Note: I watched this anime for Anicord Contracts Summer 2023.

I. Premise

Spice and Wolf is an adventure/fantasy/“romcom” anime about Kraft Lawrence, a traveling merchant, and Holo, a wolf girl with the ability to shift between human and beast forms. After visiting the village of Pasloe, Lawrence discovers Holo hiding in his cart. She explains that for many years she blessed Pasloe’s wheat harvests and was honored as a “god”. Now, however, due to agricultural innovations, the villagers no longer depend on her to grow their prized crop. As a result, Holo decides to return to her home in the northern lands, and Lawrence agrees to accompany her there. Along the way, the two experience many adventures.

II. Story

Spice and Wolf is well-known for being Economics: The Anime, but I was not prepared for how deeply it explores the subject through Lawrence's various business dealings. This could have been incredibly boring and dense, but Spice and Wolf avoids this through a smart combination of a strong Lawrence/Holo dynamic and helpful explanations of the relevant economic principles. It's a simple formula that allows Lawrence and Holo to experience many different adventures without the show becoming stale.

The show’s medieval European setting further enhances the economic aspects of the story. In this world, technology is limited, so a significant part of being a merchant is maintaining friendly relations with others and understanding what to say to stay on peoples’ good sides. This is an essential aspect of Lawrence’s character that we see many times throughout the show. For example, since many people follow the teachings of the Church, he often ends conversations with a prayer to God for good fortune, despite not being religious himself. In short, this setting emphasizes the social aspect of economics and highlights Lawrence’s abilities as a merchant.

Spoiler, click to view

The first season mainly consists of two arcs: the currency fluctuation/exchange profit opportunity and the debt repayment/gold-smuggling scheme. The first arc was interesting because of how the show framed Zheren’s proposition as an uncertainty. Lawrence and Holo (and by extension, the audience) are unsure if the whole thing is a scam, and Lawrence only pretends to accept the offer to gather more information. As the plot progresses, the show slowly reveals the truth, and then raises the stakes with Holo’s capture, Lawrence getting stabbed, and tense chase scenes. The second arc was equally interesting (if not more) because Lawrence’s debt is a direct consequence of extorting the merchant to acquire valuable suits of armor (in other words, he got greedy and has to pay the price). The stakes rise even further when Lawrence resorts to a risky gold-smuggling scheme, but is betrayed by the company that owns his debt, placing not only their lives but also Norah’s life in danger. I couldn’t wait to find out how Lawrence and Holo would get out of this one. Who knew economics could be so dangerous?

(Spoilers for the plot of Season 1)

III. Characters

Lawrence and Holo are the stars of this show, so it’s crucial that they are likable for everything to work. Thankfully, Spice and Wolf executes this aspect beautifully. The two characters have such a fun dynamic and their banter is entertaining to watch. I also appreciate that they are flawed. Lawrence is a skilled merchant, but he still makes mistakes and gets frustrated when things don’t go his way. Holo is a clever wolf, but she is also prideful and becomes jealous of Norah, to whom Lawrence is attracted. Whenever the anime raised the stakes, I wanted to keep watching to see how Lawrence and Holo would solve their predicament. I didn’t want them to fail, which is a testament to how well they are written.

I also liked Chloe and Norah. Chloe had a fun, semi-flirtatious dynamic with Lawrence, and

Spoiler, click to view

her surprise antagonistic turn was well-executed

. Apparently she’s an anime-only character, which is impressive because she didn’t feel out-of-place at all in the series. Norah was interesting to watch because her reserved nature contrasted greatly with Holo’s boisterous nature. The rumors that she might be a witch also kept me guessing about whether she was hiding something from Lawrence and Holo.

IV. Art/Animation

Spice and Wolf aired in the late 2000s, so obviously the art style and animation aren’t as good as those from anime nowadays, but I still liked them. The slightly cruder style and more subdued color palette have a certain charm that supports the medieval aesthetic. Holo’s transformation from girl to beast was fluid, and you could clearly perceive her immense size and running speed. I also really liked the picture book aesthetic of the ending credits. It was really cute!

V. Sound/Music

The opening and ending songs are very unique, and I greatly enjoyed them. The opening song is melodic but haunting, which immediately makes it clear Spice and Wolf is a serious show. I didn’t expect the last episode to

Spoiler, click to view

end with a different version of the opening song (or maybe it’s a different verse; I haven’t listened to the full version yet), but it’s a nice way to bookend the season

. The ending song feels like a picture book put to music and is a fun way to close out each episode.

VI. My Thoughts

Prior to accepting this contract, I didn’t know much about Spice and Wolf, other than that it’s famous for its economic-related storylines and features a wolf girl named Holo. I was intrigued, but the show itself was quite low priority in my backlog. After watching the first season, I can say that I’m glad I gave the anime a chance. I can also say that Spice and Wolf is a very smart show. It does its best to explain the relevant economic principles, but even then I often had to look up further explanations to understand what the heck was going on. This was especially true regarding the currency fluctuation/exchange scheme, which I didn’t understand until I read an explanation several times. I’m not an economist so I have no idea how accurate Spice and Wolf actually is, but it was very convincing. The fact that the anime is willing to dive so deep into economics makes the show uniquely entertaining.

Another aspect I enjoyed was the slow development between Lawrence and Holo. I was told beforehand that Spice and Wolf was a slow burn romance. I love slow burn romances, and I was pleasantly surprised at how well the show handled the progression of their relationship. It was satisfying watching them grow more comfortable with each other to the point where they could tease each other without repercussions. The show struck a good balance between their budding romance and hardcore economics.

Overall, Spice and Wolf is an entertaining watch. Just don’t worry if you have trouble following the economic aspects. That’s what Google is for :)

Score: 9.5/10