Spice and Wolf II Anime Review

Quick Review

• Reviewer: Marc
• Review Date: 2012-10-07 (updated 2012-10-08)
• 4 stars out of 5 (?)

Spice and Wolf II is a sequel with just the right mix of the things that made the original so memorable and new character development. It keeps the same wonderful blend of flirty romance and intelligent, small-scale economic adventure set against a down-to-earth fantasy-Renaissance backdrop. And it's still a series unashamedly built on and around dialogue. But instead of falling into a rut, it exchanges much of the physical drama for more substantive emotional drama, and pushes the central relationship into deeper territory. It evolves into a romance less about falling in love and more about what it means to stay in love. The realism of the characters combined with the increased drama challenges the writing to not break the spell cast on the audience, which, thankfully, Isuna Hasekura succeeds at. With even-better-than-before visuals by accomplished studio Brain's Base, more perfectly-suited music by Yuuji Yoshino, and a stellar Japanese cast, everything necessary to pull it off is in place. The only disappointments are the somewhat open ending, and the fact that there may never be a third season.

In all, Spice and Wolf II is all you could ask for in a continuation of what was already an unusual, thoughtful fantasy romance. It offers much of the same witty writing, playful banter, economic adventure, and flirty interaction, but ups the ante emotionally and refuses to let the plot arcs fall into a rut, serving up satisfying romance and intelligent, dialogue-driven drama with a twist of sharp-tongued humor.

Read the full-length review...

Full Review

• Reviewer: Marc
• Review Date: 2012-10-07 (updated 2012-10-08)
• 4 stars out of 5 (?)

The first season of Spice and Wolf was a wonderful, unlikely blend of light, flirty romance and intelligent economic adventure set against a down-to-earth fantasy backdrop. This sequel is exactly the right combination of more of the same and not; while the playful wit, reparte, and sense of realism is familiar, it isn't content to let the now-comfortably-established characters of Holo and Lawrence tread water in their continuing adventures together. The increased drama presents some real challenges, but my only significant complaint is that it leaves you hungry for more.

Familiar territory

Spice and Wolf II keeps many of the things that made its predecessor so special. The small scale and uncommonly down-to-earth fantasy-Renaissance setting is still a central feature. It also remains unashamedly built on and around dialogue; Lawrence's conversations--ranging from casual chats to verbal fencing matches--with Holo and the colorful assortment of characters that they cross paths with are the core of the series. And it's still not about a girl with a placeholder male standing in for the viewer; Lawrence, in fact, is even more the main character this time.

New roads

What's new in this sequel is the phase of the romance--rather than a story about falling in love, it evolves into one about staying in love. While it maintains its wry sense of humor and playful mood, the maturing relationship is a challenging and intriguing advancement of the characters, and anything but letting them stand still. There's little action in this season, but, interestingly, the deeper emotional character makes it feel at least as dramatic.

Bonus episode microcosm

Spice and Wolf II opens with a bonus episode, #0, that neatly encapsulates everything that makes the series so enjoyable. Serving as both an epilogue to Nora's story from the previous season and an introduction to the tribulations that underlie this one, the entire episode takes place with Holo sick in bed, by turns dreaming and chatting with Nora or Lawrence. In any other series, this would be an excuse for a cheap recap episode. In this one, not only is there very little reused material, the conversations are every bit as entertaining--and funny--as anything else. The fragments of dreams, in turn, reminds us of the realities of a long-term relationship between a wolf god and a human.

Arc one: real people are hard

Once underway, as with the first season, Spice and Wolf II takes its time covering two plot arcs of six episodes each. The first turns the tables on Lawrence, confronting him with the prospect of romantic competition for Holo's attention in the form of an anti-Lawrence: the dashing, confident, boyish Amati. There's an economic component to the competition, of course, but his calculation is now more complicated than simply turning a profit on a speculative market bubble.

What makes this plot arc particularly interesting is a twist that has us seeing Holo genuinely upset at Lawrence for the first time, and asking him questions he's not ready to answer.

I'll mention that there's a bit of a failure in backstory here. As a child, Lawrence heard legends that Yoitz was destroyed, which he's avoided mentioning to Holo; the novels established this very early, something the previous season failed to do. That leaves this season to introduce the plot point a bit late in the game, unfortunately reducing the gut-level impact on the viewer when she discovers his omission.

Getting back to the drama, it's interesting because of how good the characterization is. In a series with broad characters, the writer has a considerable amount of leeway with their actions and reactions without it seeming noticeably out-of-character. But the more real they seem, the more treacherous writing them becomes, because even things that are only slightly forced will stick out exponentially more, and the audience is almost certain to notice any off-note. Spice and Wolf may sound broad, but the players are nuanced enough that they feel that real.

So, as the drama in this season becomes increasingly more emotionally intense, it becomes increasingly more likely that Isuna Hasekura will slip up and have Holo or Lawrence do something out of character. Which will, in turn, break the spell that's been cast on the audience.

Because of the way we're told the story, I was genuinely worried that it had crossed the line in an attempt to force more substantive drama. I don't want to spoil anything, but have faith in the quality on display throughout the first season--Hasekura knows what he's doing.¹

Arc two: staying in love

As the series moves into its second arc, it becomes clear that it's about something rather different than most romances--what happens after you've fallen in love. Although Lawrence and Holo's relationship is still young, they're already a couple; they're comfortable with each other, they enjoy each other's company immensely, they flirt, they banter, they have a glow about them. The first, delightfully pleasant episodes of this arc take an uncommon amount of time driving this point home--there's a nostalgic warmth you rarely see given so much attention.

But, as they are both aware, this isn't a relationship meant to last. Lawrence is a merchant by trade and passion who wants to settle down with a shop in a town some day. Holo is a centuries-old, free-spirited wolf god who will outlive him by centuries more. Far worse, she knows from experience that this phase of a relationship, however wonderful, is fleeting.

It's a fantasy setting, but the fundamental questions and conundrums are rooted in real relationships. When passion inevitably fades, what are you left with? What do you do about different goals in life, or when one partner will outlive the other?

This unusual angle, and approach--casual, leisurely, with a focus on dialogue, and colored with both warmth and a hint of melancholy--is both emotionally engaging and thoroughly entertaining. Perhaps it's because I'm entering middle age myself, but the focus on low-key adult relationships that go deeper than simple excitement had at least as much romantic impact for me as any pair of blushing teenage lovebirds.

No such rut

The plot isn't without external drama--there is still some merchanting mystery, rumblings of a trade revolt, and a dangerous deal in the works--but that's secondary until the climax.

Which is the other truly impressive thing about Spice and Wolf II--how much it defies the expectations of a series about a girl who can transform into a giant wolf. The first season might have you expecting that each story arc will involve a trade deal that goes wrong and, at the end, requires Holo to assume her wolf form to salvage things. Without getting into detail, this sequel pointedly avoids slipping into any such rut. That simply isn't what it's about.²

Unexpected end

There is, unfortunately, one big down side to Spice and Wolf II, which is how it ends. Avoiding spoilers, I'll just note that, in comparison to the cheerful punctuation mark at the end of the previous series, the closing sequence has an... unusual feel. It's not unsatisfying emotionally, but it feels very inconclusive. While it isn't exactly a liability, be prepared.³

Even better looking than before

The visuals this time are handled by Brain's Base, the accomplished studio behind Baccano! and Durarara!!, among other very attractive series. Their style here is close enough to Imagin's that, while it is subtly better, the studio change isn't obvious--which is to say that the series is still understatedly beautiful. As before, while the backgrounds tend toward spare, the various medieval towns, taverns, and country roads are full of character and ambiance. The elaborate festival that serves as the backdrop for the first story arc is portrayed with a blend of energy, culture, and realism that very nicely captures the descriptions in the novel. The sense of the weather is also memorable--you can see the chill in the autumn air, and feel the contrasting warmth of a cozy inn hearth. Speaking of which, the series is exceptionally good with medieval lighting--candles, lamps, and firelight are all that's available, and realistically dim. Most importantly, the character animation is full of life and nuance, perfectly capturing the personality and flavor of Lawrence, Holo, and the rest of the colorful cast.

The voice acting in Japanese is, as before, exemplary. Jun Fukuyama is charismatic and genial as Lawrence, while Ami Koshimizu is smooth and comfortable with Holo's razor-tongued, archaic dialogue, and believable in the increased emotion required for the drama this time. The assortment of secondary characters are all cast fittingly and voiced with plenty of flavor, but enough reserve that they're not unnecessarily broad. I haven't listened to the English dub.

Yuuji Yoshino returns to compose the background score that completes the package. Consisting of a similar selection of chamber-music-style themes that are just right in scale and flavor to enhance and complement the action and mood, it couldn't fit or flow better. The new opening theme is a nostalgic, lyrical song by the esteemed Akino Arai--if you're going to get someone to sing a lovely fantasy song, it's impossible to do better than Arai. The ending is another playful ditty by Rocky Chack (this time in Japanese) to close on an upbeat note.

The glowing conclusion

In all, Spice and Wolf II is all you could ask for in a continuation of what was already an unusual, thoughtful fantasy romance. It offers much of the same witty writing, playful banter, economic adventure, and flirty interaction, but ups the ante emotionally and refuses to let the plot arcs fall into a rut, serving up satisfying romance and intelligent, dialogue-driven drama with a twist of sharp-tongued humor.

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As with the first Spice and Wolf season, Twelve Kingdoms is the most obviously similar fantasy series, despite a very different mood, scale, and level of supernatural influence.