Story 7/10
Okay,Spice and Wolf is not a very story heavy show.
Travelling merchant Kraft Lawrence,while passing by a town that worships the goddess of the harvest Holo,awakens one night to see a girl with wolf ears and tail in his cart. This girl is Holo,who sees no purpose in helping the town with its harvest,since they now have the expertise to care for the crops themselves. She wishes to go to her home in the North,and has chosen Lawrence to be the one that takes her there.
And,that's it. The series is essentially their journey through the land,and all the interesting characters they meet along the way. Like I said,not a story heavy show,but that's not what makes it enjoyable. It's more about the characters than anything else.
Art 9/10
Spice and Wolf is a gorgeous show to look at. All the characters have wonderful facial animations,the backgrounds are perfect,and the designs are nice. Why give it a 9? Well...there's the occasional instance of "Not showing legs while walking to save animation money" which is very noticeable,but not a deal breaker.
Sound 10/10
Spice and Wolf's soundtrack is a pleasure to the ears. It fits the setting of middle age Europe that the show is going for,and knows exactly how to set the mood.
Also in the case of sound is the voice acting,I watched it dubbed (Please don't kill me.) and it sounded great,there was never a character that sounded "off" at any point.
Characters 9/10
The characters are what carry this show.
Holo and Lawrence have some of the best chemistry I've seen in a show. They FEEL like real people. The acting,writing,animation culminates together to form these wonderful characters.
The people they meet are also very interesting. You'll find yourself incredibly interested in a new character's issues and problems,and actually care about what happens to them,even though you only see them for a few episodes.
Overall:9/10
Spice and Wolf is a show in which the rather weak story is made up for the characters and the art and music. I'd recommend this to anyone who just wants to take a breath,relax,and see your favorite characters get out of their new predicament.
