Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf (2024)

[狼と香辛料 MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF]

Season 1

Director: Takeo Takahashi, Hijiri Sanpei
Studio: Passione
Starring: Jun Fukuyama, Ami Koshimizu, Tomokazu Sugita
Episodes: 25

Synopsis:
A traveling merchant encounters a local havest deity who seeks to return to her homeland.

Impressions:
When I first saw this in the lineup for the season, I thought it was going to be a continuation of the '08 adaptation rather than a remake, but there were changes and omissions there that would have repercussions later on the story, so 16 years later, the director brings together the principal cast with a new studio to start over with a remake that's more faithful to the original. Some fans of the previous adaptation prefer Holo's design there, but other than that, the response to this new take has been overwhelmingly positive. For those of you who are new to the franchise, this is at its core a story of late medieval/early Renaissance economics where our main character gets caught up in various messes in his bid for greater profits with the added supernatural element of his companion, Holo the Wise Wolf. The dynamic between Lawrence and Holo is a joy to watch, with a lot of push and pull between them as they steadily grow closer. It's really nice that Jun Fukuyama and Ami Koshimizu reprise their roles from the '08 adaptation and they haven't skipped a beat. Passione does a fine job of taking up the reins to bring the story to the small screen. A decent chunk of the story was skipped in the previous version, so that alone should be reason enough for old fans to want to come back. With a second season announced, we can be assured of even more goodness to come, so there's plenty to be happy about. By all means, add this one to your collection.

Rating:
Own It