Spice and Wolf (2008–2009) User Reviews

A compelling tale of merchant and wolf.

[kevinxirau · 9/10 · 1 March 2012]

When I first learned about this series, I was naturally curious because there hasn't been anything like this before. Going into it, I was amazed of how well-made Spice and Wolf really is. Right from the first episode, this series left such an impact on me that it is difficult to describe the beauty of it and the direction the story went through.

So here's how it goes: Young merchant Kraft Lawrence goes from town to town selling products from wheat to furs. While going through the town of Pasloe, he encounters a mysterious being: Holo, the wolf-like deity of harvests in the form of an amazingly beautiful young woman. Together, these two go about traveling from town to town making intricate business deals, having witty and thoughtful conversations, and trying to avoid the attention of the Catholic Church that will like nothing more to destroy poor Holo. As the couple continue heading towards Holo's original homeland, both begin to develop fond feelings for each other.

Spice and Wolf is quite different from other anime I've seen. Character development is superb and the interactions between the characters are a load of fun to watch. The animation is top-notch and the music is incredibly compelling, suitable for certain scenes in the episodes. I am actually moved by all this and any series that can do that certainly deserves more than enough credit.

The two protagonists are the ones that make it all possible. Lawrence is very interesting as he is knowledgeable in the art of trading. He's also a guy you can count on to have your back and he can usually turn a bad situation around no matter the stakes. Holo is probably the best anime woman I have ever seen. She's fun, clever, and is able to stand up for herself. Holo is also very easy on the eyes, from her soft hair to her stunningly beautiful eyes. For all this, this wolf girl is not without complexity as she has some vulnerable emotional qualities that make her pretty sympathetic. The combined qualities and compatibility of Lawrence and Holo are what truly drive this series.

Overall, Spice and Wolf is a compelling tale you would not want to miss. It is so well made that it begs to be more recognized by the world for it's story, characters, animation, and music. It has some good themes to keep it going and the drama really pulls some heartstrings. It is highly recommended that you check this series out and enjoy.

Romance and Economics.

[Spartan_1_1_7 · 8/10 · 8 February 2014]

Spice and Wolf.

Now this is how romance in animes should be dealt with. I was kinda hesitant at first to watch it as I don't like romance focused stuff but boy does this anime deliver on that front in a fresh way.

The story is good and its progression is great. It focuses on the characters. The old times setting and merchant stuff gave it an adventurous touch.

The protagonist is a likable kind hearted merchant who is really good in what he does and has a mind for profit. His thinking is analytical, always weighing Then there is Holo, the female main character of the anime, who I think is one of the best female anime characters I have seen. She is wise, intelligent, funny and witty, not to mention REALLY GOOD looking. And she is in no way ANNOYING, which was the biggest surprise for me as female characters in animes, especially romantic ones, tend to be annoying. The love story between the two main characters is handled masterfully. Both of them undergo a lot of character development and have diverse personalities that you can't help but enjoy it. The anime focuses a LOT on merchant stuff too. Trading, currencies, techniques, stock prices etc etc. I was baffled at how much detailed it was. Hell, one could learn a thing or two from this anime about that stuff. :p

Soundtrack was pretty good. Some of the emotional scores and the comedy ones were GREAT.

Animation/art wasn't outstanding or anything but it looked good.

If only it was a little longer. I felt that season 2 ended a bit abruptly, I was hoping for a little more of the journey.

8.7/10

Incredible

[AwesomeGeorge14 · 8/10 · 13 May 2014]

The plot: Kraft Lawrence, a 25 year old peddler travelling from town to town selling and buying various things to make a living during a period much like Europe in the Middle Ages. One night when stopped at the town of Pasroe, he finds in his wagon a 250 year old pagan wolf deity girl named Holo. She appears to be that of a 15 year old girl, except for a wolf tail and ears. She introduces herself as the town's goddess of harvest who has kept it blessed with good harvests of wheat for many years. Despite having the responsibility to watch over the town, she wants to go back to her homeland in the north called Yoitsu, she believes the people have already forsaken her anyway and that she has kept her promise to maintain the good harvests. She manages to bargain her way out of the village by making a deal with Lawrence to take her with him. As they travel, her wisdom helps increase his profits, but at the same time, her true nature draws unwanted attention from the church.

This show is so good. Holo is a great character. Kraft Lawrence is also a great character too. But the rest of the characters are assholes.

The chemistry between Holo and Lawrence is amazing and believable.

The romance is subtle and realistic.

The music is amazing, it can be calm then fast.

The animation is beautiful, the backgrounds look very good and the characters look really good and expressive.

The voice acting is good in both Japanese and English.

I wish there were more episodes and seasons :(

Overall, this is an amazing amine with great characters, beautiful animation and incredible music

10/10

Come for the wolf-girl, stay for the economics

[Atled · 10/10 · 26 November 2012]

In medieval Germany, a travelling merchant discovers a naked wolf-girl in his cart. Naturally, he decides to explain economic theory to her.

For months.

Allow me to be brief. Fans of anime who have discovered this anime because of its attractive protagonist will be both disappointed and delighted. Disappointed, perhaps, because every time the show's writers have to choose between showing the pretty wolf-girl and showing coins changing hands, they select the latter. Delighted, however, because the coins rapidly become the stars of the show - and after a few episodes, you'll be as big a fan of them as of Holo.

Leaping from one economics topic to another without a pause, Spice and Wolf dabbles in currency exchange, stock markets, coin purity, black markets, insider trading, loans, bargains and every manner of trade under the sun. And you'll barely notice the education. Being whisked along by Lawrence's Holmes-like reasoning on the whys and wherefores of each deal makes for a curious yet entrancing adventure, where most of the battles are in the mind. And with the wonderful interplay of the two leads offering a wonderful backdrop and developing storyline for the money to bounce off, it's an adventure you'd be mad to miss out on.

Absolutely recommended.

First Episode to the Last, One of my Favorites!

[gameguyrocks · 10/10 · 3 August 2012]

This show is absolutely fantastic. For one thing, the voice actors actually make you feel like the characters are real. Another is the superb story line. Along with those, it can be educational throughout most of the series. It deals a lot with the Stock Market and Tradings. I've learned more about that kind of stuff by watching this then school could ever teach me.

Summaries:

Season 1: It starts off with a merchant by the name of Lawrence Craft finding a 15 year old girl in his cart, with wolf ears and a wolf tail, who then tells him she is the goddess known as Holo. He then lets her tag along with him as he travels all across the world, trying to earn the money to open up his shop, until she gets back to her homeland, Yoitz. Along the way, they run into a bunch of trouble, involving people capturing Holo and trying to sell her to the church so that they can "Purify" Holo, to Lawrence going completely bankrupt after the stock market crashes on all the items he had in his cart, to Holo spending all of his money on Apples, Clothing, and other things she wants. After the stock market crashed, Lawrence regains most of his money by smuggling gold in the bellies of some sheep in which belong to a Shepherd which they befriend. The smuggling goes wrong at one point in which some people that were helping them turn on Lawrence and try to keep the gold for themselves, but he solves that problem by letting Holo transform into her true form and wiping them out, but the Shepherd tries to attack Holo. Over all the noise, Lawrence calls out either the Shepherd's name or Holo's as he's trying to stop them from killing each other. In the end, Holo demands to know who's name he called out, but he never really gives her a direct answer.

Season 2: In my opinion, better then the first season. It starts off with Holo having a dream about how over the years, as she never ages, all of her loved ones die as the years go on. She then wakes up and Lawrence and her are traveling to a city, where they meet Amarte, in which Lawrence tells Amarte about Holo's debt to him (Due to all the money she's spent with his money) and that being the reason she's traveling with him, to repay her debt, which then leads to Amarte willing to buy Holo off of Lawrence and allowing her to go free, and possibly, in Amarte's head, marrying her. Lawrence then takes the deal thinking that Holo will continue traveling with him either way, but then he goes to a witch and starts asking her about Holo's homeland, Yoitz, in which he finds out it may or may not exist anymore. He doesn't tell Holo, but she eventually finds out that he'd been keeping it a secret, and she starts freaking out about her becoming all alone, which then for some reason, Holo tells him to "Make love to me" so that she will get pregnant and that there would be 2 of her so she would never be alone, but Lawrence refuses to, which results in Holo leaving. In order to regain her back, Lawrence tries to repay Amarte for the contract by trying to gain a bunch of Fool's Gold which is at that moment selling for an outrageously high price, and then it gets into some really confusing stuff, until the end where Holo then returns to Lawrence and continues traveling with him. After that, they come to a town where they stay at an inn, in which Lawrence meets a hooded woman that tells him about a great business deal in which she partners up with him and they make tons of cash. But then, a bunch of stuff happens and the details get amazingly hard to explain, and it all results in Holo wanting to know what she is to Lawrence, even after she made the deal, in which Holo would either leave Lawrence due to the deal going well and him being able to open a shop, or the deal turning on him and her running away, and the woman turning on Lawrence and trying to kill him. In the end, she knocks him out and leaves the deed to the inn he was staying at on Lawrence. He then goes to Holo, tells her about everything that happened with the deal and how it had gone wrong, and then she starts yelling at him, then he tells her he loves her. It gets really emotional after that, then he kisses her, and they continue their journey together.

The thing I loved most about season 2 was that it leaves room for a season 3. I recommend this to anyone who is interested in Midevil Times, the Stock Market, or the Romance genre. 10/10 easily.

Amazing at all shape

[damcraff · 10/10 · 18 August 2014]

Lawrence 25 year old traveling peddler,( a good one) meet holo 250 year old pagan wolf,she claimed her name as holo the wise wolf, holo is godness of rich harvers.holo was a giant wolf but change to lovely nice looking 15 year old girl.still have an exposed beautiful ear and tail. Holo want go back to her home at north, called yoitz where the world is silver and everything sparkle. Holo join Lawrence travel to north, in they travel, they facecing many trouble, but they hang on to it they share all the joy and sadness. Time past out and they got feeling love each other but they secret it. In season 2 at near to end Lawrence say to holo that he love her, and also holo say she fall in love with him to.for the truth some time i cry watch this anime. The anime was AMAZING, the song play at precise moment,voice dub and dialogue are awesome, watch this anime is fun and heart breaking couse at some moment, I hope there was spice and wolf season 3 in making, this anime shall not to be miss, the story line is perfect and the character was good, it should be continue in new season.

Spice meets wolf on a journey through the lands

[kiza-2 · 8/10 · 6 October 2008]

+++ mild spoilers ahead +++

It's truly fascinating what you find if you keep clicking through the recommendations list on IMDb for a while. So I ended up on "Ôkami to kôshinryô" or the rather amusing English title "Spice and Wolf". With the official website URL being www.spicy-wolf.com I guess you can already be sure that spicy is related to the wolf and not to Lawrence's trading business. ;) I wonder why they went with the strange English title "Spice and Wolf" instead.

Being only 12 episodes (plus an additional OVA) the main plot is told rather quickly. Lawrence, trader and later dubbed softy by his companion, finds the wolf goddess Horo sleeping in his cart one night. And from then on things go strange ways. It's quite obvious that the story takes place in times of change. In a world where the church is gaining influence with whatever methods they see fit, there is little place for a god people pray to for a good harvest. As people's faith in Horo diminishes there is no more place for her in the old village. So she sets out as Lawrence's companion on a journey returning her to the north.

Contrary to, for example Wolf's Rain, Horo is not a wolf that changes back and forth, but rather drawn the furry way, human girl with tails and ears forming out of her hair. Almost exclusively naked in the first episode ^.^ but they dropped this rather quickly in the following episodes. Well OK, it would draw way to much attention in the world they travel. I guess that first episode is where the title Spicy Wolf truly fits. *cough*

The dialogue between Lawrence and Horo is truly magnificent at times, mostly when they argue over the unspoken topic... their relationship. Well, of course there is none, other than the business part. The "side plots" are mostly Lawrences trading business, in which I got slightly lost due to the subtitles rushing by with the speed of light... at least it felt like that.

All in all a series well worth finding and who knows, maybe there will be another season! At least the ending didn't exactly end the storyline in any way.

Wonderful Adventure and Chemistry

[peterfmodel · 7/10 · 18 August 2019]

This is one of the nicest anime I have ever watched. The chemistry between Lawrence and Holo is wonderful to behold. This is not an action series, it's a series about the relationship between Lawrence and Holo and their adventures together. This is a good one for the whole family.

Spicy!

[DoctorNordo · 8/10 · 18 September 2014]

So I wasn't sure how much I'd like this one at first. I saw it classified on Wikipedia as a romance and this is typically not my favorite genre. Thankfully, the romantic story is secondary to the main plot. I was grateful for this, for had it been the other way around I think it may have become tedious. The main stories revolve around the business ventures of Lawrence and Holo as they journey to Holo's ancient homeland hidden somewhere in the distant north.

Now one might think that a story centering on the business dealings of a traveling peddler might be mundane, but they actually succeeded in making it rather exciting. And while so many other non-comedy animes have mortal peril as the main consequence of failure, and while Lawrence and Holo both certainly have brushes with death, it is just as often that the potential cost of failure is Lawrence's financial ruin and bankruptcy. I found this to be refreshing.

One of the coolest things about this anime is that it is actually educational. It provides a (very basic) crash course in basic economics and touches on such subjects as supply and demand, market trends, currency trading and speculation, and others. The downside is that if you're like me and already have a relatively good understanding of these things the explanations in the show can come off as long- winded and a little tiring. However I absolutely appreciate the show's effort at being educational.

As for the romance angle, I felt that it was handled well. It is by far the secondary plot of the show and it rarely overstays its welcome. The only problem that I have in this regard is that Holo is an extremely violent person and often ridicules Lawrence and even goes so far as to shove, slap, and punch him. Sorry, but if domestic violence against women isn't okay then it shouldn't be okay when it's a woman striking a man. This is a common anime trope that has always bothered me and Spice and Wolf is simply the latest specimen.

Oh, and I also have to say that the English dub is incredible, especially the voice of Holo (Brina Palencia). Truly one of the best dubs I've seen recently.

And finally I will leave off with one more complaint. The ending is, in my opinion, not satisfactory at all. If I understand correctly, the anime only covers about 1/4 of the manga so there really isn't any true resolution in this show. But all in all I liked it very much.

7.5/10

Worth watching

[ceojonathanmontgomery · 7/10 · 17 April 2024]

Hello Fellow Humans,

Well this Anime is a good anime and worth watching. It isn't a typical Anime which would be like someone dies and is resurrected in another world or robots or super amazing fighters or magical dungeons or highschool. So that's a nice relief from those constant styles of show. But once again you have a man who is afraid of the women. This must be a cultural thing I'm Asia where men are afraid of women or afraid to ask for what they want. Also he is quite rude at the beginning. Sorry but if I was him and a gorgeous naked woman with wolf ears and tail appeared in my cart or car or whatever. My first response would not be to yell at her and scream and be afraid. My first thought would probably be please be of age and I am so lucky. Hollow is absolutely gorgeous and I have no idea why he acts the way he does but I am from California so I grew up differently than men in Japan. I am watching this again because their is a new series and I wanted to remember this show again since it's been so long since this show has come out. So I am excited to see the new series after watching this series again. It at least is wide screen so it's not so old it is box screen at least. But the anime is noticable older looking. But hopefully someday AI will fix that and hopefully it will also auto translate every single anime in the original voice but in whatever languages you want. No more subs or subs needed ever would be so nice. Well enjoy the show it is good.

Very good and sweet anime

[AngelofMusic1998 · 8/10 · 11 October 2023]

Spice and wolf tells the story of a young merchant called Lawrence and a wolf deity called Holo. They start to travel together to get Holo back to hear hometown. This anime is a bit older ,now around 15 years and it was very good. It covers the first 4 volumes of the light novel series relatively faithfully. Holo is a very interesting female lead. The animation looks quite good for 2008-2009. Holo and Lawrence bicker a lot,but they care about each other. The remake has been announced for 2024. I am glad that the leads are gonna be voiced by the same voice actors. Overall,very good and sweet anime.8,5/10.

Beautiful but...

[malingraux-82650 · 7/10 · 8 February 2021]

The characters are adorable, and if you like economics it has a lot of interesting points, but in the show they don't stop saying that the main character is a good merchant when in fact he barely escapes debt and bankruptcy in many stressing situations along the show. I know that if everything is simple and easy this show wouldn't be as interesting, but there are too many of these situations. It a lot frustating that he isn't stronger to defend himself when he gets betrayed by a lot of people, it's like he has supreme luck to manage to keep alive but just that, never geting a better situation. We, as viewers are told he has great intuition for bussiness, but it's showed in the complete opposite, for example when he makes a deal trusting a complete stranger (final chapters of the second season). At least, Holo is adorable as hell ^^

So sweet!

[Irishchatter · 9/10 · 8 April 2018]

So this is the first season (I reckon) of the Spice and Wolf series. It introduces us to the wolf which her name is Holo and a merchant named Lawerence. Before watching this anime, I never thought it had a second season and I was so stoked when I found this out because I really wanted to see Holo & Lawerences relationship develop even more! I like the fact Holo was always wanting to try human wine and she was always annoying Lawerence when she gets drunk. I never ever seen such a man get so patient with a woman before especially on an anime!

Now for the next review for the season 2 of this anime!

Excellent

[WOLFofDIMENSIONS · 10/10 · 7 April 2016]

This is a grand series that builds suspense and action in a perfect blend. It gives you a bit of knowledge too. It can be a bit slow. But be patient because it really pays off. The characters are unique and all have their own different and creative back stories. It also portrays the corruption of the Catholic Church in medieval times. It's representation of the Middle Ages into the Renaissance is crafted well too. Even with a touch of science fiction it feels very realistic. You can really understand the characters as well. They go through situations like we do. The same types of struggles and fights. So it's very great

Loved both seasons!

[Irishchatter · 9/10 · 8 April 2018]

After watching the whole episodes of season 1 and 2, I really thought this anime was brillant by showing off its medival and fantasy side. We get to see Lawerence and Holo becoming more attached to each other. It really is a sweet anime if you like slow romance. Holo is so cute when shes in her human form with her cute wolf ears and tail. However, she looks pretty epic when she's in her wolf form and like, you don't mess with this wolf chick or shell eat you lol! Seriously though, it was great to see a different anime with having a girl as a wolf and the boy as a gentlemen merchant!

Definitely a 9/10 for me!

Boring to watch as a teen, Spellbinding as an adult

[IanHowler · 8/10 · 2 November 2022]

Here's a Dengeki Bunko series that is a refreshing trend-breaker in my opinion: Spice and Wolf. It is an adventure/drama anime that feels more like a medieval folktale than an actual TV series, at least to me. It takes place in a fictionalized version of the real-world time period of 14th century medieval Europe, specifically when the Roman Catholic Church had power over even royal families. The show follows the main character Craft Lawrence, a somewhat greedy travelling merchant, in his journey to the fictional far northern city of Yoitz in order to bring his traveling companion Holo back to her hometown.

The first thing I absolutely loved about this show, especially in the first season, was just how refreshingly different this show felt from the usual trendy anime affair, which actually makes sense to me because - as previously mentioned - this series takes place in the 14th/15th century time period of Europe. For example, historically speaking, high schools wouldn't even be created until roughly 400/300 years later, so the idea of high school characters being in this series was completely and entirely absent.

But on the topic of the absence of high schools and/or high schoolers, this wasn't the only anime trope this show was lacking. As a matter of fact, this show is lacking nearly every overused anime trope ever, at least in my opinion. There are no girls wearing short skirts, the extremely small number of females in this show are just as capable as the males, and, most importantly (at least to me), the nudity is often overlooked rather than blatantly acknowledged.

Another thing I liked was how the main characters weren't klutzy or anything to that effect. In fact, they were extraordinarily clever and overall intelligent. And surprisingly, I found that Holo was the character I enjoyed more than Lawrence. She was exceptionally clever, she had personal problems, and she was an outright sassy yet enjoyable smartass a majority of the time she spent on screen. However, that's not to say I didn't enjoy Lawrence as well. He was extraordinarily experienced, he also had his own share of personal issues, and he generally did his best to keep situations professional.

One other thing I enjoyed was how the series as a whole felt like a legitimate storybook folktale in a similar vein to the classic Paul Bunyan or Johnny Appleseed stories. For me, everything from the first season's theme songs (the opening theme being On a Journey by Natsumi Kiyoura, and the credits theme being Ringo Biyori ~ The Wolf Whistling Song by Rocky Chack), to the overall atmosphere and aesthetic of the series to the story as a whole was enough for me to feel like I was back in kindergarten reading a classic folktale.

Also, after I rewatched this series in the English dubbed version, I freaking love the voices that every character was given, as they felt much more like their personalities storywise. For example, Holo sounds like a dignified goddess instead of a youthful girl, Lawrence sounds like a gruff merchant instead of a teenage boy, and the same pattern applies to many other characters as well.

I actually didn't have any personal issues with anything in this series per se, but there was one thing I certainly felt could've been done better. This problem I speak of is how the characters explaining certain things wound up getting more than a little boring as a teenager, which caused me to stop watching after about halfway into the series back then. It was only when I began to watch this series again in preparation for this review as the adult I am now that many of the things the characters were talking about and/or explaining started to actually bore me less and even made much more sense to me, now that I'm older. Back then, most things they were explaining in the show confused me beyond recognition. Other than this, however, I have just about no complaints whatsoever. At the end of the day, Spice & Wolf was an extremely different story than the usual Dengeki Bunko anime, but still had an overall execution that left me feeling it was meant for adult minds rather than people in their late teens.