Spice & Wolf: merchant meets the wise wolf

Episode 25

After half a year, the cart stops here: the end of Spice & Wolf: merchant meets the wise wolf. For now. I'm not too surprised they immediately announced a continuation, but I am heartened by it. While this re-adaptation sometimes measured unfavorably against the original anime, those rough edges go down a little more smoothly with the confirmation that they indeed intend to take on the whole story. And overall, I'd say the production landed firmly in the “good enough” quadrant of adaptation quality. The modest and occasionally uninspired visuals were sufficiently buoyed by the performances and writing. If Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf can hold the line, I can tolerate more of this. Heck, I'm looking forward to it.

As for this week's finale, it's quite good. The season ends on an ironic yet appropriate note, with Holo adding a pinch of miraculous spice while Lawrence lets loose his inner wolfishness. It's a smart conclusion to this arc that properly highlights both of our heroes' cunning, as well as their power when working together. In that regard, it's the most satisfying climax yet. The first two arcs were too action-forward, and the previous arc had Lawrence thinking he was working against Holo for most of it. This time, they have to fully rely on each other (and their new friends) to pull off a high-stakes con, and that feels much more suited to the strength of their wits and bond.

Elsa's arc in particular wraps up on a great note. She started out cloistered in her church and disrespected by both the townsfolk and clergy. Now, she's standing up in front of the whole town in order to protect it. Her bravery is commendable, as is her nuanced perspective on her faith. She eschews a strict adherence to religious dogma in favor of prioritizing the lives and livelihood of Tereo's people. In that respect, she finally becomes Father Franz's true successor. He sought proof of pagan deities to shore up a theological defense of God's existence, and Elsa similarly puts her faith in Holo. While she also comes to the same conclusion as Lawrence regarding Franz's intentions, I think it's more important that she didn't let religion hold her back from doing the right thing.

The show contrasts Elsa's steadfast morality against the deceit and opulence exhibited by the bishop's posse. In fact, their plan cleverly uses the public spectacle against these instigators. With the whole town and caravan bearing witness to Holo's “miracle,” they trap the bishop into accepting its legitimacy. The chalice gambit is the disrespectful cherry on top, because it makes him choose between abandoning his leverage and dying from poisoned wheat. I mean, it's no choice at all, but it's fun to watch him squirm and learn a little humility. Also, if you'll allow me the tangent, the Church's real-world inspiration, Catholicism, incorporated its fair share of pagan practices during its expansion into Europe, so this isn't even necessarily a loss for them. Making Truyeo into a saint is just another arm of religious hegemony. Spice & Wolf doesn't go quite that deep into this subject, to be fair, but I think it's interesting.

Lawrence, naturally, leaves the religious negotiations to Elsa and focuses instead on wrapping up the fiduciary side. His conversation with Riendott is basically the economic equivalent of a heavyweight boxer pummeling a featherweight. Through words alone, Lawrence browbeats him into a sustainable contract for both Tereo and Enberch, and he clearly loves every sliver-tongued minute of it. I like, too, that he isn't shy about wielding this manufactured crisis against Enberch. The poisoned wheat being localized to a single cart pretty much confirms that it was planted there deliberately, and Riendott knows Lawrence can point this out at any time. It's nice, though, that the arc ends with everyone enjoying cookies instead. I believe the proper academic term for this is a “win-win.”

Evan's arc is the only part that falls a bit flat. After confirming his love/loyalty to Elsa last week, there's not much for him to do here. Sure, Lawrence arranges for him to be a key player in the new trading agreement, but that's not exactly compelling character development. This, however, is my only major quibble about an otherwise excellent sendoff. While Holo and Lawrence's journey is far from over, this feels like a nice place to take a pause before the second season airs, whenever that will be. Lawrence says that travelers leave behind good memories, not regrets, and that's how I feel about this iteration of Spice & Wolf. It successfully rekindled my affection for this series and these characters, and I'll be here when their cart rolls back into town.

Rating:

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.