Spice & Wolf Light Novel Review
The merchant's path can be rough, but is it as rough as a goddess's?
PRODUCTION INFO
Spice & Wolf began as a light novel series written by Isuna Hasekura in 2006. Illustrations were created by Juu Ayakura, and the series was published by Dengeki Bunko of ASCII Media Works until July 2011 when the series ended at 17 volumes of light novels. The first novel won the Silver Prize of the publisher's Dengeki Novel Prize contest when Isuna Hasekura entered it in 2005. It gained a manga adaption in 2007, which is still currently ongoing, and an anime adaption aired winter 2008. Since then, it has gained 2 Nintendo DS game adaptions and another season of anime.
SUMMARY
Kraft Lawrence is a traveling merchant who prioritises profit over the resolution of his own loneliness. One day, he stumbles across a small village undergoing a festival, and despite his lack of involvement with the celebration, he soon finds the entire meaning of it sleeping in his wagon; literally! A woman with lupine ears and a bushy tail lies among his wheat, and when she wakes she claims to be Holo the Wisewolf, whom the previously mentioned community worships in exchange for a bountiful harvest. Although she is viewed as a deity, she prefers not to be addressed that way, for she as well is quite lacking in terms of informal social contact. Holo wants to be reunited with her hometown, Yoitsu, which is a long journey away. As such, neither party is opposed to the idea of traveling together until she reaches her destination.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Spice & Wolf is filled with sweet, heartwarming, and subtle romance. It's really cute to see the characters interact in the loving ways they do towards each other, yet continue to hold back words about their true feelings. There is a lot of drama and it can get pretty intense, mostly in regards to money and debt, so if you have a hard time following economical transactions in stories, this might not be for you. I personally find that aspect to be exciting, though! There is also a lot of talk of religion, so people who are sensitive about their beliefs might not like it either, but it isn't exactly crude.
MAIN CHARACTERS
Kraft appears to be a very ordinary man at first glance, but when you see how everyone else feels about Holo, you realise that he's actually very strange compared to average town folk. Ever a merchant, it makes sense that he'd allow Holo to join him. It's beneficial to him in that it
soothes his immense loneliness, and if anyone knows what's beneficial to them, it's a good merchant. Despite his job of making favourable business transactions with other people, he is able to throw it all aside when his humanity is at stake. He's a very kind man, regardless of his occupation. He tends to go by his surname, Lawrence.
Holo is very witty and likes to play with Lawrence's mind. She is full of confidence, to say the very least, and maybe a bit egocentric. She has a high opinion of herself, but she can feel for other people as well, and does not often get carried away with only her own issues. She has a strong personality with heavy opinions leaning towards different things, such as the church which she had suffered at due to her appearance. She pretends to take Lawrence for granted, but somehow it is visible how much she really cares for him. She's very helpful to Lawrence when he is negotiating with someone, as she can usually extract profit and lies from people very easily. In fact, she has the power to detect lies, so she can always tell when someone is telling the truth or not. She introduces herself proudly as Holo the Wisewolf to Lawrence, but she hides her wolf ears and tail from everyone else so as not to be caught by superstitious followers of the church. She can be very greedy and she has a notable love for apples.
OPINIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
I only watched the first season of the anime and I didn't
find it very stimulating. Once I picked up the light novel at my local library, I couldn't put it down. It is so much more detailed than the anime, which is expected I suppose, of any novel with an adaption. It also covers a lot more than the show, obviously, since there are only two seasons of anime and seventeen volumes of light novels. I highly recommend it to people who watched the show, whether you enjoyed it or not, as the light novels are so much easier to follow. The wording can be a little difficult for kids, as it is intended for adults, but like I said before, it isn't a crude title. There is a bit of nudity, but it is the type that feels mature and natural, not ecchi. I would not recommend this title to children, not just because of the nudity, but also because it covers many mature topics that I don't imagine would be very interesting to a younger audience. For example, while the bankruptcy of a person could be understood as an intense life-or-death situation for adults who have to struggle with bills and the like, I can see some younger people being bored that the characters aren't having any physical fights. I am generally not a fan of medieval stories, but I love Spice & Wolf. It's difficult to think of much that is similar to this title, but if you like Spice & Wolf, I recommend Princess Mononoke and Wolf Children.
RATING
★9/10★
