Spice & Wolf: Merchant Meets Wise Wolf

Lawrence better hope God doesn’t exist, because otherwise he’s got a lot to answer for this week. He lied to a woman in a cloth, he emotionally manipulated her into feeding him heretical texts, and he cuddled a pagan god within the confines of a church. It’s going to take more than a few “Hail Marys” to free his soul from all of that.

Seriously, though, Lawrence cleverly reminded us this week that he can be a mind game when the situation calls for it (and when he’s not competing one-on-one with Holo’s formidable intellect). The way he directs Elsa to exactly where he needs her is a wonderful conversation piece, and it’s the scene where Spice & Wolf’s writing really shines. Through his intuition and observation, he’s able to use Father Franz’s memory to catch Elsa off guard before he calls on his faith for the killing shot. Then Holo makes an unexpected move, and honestly, I probably would have fainted too if she’d asked me to touch her ear. It’s a hilarious scene, and the world is lucky that Holo and Lawrence (mostly) use their silver tongues for good. They would be a terrifying combination if they fully embraced the life of a con artist (though I would definitely read or watch that version of the series as well).

Franz, even through indirect means, proves to be an interesting character. One might expect a collector of pagan tales—especially a priest—to have a strained relationship with the Church. Elsa confirms that he is suspected of heresy, but she also reaffirms his commitment to his normal duties as a cleric. It's tempting to think that she might be naive about the inner workings of his mind, but I also like Lawrence's response. Faith is rarely as rigid as organized religion would like it to be, and it's plausible that a priest as forward-thinking as Franz would seek answers using his own moral code rather than the Church's. I think it's also reasonable to assume that Franz had a crisis of faith that pushed him in this direction. A core tenet of Catholic dogma is that faith has no evidence, so a truly devout priest would not be interested in proving the existence of God through these unconventional means. But it could also be an expression of his personal sense of faith. See what I mean? Spice & Wolf paints a fascinating portrait of the guy.

And from a certain perspective, the existence of beings with supernatural powers would actually make an all-powerful deity like God more likely. However, I appreciate that Holo still immediately denies her existence. It fits both her character and her role as harvest goddess. She ultimately works within the confines of the natural world. She was (and is) a part of it, nothing more. God, as defined by the Church, is a being who completely recontextualizes and reworks the world around those who believe in Him. Holo seems to resent that, and as a former Catholic and current atheist, I certainly sympathize with her beliefs more. I don't like her just because of her tail (but don't tell her that).

Anyway, enough theological musings for one review; let’s take a closer look at how cute Holo and Lawrence are. They’re healthier than ever, which is a fitting development. Granted, Holo initially raised the stakes in trolling Lawrence (and blessed Elsa for succeeding), but trolling is actually their love language. Still, it’s all pretty innocent, so their increased emotional availability is probably a bigger sign of their growing intimacy. Holo is completely caught off guard when Lawrence makes that blunt remark about Evan and Elsa, and it’s cute to see her genuinely flustered without any ulterior motives driving her. Meanwhile, Lawrence takes the opportunity to express his reservations about Holo finding her homeland, echoing the loneliness-born insecurities she’s also expressed in the past. Maybe for the first time, they both realized their possibly temporary relationship at the same time without pretending. It was a bittersweet moment, but I'd say it was kind of sweet because they committed to continuing to communicate openly like this. And because Holo later took pleasure in the pillow in Lawrence's lap.

The episode ends on a couple of interesting notes. Lawrence finds the book about the bear god that supposedly destroyed Yoitsu, and the messenger heightens the tension between Enberch and Tereo. We don’t get enough time to process these developments, but they work effectively as double-entendres to cap off an otherwise solid chapter. There’s no doubt that the story of the death in Enberch is more sinister than it seems on the surface; the timing is just too convenient. It looks like it’ll be another job for the wise wolf and her sarcastic sidekick.

Rating:

Spice & Wolf: A Merchant Meets a Wise Wolf is now streaming on Crunchyroll.

Steve is on Twitter while it lasted. He still knows the song “The Wolf Whistling Song” by heart. You can also catch him chatting about trash and treasure on This Week in Anime.

Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. One or more companies mentioned in this article are members of the Kadokawa Group.

Insert_ip_tracking eed eop iii ena