Spice and Wolf

Plot

''Spice and Wolf'''s story revolves around Kraft Lawrence, a 25-year-old traveling merchant who peddles various goods from town to town to make a living in a fictional world similar to Medieval Europe. His main goal in life is to gather enough money to start his own shop, and he already has been traveling for seven years while gaining experience in the trade. One night, while at the town of Pasloe, he finds in his wagon a beautiful wolf-deity named Holo who is over 600 years old. She takes the form of a 15 to 17-year-old girl, except for a wolf's tail and ears. She introduces herself as the town's goddess of harvest, who has kept it blessed with good harvests of wheat for many years. Holo has experienced increasing isolation and disillusionment at the townpeople's move away from her blessings towards their own methods of increasing the harvest. She is especially hurt at their forgetting of the promise made between her and a farmer when she arrived in the village and their criticism of her as a "fickle god" because she needs to replenish the soil with smaller harvests.

Because of these changes, she wants to go back to her homeland in the north called Yoitsu, especially because she believes the townspeople have already forsaken her and that she has kept her promise to maintain the good harvests. Holo also wants to travel to see how the world has changed while she has remained in Pasloe. She manages to bargain her way out of the village by making a deal with Lawrence to take her with him. As they travel, her wisdom helps increase his profits, but at the same time, her true nature draws unwanted attention from the Church. Meanwhile, the two find themselves slowly developing feelings for each other.

Characters

; : : A 25-year-old traveling merchant who goes from town to town buying and selling goods 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 difficult situations. As the series progresses, both Lawrence and Holo demonstrate a growing affection toward each other. Although Lawrence rarely shows different facial expressions, he falls in love with Holo as they travel and spend time together. He shows his affection through his actions, such as when Holo gets captured by the Church and Lawrence completely panics. He also gets jealous whenever other men flirt or show affection for Holo, especially Amarti. He typically goes by "Lawrence". ; : : A beautiful female wolf harvest deity originally from a place in the north known as Yoitsu, which draws parallels to the legendary land of Hyperborea. She made a promise with inhabitants from a town called Pasloe that 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, regarding her as unnecessary, and resented the occasional bad harvests that Holo told Lawrence were necessary to rest the land. 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 Pasloe. Holo has chosen the form of a 15-year old girl, though she still retains her large white-tipped wolf tail, ears, and two sharp fangs. At times she can produce an ear-shattering howl. Her true form is that of a large and fearsome wolf. In human form, she has a peculiar way of speaking, modeled after that of oiran high-class courtesans. She is able to speak to humans as a wolf. Holo is fond of delicious food and alcohol, but she always loves something new in each novel, ranging from apples to eels. She takes pride in her tail and takes special care of it, constantly combing and maintaining it. : Holo refers to herself as "Holo the Wise Wolf". She is typically very haughty and self-sufficient, but due to her isolation for hundreds of years in Pasloe, she is often lonely and sometimes shows a more fragile side of herself. She relies on Lawrence for company to fend off her loneliness; Lawrence knows this and comforts her in his own way. She is also acutely 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 scared of that fact, but hides it with jokes. Although she jokes about her affections for Lawrence at first, she slowly but surely falls in love with him. At the end of the series, Holo settles down with Lawrence and they have a daughter, Myuri, who inherits her mother's traits and is the main character of the sequel light novel series Wolf and Parchment. ; : : A farmer of Pasloe who has a long history of facilitating deals with Lawrence, whom he was childhood friends with. On the day Lawrence passes through Pasloe, Yarei "catches the wolf" in the town's yearly harvest festival. Instead, Holo escapes to a larger sheaf of wheat in Lawrence's wagon. When they meet again in Pazzio, Yarei knows of the existence of Holo, but pretends not to know. He subsequently avows his faith in modern methods and seeks to turn her over to the Church for burning, shattering his friendship with Lawrence. He eventually leads an attack on Lawrence and Holo in the sewer system, becoming the sole survivor when those with him are killed by Holo in her wolf form for badly injuring Lawrence Holo considers killing Yarei, but ultimately deems him so pathetic that he is not worth the effort. ; : : A villager of Pasloe who has known Lawrence for a long time. She is an original character in the 2008 anime series, serving as a major antagonist and replacing Yarei. In fact, Lawrence taught her how to be a merchant. She had a slight interest in Lawrence, but tries to push the feelings away. Despite still not knowing how she should feel about him, she respects him as her teacher and a good friend. Their friendship is later broken when Chloe allies with the Church to capture Holo and Lawrence, an obsession that slowly takes a toll on her sanity. She substitutes for Yarei in the first anime to deepen the drama when Chloe turned on Lawrence, her former teacher and old friend. When Chloe leads the sewer attack on Lawrence and Holo, Holo has a chance to kill Chloe, but refrains from doing so, allowing Chloe to flee. ; : : A skilled and beautiful young shepherd from a church-town named Ruvinheigen. She makes her first appearance in volume two of the novels. Her companion in this profession is a well-trained sheep dog named Enek (Enekk in the anime). Lawrence entrusts her with a difficult task of gold smuggling after they meet. It's implied that Lawrence might have secret feelings for Norah, but is never made clear. However, Holo tends to get slightly jealous whenever Lawrence and Norah interact with each other, even though the girls reconcile and become good friends later on. :After the mission is accomplished, Norah gains enough funds to emancipate herself from the Church. ; : : A young man who works as a fish broker. Like Lawrence, he mainly goes by his surname for business, and he makes his first appearance in volume three of the novels. He falls in love with Holo, and proposes to her. Due to Holo's good acting, he believes her to be gentle, kind and a soft spoken, polite girl. : After listening to Holo's fake story of being Lawrence's traveling companion due to her owing him a (non-existent) huge debt, Amati attempts to buy her liberty and win Holo over by publicly declaring a contractual deal with Lawrence in the merchant's guild. However, he loses almost everything emotionally and financially after the pyrite's price crash and Holo's dedication to stand by Lawrence. According to Mark, due to the methods in which he built his fortune, Amati looks down on the connections and acquaintances forged by other merchants, and believes it shameful to make use of such connections to secure a deal. ; : : A chronicler living in Kumersun's walled ghetto with other "suspect" persons such as alchemists. She first appears in volume three of the novels. She loves to collect Pagan tales and beliefs and has written them into a set of books. Lawrence had come to her to ask for information about Holo's birthplace, Yoitsu. Since Dian sounds like a masculine name, Lawrence at first doesn't recognize her as the chronicler he seeks. Thus, she asks Lawrence to call her Dianna. According to Holo, Dian is not human, but a bird even bigger than Lawrence. She fell in love with a traveling priest and spent a few years helping him build a church, but left because he noticed that she never seemed to grow old and became suspicious. Her influence is vast, and, she protects the alchemists living in the ghetto. Her true appearance and the extent of her animal features is unknown. ; : : A town merchant and a wheat seller in Kumersun. He and his apprentice, Eu Landt, assist Lawrence in his contest with Amati, and talk with Lawrence and Holo. Mark is roughly eight to ten years older than Lawrence and very proud of his little shop and his family. He strives to hold onto his good name for their sake, though he clearly goes to great lengths to help Lawrence in any way he can. He is also the first merchant in a long while that Lawrence comes to accept as a true friend and not just a business associate. ; : : A young girl who serves as the priest at the church of Tereo. She was picked up by Father Franz at a young age and raised in the church, so she has a strong faith. After the death of Father Franz, who was the villagers' spiritual support, she has been working hard to succeed him as priest for the sake of the village. At first, she is wary of Lawrence, an outsider, and has a surly attitude, but seems to open up to Evan. ; : : A boy who grinds wheat in a watermill near the village of Tereo. He is tired of being constantly suspected of stealing wheat and wants to leave the village. He admires Lawrence's life as a merchant who travels around the outside world, and chooses to leave with him and Holo. He has a friendly personality and seems to have a good relationship with Elsa. ; : : A mysterious merchant from the port town of Lenos. She is a fallen noble who was once sold as a bride to another merchant after her family's fall. She slowly laundered money from him and when he died, she started her own business. : She is naturally wary and goes about her trade dressed as a man. Although hard to approach, Eve is talkative under the right circumstances and has a keen eye for people and business alike. She organized a secret smuggling operation with the church, and after leaving it, made a contract with Lawrence. Her real name is Fleur von Eiterzental Mariel Bolan.

Media

Light novels

Spice and Wolf began as a light novel series written by Isuna Hasekura, with illustrations by Jū Ayakura. Hasekura entered the debut volume into ASCII Media Works' twelfth Dengeki Novel Prize in 2005 and won the Silver Prize. ASCII Media Works published 17 novels between February 10, 2006, and July 10, 2011, under their Dengeki Bunko imprint. The tagline for the novels is "Merchant meats spicy wolf.", an example of Engrish. The author of the novels has commented that what "meats" in the tagline really means is kept a secret, alluding to a possible intentional misspelling of "meets".

In celebration of the series' 10th anniversary, Hasekura began writing a sequel in the 49th volume of Dengeki Bunko Magazine, released on April 9, 2016. In 2016, publication of new books in the main series resumed with the release of the eighteenth volume, along with the start of a spin-off series titled Wolf and Parchment: New Theory Spice & Wolf, focusing on Myuri, Lawrence and Holo's daughter, and Cole.

In September 2008, the novels were licensed by Yen Press for distribution in English. The first volume was released in December 2009, and a new volume was released every four months. While Yen Press redesigned the cover of the first novel, a dust jacket retaining the original cover art was released to select online retailers, and Yen Press also bundled the same jacket in the December 2009 issue of their manga anthology magazine Yen Plus. Despite the different cover art, the illustrations within the novels remain unchanged. Yen Press later announced that future volumes of the series and reprints of the first volume would retain the original artwork while dust jackets would carry the new covers, citing that the redesigned covers were requested by retailers in order to appeal to a wider audience. Yen Press has also licensed the Wolf and Parchment series, with the first volume released in November 2017.

Manga

A manga adaptation illustrated by Keito Koume began serialization in the November 2007 issue of ASCII Media Works' seinen manga magazine Dengeki Maoh. The first tankōbon volume was released by ASCII Media Works under their Dengeki Comics imprint on March 27, 2008, ending with the release of the sixteenth and final volume of the main series in 2018.

A manga adaption of Wolf and Parchment by Hidori began serialization in the July 2019 issue of Dengeki Maoh. Yen Press has licensed both the main and spin-off manga series, and has begun releasing it in English in North America.

Anime

2008 series

An anime adaptation produced by the animation studio Imagin aired in Japan between January 9 and March 26, 2008, on the Chiba TV Japanese television network; twelve of the thirteen episodes were broadcast, with episode seven being a DVD exclusive. The series is directed by Takeo Takahashi, written by Naruhisa Arakawa, and has character designs by Kazuya Kuroda. Takahashi was quoted as being a big fan of the novels. The opening theme is "Tabi no Tochū" by Natsumi Kiyoura, and the ending theme is "Ringo Biyori: The Wolf Whistling Song" by Rocky Chack; both maxi singles were released on February 6, 2008. The anime's original soundtrack was released on March 12, 2008.

The episodes were released by Pony Canyon in six DVD compilation volumes in Japan between April 2, 2008, and August 29, 2008; volume one contains three episodes while the subsequent volumes contain two episodes each, with the third volume containing an original video animation (OVA) episode along with episode six of the television broadcast. A Blu-ray Disc box set of the series was released on January 30, 2009. The anime is licensed for release in English by Kadokawa Pictures USA and Funimation Entertainment, and a complete thirteen-episode DVD box set was released on December 22, 2009. The series made its North American television debut on November 16, 2010, on the Funimation Channel.

A second season of the anime titled Spice and Wolf II had twelve episodes air in Japan between July 9 and September 24, 2009. Most of the staff from the first season returned, except for Toshimitsu Kobayashi replacing Kazuya Kuroda as the character designer and chief animation director, and animation being done by Brain's Base and Marvy Jack instead of Imagin. The voice actors from the first season reprised their roles. Another OVA, animated by Brain's Base and Marvy Jack, was released bundled with a picture book entitled Spice and Wolf: Wolf and Gold Wheat, which was written and illustrated by the same creators of the light novels and released by ASCII Media Works on April 30, 2009, under their Dengeki Bunko Visual Novel imprint. Funimation licensed Spice and Wolf II and released the series in English on August 30, 2011. The second season made its North American television debut on August 31, 2011, on the Funimation Channel. On September 11, 2012, Funimation released a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack of both season, which included the 2009 OVA.

2024 series

A new anime adaptation was announced on February 25, 2022, for the light novel's 15-year anniversary. It was confirmed to be a remake, titled Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf, produced by Passione and directed by Hijiri Sanpei, with Takahashi returning as chief director, Kevin Penkin composing the music, and both Fukuyama and Koshimizu returning to reprise their roles as Lawrence and Holo respectively. The series aired from April 2 to September 24, 2024, on TV Tokyo and its affiliates. The first opening theme song is "Tabi no Yukue", performed by Hana Hope, while the first ending theme song is "Andante", performed by ClariS. The second opening theme song is "Sign", performed by Aimer, while the second ending theme song is "Ringo to Kimi", performed by NeRiAme. Crunchyroll streamed the series outside of Asia. In March 2024, Netflix announced that it would be streaming the series in select Asian regions. Following the finale of the first season, a second season was announced.

Internet radio shows

An Internet radio show hosted by Animate called Ōkamikku Radio aired ten episodes between December 7, 2007, and April 25, 2008. One episode was broadcast every other week on Friday, and the show was meant to promote the anime series. The show is hosted by Jun Fukuyama who plays Kraft Lawrence in the anime, and Ami Koshimizu who plays Holo. The show contains eight corners, or parts to each broadcast which includes news about the series, comments and submissions from listeners, and a radio drama. A second radio show titled Ōkamikku Radio II aired ten episodes between June 10 and October 28, 2009, with the same producer and hosts.

Video games

A dating and business simulation visual novel based on the series, Spice and Wolf: Holo's and My One Year, was developed by ASCII Media Works for the Nintendo DS, and was released on June 26, 2008, in Japan. It never had an official Western release, but received a fan translation into English by AGT Team on February 20, 2021, under the localized title Spice and Wolf: My Year With Holo. The player assumes the role of a nameless character (the titular "Boku", who closely resembles Kraft Lawrence). In exchange for cheaply obtaining Holo's wagon, he promises to help her find her hometown before the year's end by using his merchant skills to purchase information. In the meantime, the player raises their intimacy with her via story-based event scenes, potentially resulting in different endings. The story differs from that of the original novels or anime, and is presented as an alternate universe. Ami Koshimizu voices Holo in the game. The game was released on the same day in limited and regular editions; the limited edition was sold at a higher price, but came with a life-sized poster of Holo among other bonus.

A sequel, also by ASCII Media Works for Nintendo DS, was released on September 17, 2009, in Japan, titled Spice and Wolf: The Wind that Spans the Sea. The player once again assumes the role of Kraft Lawrence. A fan translation of the game into English has been done by the AGT Team.

A virtual reality adventure game titled Spice and Wolf VR and made by Spicy Tails, a dōjin group founded by Isuna Hasekura, was released on June 3, 2019, for Microsoft Windows supporting the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive VR headsets as well as the standalone Oculus Go headset. It was later released for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 on September 5, 2019, supporting the Nintendo Labo VR Kit and PlayStation VR respectively. A port to the Oculus Quest headset was released in November 2019. Its sequel, Spice and Wolf VR2, was released on December 10, 2020.

Other media

In April 2008, the maid café Cafe with Cat in Akihabara, Tokyo, Japan hosted a specially themed event called Cafe with Wolf for a period of three days between April 4 and April 6. The event included three new items on the menu and tied in with the sale of the first anime DVD volume which went on sale on April 2, 2008. People who bought the DVD from the Comic Toranoana Akihabara Honten store (which is on the first floor below Cafe with Cat) and brought the receipt with them into Cafe with Wolf were entered into a lottery to win rare Spice and Wolf goods.

Reception

Sales

ASCII Media Works reported that by December 2009, the novel had sold over 3.5 million copies. By October 2020, it had sold over 5 million copies. The first manga volume of the English release in North America debuted at No. 4 on the New York Times Best Seller Manga list, while the third volume reached No. 3.

Critical reception

In a retrospective review of the 2008 anime, Michael Basile of Anime News Network acclaimed it as an "incredibly fascinating and captivating work". He commended the story's "shockingly wide" and detailed handling of economics, which he felt enhanced the world's realism and made for a complex plot. He also praised the show's portrayal of Holo and Lawrence, who had "perfect chemistry" and "wonderful, often poignant exchanges". Basile saw their romantic relationship as a particularly strong point, with their dialogue allowing "romantic encounters to soar", and concluded by calling the show an "absolute delight" to watch.

Accolades

The light novel series has ranked three times in Takarajimasha's light novel guide book Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi! published yearly: first in 2007, and fifth in both 2008 and 2009. In the 2007 issue, Holo won Best Female Character as well. In 2009, Japanator ranked the anime adaptation as the 48th best of the decade.

References

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