[Categories: Anime Reviews]
Spice and Wolf: final thoughts
Strictly speaking this isn’t exactly the last we’ll see of this show what with the ‘missing’ seventh episode and all, but the gold smuggling arc is wrapped up which I suppose is the nearest to closure as I was expecting. The final moments on the other hand didn’t surprise me in the slightest: I was pretty much prepared for Horo and Lawrence continuing their journey and riding off into the sunset without any fundamental change to the nature of their relationship (although a little development on that front wouldn’t have hurt). I’ll wager the light novels continue further than this so this is one recent show that I’d like to see run for a second season. I’m not sure how popular it’s been during its broadcast but I can’t not imagine a follow-up TV run, or at the very least a sequel OAV. It’s one of those shows that can run and run because the format doesn’t eliminate the opportunity to do so.
The economics went over my head as usual but I understood(?) enough to be satisfied that Lawrence cut a deal with the merchants who had levied the debt on him and even reconciled him with some of his fellow businessmen in the process. The background spectre of the Church (note the capitalisation) was a bit underplayed in my view, although I’m not sure how I was expecting a His Dark Materials-esque “organised religion is bad!” tack to fit into twelve mere episodes. Horo and Lawrence provided much of the entertainment value in the end, after all.
I’ve read criticisms levelled at Lawrence’s character being bland or boring, which I suppose is fair enough in that he’s very stoic and not exactly prone to great outpouring of emotion. Whether this fan reaction is anything to do with his VA starring in Code Geass I can’t say, since I’m probably the only living soul in the blogosphere who hasn’t seen that show yet. Granted, Lawrence isn’t nearly as lively or engaging as Horo, but he does fulfil the ’straight man’ side to the double act that makes it work so well. Personally Lawrence’s straight-faced demeanour was even funnier because of Horo’s repeated (and remarkably successful!) efforts to challenge him intellectually and catch him off-guard.
The series as a whole leaves an overall impression of minor loose ends and interesting ideas that were either alluded to or introduced but not explored as fully as they might have been; whether this does indeed mean a second season or whether it’s a case of my dwelling on minor points too much, I don’t know. It’s an unusual show for sure, so I think there’s an element of not knowing what to expect in the first place at work here too. For one thing, the original writer hinted that the true meaning of the title would be explained more fully somewhere in the light novels so since it’s not explained here I’m guessing that happens in an already-published or forthcoming in-print version of the story; suffice to say it makes me suspect that there’s a lot that happens further along the timeline than the anime.
I was pleasantly surprised (or more accurately, relieved) when the series chose to merely draw the viewer in with the racy wolfgirl nekkidness, only to turn its attention to character dynamics from that point on. Y’know, the characters’ *personalities* and stuff. You can’t ignore Horo’s cuteness of course, which has the potential for some pretty amusing memes in the future:
Cheers Teeif.
Artistically Spice and Wolf wasn’t exactly anything to write home about but it ‘did the job’ and was actually quite pretty on occasion, especially in terms of the background art. The background music was a pleasant variety of standard orchestral scores and light folky stuff which again was nothing outstanding but not bad either. The end theme had me undecided for a while, before realising that its catchiness made it impossible to dislike; if that means I liked it, then I guess I liked it. The op theme on the other hand was one of the best of the recent bunch: it builds up nicely from a serene ballad to something much more powerful; the instrumentation (acoustic guitar and other strings) is quite low-key but it’s that duel vocal mix that carries it. The final chord is a bit…dissonant? and leaves the overall song hanging in mid-air in a way that took me by surprise every time I heard it. Great stuff.
Overall I wouldn’t say this was my favourite of the season, or even an A-list title; as a B-list title (which I classify as one I’d buy if the DVDs were on special offer or something), which I think is what the production team were aiming for, it’s been one of the better examples in recent months. The setting and character interactions were a refreshing change and made it pretty memorable - not great but fun while it lasted. While my final judgement will be reserved for after ep #7, I can forgive the minor plot holes and loose ends because I’m expecting a second outing; not to mention the really therapeutic and relaxed iyashikei approach to the pacing which surprisingly never tried my patience. There will be a second, season, right?
Posted on April 3rd, 2008 @ 8:55 pm
There is no reason not to have a second season if viewers wanted one, but the show felt rather mediocre to me. I haven’t heard anyone talk about how they enjoyed the economics aspect, and I think the economics were poorly handled in the show. I liked Horo, and I wanted to like Lawrence. Unfortunately, I eventually grew tired of Lawrence being so impulsive and putting himself in dangerous situations.
I feel like with a different director, this series could have been much better.
Posted on April 4th, 2008 @ 5:45 pm
@Kabitzin: your views sum up why I think the show succeeded as an enjoyable B-list title, but never really shouted ‘greatness’ to me. A second season would be welcome and perhaps a change of director would make all the difference. I’d like to track down an English language version of the light novels though.
Posted on April 5th, 2008 @ 1:14 pm
My general feeling on Spice and Wolf was one of disappointment, and your description of the series leaving an ‘impression of minor loose ends and interesting ideas that were either alluded to or introduced but not explored as fully as they might have been’ puts it rather well. The setting struck me as very cliched (viz. this post’s final image) but then again the show didn’t indulge in as much world-building as I’d hoped. It did entertain, and there was some top-class Horo/Lawrence banter at times.
Good point on the background art too. I hadn’t considered it, but going back through my own screenshot archive there are some unobtrusively beautiful countryside vistas.
Posted on April 9th, 2008 @ 5:09 am
Well I’m very happy someone appreciates my Horofox idea!
Those muppets at Mozilla don’t know what they’re missing out on. I reckon they would get loads more users if only they’d accept my proposal to change the name and logo.
Posted on April 18th, 2008 @ 6:49 pm
When I read that the show would be about economics I wasn’t too trilled, but I though it would be interesting and better than running around and killing demons or ghost. When I actually watched it, I was disappointed because there was not enough economic dealings as I had expected. Sure Some of it was hard to understand but you could pretty much get the gist of it and move on. It was something different!
Heck Yeah. I want English light novels! NOW!
Posted on April 18th, 2008 @ 6:52 pm
@billybobob: at the end of the series, I felt like I’d watched an incomplete show (and I don’t even mean in the sense that ep #7 isn’t out yet). Overall I enjoyed it for what it was but felt frustrated at what it could have been. English light novels would be great though, yeah.