HomeAnimeSpice and Wolf: Season Two Collection - Review

Spice and Wolf: Season Two Collection – Review

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Spice and Wolf: Season Two Collection - Review 1Title: Spice and Wolf – Season Two Collection
Alternative Title: Okami to Koshinryo (狼と香辛料)
Published by: Madman Entertainment (Australia / New Zealand), Funimation Entertainment (North America)
Based on: Spice and Wolf light novel series by Isuna Hasekura
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Romance
Audio: English and Japanese Dubs
Subtitles: English
Aspect Ratio: 1080p High Definition
Runtime: 300 minutes
Cost: $59.95 (DVD), $59.95 (Blu-ray)
Classification: This title is rated M for Infrequent Animated Violence
Special Thanks: Special thanks goes to the Madman Entertainment PR Team for providing me with a review sample of this title.

(Note: Unfortunately the Images are currently not able to be uploaded, but will be within the next day or so.)

Upon the revival of my anime review segments at the beginning of the year – there were three titles that you could consider the original reviews – one being Girls Bravo, one being Sekirei and the other and most probably my favorite of the three was Spice and Wolf, a series which one could perceive as ‘Economics the Anime’. Spice and Wolf itself did not fall down the path of boring mathematics and tax talk that could quite possibly bore even the most dedicated anime fan to tears but instead features a foxgirl with a history of being a deity for good harvests and a travelling merchant who makes her his companion in travelling. Facing with corrupt merchant guilds and merchants, a church that controlled every element of society and their own efforts to make money – there was more then met the eye with this series. How does Spice and Wolf Season 2 fare you ask?

The journey through the wild countryside continues for the merchant Lawrence and his travelling companion, Holo the untamed harvest goddess. As their winding path takes them from village to village, Lawrence and Holo reap the bounty of an ever-strengthening bond, depending on his street smarts and her animal instincts to lead them to the feisty diety’s northern home.

To give a brief overview of the previous Spice and Wolf arcs, the first focused on Lawrence and Holo’s initial travels, learning to trust each other and utilize each others strengths and weaknesses, while facing off against  the Medioh Trading Company who were threatening to report Holo to the church while running a suspect program in order to gather up coins. The second follows the two travellers being tricked and left with worthless goods and a very large debt. This follows their attempts to smuggle in gold to save their own backsides. Both of these arcs were enjoyable as they had that mix of everything while not beginning some hopelessly romantic relationship between the two….. oh wait, in comes Spice and Wolf II! Spice and Wolf II is also spread out into two arcs, however mentioning of aspects such as corrupt organizations, the church and economics have been downplayed all for the greater good of forming a relationship between the two companions. I will be directly honest, I do not feel the same way about this seasons storyline as I did the last one, but it is by no means a painfully bad watch, or even just an average watch.

The first arc follows a simple concept of “How high can a market price go when a piece of trash suddenly becomes a treasure?”.  Focusing on Lawrence and pitting him against Amati, a young trader who has been captivated by Holo and apparently she returns the feelings – so in order to get her out of her travelling agreement, Amati buys her out leaving Lawrence to do whatever he can to manipulate the market to keep her travelling with him. This does actually have an interesting economic concept and while could have used a bit more realism then some of the plot-twists included – it does pose an interesting storyline. The romantic elements of this storyline start here, with Lawrence running around like a headless chicken after the threat of losing Holo dawns on him.

The second arc is still one I don’t quite grasp the purpose of. This felt more of an arc dedicated to the relationship between the two then having any sort of comprehensive storyline, as after the six or so episodes (and mind you I did watch it in two sittings), had something to do with fur trades and a possible money making opportunity through a mysterious woman known as Eve. I will have to sit down and watch this arc again, as it is one you would benefit from watching in one sitting with so many elements going on in it. The story does leave the ending open, allowing for a third season if they so desire. Overall, I prefer the storyline of the first season, but if you like elements of romance to slightly water down your economics and merchant life series then you should feel satisfied with what they provide.

I had the benefit of watching this season of Spice and Wolf on Blu-ray, in comparison to the DVD version of Spice and Wolf I reviewed. While the quality is still at an A-Grade standard as was the first season, the switch to Blu-ray is certainly justified, with the quality just being that extra bit better and no noticeable visual quality issues. Instead of me stating almost exactly the same content regarding the design, music and voice acting, you can read my original article HERE, as for the most part no problems in these areas were identified through my watch.

Spice and Wolf: Season Two Collection - Review 2Spice and Wolf: Season Two Collection - Review 3Spice and Wolf: Season Two Collection - Review 4

Opening Sequence
Mitsu no Yoake by Akino Arai

Ending Sequence
Perfect World by Rocky Chack

Let me pose a hypothetical scenario – you don’t like the storyline, design or voice acting of the Spice and Wolf series…. there is very little doubt in my mind that you would not enjoy the Opening and Ending sequences. Both of these feature animation similar to their season one counterparts however in both cases seem to have slightly better animation which goes well with the softer tones of the themes. No complaints on my part.

When it comes to extra content, both DVD and Blu-ray editions come with a nice assortment of bonus extras. These include:

  • Studying with Holo – A short animated presentation on the food/wine presented in the series. Funnily enough, they go into detail about fermentation and all that which is… different from what I expected. Japanese dubbed.
  • Stetching With Holo ~Yoitz Style ~ – All I can say is congratulations to anyone who is flexible enough to pull these off.
  • Textless Opening and Closings
  • Trailers for Soul Eater, One Piece, Dragon Ball Z, D. Grayman, Rideback, Noir, Funimation.com and Spice and Wolf.

If this season were the first, I think I might be singing a slightly different tune to what I am now – but provided that you enjoyed the first season of this series, you should find this as easier and for the most part less serious watching that still manages to keep much of the original charm and introduce new concepts that work.

Final Score

Storyline/Character Development: B
Too much of a romantic element for me, however did a good job at keeping the economics in the series for the most part and delving into Holo’s past rather then just assume she was only a deity of one small town. With the exception of an OVA episode on the disc, Lawrence and Holo are the only carrying over characters from the original season and in turn provides a number of interesting personalities to expand upon.

Design: A-
Holds the benefit of having a Blu-ray release straight upon release, and the graphic quality does improve due to it. Despite this, the design quality remains the same as the original season.

Music/Voice Acting: B+
The same quality of voice acting and music is retained in this season and still does not tire. The opening and ending sequences are a pleasure to listen to.

Extras: B
The two “With Holo” series episodes despite being only available in the Japanese dub are a welcome addition, but could have used more episodes in the study segment and needed to take into account people have spines in the stretching segment. The rest of the content is your usual staple extras.

Personal Opinion: B
For fans of the first season like myself, you will not be disappointed.

Overall Score: B

Sam
Sam
Founder of The Otaku's Study. I have been exploring this labyrinth of fandom these last fifteen years, and still nowhere close to the exit yet. Probably searching for a long time to come.

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