My friend has told me several times to write about Horo was bringing furry back. As much as I thought he was right, I wasn’t going to rave on about only that for 12 weeks. So here’s one mention of it while I review the whole series. Horo definitely is a character you can love/adore/fawn over. Oftentimes you forget she isn’t human. And then when you realize it, you may just become even more interested in her. :3

Spice and Wolf took us back to more rural/colonial times before mass production or steam technology. And what’s surprising is the economics lesson within; I tried my best to learn something, but I still think it went over my head. Then of course we have the story of Lawrence and Horo — their unlikely meeting and even more unlikely journey. But the way they go about it is so fun.

Overview

Let’s see, based on my memory: a village has a tradition every year of capturing the wolf goddess in the last patch of wheat that is harvested. It all plays on pleasing the god and praying for a great harvest every year. Turns out this is all true, and it’s Lawrence who has the last bit of wheat. Thus, Horo appears and wishes to go back home to the north because the people of the village are starting to believe less in her. New farming technologies are the cause of it, or people are just being impatient with the cycle, where there are bound to be years of slow harvests because the earth is overworked, and Horo needs time to revive it.

While they travel, we learn about the economy of the world and all the different currencies. Plus, people cheat in merchant dealings every day in various ways. Horo with all her wolf-like skills sees through many things and helps Lawrence be successful. She and him grow gradually closer together in their journey.

Conflicts revolve around additional characters like Chloe, Nora Arendt, various masters of trading guilds, and of course the Church, which is portrayed as a corrupt business-oriented organization more than anything else (I think that rocks). Oh and perhaps other wolf clans, too, which I don’t quite understand yet. Either way, it’s a much different set of dangers in an already unique world. So Spice and Wolf makes for a refreshing series away from normal modern stuff.

Impressions

What made this series really fun for me? Horoliciousness aside, I think it was the timeline. It’s been a while since I immersed myself in a series without technology. And it’s not that there are secret guns or energy swords either. People really just traveled by wagon and drank beer all the time. And wore appropriate clothing for the times. A lot of anime has been really modern (or maybe it’s just me getting into all the high-school dramas and slice-of-life things, which have to be present-day), so I’ve enjoyed Spice and Wolf’s look into the past.

I never expected this much economics knowledge to come into play. I’m not a student in that field, so I can’t confirm or deny the accuracy of what Lawrence spoke about. But it seems to make sense; various currencies being thrown about and going up and down in value based on demand kind of reflects how the dollar, yen, and euro are doing in reality. And then are we still following a gold standard? The coins in this series still seem to be based on their metallic makeup, although I’ve always wondered why that matters anyway.

Horo is a darling. Is she girlfriend material? Well.. she’s a wolf, so that may disqualify her from lots of things. But man is she a tease. That’s probably it. She’s lived long enough to know exactly what men want, and she’ll exploit it every single time … if only to amuse herself. She certainly doesn’t need a human male to further her own lifespan or anything. She’s a true goddess that everybody wants but who won’t allow herself to be had easily.

Her accent, too. I read an interview somewhere that Horo’s seiyuu, Koshimizu Ami, researched and practiced a lot in order to achieve Horo’s personality and dialect. And I think everything was delivered well. Hearing “Wacchi” is just so moe to me for some reason. So take that coy attitude and add in the various deredere moments where her ears droop — plus that one scene where Lawrence was totally going for a kiss in the dark? — Horo’s the guilty pleasure of all our hearts.

The plot kept me going, too. I was expecting more of an end — like Horo actually reaching the North — by ep13, but maybe we’ll have a future season to detail that. Or it’s something she’ll never get to, and all the episodes are just of the adventures of the journey there. But so far, we get conflicts and conspiracies and interesting day-to-day dealings with the people of various towns. It’s almost a slice-of-life of the medieval days, plus a wolf god with a bit of magical power. It balances. And when you have no technology (phones, surveillance devices, cameras), you really have to be cunning and political in order to get your plans to work.

Nora was way too Nagisa for me, with every “desu” that she spoke. But I liked her still as a progressive person and a semi conflict device in Horo and Lawrence’s relationship. Enik I liked, too, with his instinctual bias against Horo. It’s just how this series finds other ways to get you to like characters and settings when the typical sources (plenty found in modern-setting anime) aren’t there.

Lawrence was really just a normal guy, wasn’t he? He was a merchant, so he had all the negotiation skills needed. And he really just kinda minded his own business most of the time. But along came Horo, and he’s had to learn how to live with another person .. and also a god. He’s had her quarrels with her, but he knows how to make up in the end, and he has that right sense of responsibility to take care of things and own up to his actions. Good man.

Artwork is great, and the music I’ve kept. Smooth animation backed by a soundtrack that reflects the times. Folk-style stuff with fiddles and jigs. You really feel like you’re there, dressed in handsewn clothes and dancing on the stone streets while the smell of dust and horses and alcohol floats in the air. It’s just great presentation.

I would love a season two, and I wouldn’t mind rewatching the first if a friend ever brings it up. I know I have one hooked already because he likes foxgirls; Horo does look rather fox-like in her human form. And it seems to have bred bunches of other fox-based series this spring season. Might just be a coincidence, but it’s still fun to note. Kanokon is still on my list of things to do. And Rakuen is doing Oinari-sama, which looks pretty cute and comical, too.

~Crisu

Apples! Just like melonpan, I had cravings for apples while watching this series. Yay for anime-promoted food.