Spice and Wolf Review :

Again , this is a copy and paste from another review of mine from another site , though I would attempt to alter it a bit. I would add some screenshots as well if possible.

Story Introduction ==============================================================

The Story dates back to the Middle Ages , circulating around a simple but experience Merchant by the name Kraft Lawrence. He happened to pass by the town of Pasroe , which once worshipped a Wolf God of Harvest but due to technological improvements in the village , they now mock the God they once respected. After a sequence of events , Lawrence heard an odd sound coming from his cart. He cautiously opened his cart and seen neither a bandit nor a wild beast but a girl in her teenage years with wolf ears and tail. After waking up , she introduces herself as the Sage Wolf Horo . Wise Wolf of Yoitsu ( Can't really remember which ) , the God of Harvest that the villagers once worshipped. Lawrence was cynical about her proclaimed identity but after witnessing her powers and listening to her tale , he decided to help Horo to the Northen lands to find her home , thus , the two embarked on a journey filled with difficulties and perhaps the sprouting of a new relationship.

Horo eating an apple while glaring at Lawrence

Overall :

Can't believe I forgot to add this sector...*slaps myself in the face*
This is a really...unexpectedly good "Slice-of-Life" and "Romance" Anime.
Generally , the terms of business , trades and transaction is applied in this Anime and the world of the Middle Ages is seen through the eyes of a simple Merchant. There are things such as the corruption of the church , lies and deceit , marketing and the rising and falling of values of goods and products. Sure , all these are actually quite difficult to understand but their generally true so you can add this to your stockpile of knowledge. ( I did a bit of research and I applied for business coursesbefore ) Generally , Season I is filled with the business difficulties Lawrence encountered and how he managed to overcome them in a fairly realistic way if you ignore the Fantasy settings in place. In Season II , we get to see more of the struggles that Horo and Lawrence face and Horo starts to doubt whether they should really be together.
It may sound boring , but take a look , you might be as surprised as I am.

Character Sypnosis ( Main Leads ) ======================================================

Character Sypnosis : ( Main Leads )

Kraft Lawrence :
An experienced Merchant who is in his 20s. He goes from town to town to trade goods in order to earn a living. His fairly well-known amongst the Southern continent as a Merchant and have multiple business partners. He also likes to share business deals and ways with others.

Personality :
Lawrence , initially , is fairly business minded and settles things as profits and losses. He does not even seriously take his business partners as friends. However , after meeting Horo and going through hardships and difficulties , he gradually begins to get enlightened and with each difficulty in place , he becomes a better man. He is also fairly cool-headed and knowledgeable for his age.

Horo :
A mysterious girl who appears to be in her teenage years with a strange pair of ears and a wolf tail. She is a Param God , a God once worshipped by the people. But she was neglected by the people as they need her no long and was forgotten , thus , she seeked to travel back to her homeland. Horo is also a bit of a glutton at times despite her figure - *ahem* - and she can transform into a large wolf by eating grains or by drinking blood. Oddly enough , she is even more skilled in the business industry compared to Lawrence and helped him out many times , but she too , ended up relying on him in her own way.

Personality :
She is unexpectedly proud , but not easily offended by trivial insults. She also enjoys teasing Lawrence and tends to pretend to be "hurted" and "depressed" to see that "cute" look on Lawrence's face. She is also cunning and good with the way of words , thus , helping Lawrence plenty of times in his transactions.

Kraft Lawrence ( Left ) Horo ( Right )

Horo hugging her beloved tail while sleeping , she tends to comb it and she often takes pride in the quality of her tail

The two spent the night walking in the streets

Artwork =====================================================================

The character artwork is good , but the environmental artwork is even better. The artwork of the environment is really impressive , the urban areas looks fairly musty in certain corridors and the details of the buildings and city is drawn to the utmost detail. The forests and fields , too , are well drawn and the artist actually shaded the barks of the tree in an extremely realistic manner. The clothings aren't exaggerated either , since their meant for peasents after all. Interestingly , the characters doesn't really look out of place in these settings most of the time. Naturally , there are also differences in the character design compared to the Light Novel. Though I must say that Horo looks more like a fox in her human form rather than a wolf :(

Horo teasing Lawrence about his facial hair

At times she may be teasing Lawrence but once tears drip out , things get serious...darn,she looks unbearably moe

Hmm...can't exactly remember what this scene's about

Sound Review ==================================================================

Music :

Well , the Openings and Endings are more or less...soothing I suppose. It took me some time but it gradually got more...appealling to my ears as I listened to it for an extended amount of time. Well , I have to admit , it does play a tune in my heart that's for sure , it sounds as though the singer is singing about a distant past tainted with sadness but brimming with happiness as well... Well , that's what it seems like to me anyway.

Seiyu / Voice Actors :

The Seiyu for Lawrence is Jun Fukuyama , the one who has also played Kei from Special A and Lelouch vi Brittania from Code Geass , well , his voice is easy to recognise after all.
The Seiyu for Horo is Ami Koshimizu , who played cahracters like Tenma from School Rumble , Kallen from Code Geass ( Much to my surprise ) and....and...what the hell? Yuuri from Death Note. She is also playing Sanae of Ladies Vs Butlers , one of the recent releases in the Anime industry. Well , at least we can tell she is good in manipulating her voice eh?

After a deal was done . Horo grabs some buns to eat but chokes on it. She later explains that the cheeks she have in this form is a bit of a hassle and that wolves don't chew when they eat XD

Others=======================================================================

This is certainly an unexpectedly good Anime which would definitely appeal to Romance , Slice of Life and possibly , Mystery fans. Either way , generally , this Anime is about the Middle Ages , the corruption that exists during that time , trading , a simple romance sprouting between two characters and naturally , several moral values that ought to be learnt. Season II is particularly heart warming to be honest and this is certainly an Anime that you ought to try out. There are also several facts that you can learn in the Anime as well.

The story is also constantly changing , it's something like Inuyasha , Bleach , Shakugan no Shana , where the cast is changing but the main leads remain the same. This Anime have some pretty nice plot twists as well.

Summary of Season I :

After meeting Horo by coincidence , the two began moving to the North , encountering difficulties that would potentially endanger their pockets , freedom and even their lives along the way. The bond between them grew stronger and stronger and Lawrence began to build up more experience from his failures.

Summary of Season II :

After arriving in the Northen regions , Lawrence decided to find a hint on where Horo's homeland might be. However , the two faces challenges and circumstances of which they might be torn apart , this is definitely an emotional improvement compared to Season I.

Overall ( Others ) :

Humor :
Well , there isn't exactly any form of decent humor content but the...moe-ness of Horo x Lawrence situations is enough to make one grin :D

Romance :
The Romance involved isn't mushy at all and it ain't overdone but it's definitely heart warming and heart wrenching at the same time in Season II. Either way , the Romance thing sprouted early in the plotline so you don't have to get annoyed by the "getting together at last" sort of thing you often see in other Romance Anime and overall , it can be considered unique compared to other typical romance plotlines. So...who needs Dragonaut for Romance anyway!? XD This Anime packs enough of a punch for this sector.

Fan-Service :
Hmm...Once in a while Horo isn't wearing...*cough* Either way , nothing inappropriate is shown so don't worry about it too much :P

Special Episode :
Meh , Spice and Wolf have one of the lamest Special Episode. Well , the first one was really useful , I learnt a lot about burning wine ( Whiskey ) , black bread and white bread but the second Special Episode is nothing but basic warm-ups.... But then again , I guess it's fine since Horo is the one doing it XD

Trivia :
- Spice and Wolf is adapted originally from a Light Novel of the same name
- There are various co-releases of it such as the Manga series , the Anime series and even a Visual Novel game is made out of it... ( Man , I'm aching to try it out ) There is also a Voice Drama / Radio Programme based on it.
- Season III might be coming out , judging from the Credits sequence.

Watch it!! Otherwise Horo would get angry about this~

Oh yeah , here's a picture of her wolf form

Genres :

Romance

Slice-of-Life

Historical

Fantasy

Moe (?)

Mystery (?)