[The final promoted story is from SpaceKase. He tells us about Spice and Wolf, a favorite of several editors around these parts. -Pedro] When I first heard about Spice and Wolf, I passed it of as a typical medieval fantasy
and promptly dismissed it. It was only after hearing the massive praises it was receiving at
Japanator and AnimeMusicVideos.org that I decided that my initial reaction may have been
made in haste. After watching the first series, I realized just how wrong my first impression
was. Simply put, Spice and Wolf is, to me, at least, undeniable proof that God exists and
He does indeed love us.
How this show even made it to air is beyond me. Japan has a lot of niche market anime
and manga, but still. A show about a merchant, Kraft Lawrence, trying to make a name for
himself traveling through a world where the differences of the pagan cultures and an
oppressive church are coming to a head, the merchant then has a chance encounter with a
bored pagan wolf deity, Horo, and through a series of events, she becomes his traveling
companion and they set off to make his fortune through the wheelings and dealings of
medieval commerce? That's about as freaking niche as you can get without moving into
fetish territory. Had I heard the plot put like this in the first place, I would have said, "Hell
yes. Sign me up", but could there really be enough people out there like me to justify this
show's existence? Apparently so...
As you can tell from my condensed summary, Spice and Wolf is not for everyone. The
show moves at a fairly slow pace, and there is good amount of exposition. It never reaches
the heights of certain shows like, say, Ghost in the Shell: SAC, but there is a lot of
talking. Also, I'm not kidding when I say that at least half of the show takes place either on
Lawrence's wagon or at an inn.
Now, that's not to say the show is boring, far from it. There aren't really any battles to
speak of, at least not in the traditional sense. Instead, the suspense comes from the
dealings that Lawrence gets into with other merchants. The show takes an approach to
conflict similar to that of Death Note, where intelligence is favored over strength. The
deals Lawrence makes and the battle of wits that follow are far more interesting to watch
than the fights in any typical shonen show, and are over much more quickly. Also, the
sense of urgency can get downright stressful.The fact that the author of the original light
novels is some sort of stock market wizard is no surprise. You might have to watch
some scenes twice to completely understand just what is going on.
Everything I've highlighted up to now takes a backseat to the primary draw of the series,
however, and that is the main characters of Lawrence and Horo. More specifically, the
relationship between them.
Lawrence is a character who's pretty easy relate to. He's a typical guy just looking to
follow his dreams. All he wants to do is gather enough money to open a shop and settle
down. In the world he lives in, however, easier said than done. Though he is openly
self-serving, he really is a good person at heart. And, given the people he's often forced
to deal with, this hurts him more often than it helps.
Then we have Horo. A goddess who's grown tired of staying in the fields of a village that
barely remembers she is the reason they have such bountiful harvests. She decides that
she would rather return to her homeland, far to the north, and sneaks into Lawrence's
wagon. She's brash, proud, and has a problem with alcohol, but she has a sweet and
playful aura that's hard not to like. Also, she's friggin adorable:
There are several interesting enough side characters, but they mostly appear just to advance the plot and/or Horo and Lawrence's relationship. And that is where the series truly shines. Lawrence and Horo are a joy to watch. Yes, they may get mad at each other, but they never hold on to it for too long. Yes, they flirt and express their feelings for each other (at least by the end of series 2), but their banter is always witty, insightful, and never sickeningly sweet like many shoujo shows. Their relationship has a sense of realism and maturity about it, and is a wonderful counterbalance to the show's more complex commerce elements.
Hopefully I've done the series justice and piqued your interest. I understand a lot people will
probably find it hard to get into. I just ask that you give it a chance, if you haven't already.
You may end up a die-hard fan like me, eagerly awaiting the stateside DVD release. Or
contemplating learning how to read Japanese so you can import the original light novels
because you don't want to wait for the freaking SNAIL PACED ENGLISH RELEASE SCHEDULE. If you're an
economist or a hopeless romantic, you'll probably end up loving the show. And if you're both, you'll definitely think it's the best thing ever.
|
live comments!
Also, I completely agree with your point about the relationship. It's such a breath of fresh air to see an actual mature couple in an anime instead of emotional teenagers, or worse, emotional teenagers and an adult.