Spice and Wolf Review

Story:
Holo is very unusual. Well, she is to most people. She’s a pagan deity that’s decided to travel around with a wondering trader named Kraft Lawrence in the hopes of reaching her own homeland. While her unique perspective and wisdom gain Lawrence more profits, they also catch some the unsavory eyes of the church.

Violence:
Overall the violence is pretty low in this series. Most of the time, Holo and Lawrence are running away from trouble, not falling into it. That said, there are a few instances were punches are thrown and people are injured through stab wounds and such. They’re rare, but these scenes can be pretty intense.

Language:
Again we’re overall in the clear here due to the time this show is supposed to take place in (the late middle ages roughly). Thats aid, there are a few instances of d-mns and such along with one or two instances of a b-word.

Nudity:
This is the worst part. While we’re spared details (or this show wouldn’t be here), Holo isn’t exactly dressed when she takes on human form. And by “not exactly,” I mean not at all. But we don’t see any detail at all and it’s much like seeing someone in a skin toned bodysuit (think Princess Tutu here). Also, there are implications made by a few females characters as to having intimate relationships (specifically with Lawrence). We never see anything happen, but it’s brought up rather bluntly. Also, Holo starts to have a thing for a certain someone who isn’t in the “god” category, giving rise to questions about interspecies relationships.

Theology:
And that up there connects right back to this section. Okay, whether or not Holo actually is a god or simply believes herself to be one, this show is full of fantasy characters. Holo is a wolf. A very large wolf that can take human-like form. And then there’s “the church,” which mirrors Catholic religion, but has some divergences of their own. This is a fantasy world, after all, so it makes sense. However, of this bugs you, you might not want to watch this one as these aspects are pretty critical to the story.

Personal impression:
I found this series oddly enjoyable, despite the fact that I wasn’t able to follow half of the economics and trade stuff that’s strung heavily throughout the show. I when I say “heavily,” I really mean it. Remember some of the confusing economics stuff in C – Control? Well, this is way thicker. But even so, I’d say this series was far more interesting than the newer show mentioned above. And this is almost entirely due to the characters. Lawrence is a likable guy who just wants to keep his business strong and expand. Holo is a smart mouthed companion that can afford a bit of pride here and there due to her having legitimate wisdom and insight. Yet for all her wisdom, she’s quite unaware of the way the world works, which is were Lawrence’s world-savvy instructions come in.
In other words, the two leads play off one another perfectly. Lawrence is boring on his own and Holo is too prideful and mischevious on her own. Together they both balance once another out and make for an interesting pair to watch.

Personal rating: Young adult

Episodes: 25 (this review includes season two)
Languages: Sub and dub
Official rating: TV14
Genre(s): Fantasy, economics, romance
Company: FUNimation
Legal streaming: Hulu (season one only)
Screenshots: