Just to let you all know. I’ve never seen or heard of the original “Spice & Wolf,” so this is completely new to me. Judging from pictures I’ve seen around the net and other photos, I thought it would be kind of sappy without any real story attached. This year, I’m trying to be more open and appreciate the nuances of the anime I watch…along with many others. But anyways, on with the review/outlook.

Spice & Wolf………rrriiightt. This first episode definitely seemed to continue from a prior episode rather than being a standalone such as other series. As noted in previous reviews, I’m super terrible with names, so I looked up some information on the show & come to find out, (not super surprising though) it was originally a well-to-do manga. In fact, the main characters don’t even seem to have the names Spice or Wolf. That kind of annoys me….so to clear that up, the man traveling with the “wolf,” is dubbed, “Kraft.” Yes…like the damn fake…I mean healthy American cheese product. To be quite frank, he seems just as cheesy…but whatever. The girl, or wolf is named, “Holo,” as in hologram and seems to be an interesting sprite. Her eyes are a nice red color & apparently (but not surprisingly) she has the power to turn into a wolf. Go figure. 4 for you Glen Cocoe…you go Glen Cocoe.

Here’s some background from Wiki:

Kraft Lawrence, who chiefly goes by his surname, is a twenty-five-year-old traveling peddler who goes from town to town buying and selling various things in order to make a living. When he was twelve, he became an apprentice to a merchant relative, and set out on his own at eighteen. His goal in life is to gather enough money to start his own shop, and he has already been traveling for seven years while gaining experience in the trade. He meets Holo one night and eventually agrees to her traveling with him. She helps him by providing her wisdom which helps to increase his profits and get him out of jams. As the series progresses, both Lawrence and Holo demonstrate a growing affection toward each other. Lawrence mentions he has been attacked by wolves eight times.

Holo is a wolf harvest deity originally from a land in the north known as Yoitsu. She made a promise with men from a town called Pasroe where she would ensure the town would have good wheat harvests year after year. However, as time went on, the townspeople slowly started to forsake Holo and did not rely on her as they once did. As such, Holo escapes from town in Lawrence’s wagon and started traveling with him to see how much the world has changed since she has been in Pasroe. Holo has chosen the form of a girl younger than Lawrence, though she still retains her large white-tipped wolf tail, and ears. Her true form is that of a very large wolf which many people revered and feared.

She refers to herself as the “Wise Wolf of Yoitsu” (??????, Yoitsu no Kenr?^?). She is typically very haughty and self-sufficient, though due to her isolation for hundreds of years in Pasroe, she came to feel very lonely, and sometimes shows a more fragile side of her. She relies on Lawrence for company as she fears loneliness, which is something that Lawrence is very aware of and tries to comfort her in his own way. Holo is also very aware of the different time spans that she and Lawrence have, as a human lifespan is like a blink of an eye for her kind. Holo is shown to be quite scared of that fact but hides it with jokes. She has a peculiar way of speaking, modeled after that of the oiran high-class courtesans.^[10] She is fond of delicious food and alcohol, but especially loves apples. She takes pride in her tail and takes special care of it, constantly maintaining it.

You’ll probably hear me reference Azumanga Daioh a lot in relation to how laidback a show is, and I think I’ll borrow it again. This show begins with a calm, laidback feel and though no one’s really acting like a dunce or spewing out hilarious lines, there are a couple mild laughs thrown in for good measure. These laughs come a little after the opening of the show when Kraft & Holo are on a wagon pulling into town. While pulling in, Kraft explains the next town doesn’t allow Christian/Religious symbols and to be careful. Luckily, they run into someone who seems to be in the same religious group and find a nice room in the nearby hotel. Kraft, being a seller goes out to sell a couple things and meets an old friend to discuss some business while Holo does her own thing. Oh, btw, I know this sounds really stupid…but Holo does seem pretty “spicy.” She often makes sly remarks @ Kraft, and seems ever so mildly sexually ambiguous…if that makes sense.

Near the middle of the show, the whole laidback atmosphere kind of fades into a serious one. Conversation drives the plot, not action or special effects. With the addition of dulled colors, it really forces you to focus on what’s going on in the story. Eschewing a cliche, “lets save the world!” or “I want to be the very best!” storyline, Spice & Wolf II is about Holo returning back to her hometown of Yoitsu – for the time being. That in itself seems really quite boring, but I get the feeling there’s something below the surface that’s a little more interesting. Near the end of the show, while drinking some ale/wine, the 2 protagonists get a little sentimental & recall how long a trip like that would take.

For the most part, I’m not really into these type of shows, but for some reason, I feel like there’s something I’m missing or something waiting to be revealed. With that in mind, even though the first episode was a bit boring, I think I’ll just wait for subsequent episodes & keep watching.

Production Value: 8/10
Soundtrack: 8/10
Innovation: 5/10
Pacing: 3/10
Mushyness: 4/10
Main Character Traits: Horo – Feisty, caring, independent, strong, but vulnerable. Kraft – Knows what he wants, tough and sensitive.
Overall Score so far: 5/10 – I wouldn’t watch the show initially, but I feel it will pick up.