Anime review: Spice and Wolf
This 2008-2009 series begins with merchant Lawrence Craft visiting a small town where local tradition holds that a wolf deity ensures a bountiful harvest – if she’s in the right mood! This tradition has been fading due to improvements in wheat breeding but is still honored by a festival. As Lawrence leaves the town, he discovers that a naked girl with the ears and tail of a wolf has hitched a ride in his wagon. The goddess declares that, since she is no longer needed, she wants to go back to the northern forests that were once her home, and Lawrence agrees to take her there. Now, I admit I was a little hesitant to click on this one. It sounded a bit like a born sexy yesterday story – in which a supernatural creature/alien/computer program takes the form of a beautiful woman and falls in love with the protagonist because he’s the first man she’s seen, and she doesn’t know how boringly average he is - and I’m a little tired of those. Boy, was I glad to be wrong!
Granted, there is a slow-burn romantic tension between Holo and Lawrence, but Holo is no ingenue. She’s a wolf-spirit who knows her own mind and she’s been observing human behavior for centuries. She surprises Lawrence by having a natural talent for business and her sharp ears and nose often come in handy for avoiding scams and double-crosses. Holo is often frustrated by Lawrence being overly “good natured” – though, of course, that’s a large part of why she decided to hitch a ride with him in the first place1! She is a bit vain, delighting in human fashions and in grooming her silky tail, but is also utterly unconcerned with being lady-like in her eating, “wolfing down” apples, beer, and meat pies while complaining that human gullets are too small to eat properly without choking! Being sharp witted and aware of how cute her human(ish) form is, she definitely enjoys teasing Lawrence. But she also has her pride and isn’t about to admit vulnerability in front of a human, even one she maybe has a bit of a crush on. Whenever she declares: “I am Holo, the wise wolf, and…” you know that whatever boast follows will not prove to be an empty one.
1. The other part being that he was carrying wheat, which her life is tied to in some way that isn't fully explained.
The most dangerous threat to Holo and Lawrence is the Church. Pagan customs like Holo’s harvest festival have been fading and are outright prohibited in many areas: If Holo is caught, she could be executed as a demon. She does have a trump card – but that involves fully outing herself by turning into a wolf the size of an elephant! Holo is extra leery of doing this because Lawrence fainted in terror the first time he saw her true form. However, by the second time he is able to realize she’s rescuing him and pull himself together before she runs away to yell: “Holo! Just…Just how much do you think the clothes you tore cost! I don’t care if you’re a god or whatever, I’ll have you pay for that!” By the third time, he’s clinging on to her fur as she dashes through the forest to rescue one of their companions, a shepherdess named Nora that she claims not to even like2! The everyday threats involve dishonest business partners or currency crashes, which Holo and Lawrence have to skirt around or bargain their way out of.
2. Though young, Nora is a very competent character in her own right, being so good at navigating wolf-infested wildlands that she’s under suspicion of paganism herself. And her sheep dog is such a good boy!
Season 2 starts with some charming banter between our leads. Soon, however, the pair are forced to think about what their relationship actually is. Although Holo doesn’t want to give up Lawrence’s company she worries it would be a bad idea to date someone who’s going to die in half a century or less, while Lawrence isn’t sure he can keep wandering around for years looking for her homeland. Annoyed at being left to explore a festival alone, Holo spins a young merchant named Amarty an elaborate story about being a nun who was bound to Lawrence by debt. Amarty impulsively makes a public declaration that he will pay off Holo’s (vastly inflated) debt within a few days and then she will be free to marry him. Lawrence is initially amused by this, figuring they will just make some money and keep traveling together. But then something happens that shakes Holo’s faith in his motives for the journey, and Lawrence must get more serious about what is effectively a merchant’s duel. One of the town merchants he involves in this strategy, who does him a favor, remarks:
You’ve changed, haven’t you? You used to be a merchant from head to toe, inside out. You never seriously thought I was your friend before, have you?...But there’s something more interesting than that. Let me ask you a question. If we were never to see each other again, would you frantically run around this town like you are now? But you’re doing so for your companion…
At this point I was shaking the laptop and going “Forget the stupid contest, just go tell her you love her, idiot!” Of course, Holo does need more than words – though, seeing enough effort, she might be willing to put her paw on the scales!
Even afterwards, though, Holo has her doubts:
You males get tempted when females weep cutely over feelings of jealousy, anguish, and self-hatred, do you not? And you guys want us to cling to the saving hand you gently hold out.
That’s certainly no way for a wise wolf to behave, even if she doesn’t want to go back to being alone. Surely it would be best for both of them if she could make the merchant’s career dream come true, and then part cheerfully before they have a chance to make each other unhappy – right?
Incidentally, before every episode there is a warning that this show is intended for mature audiences, which cracks me up. There isn’t any more actual sex or violence than you would find in the average Disney movie, so I can only conclude that it refers to the hard-core economics. There is a ton of discussion of currency exchange rates, buying on credit, taxes, flooding the market to bring down prices, and so forth, which would surely make a child’s eyes glaze over. But a nerdy grown-up viewer like me will be going: “Ooh! How will they ensure the ‘pyrite bubble’ bursts when they need it to?”
Overall
recommendation: If
don’t mind your cheeky banter mixed with lessons on supply and demand,
give this unusual road-trip adventure a look on Hulu! The manga no doubt continues the story, but the ambiguous yet positive ending of season 2 works well as an end-point if you prefer to imagine the rest for yourself.
