Ookami to Koushinryou: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf

With a cartload of fur pelts in tow, traveling merchant Kraft Lawrence stops by the village of Pasloe. According to local folklore, centuries ago, one of the villagers made a promise with the wolf deity Holo, who swore to bless Pasloe with bountiful harvests of wheat. Yet, as time ed, such stories became little more than relics of the past.

After quickly finishing his business in the village, Lawrence sets out to his next destination. His journey, however, takes an unexpected turn when he discovers a nude, animal-eared girl sleeping among his pelts. Even more surprisingly, the youthful-looking woman claims to be Holo—the wolf of legend.

Holo wishes to return to her hometown in the north, and though their first encounter is rocky, she convinces Lawrence to accompany her on her travels. In return, she vows to earn her keep, using her quick wits and lifetime of experience to help her newfound companion in his dealings. As they continue their journey, Lawrence and Holo take advantage of whatever economic opportunities they come across, often landing in situations that put both their business skills and their relationship to the test.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Holo Main

Koshimizu, Ami Japanese

Lawrence, Kraft Main

Fukuyama, Jun Japanese

Arendt, Norah ing

Nakahara, Mai Japanese

Myuuri ing

Tanaka, Aimi Japanese

Rubens, Dian ing

Watanabe, Akeno Japanese

Liechten, Marhait ing

Ootsuka, Houchuu Japanese

Cole, Marc ing

Koyama, Rikiya Japanese

Amati, Fermi ing

Chiba, Saeko Japanese

Remerio, Hans ing

Gouda, Hozumi Japanese

Schtingheim, Elsa ing

Lynn Japanese

Sotokawa, Akihiro Producer

Hosoi, Shunsuke Producer

Yamauchi, Mirai Producer

Kondou, Tomohisa Producer

Reviews

Sep 23, 2024

Stark700

Recommended

If someone told me a few years ago that Spice and Wolf is getting a new anime to air in 2024, I would've laughed it off and called them crazy. Looking backto 2022 from the announcement and here we are. Holo, the wise wolf makes her grand return on the television screen, her first time in well over a decade.

Back in 2008, the first Spice and Wolf anime holds a special place for me and I'm sure it's a special anime for many fans. It's the first fantasy anime that I watched that didn't revolve around swords, magic, or some sort of plot about saving ... the world. Spice and Wolf ventures into an unique category that deals with economics and business. For a franchise like this, Spice and Wolf was ahead of its time.

Rather than adapting a direct sequel, Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets The Wise Wolf serves as a remake, retelling the story of 25-year old Lawrence Kraft and his traveling companion Holo. However, the remake goes far deeper into their story, relationship, and adds more into their world lore. Watching this season reminded me the nostalgia of enjoying a fantasy-adventure classic. Spice and Wolf's first episode begins with the season of the harvest festival but immediately introduces the self-proclaimed Wise Wolf, Holo. According to story lore, people worshipped her as a God-like entity far before the main timeline story began. Holo is aware of this and holds pride in her status. Meeting with someone like Lawrence is a new experience as she has never build a relationship so close to a human before. It's between the two that we truly experience their story.

Even after 15 years, it felt like yesterday when we met Holo and Lawrence. The voice actors played an outstanding job at performing their roles, in particular Holo. Her haughty, sarcastic, flitartious voice tone adds countless moments for the audience to see. Accompanied by her superior confidence, Holo is truly prideful of her existence and what she presents. Although some might interpret it as arrogance, Holo never has malicious intents to gain what she wants. Her love for food and alcochol also shows her humanity. Even though she is a wolf entity, Holo displays many traits that is perceived as human. In fact, she isn't that different from Lawrence thoughout their journey together. It's noticable from the start that both characters contain insecurities about themselves. Holo's greatest fear is being alone while Lawrence rely on himself so much that he realizes not everything can be accomplished by himself alone.

As a remake, this season follows mostly in tone with the original season. The storytelling maintains a balance of dealing with business while developing the relationship between our two main protagonists. Holo and Lawrence together accompanies each other skills. With Holo's wit and Lawrence's intelligence, they're able to get through many obstacles and obtain their win of the share. In their business dealings, it's easy to see what can go wrong if neither of them help each other. The show makes it clear that Lawrence's experience is invaluable. Meanwhile, Holo's playful personality and persuasive nature gets them by through bargaining and other essential deals.

One of the main selling factors for the original and this remake is the expanding relationship between Holo and Lawrence. It's very important to realize that the two rely on each for comfort and escape lonliness. They only have each other as judging by their journey, they don't come across any close friends, family, or allies. We actually don't see much of either characters' family at all, whether in the present timeline or the past. As such, Holo and Lawrence always depend on each other to survive. This is made so important that Holo suffers a case of monophobia, where anxiety surfaces and she expresses them in extreme ways in later episodes. It's a sensitive topic that can relate to any relationship and this anime is able to explore that in its own unique way.

Kicking into the story, Holo and Lawrence comes across many interesting individuals ranging from the shepherd Nora Arendt, finsmonger Fermi, and church manager Else Schtingheim. Each of these individuals introduces business and emotional elements for the pair. For instance, Nora ignites a feeling of jealousy for Holo while also serves as a foil character because she is a shepherd. Fermi's fascination for Holo causes him to fight Lawrence for her ownership. And finally, Else gives us a deeper glance at the complex system of the church in their world. Let me just say that while these ing characters do not become permanent traveling companions, they test the feelings of our two main stars. Spice and Wolf truly wants us to show how Holo and Lawrence interact with others in unusual circumstances and face life together in ways they've never realized before.

ione's long track record of adapting various fantasy based media has a role for Spice and Wolf. Among their most prominent work includes Rokka no Yuusha, with the environmental art style feeling familiar with this show. Adapting into this series over a half and decade later, the character designs look cleaner and sharper. Nonetheless, the overall asthetic is still similar including its world fiction. The most noticable character traits are Holo's wolf features and more prominently, her real form. When transformed, she displays fierceness and animalistic features of a mature wolf. In such form, she grows several times her size and sheds her human form completely although maintaining much of the same personality. The fan service of her being nude should not be misinterrpted as it's her natural form. The show contrasts her human and animal form in such magnficient ways that it looks surreal and atone to classic fantasy.

Watching Spice and Wolf after all these years made me realize that these remakes brings so much more than just nostalgia. It's a celebration of the author's works and gives both returning and the new audience to experience such a wonderful adventure.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by Stark700 (722)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Nov 15, 2024

SeeNyu

Mixed Feelings

I never write any reviews. But for this remake I just cannot handle the dissapointed I encountered. Just watch the old one. You can't fully feel how Holo is like. Art even if it looks better / fresh at the begining is actually is very poor in detailed sense. Ahhh... My childhoods best anime was torn to pieces. When it comes to "fan service", it's been a an inseparable part of the main character's animalism, very sophisticated. But they removed it which results in you perceiving Holo like a casual human

Art style - bad, not matching the anime well.
Details - poor.
Voice actors - same actors ... but worse performance

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by SeeNyu (2)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Nov 24, 2024

Playbahnosh

Not Recommended

The first thing that popped into my head when I saw this is "why?".
There was absolutely no need to remake this anime, as we already have the 2008 rendition, which still stands the test of time to this day. The art and design is beautiful, the animation is great, and since this is not some edgy action anime, frame rate and CGI doesn't play here. The VO and localization team is the same as well, and bring about the same quality.

What [b]did[/b] change is the characters themselves. In the original, Holo is a dignified albeit fickle goddess with surprising bouts of vulnerability hiding under ... her austere and beguiling nature. While Lawrence is an experienced and shrewd merchant who wouldn't take her shit, but is also mesmerized by her often playful nature and incredible insight. Holo is intrigued as to how Lawrence could treat her as an equal and wouldn't just succumb to her godlike power and feminine charm, and Lawrence's empathy and comion instinctively wants to protect the fragile heart hiding in her hard shell of animalistic pride and ancient wisdom. It's this delicate power dynamic that makes their relationship so interesting and fun.

In this new version, however, everything goes out the window. Holo is presented as an angsty, hormonal teenager throwing tantrums, while Lawrence comes off as a total pushover. Gone is the amazing banter, the masterfully crafted back-and-forth between the unstoppable force and the immovable object. The depth and charm of their characters are replaced by awful caricatures. Holo the unstable tsundere and Lawrence the simp. Even the upgrade in art and animation doesn't trade for killing the soul of what made this anime great.

My suggestion is, stick with the original 2008 rendition of Spice & Wolf.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by Playbahnosh (40)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Beautiful Anime Starter Pack

by RyouGura

50 Entries · 3 Restacks

Old (relatively) shows that have received a second wind.

by RobertBobert

33 Entries · 38 Restacks

Nonschool/Adult Romances

by Majoux

50 Entries · 1.1K Restacks

'Ookami to Koushinryou: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf' 2nd Season in Production

The 25th and final episode of Ookami to Koushinryou: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf (Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf) ended with an announcement on Tuesda...read more

Sep 23, 2024 3:08 PM by Discuss (13 comments)

'Ookami to Koushinryou: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf' Announces Pair of Additional Cast

The official website for the Ookami to Koushinryou: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf (Spice & Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf) television anime revealed on Tuesda...read more

Aug 12, 2024 2:09 PM by Discuss (2 comments)

	Poll: Stark700 - Jun 10, 2024	68 replies	by »» Jun 13, 9:06 PM
	Poll: Stark700 - Jun 3, 2024	64 replies	by »» Jun 13, 8:38 PM
	Poll: Stark700 - Jun 24, 2024	79 replies	by »» Jun 6, 1:14 PM
	Toutou908 - Jan 25	12 replies	by »» May 5, 1:33 AM
	Poll: Stark700 - Jul 1, 2024	63 replies	by »» Apr 28, 6:55 PM