Wolves are beautiful creatures to look at. You see them creeping around the woods with their pack and ruling the territory that they claim as their own. There is no doubt that they have been the focal point in some anime shows over the years, but when have you seen them being used as an intelligent focal point in a show’s narrative? Outcomes Spice and Wolf, a tale that follows two of our heroes in their journey involving mercantilism, convinces us that you can pull off a simple concept and make something brilliant out of it.

Spice and Wolf is set up as your typical traveler’s type of story where we follow Kraft Lawrence, a traveling merchant who deals with trading anything that is profitable and makes a fortune out of it. He is then confronted with a Wolf goddess named Holo, who wants to come with him on his travels and help him with his business for reasons that involve establishing a bond between Kraft and her. What is fascinating about the relationship between our two main leads is how perfectly paced the bond is between Holo and Kraft. There is no awkward transition between the two automatically becoming lovers over a day or two into the story, or in this case, episodes if we’re being more formal here. The show takes its time to build it up slowly so that we can breathe into the scenes that involve them talking to one another and display them increasing their relationship’s strength realistically than relying on pointless melodrama. Not that there is not any drama between the two, but it doesn’t come across as being hammy or out-of-place. It fits well with the scene it portrays and succeeds quite nicely.

It also helps the show’s credit that the way Kraft and Holo enhance their relationship isn’t just through romantic dialog or dialog that only involves positive responses. They get into arguments, they disagree a lot, and things don’t always work out between each other’s plans, just like what a real relationship is like for most people. You see this a lot in anime and movies that tackle romance in a formulaic style that doesn’t seem very organic or pragmatic from what relationships are like in a natural world setting. Not that portraying relationships in that way is terrible, but it’s refreshing to see something like Spice and Wolf pull it off and do it successfully.

Now let us talk about both characters individually. To my surprise, Kraft turned into a very memorable male lead because they built him up around an archetype that could have easily been bland or generic. I say this because when you deconstruct Kraft as a character, there isn’t that much to go around other than that he’s just a simple merchant and nothing else. The way they write him as this solid individualistic character who can handle any given situation easily comes as a shock, considering how Kraft has to one-up Holo in terms of character traits. Now Holo, the main star of the show, is one of, if not the most outstanding female leads that has ever graced anime. She’s witty, sly, and is an absolute joy to watch when she is front and center. Typically any character like Holo could be looked at as a cheap way of shoving in nudity or a generic female character to spice things up, no pun intended. With Spice and Wolf, the way it handles Holo’s development and personality is very mature and charming in the witty writing that she is given. It makes for a fascinating character study of how Holo and Kraft come across as very believable characters in how they carry the story forward in a delightful aspect.

While relying heavily on economic theory, the story’s writing is top-notch and lenient to where it isn’t necessarily hard to understand what is going on. Spice and Wolf’s economics is grounded upon Medieval lore, where the economy was a little simpler to understand than in today’s economic system. What works well in this demeanor is how it doesn’t drag on the narrative too much. How the characters explain their economic motives is attractive from an intellectual standpoint and makes for a powerful gripping drama from the way it trickles down to Kraft’s eventual financial troubles. Even if you are not a scholar in an economic school, you can still feel the pressure that Kraft and Holo are going through when the eventual climax sets in when they have to find a way to get out of their debt. How they portray the politics involved heavily with the church is intellectually honest in how things were running in the era. They show it with the narrative to good effect on how bribery and trading are done daily between the economic markets that existed in the past.

Artistically, Spice and Wolf doesn’t break any new ground in animation, but the backgrounds and the character designs are all done superfluously well. The lush colors in the locations of the mountains and trees, the grimy walls that inhabit the cities and towns they go through, and the darkness that surrounds them add to the atmosphere that makes you feel like you’re looking at a Medieval world. While the animation isn’t unique, the scenes that involve Holo’s wolf transformation were done with good effect in its direction to make it mysterious and dark to let us know that she is a living, breathing goddess.

Music and voice acting do their jobs well, although the music itself wasn’t anything that stood up as highlights of the show. It features music that fits well with the setting that involves a lovely orchestral score that adds to the overall feel of every scene. However, the voice acting is exceptionally well done, and the leading contender for being the best is Ami Koshimizu. Her sultry remarks with her sly voice for an entertaining listen. That and Jun Fukuyama’s straight man personality make the great chemistry between the two leads even better in that regard.

Spice and Wolf is a glorious achievement for anyone looking for great storytelling and a great world to experience. It is near perfect with its brilliant character development and great use of political themes to meet a well-balanced character story. It’s the type that once you finish, you want to experience more of its world but not in a negative sense where they do a poor job of expanding its plot and world to full effect. Spice and Wolf does the exact opposite, where you’re fulfilled with joy in being shown this contextual landscape to significant impact and your hunger for more exploration. The only way for the creators of shows consistent with Spice and Wolf is to look over the show’s horizon and embellish the story to new heights with the setting and characters. There’s no telling whether it will succeed or fail, but it’s the effort that counts.

Grade: A