Spice and wolf has a very basic appeal to it, good dialogue, a good adventure, good main characters. It scratches a very basic itch that I think many anime fail to. It's why the show is so well-liked, no matter what, 99% of people are going to enjoy two likable characters talking with believable dialogue in a rich fantasy setting.

Spice and Wolf’s solid fundamentals revolve around its two main characters and the dynamic between them. I have never seen romance so well done (not that romance is my favorite genre), but everything between Holo and Lawrence feels natural, the ebb and flow of their conversations illustrates how good of a match they are together. How these characters process their romantic feelings is also key to making their interactions feel genuine. Lawrence and Holo don’t suddenly make each other the new center of their world, he is first and foremost a trader, and she a deity. Neither character would ever change their identity at the drop of a hat for someone else, they travel together, exchanging flirty banter as they go, but recognizing it isn't their first priority.

This leads to organic emotional conflict that tests how much our two main characters care for one another. Whether they choose their old identities or the person that means the most to them.

This is a necessity for Spice and Wolf because without the characters spending all of their time on each other, we get the second half of the show: the adventure.

Spice and Wolf world feels interconnected and captivating. We are shown continuities between the different key locations and given exposition for each one, leading to the audience naturally familiarizing themselves with the world. The exposition is delivered to the audience alongside banter between Holo and Lawrence, so it never feels forced or dull. And the ``continuities between the different locations aren’t superficial, they’re main plot points. We’re introduced to the church early on in the series and how they’re a dominant power politically, seeing the power of the church stay constant between each town Lawrence and Holo visit (giving them lots of trouble on the way) gives us similarities that link them together. Lawrence's financial escapades weave together engaging conflict and world-building that never feels heavy-handed. Learning about the different trading guilds, currencies, and types of commodities helps us understand the conflict at large and develops our understanding of the setting.

All the exposition about settings and talk about economic theory would weigh down many other series, being seen as a low point. Not Spice and Wolf though, because the dialogue is the best I’ve ever seen. Any given subject at any given time can be interesting as long as Holo and Lawrence talk about it. This is the backbone of the story, why I got addicted to Spice and Wolf for 2 weeks, every line is impeccable. Talking about the plot and setting almost feels useless because both of those could be completely lacking and Spice and Wolf would still be a high-quality series.

Dynamic would be a good word to describe it, never getting stale, always moving. Our main character's exchanges are often long (or in high quantity) but still feel sharp and witty. Of course, not only those two engaging in conversation, but none of the side characters stick around long enough that they can get engaging arcs or motivations, aside from Nora. It's a shame, I would have liked to see more compelling dynamics brought in.

The backgrounds do a wonderful job of just that. Each town has small subtleties in its buildings and streets that I can tell apart from each other. You can feel the atmosphere the artists wanted to capture, and how they succeeded.

It isn't any Violet Evergarden, nothing will make your jaw drop, or stick in your mind for years to come, but the backgrounds do their jobs damn well.

The OST of Spice and Wolf leaves me in a conundrum, on one hand, I love the songs that are present, on the other hand, it feels like there are like five of them. I can’t fall in love with any of the music when it's played so much, but it’s so good that I can’t complain about hearing them so much, so the OST gets a “pretty good'' from me.
The voice actors all do a fantastic job, I can’t imagine anyone else fitting into these characters. Everything feels perfect, from the side characters to the main duo; it all works.

So perfect dialogue, perfect characters, great backgrounds, solid OST, great VA’s, effective plot, and an engaging setting, sounds like a textbook great series. But….

Are these fundamentals enough to make spice and wolf a masterpiece? Something that should be regarded as the highest standard of anime?
No, Spice and Wolf fail in just a few small areas that prevents itself from being regarded as highly as it could’ve been.

Spice and Wolf struggles in areas that are easy to overlook, and I’d like to do that, but I’d also like it if these issues weren’t here, as they limit Spice and Wolf from being all that it could.

I don’t need to say anything about the animation, right? ( and I mean the ANIMATION, not backgrounds, which are good) It's very mid-2000’s, which isn’t inherently bad, but Spice and Wolf feels dated, rushed, and lacking overall. Everything was done by Imagin, a studio whose most recent projects I can only google in incognito mode. A testament to their low standards of quality.

Spice and Wolf has some of the worst animation I’ve ever seen. It feels painful to say that, but it's unfortunately true. Rivaling the quality seen in seasonal isekai shows, the use of limited animation is some of the most heavy-handed I’ve ever seen. Still frames with lip-flaps being the only form of movement are abundant. And forget about anything even close to impressive sakuga. It’s just barely competent enough to not ruin the experience,and it's not nearly bad enough to make fun of.
(usually)

Not enough to ruin the show, but it brings down the experience as a whole.

I was also confused about the lack of a real supporting cast for a show so rich in character dialogue. I'd say Nora is the only person who gets something interesting to do with the other characters. Chloe is more of a plot device for Holo’s development, and she gets very few meaningful lines. But outside of those two, I can only think of one character who is notable in the slightest, that being the currency exchanger, whose name is not listed and I cannot remember. Every other character is just a piece to move some part of the plot forward, and it's quite noticeable. I think at least one more really well-developed character could’ve done a whole lot of good to add more depth to the story, while also making the audience appreciate the dynamic between the main characters.

Compared to how much Spice and Wolf does right in its fundamentals, these complaints seem a bit superficial but if both these problems were fixed, it would make the journey feel more memorable, give it more appeal, really elevate the experience and make it untouchable.
Spice and Wolf may scratch an itch other anime don’t, but it also fails in places where a lot of other anime would succeed. This holds it back from being a masterpiece, but It will forever be something that sticks out in my mind.