Forum - View topicSpice & Wolf: merchant meets the wise wolf (TV).
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zfunk
Posts: 322 |
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So the next arc is the arc they skipped in the original anime, well they skip it again, I guess we will see.
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Errinundra
Moderator
 Posts: 6590 Location: Melbourne, Oz |
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^
Looks like they did. They're repeating the Amati arc, which was my favourite in the original run because, although it involved another economic concept, that lesson was secondary to the real crisis - that involving the relationship between Holo and Lawrence itself. |
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zfunk
Posts: 322 |
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Actually no, I looked it up, this arc is volume 3, the arc the skipped is volume 4, so we are still in wait and see mode.
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2984 |
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#14-19 (Amati arc)
Of the story arcs which aired in the original run, this was the one where the economic concepts (marketplace 101, speculative bubbles and transactions on credit) proved to be slightly beyond me then. Watching it again, I have a better idea of how those worked, while the tension between Holo and Lawrence due to the misunderstanding midway through the arc is elaborated well enough that the eventual reconciliation doesn't lose authenticity. The arc is also useful in explaining more about Holo's background, specifically where she hails from and what happened to it in the centuries after she departed. One of the stories which is not told verbally is through the festival floats, with the legend of Yoitsu passed down in some form to the present day, even if the truth behind it is long forgotten. The alchemist Diana is thus important in more ways than one, being both the key to Lawrence's eventual victory over Amati's challenge and a living embodiment to the main pairing that their relationship is not necessarily doomed, albeit the outcome will be what Diana has to remember for however long she lives for. Amati despite his youthful appearance proves to be the most formidable adversary Lawrence has faced to date. The cover story used by the pair is unexpectedly used against them, since Amati has the means to purchase what he wants. In the end, his inexperience outside his chosen market as well as his upsetting of his intended bride to be cost him, although not to the extent Holo would have liked materially. Because Lawrence is itinerant, there is the risk they will cross paths again if Lawrence returns to this area for whatever reason. All the more for him to finish what he agreed with Holo, especially as he has a definite direction to head towards even if the final destination is no longer what Holo remembers it. There is every possibility the next and final story arc will be one which the original run did not air, which will please the source material readers and nitpicking critics. If the adaptation is going to be judged as anything other than a remaster, that is the arc it will make or break its final appraisal. Although I remembered the eventual outcome of the Amati arc, some of the details like the timing of the first dance and the measures taken by Lawrence to foil the contract against Amati didn't match what I could remember of the process. If it's something completely different for the next arc, it would be a different experience not having a guidepost to fall back on and just watching the final product on its own merits. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2984 |
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#20
If there is a change between this new adaptation and the original one from before, it's from this arc onwards. I do not remember what happened after the Amati arc, and the characters shown in the OP have now all been introduced. Word is the original adaptation did not adapt this story arc for whatever reason, and this adaptation has to cover all of the source material it can in chronological order. For a starter episode, not much really happens. Lawrence and Holo take their leave (with some product to make ends meet) and head for their first lead provided by Diana. Unlike previous arcs where the locals are mostly friendly, for the first time Lawrence and Holo are met with suspicion due to local religious politics. Since their aim is information, they'll have to win the locals over if they want to get anywhere. The inherent time lag in information for the period setting works against them, as immortals like Diana who keep to themselves wouldn't be kept up to date with their fellow pagan contacts on a regular basis. The young priest who now runs the Tereo church is hostile to them for reasons they have to find out, and one way to get through her defences is to use the only connection they have with her, the eager and very pushy miller in the village outskirts. Even the economic aspect of this episode is thin. Millers being the object of suspicion and hostility for their dual-hat roles as provider and collector is an unfortunate side-effect of proxy tax collection, but this is how the cookie crumbles in an age where nation states with centralised power do not exist. The other lessons learnt is the power of guilds. Even bakers are allowed to form mobs to drive out outsiders muscling in on their turf when they have sufficient economic clout in a settlement. Looking at the schedule, this will be the arc that will conclude the quarter and the entire adaptation as a whole. If the animators are planning to do everything in the original series of novels, how this arc finishes will go a long way in determining the home sales required to warrant further adaptations. Reception to this series has been lukewarm at best in its home market, so something drastic will need to happen to raise its profile and keep interest going. |
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Hiroki not Takuya
 Posts: 2697 |
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A quick refresher: Lawrence gets involved with a mysterious man (woman) Eve and Church maneuvering in the town of Lenos to get rich off of the fur trade and thereby become a regional political/religious center, which ignites a revolt and leads Eve to rob Lawrence. Or something like, Key can correct. With so much anticipation for the new episode, I was quite disappointed in how little plot progression happened with so few remaining episodes. I hope with what you say of the current reception, this sparks enough interest because I feared some months back that repeating everything so precisely could cause goodwill to wane enough to quench interest for an S3... |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2984 |
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#21
The structure for this story arc is considerably different from the three which preceded it, which partly explains why this arc was skipped in the original airing and why it's so glacial moving the story along compared to the arcs preceding it. Above all, Holo and Lawrence have to unravel the mystery behind the abbey which holds the clues they need to continue their onward journey, as well as confirm if the journey is still worth making (Holo will likely give up if she has definitive word her homeland is no more and she is alone). To that end, both episodes for this arc are heavily dependent on exposition to keep viewers attention. This doesn't work well compared to previous arcs because it's not the series strong suit and the narrative is interesting but not intriguing enough to keep most viewers invested for the entire episode. For those who did sit through everything and kept notes, there is content to look forward to especially for viewers of the original airing who don't read the source material. Mingling with the locals by eating and drinking with them is the best method of gathering information without appearing suspicious. It costs Lawrence a fair amount of his travelling expenses, but it achieved its purpose. The miller promptly filled in more of the holes in Lawrence's preliminary findings to Holo. Next week sees the pair move from information gathering to action, and I confess I have no idea what Holo is planning that has Lawrence having doubts. More economic lessons than last week, namely the concepts of tax farming, unequal contracts between settlements, franchising and monopolies. The unequal contract between the two settlements in particular is going to be a focus for the arc if Lawrence is right about his theory on Elsa's initial hostility. |
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Hiroki not Takuya
Posts: 2697 |
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"Unequal" contracts are rarely so in actuality, they just seem that way when evaluated outside the reference frames of the parties involved. What the "equalizer" here is is not completely obvious yet and I'll postulate that Father Franz found a way to keep the Snake God at bay or at least from bothering Enberch and Else knows how as well. I doubt maintaining Church influence in such a small hamlet would be worth the trade inequality and, as Lawrence indicated, they could presumably just take over the place by branding it "pagan" and attacking thereby ending the contract...
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2984 |
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#22
The arc has been moving along at its own pace, and after this episode it looks like that's going to end now that the main conflict in this story is about to take centre stage. This week focused again on the relationship aspect of the franchise, with Lawrence and Holo now having a foil in miller Evan and priest Else. Holo's gamble in forcing Else's hand turned out to be most timely, as the protagonists have another push factor which is urging them on before another deadline approaches. Else is the main focus of this episode, and Holo most likely chose her bold approach after appraising her character after hearing Lawrence's account of her through Evan. Despite being timid, she values the legacy of her adopted father more than anything else and will help them if they can prove they are not in league with Emberch. Unfortunately for Else, word must have reached Emberch about noble support for Else's church, so they are forced to use a pretext to grasp their opportunity before the window closes for good. Lawrence might well have to lend his wits to her cause, if it means he and Holo can leave their current location unmolested and with the information they need to continue their journey. First priority for Lawrence is assuaging the villagers' concerns they were set up by Lawrence. Completely natural reaction, after all they are the most recently arrived strangers and are the first to be suspected if things go wrong. If he can win them over and then help them against Emberch, that will prove his innocence and guarantee safe passage through. Very uneconomic, but he can't continue trading if he's not cleared his name so a different motivation than the usual profit opportunity he normally pursues. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2984 |
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#23
This has been very different from the arcs to date, both in its structure as well as its conflict resolution. Perhaps this is why the original adaptation chose to skip it if it had been available for adaptation back then. Nonetheless it provides a different challenge for our main pair, as well as more excitement for casual viewers who didn't read the source material. The fate of the outsider is to be the lightning rod for criticism and liability when unexpected disasters affect the locals they visit. For Lawrence, it is double misfortune as he is not only blamed for the wheat blight but also used as a pawn by the larger town of Emberch for its own schemes. Against this challenge, Lawrence has taken the sensible approach and chooses to run as logically there is no way to properly defend himself from Truyeo's suspicions and Emberch's planted evidence. He has to borrow Holo's true form to effect the escape, and unusually Holo has agreed without a counter proposal of her own. I had expected the arc to see Lawrence play detective/lawyer and expose Emberch's scheme in public, allowing him both to clear his name and earn a profit for his troubles. However reality as he rightly puts it never goes smoothly all the time and this is the first arc he will make a huge loss if matters proceed as intended. The next episode hints the pagan god might intervene to assist the beleaguered four, and for Holo to once again come up with something from her famed wisdom and experience to turn the situation around. If that's the plan, I'm eager to see how that will play out as there's just enough airtime to accomplish that without rushing the ending. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2984 |
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#24-25 End
After watching the conclusion, I have a better understanding of why this arc was skipped over the first time round (assuming it wasn't finished when the first adaptation was greenlit). Although Lawrence resolves the situation with Holo's help, this time both of them are the backstage crew with Elsa and Evan deservedly taking the lead in resolving the conflict as well as their own positions in the village. The issue was getting Elsa and Evan back to the village having taken so much trouble to effect an escape. The U-turn was too much of a stretch on the imagination, but there was no other way to get the actors back in place for the finale. There are a few unanswered questions as well in this arc, notably what happened to the snake deity Truyeo. Holo confirmed the entity was real, in the same way Holo became worshipped as a deity after briefly settling. Yet there are no further signs of Truyeo despite Lawrence's joking remark about the entity continuing a prolonged hibernation deep in the mountains. Most likely the deity took a hands off approach and went to sleep or departed elsewhere. Very different to Holo and her village, which actively looked to abandon Holo and forge their own path. The finale was a clever one, with Holo's miracle and her senses used to accurately identify the poison wheat sacks which were planted by Emberch in their conspiracy. The flashbacks to their brief intros early in the arc was a nice touch which helps the forgetful casual viewer. The church was in on the deception, but having it blow up in their faces was another dig at the established religion which has grown to abuse its dominant position. Lawrence getting them in as stakeholders in the new venture means the new trade arrangements will be more likely to endure as all parties benefit, as the best negotiation outcomes usually do. Elsa now understands what her adopted father was truly working towards, and can continue his legacy and convert more villagers with the help of the "miracle". With this arc, the second adaptation ends. Only this arc is different from the first run, so how it's received and sells will determine if the production committee proceed with more of the source material. It's been competent, but unspectacular and there's the nagging feeling the series lost its chance of coming in much earlier when interest in the franchise was higher. The VAs still do a stellar job reprising their roles, and the background behind Holo and her journeys is integrated better in this adaptation compared to the first run. Whether this adaptation becomes the new definitive edition remains to be seen, especially as the industry and viewing public have changed beyond recognition since the first run. I've enjoyed it nonetheless, and a good story is always worth retelling if done well. Not too hopeful for more, but will gladly be proven wrong. |
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Hiroki not Takuya
Posts: 2697 |
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Well, you're in luck! S2 was announced yesterday and I can't wait! To the first part, I thought the U-turn was very clumsy writing and for a sec thought Holo might react quite badly. They could have just discussed escaping when in the village and have Else refuse and when the Bishop showed up with the wheat the next morning have Holo quip about her "miracle" powers and to detect the bad wheat and desire to show up the guy. And I am disappointed that we saw no snake, I really wanted to see that and the encounter wouldn't have had to be too long or distracting, just to show up for a sec to show it is watching over the village and would have been a cute way to close the whole affair... |
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