Galadriel

Spice and Wolf (Ookami to Koushinrou)

Plot: "Since long ago, the wolf goddess Horo has honored a contract to bless the rural village of Pasroe with fertile harvests; and in return she has been celebrated and worshipped by the villagers. But as mankind advances, the people have begun to take command of nature for themselves and have made their own god to worship. Horo finds that she is paid little more than lip service, if not outright mocked; and considering the contract annulled, she takes human form and enlists the aid of a passing merchant, Lawrence, to return to her home in the snowy forests to the north. As they journey together, Lawrence finds that he has plenty to learn from this capricious god, and she from him as well." (site synopsis)

Story: Having a great day and also fortune smiled upon me again i wanted to pick something different to watch, something that i longed for, something as entertaining and interesting as Spice and Wolf. I have to say that this show surprized me, my expectations for it wasn't that big but while passing through episodes i began to love this anime. The story of Spice and Wolf revolves around a jack-of-all-trades, a merchant more exactly named Craft Lawrance, which travels from a village to another for the sake of selling/buying goods to make a living out of it. His dreams was to gain money so he can set up a somekind of shop, and then to have a family, but there was no way he could take care of a family while traveling with his cart and horse from town to town. Since the background of this anime is feudal, medieval the problems at that time were quite obvious, bandits that were hunting carts and robbing, stealing everything, the strong influence of the corrupted church which at that time was eager to get ridh of heretics and of course the corruption within the market business. Anyway, on one of his adventures, Lawrance comes to an old village which happened to be the village of the Sage Wolf Horo, a ancient wolf god that protected the land and used to bring fortune. Though as time passed, people forgot about the Sage Wolf and the promise that she made decades/centuries ago became pointless. When Lawrance was passing by that village, Horo sneaked into his cart, from here on the adventure of this two protagonists begin. At that time Lawrance did not believed a word from what Horo told to him, i mean it was quite hard to believe anyway, though her appearance was also extremely weird, having wolf ears and a long and stuffed tail, also howling at the full moon, she seemed like wolf only that she took a human form. Firstly he thought that she was possessed by a demon, and at that time the church wouldn't think twice in killing someone which had a human body but the characteristics of a wolf. Lawrance obliged Horo to turn into her wolf form, though her wolf form happened to be quite terrifying for Lawrance so she dissapeared though not for long. From this point the two protagonists start traveling toghether, passing through different experiences, and dealing with the complicated yet profitable medieval trade and market business. Though this is not all, as the two spend more and more time toghether, they develop feelings for eachother but the goals they had were completely different. Horo's wish was to return to the land where she was born, the land of Yoitsu while Lawrance wanted to set up a shop and to have a family, but because of the promise he made to Horo that he will lead her to the land where she was born, his plans had to be postponed. Since Horo lived way more than Lawrance, she has more knowledge about life and its values, though she has no idea of what are things going in business, trading. In other words both share experiences from eachother, both have alot to learn from eachother. In conclusion this anime has a pretty nice and interesting story, slow-paced one but never boring, filled with comedy aspects, a few action, battle, fighting scenes here and there and of course it doesnt misses the bittersweet drama aspect.

Animation and Sound: I have to say that the animation of Spice and Wolf is totaly briliant, i pretty much liked how the background, setting was designed and also the character designs as well. The sound also really fits the environment, the mood of the anime, which is totaly cool and the opening from the first season is one of my favorites.

Characters: In terms of characters this anime is a like a shining jewel that blinds ya. I really cant describe how much i liked the characters of this anime, both the main protagonists Lawrance and Horo are briliantly well developed, with an appropriate and interesting personality and as well the characters that they interacted with. Lawrance is sharp, he can anticipate almost every move of the other merchants (though at timez he also screws up, afterall he is still human), he knows how to negotiate but he isnt ferm, he doesnt have a doze of cruelty, he is the soft type of guy. Horo on the other hand is very cappricious, she is excentric, she never let go until her wish is fulfilled, she also shows pretty often that she isn't called "Horo the Wise" for nothing, though when it comes to her own feelings she is a mess, she is afraid of being left alone, she hates loneliness in other words and when the situation demands it she can turn into a ferocious giant wolf able to kill everyone that around except for the ones that she cares. Pretty interesting characters indeed and the same goes with the other side-characters that they interact with.

Overall: All in all Spice and Wolf is one of a kind, very entertaining in other words damn funny, it doesnt lack action as well though it is abit rare, it also has some dramatic aspects as well but this is what makes Spice and Wolf a must to watch, and i think that is suitable for everyone, i highly recommend it! and i guarantee that it will be worth spending time watching this gem. This show may seem abit inteligent (not quite scientificaly made but close), it deals with the life of merchant dealings and trades in a medieval setting. Spice and Wolf is by any mean, a show that should not be missed by anyone.

~Enjoy and Cya Around~