Movies / Animé and Toons

Spice and Wolf Season One Viridian Collection

By Chris Zimmerman
December 30, 2010 - 11:53

A little while ago, an unknown author named Isuna Hasekura crafted the novel Spice and Wolf, and entered it into ASCII Media Works’ twelfth Dengeki Novel contest, taking the coveted silver prize. Afterward, his first novel was published and from there, his fledgling tale of a traveling merchant and a craft wolf god spun into multi-media franchise. The original novel series has spanned 15 volumes and resulted in both a manga and an anime. Naturally, It wasn’t long before all three forms of media were lapped up for distribution here in the states, with the anime rights being secured by Funimation.

Arguing Spice and Wolf’s popularity is a mute point. The series has received critical acclaim for its smart pacing and deep characters, full of depth and motivations that makes them that much more relatable than those featured in most anime.

The series is set during medieval times, following the traveling merchant Lawrence as he journeys across the country from one small town to the next, striking up deals and making a profit on trade goods. When passing through a small town, he learns of a festival celebrating a wolf god responsible for their good harvest. As he leaves the tiny village, he is surprised to find a stowaway in his wagon, sporting wolf’s ears and a tail to match. She introduces herself as Holo, the wise wolf, and explains that she decided to use the opportunity to escape the village by hitching a ride in a bundle of wheat Lawrence picked up along the way.

While Lawrence is naturally skeptical, he decides to allow her to tag along so long as she can earn her keep, thus setting the groundwork for a powerful relationship that is wrought with trust and humor. The characters are the pillars that hold the series up, presenting well-defined relationships and urges that are believable. Holo and Lawrence’s personalities play off each other nicely, with Lawrence playing the straight man to Holo’s affectionate teasing.

Despite being only thirteen episodes in length, the series excels at fleshing out the characters and their situations, wasting nothing as the plot builds to the finale in which everything comes together. There is a second season out there, so that should tell audiences enough about whether the story resolves itself, but in any case, the first season’s conclusion would have made for a fine one to the series otherwise.

Animation-wise, Spice and Wolf is standard. It’s neither a strong effort nor a weak one. There are some action scenes in which the characters movements are choppy but the unique character designs add appeal to the quality and help to hide its weaknesses.  

The extras on this release are sparse, with only clean openings and closings. A commentary would have been nice, considering the voice work is exceptional and truly captures the feel of the characters.

Spice and Wolf is definitely on the list of recommended anime to come along in recent years. The story was great and the characters were among the most believable and dimensional in all of anime. The series carries a charming atmosphere that flows nicely, and while all the talk of economics might sound boring, the dialogue is handled smartly and keeps the story moving.

Those who value multifaceted characters and historical fantasy should consider Spice and Wolf Season One a release worth sinking your teeth into.

A  

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12