Spice & Wolf: merchant meets the wise wolf

Episode 5

Big things go down in this week's Spice and Wolf, and by that, I mean that Holo does an adorable little dance by wiggling her ears. I'm leading with this scene because it stands out as the first major and noticeable deviation from the 2008 adaptation, aside from the prologue. It's also the first time since its announcement that I've seen this series go “viral.” Granted, this is highly anecdotal, but a clip of that dance crossed my Twitter timeline before I could watch the episode itself. That hadn't happened to me before with this reboot, so I'm inclined to conclude that this has been a smash marketing success.

Virality aside, I think that dance is a brilliant addition, too. In the narrative context, it follows a long and emotional conversation between Holo and Lawrence, so it's a nice moment of decompression, reminding us of the wise wolf's silly side. As an adaptational choice, a small yet appreciated flair of creativity helps justify this reboot's retreading. And as a piece of animation, it's a charming departure from the usual talking heads. I don't know who animated that cut, but Takeo Takahashi boarded the episode, so I presume he came up with the idea of putting an ear jig in there. Bringing him back was clearly the right choice.

Regarding non-ear-related goings-on, this is a deceptively busy episode. Continuing Lawrence's negotiation with Marlheit from last week, the opening conversation might seem dry, but it layers in a surfeit of information about the setting. We learn quite a few details about royal instability, mercantile gambits, the information economy, and the importance of the Church in society, politics, and business. While Spice and Wolf always narrows its focus on Holo and Lawrence, it gestures at these larger mechanisms in a satisfying way. I like that Lawrence has to use his wits to desperately bargain with his ostensible allies; the Milone Company's calculations are cold and impersonal, but they're befitting of a trade guild. In other words, Lawrence has to think and act like a business to get what he wants as a person. That is, essentially, what living as a merchant is all about.

The religious side of the equation is similarly important. The big threat in question is that the Church wields enough power to thwart the Trenni silver scheme if they should find proof that a pagan goddess was involved. That's what gives the Milone Company incentive to rescue and hide Holo. Thematically, however, it's deeper than that. The Church in Spice and Wolf has an obvious historical precedent in the Catholic Church, which was similarly intolerant of native and pagan beliefs. Holo is a relic of a past practice that they're intent on quelling to cement their position of power. Yarei frames this as progress—that people will now fend for themselves rather than bend to the whims of a capricious harvest spirit.

This attitude is, of course, highly ironic. By capitulating to the Church, Yarei only trades one god for another. It's not a glow-up either because Holo is more in tune with the natural world, having been born of it. Here, I'll describe an adaptational edit I dislike because both the light novel and the 2008 anime have Holo explain that she caused the occasional bad harvest to let the soil rest. In other words, she was aware of the perils of overfarming and prioritized the land's and its people's long-term health. This contrasts her against the Trenni king, who instigated this whole silver purity debacle to achieve short-term profits, disregarding its dire long-term consequences. Holo's ability to see the big picture is what makes her both a wise wolf and an intelligent businesswoman. That's a strong (arguably vital) thematic connection tying this arc together, and the reboot glosses over it.

Thankfully, the rest of the episode capitalizes on its characters' strengths. The underground subterfuge suits Lawrence better than last week's chase scene, and Holo's embarrassment over her implied case of mistaken identity is hilarious to watch. This is the second time in as many episodes that we've seen her angrily bristle her tail, and I hope that pattern continues. Overall, their conversation in the wagon exhibits all of the argumentation, flirtation, and reconciliation that makes their relationship so compelling to follow. I love Holo's internal conflict between how she feels and how she wants to be perceived, as well as how that conflict manifests externally. I also love Lawrence's deployment of mercantile rhetoric as a means to assuage Holo's sadness. That's a risky move that could easily come across as insensitive, but the writing and performance make Lawrence's sincerity apparent. And when Lawrence tries to act like a bigshot, the smash cut to Holo's shocked face is a hilarious and perfect directorial choice. This is the stuff that makes Spice and Wolf so beloved.

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Spice & Wolf: merchant meets the wise wolf is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Steve is on Twitter while it lasts. He still knows "The Wolf Whistling Song" by heart. You can also catch him chatting about trash and treasure alike on This Week in Anime.