I fucking hate economics, but I love Spice and Wolf. I love the idea that if I become a spirit one day, I can acquire so much vast knowledge about the world of trading and economics that living will never be an issue. And then, just totally forgo all the knowledge I’ve obtained and had a part in controlling, to leech off a husbando generation after generation. Holo is wise, even as a goddess, what's the fun of living if you don’t have some stakes involved, and what’s a better way of doing that than attaching yourself to a traveling merchant who’s putting it all on the line in hopes of one day owning his own shop. Despite such a crazy plot, is this series any good?
Yeah it’s pretty good, because it manages to do so many things right. First off, hats off to the translators who were able to capture the wit and flirtatious nature of the dialogue between Holo and Lawrence. Cause I’m sure so many series suffer some level of loss of nuance and infliction when being translated from its original language to another. Secondly, the rules of economics and trading make sense and are appropriate given the time setting. I’m sure the author of the light novel did his research, and again it was perfectly transcribed into the anime. And you can’t have either of those concepts without the other. If the economics is gone, then the thrill and high stakes nature of their relationship wouldn’t exist. In fact, Holo wouldn’t even meet Lawrence since her introduction to him is based on him trading wheat and her being the entity who’d determine a fruitful wheat harvest or not. Without the economics, she’d have no reason to ask him to take her to her homeland. And it would be a weird romance story indeed, assuming Lawrence wouldn’t be a witty merchant, Holo wouldn’t waste her time on a man so foolish.
And without the romance, there goes the heart of this entire series. If the series was to just follow Lawrence and him always decimating the competition a la Sherlock Holmes style, then it’d be so boring and predictable. The romance and economics of this world are interlocked and codependent. The story itself is about their efforts to make the most out of their trades, and the progression of their peculiar relationship on this trade-filled journey, which is also filled with arcs and different obstacles in their way. Some are better than others. I was a little bummed they reused the love triangle arc twice, albeit better the second time. So the story overall still gets high marks from me, as do the characters. And I kind of appreciate that there’s hardly ever really a central antagonist, aside from the church at times, as it was the wild west during those times. Your best bud could/would turn on you in a second for the right price. Even Holo and Lawrence are put through this test.
I think the animation is serviceable, when it comes to visuals I’m more impressed with the backgrounds and general scenery of the environments than the actual fluidity of the character’s movements. Same goes for the character designs, while they’re not abhorrent to look at by any means, they do look butt ugly when compared to Holo. Who, not surprisingly, has the most attention to detail in her design and manages to stay on model throughout. I think Holo’s design is adorable, and her wolf form looks more regal and gallant than beastly. Can't say the same for her earlier transformation scenes in the series, as those were terrifying to witness and I don’t blame Lawrence for passing out. I think Lawrence’s character design works, I find him kinda ugly and have to assume that Holo is swayed by his charismatic charm. Another aspect of Lawrence that makes him stand out is his outfit. The guy dresses like a person I’d see in this day and age. Fashion aside, study up on your economics, grab a box of tissues, and some lotion because this is one hell of a series.
