[WT!] Spice and Wolf: The Quiet Journey [...] - (Archived)

Original title: [WT!] Spice and Wolf: The Quiet Journey of a Merchant and a Forgotten Goddess
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Watch This: Spice and Wolf (Ookami to Koushinryou) - http://myanimelist.net/anime/2966/Ookami_to_Koushinryou

Type: TV (2 Seasons, 1st has 13, 2nd has 12, 1 OVA set in between seasons)

Year: 2008, 2009

My rating of the series overall 9.5/10

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Overview

TL;DR A lonely traveling merchant agrees to take a lonely wolf girl to her home in the north. Economics, wittiness, romance, and cuteness ensue in a vast medieval European world.

A traveling merchant in a fantasy medieval European setting, Kraft Lawrence stumbles upon Holo, the wolf deity of a nearby village, sleeping inside his cart. Lawrence agrees to bring Holo back to her home in the north, in exchange for her promise to aid him in his travels/deals. Usually when I see the words medieval and fantasy, my mind immediately goes to knights, quests, wizards, and such, which is why Spice and Wolf is such a unique breath of fresh air. It focuses mainly on Lawrence’s trading from town to town, emphasizing the economics behind his trade.

Note that this means that this show is dialogue heavy, focusing on the dilemmas and workings of Lawrence’s deals, as well as Holo and Lawrence’s relationship. There are few action scenes because of this, as you probably assumed, which can make this show seem slightly dull and boring. Even the “tense” points throughout the show could be considered lackluster and uninteresting; yet, we as viewers must shift our perspectives/expectations to those that fit the situation. Because Lawrence isn’t a knight or mage or handsome fighting robot, his conflicts do not necessarily put him in instant life or death situations. Rather, they usually threaten the worst situation for a merchant/businessman: bankruptcy or debt. These two fates would, in those times, lead him to a life of slavery and the destruction of Lawrence’s lifelong dreams. This just goes to show how harsh and unforgiving the world Holo and Lawrence reside in is, and I think that the type and level of conflict fits the show. Lawrence’s occupation is not unique, but rather common.

Lawrence is not at risk of a grandiloquent death in a vicious battle, instead he is at risk of a slow, quiet and miserable death by condemnation to slavery; a rather common fate for the unlucky who become indebted or broke. Aside from economics, S&W possesses a realistic and gradual romance which does not crescendo until the second season. Out of the romances I have seen in anime, S&W’s is my favorite, namely because of how natural and unforced it seemed; the chemistry and interactions between Lawrence and Holo grew and flowed unlike any other I have watched in anime (Yeah spoiler alert, they start to fall for one another. It’s like it’s labeled as a romance or something?).

Which leads me into what I believe to be the best aspect of S&W; its characters.

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Lawrence is a 25 year old traveling merchant who set out alone at the age of 18 to make his living. With a strong intellect, Lawrence is the calculating epitome of a merchant/businessman. His actions are constantly influenced by the profit they will bring him, showing his adept skill as a merchant. As a traveling merchant, Lawrence is considered an outsider everywhere he travels to, not to mention that his occupation forces him to be constantly on the move, allowing him to only make business connections and little else in the form of relationships to each place he visits. Lawrence’s loneliness is apparent early on, as in the first episode we see him trying to talk to his horse.

What we get from this all is a unique protagonist that prefers to use his wits and brain in order to turn a profit wherever he can. He’s not the typical mastermind-kun or smart character trope found throughout fiction in general; Lawrence still has his miscalculations and moments where he loses his composure. This cool and calculating composure of Lawrence manner is another driving force that helps create this gradual crescendo of a romance, as he is not the type to barrel headfirst into a situation. However, it is this manner of Lawrence that a particular wisewolf loves to pick apart until he is a loss for words, defeated by her superior wit and wisdom.

Both Lawrence and Holo are strong characters in and of themselves, but it is Holo who takes center stage. She may be the best character I have seen in anime True best girl, fuck all ya’ll Kurisu isn’t real best girl. Holo is a 600 year old self-proclaimed wise-wolf who takes the form of a girl with wolf ears and a tail. Her self-proclamation as a wise-wolf shows she is proud and confident. From living so long she gives off an aura of timelessness and elegance, which is perfectly captured in Brina Palencia’s voice acting in the dub. Her age causes her to share the aspect of loneliness Lawrence has, albeit in a different manner. But with age comes wisdom; time and time again Holo outwits Lawrence, tricking him into buying her more food and alcohol, or providing him with a trump card of cleverness for his deals, proving her sharp wit, backing up her self-proclamation.

With her wit, Holo enjoys teasing Lawrence throughout the story, exemplifying her playful nature. This playful nature plays nicely into the natural chemistry and interactions Holo and Lawrence have, as most interactions are lighthearted and flirty, usually with Holo making the fool out of Lawrence, or prodding Lawrence to reveal his true feelings for her.

However, both Holo and Lawrence acknowledge the game they play can only be just that: a game. For Holo is a nearly immortal god, whereas Lawrence is a traveling merchant who must constantly work in order to survive to even think of settling down and owning a town shop, a lifelong goal of his. Each understand that falling in love will only hurt one another, which makes the tale of romance between the two that much more endearing.

As for the other characters, they are utterly overshadowed by our two leads. This is Holo and Lawrence’s story, with the side characters created almost as afterthoughts. However, what the side characters lack in depth and detail is made up by the strength of our two leads.

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Art

I’ll be the first to admit, the animation won’t be the mind-blowingly spectacular thing you have ever seen. The character designs are good, staying consistent with a slight improvement in the second season. What stood out to me of S&W’s art was its backgrounds. Overall, the art isn’t spectacular, however, the backgrounds, landscapes, and areas drawn in S&W only help in enhancing the look and feel the show tries to convey.

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Music

Ah the music. The OST uses a lot of string and wind instruments, creating feathery, playful, intimate, urgent, and graceful auras of music. Nonetheless, the music enhances and meshes well with the entire aura and package S&W attempts to give off. The wind and strings are used to convey lightheartedness, airiness, and playfulness that is constant throughout the show, but are also used to convey distress, somberness, tragedy, and intensify that feeling of longing I keep mentioning. Overall, the music immerses you even more into Holo and Lawrence’s world, by not only emitting a notably medieval vibe, but projecting feelings of intimacy, jovialness, loneliness, and travel.

The OPs of both seasons are spectacular in setting the tone of the show. The first having a solitary tune that eventually bursts into a flurry of longing and romantic tones. There’s actually an awesome breakdown of the 1st OP here. The second is more subdued—Intimate if you will—with a warm tone. Both being cute and lighthearted, the EDs symbolize the lighthearted side of the show and balance the OPs’ seriousness.

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Atmosphere

Our Wolf and Spice adventure through a European backdrop through their travels, from dark and dangerous forests, to sprawling villages, to endless lolling fields of wheat. All attributes of S&W tie nicely together to ensnare you in medieval Europe. While not in a town, our two are usually alone on the road, isolated together on their cart, traversing desolate biomes. Hell, even when the two are in town they are usually together, either in a room alone, or surrounded by faceless strangers. This, along with the music and the characters, creates this calm atmosphere of longing, loneliness, but with a tinge of intimacy. The lyrics from the 1st OP perfectly encapsulate what I mean: “All alone, on a journey, I lost my way; as I stood still, my heart alone wandered. But now I can walk again, as far as I need to; yes, ever since I met you on this road.”

While at first the atmosphere of S&W seems relaxing and calming, once you settle in you realize the ever-present theme of loneliness; while traveling, Holo and Lawrence rarely if ever encounter people. In the towns, Lawrence possesses business relationships—but that is all they are: business relationships. The aura of longing I found while watching S&W comes from both Holo and Lawrence’s desires, as well as the progression of their relationship throughout the show.

That’s not to say the atmosphere in S&W is always this serious; on the contrary, the distinction between season one’s OP and ED are a prime example of the differing atmospheres S&W possesses. While the show does give off the auras of loneliness, romance, and longing, it also shows a playful nature with lighthearted moments between Holo and Lawrence.

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Sub vs Dub

Yes, both seasons are dubbed. As a personal rule, if a show has both sub and dub, I’ll watch the first episode and determine which I prefer. However, I found for S&W given the setting that the dub seemed natural.

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Substitute for Season 3

Giver, I was convinced by your post and suddenly I’m done with season 2. What do ;-; Fear not! Season 3 may never come, but there are 16 light novels, and the first 2 seasons only cover books 1, 2, 3, 5, and parts of 7!

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Final Thoughts

So, if you enjoy learning about medieval economics, as well as a soft, gradual romance, this is the show for you. On the other hand, if slow paced shows bore you, this may not be the show for you. The focus on economics and the snail pace of Lawrence and Holo’s relationship progression can put people to sleep. Nevertheless, this is probably one of my favorite shows across all mediums. I absolutely love the story, characters, and atmosphere S&W portrays. It emits these subdued auras of playfulness, longing, loneliness, romance, and intimacy that help tie the story together into the quiet, inconspicuous journey of a traveling merchant accompanied by a forgotten goddess. The themes of economics, loneliness, romance, and longing are all I’ve ever needed in a show. So please, I urge you to watch S&W if you have not already, or go and re-watch it to appreciate it even more. SEASON 3 WHEN ;-;

Obviously, comments and feedback are welcome! Thanks for reading!


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Original post: https://redd.it/3x6o47