voice acting do their jobs well, although the music itself wasn't anything that stood up as highlights of the show. It features music that fits well with the setting that involves a lovely orchestral score that adds to the overall feel of every scene. However, the voice acting is exceptionally well done, and the leading contender for being the best is Ami Koshimizu. Her sultry remarks with her sly voice for an entertaining listen. That and Jun Fukuyama's straight man personality make the great chemistry between the two leads even better in that regard. Spice and Wolf is a glorious achievement for anyone looking for great storytelling and a great world to experience. It is near perfect with its brilliant character development and great use of political themes to meet a well-balanced character story. It's the type that once you finish, you want to experience more of its world but not in a negative sense where they do a poor job of expanding its plot and world to full effect. Spice and Wolf does the exact opposite, where you're fulfilled with joy in being shown this contextual landscape to significant impact and your hunger for more exploration. The only way for the creators of shows consistent with Spice and Wolf is to look over the show's horizon and embellish the story to new heights with the setting and characters. There's no telling whether it will succeed or fail, but it's the effort that counts. Grade: A

It's an anime about economics. And cheating out of economics with a giant wolf. STORY - Seriously. It's a show about medieval economics and how the church influenced businesses at the time. The series thus involves a lot of talking heads, and there isn't a whole lot of action, making it a potential turn-off for people who dislike long-winded explanations. Despite this, there is an actual story beyond the educational rambling which, surprisingly, isn't really exposition at all. Spice and Wolf can almost be considered a semi-historical slice-of-life in that it follows the day-to-day activities of a traveling merchant... and his wolf girl companion. It followstheir monetary triumphs and losses and explores the difficulties associated with traveling with a pagan deity when the church is as strong as it is. I definitely found this to be a very original concept, but even though it's a short series, it took me a while to get into it. The first four or five episodes moved incredibly slow for me and consequently, it took me several months to move past them. Economics is a topic I think schools should cover sooner and in more depth, especially in today's economy, but if you already know your economics, then a lot of the explanations can be irritating and hard to sit through. After the first few lessons though, the story really picks up with drama and tension and serious business and it's easy to finish the second half of the series in one sitting. Interestingly enough, the relationship between the church and business is really stressed throughout this series, and at times, Spice and Wolf felt very anti-Christianity -- or at least, anti-church. It exposes the power and almost dictatorial authority the church had over the people, their lives, and their businesses. For any religious folk planning on watching the series, I think it's important to keep in mind that this is a historic time period and the corruptions inside the church system were very real -- the series isn't bashing Christianity so much as its giving an accurate critique of history. CHARACTER - The depth of the characters is always an important aspect of any series, but I think they become even more important in a character-centered and otherwise relatively simple story like this. Lawrence and Horo are really the only characters of consequence here, and honestly, Lawrence is a pretty typical protagonist -- he's a nice, down-to-earth guy, but a shrewd businessman (it's his trade, after all). Horo, however, balances out his normalcy by being generally unpredictable, cheeky, and stubborn. Her antics and mood seem to change suddenly and abruptly at first, but after a while, you get used to it, and you understand why she is the way she is. Horo's past is not particularly intriguing or original, but the character she is because of it is incredibly interesting in its realism. Horo is definitely a character I can imagine as an actual person; her emotions, reactions to events, and most of all, her relationship with Lawrence reminds me a lot of the dynamics between real people. They way they bickered and they way they looked out for one another was stupidly simple sometimes, but that showed that their creators weren't trying too hard to be something amazing, and that simpleness really worked. ...It's hard to explain, and I'll be the first to say that I wasn't all that impressed with Horo at first, but as the story progressed into that dramatic second half, the depth of her character and her relationship with Lawrence just pulled everything together. ARTSTYLE & ANIMATION - I don't really like the art in Spice and Wolf. It's exceedingly plain for the most part, and I was bothered by Horo's larger-than-need-be eyes in some scenes. Well, duh, it's anime, you say, but... I don't know. I've seen plenty of other big-eyed styles, but this particular one bothered me? Something was off with the proportion of her face (and other female faces) and I didn't like it. It also always, always annoys the hell out of me when an animal is supposed to be a wolf, but they give it a fox tail. Wolves don't have long bushy, white-tipped tails, sorry. I also wasn't impressed by Horo's wolf form, but I've yet to be impressed (artwise) by any anime wolf. That's probably just me, my affinity towards wolves, and my resulting grumpiness though. The animation was also about average. MUSIC - Excellent. Both theme songs are both deliciously fitting for the series, and the end theme in particular is absolutely adorable. The music during the series is also wonderfully appropriate, and it's one of those soundtracks that I'd definitely recommend picking up. VOICE ACTING - Also excellent. Jun Fukuyama has a really versatile voice, and despite the fact that I was watching Code Geass R2 concurrently with some of Spice and Wolf, I never really got the impression that Lawrence sounded anything like Lelouch. Like I said though, Lawrence is a pretty typical protagonist and thus had a pretty typical-sounding voice. In those rare moments when his emotions were at an extreme though, Fukuyama really shines through. Ami Koshimizu was a little more recognizable, but it's also not hard to shed previous perceptions of her voice. I really love that these voice actors actually act instead of just providing one typecasted voice that's recycled for similar characters over and over again. I really loved Koshimizu's performance as Horo -- it definitely had a big hand in enhancing the wolf's overall character. OVERALL - Spice and Wolf is a unique little series, and if you're patient and up for something a bit different, I'd definitely recommend it. If you're up for some lessons in basic economics, great! The beginning feels a little generic and unimpressive, but it definitely gets better. This is also probably the only series I've seen in recent memory where an add-on, unplanned second season doesn't seem like such a bad idea. The conclusion of the series here is plenty open-ended, but works well enough as an ending if it needs to. Then again, Spice and Wolf was adapted from light novels, and I'm not sure whether this original season touched on the entire story -- regardless though, I'm looking forward to that second season. :3

Merchandise

Links may contain affiliate references

Studio

Producers

Themes