Ookami to Koushinryou (Spice and Wolf)

Holo is a powerful wolf deity who is revered in the small town of Pasloe for blessing the annual harvest. Yet as years go by and the villagers become more self-sufficient, Holo has been reduced to a mere folktale. When a traveling merchant named Kraft Lawrence stops at the settlement, Holo offers to become his business partner if he takes her to her northern home of Yoitsu. The savvy trader recognizes Holo's unusual ability to evaluate a person's character and accepts her proposition.

Now in the possession of both sharp bargaining skills and a charismatic negotiator, Lawrence inches closer to his goal of opening his own shop. However, as Lawrence travels the countryside with Holo in search of economic opportunities, he begins to realize that his aspirations are slowly morphing into something unexpected.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Note: This entry contains all Spice and Wolf episodes, including the DVD-only episode #7.
More Info: Here

Ookami to Koushinryou was released on DVD and Blu-ray by Funimation Entertainment as Spice and Wolf on November 24, 2009 and August 30, 2011 respectively.

An internet radio show called Ookamikku Radio aired between December 7, 2007 to April 25, 2008 to promote the series. Hosted by Ami Koshimizu and Jun Fukuyama—voice actors of Holo and Kraft Lawrence—the show featured news about the anime, comments and submissions from listeners, and a radio drama.

Episode Videos

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Related Anime

Adaptation:	Ookami to Koushinryou
Sequel:	Ookami to Koushinryou II: Ookami to Kohakuiro no Yuuutsu
Alternative version:	Ookami to Koushinryou: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Holo

Main

Koshimizu, Ami
Japanese

Lawrence, Kraft

Main

Fukuyama, Jun
Japanese

Arendt, Norah

Supporting

Nakahara, Mai
Japanese

Chloe

Supporting

Nazuka, Kaori
Japanese

Liechten, Marhait

Supporting

Ootsuka, Houchuu
Japanese

Tarantino, Jacob

Supporting

Tsuji, Shinpachi
Japanese

Liebert, Marten

Supporting

Horiuchi, Kenyuu
Japanese

Remerio, Hans

Supporting

Gouda, Hozumi
Japanese

Zheren

Supporting

Namikawa, Daisuke
Japanese

Weiss

Supporting

Hanawa, Eiji
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Clinkenbeard, Colleen

Producer

Cook, Justin

Producer

Ishiguro, Tatsuya

Producer

Hayashi, Youhei

Assistant Producer

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Opening Theme

"Tabi no Tochuu (旅の途中)" by Kiyoura Natsumi

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Ending Theme

	1: "Ringo Biyori (リンゴ日和～The Wolf Whistling Song)" by ROCKY CHACK
	2: "Tabi no Tochuu (旅の途中)" by Kiyoura Natsumi (eps 13)

Reviews

Nov 2, 2023

bboy_OatsnRice

Recommended

This goes for both seasons.

I hate economics, but I love Spice and Wolf. I love the idea that if I become a spirit one day, I can acquire so much vast knowledge about the world of trading and economics that living will never be an issue. And then, just totally forgo all the knowledge I’ve obtained and had a part in controlling, to leech off a husbando generation after generation. Holo is wise, even as a goddess, what's the fun of living if you don’t have some stakes involved, and what’s a better way of doing that than attaching yourself to a traveling merchant ... who’s putting it all on the line in hopes of one day owning his own shop. Despite such a crazy plot, is this series any good?

Yeah it’s pretty good, because it manages to do so many things right. First off, hats off to the translators who were able to capture the wit and flirtatious nature of the dialogue between Holo and Lawrence. Cause I’m sure so many series suffer some level of loss of nuance and infliction when being translated from its original language to another. Secondly, the rules of economics and trading make sense and are appropriate given the time setting. I’m sure the author of the light novel did his research, and again it was perfectly transcribed into the anime. And you can’t have either of those concepts without the other. If the economics is gone, then the thrill and high stakes nature of their relationship wouldn’t exist. In fact, Holo wouldn’t even meet Lawrence since her introduction to him is based on him trading wheat and her being the entity who’d determine a fruitful wheat harvest or not. Without the economics, she’d have no reason to ask him to take her to her homeland. And it would be a weird romance story indeed, assuming Lawrence wouldn’t be a witty merchant, Holo wouldn’t waste her time on a man so foolish.

And without the romance, there goes the heart of this entire series. If the series was to just follow Lawrence and him always decimating the competition a la Sherlock Holmes style, then it’d be so boring and predictable. The romance and economics of this world are interlocked and codependent. The story itself is about their efforts to make the most out of their trades, and the progression of their peculiar relationship on this trade-filled journey, which is also filled with arcs and different obstacles in their way. Some are better than others. I was a little bummed they reused the love triangle arc twice, albeit better the second time. So the story overall still gets high marks from me, as do the characters. And I kind of appreciate that there’s hardly ever really a central antagonist, aside from the church at times, as it was the wild west during those times. Your best bud could/would turn on you in a second for the right price. Even Holo and Lawrence are put through this test.

I think the animation is serviceable, when it comes to visuals I’m more impressed with the backgrounds and general scenery of the environments than the actual fluidity of the character’s movements. Same goes for the character designs, while they’re not abhorrent to look at by any means, they do look butt ugly when compared to Holo. Who, not surprisingly, has the most attention to detail in her design and manages to stay on model throughout. I think Holo’s design is adorable, and her wolf form looks more regal and gallant than beastly. Can't say the same for her earlier transformation scenes in the series, as those were terrifying to witness and I don’t blame Lawrence for passing out. I think Lawrence’s character design works, I find him kinda ugly and have to assume that Holo is swayed by his charismatic charm. Another aspect of Lawrence that makes him stand out is his outfit. The guy dresses like a person I’d see in this day and age. Fashion aside, study up on your economics, grab a box of tissues, and some lotion because this is one hell of a series.

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Jan 1, 2022

uWuDesuWooWoo

Mixed Feelings

SPOILERS AHEAD

After about 10 years of hearing about Spice and Wolf, I finally decided to finish the first season. I distinctly remember this guy on /r/animemes with a profile dedicated to Holo, and the references of "if you like economics, you'll love Spice and Wolf!"

It is not an 8/10. I had to choose between giving it a 6 or a 7, and I would've given it a 6.5, but I'm not rounding up.

It is NOT a show about modern economics in any sense. It is basically a pseudointellectual medieval slice of life show that doesn’t care about any realities of medieval Europe (I’m thinking 400-1600 ...

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Jun 27, 2021

Symphony1shark

Not Recommended

To be honest? Medieval product exchange, and stocks is about as interesting and fun as reading a gym sock. The art and sound is nothing astounding, and just because you give a leading female main character ears and a tail doesn't mean they suddenly have character depth. And the male main character is so stale, I got bored at the idea of him. I get people like what they like, but after watching season 1 and 2, I'd say it'd be better to find almost any other anime to watch. I even went in with a clean slate, and had read the positive reviews to ...

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Holo

Lawrence, Kraft

Arendt, Norah

Chloe

Liechten, Marhait

Tarantino, Jacob

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Ookami to Koushinryou

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Episode Videos

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