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Half a year later, the car stops here: the end of Spice & Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf. Now. I wasn’t too surprised when they immediately announced a sequel, but I’m glad they did. While this re-adaptation has sometimes been criticized unfavorably compared to the original anime, those rough edges are smoothed out a bit more with the confirmation that they actually intended to take on the story as a whole. And overall, I’d say it’s firmly in the “good enough” quadrant of adaptation quality. The modest and sometimes dull visuals are buoyed enough by the performances and writing. If Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf can hold its own, I can tolerate more of this. Heck, I’m looking forward to it.
As for this weekend, it was pretty good. The season ended on an ironic but fitting note, with Holo adding some magical spice while Lawrence let his inner wolf loose. It was a clever conclusion to the season, highlighting the wisdom and strength of both our heroes working together. In that regard, it was the most satisfying climax yet. The first two seasons were too action-oriented, and the last one left Lawrence thinking he was up against Holo for much of the time. This time, they had to rely entirely on each other (and their new friends) to pull off a high-stakes scam, and it felt much more in line with the strength of their wits and bond.
Elsa’s arc in particular ended well. She started out living in her church and was disrespected by both the townspeople and the clergy. Now, she stands up to the entire town to defend it. Her courage is commendable, as is her nuanced view of faith. She eschews strict adherence to religious dogma in favor of prioritizing the lives and livelihoods of the people of Tereo. In that regard, she ends up becoming Father Franz’s true successor. He seeks evidence of pagan gods to bolster his theological argument for God’s existence, and Elsa also puts her faith in Holo. While she comes to the same conclusion as Lawrence about Franz’s intentions, I think it’s more important that she doesn’t let religion stop her from doing the right thing.
The film contrasts Elsa’s unwavering morality against the deceit and opulence displayed by the bishop’s army. In fact, their plan cleverly uses public spectacle against these conspirators. With the entire town and caravan bearing witness to Holo’s “miracle,” they trap the bishop into accepting its legitimacy. The grail gambit is the disrespectful cherry on top, as it forces him to choose between giving up his levers and dying from poisoned wheat. I mean, there’s no choice, but it’s fun to watch him squirm and learn a little humility. Also, if you’ll excuse me, the Church’s real-world inspiration, Catholicism, has incorporated its fair share of pagan practices in its expansion into Europe, so this isn’t necessarily a loss for them. The canonization of sainthood is just another branch of religious hegemony. To be fair, Spice & Wolf doesn't go into this topic in depth, but I thought it was interesting.
Lawrence, naturally, leaves the religious negotiations to Elsa and focuses instead on resolving the trust issue. His conversation with Riendott is essentially the economic equivalent of a heavyweight boxer beating up a featherweight. With words alone, Lawrence convinces him to sign a sustainable contract for both Tereo and Enberch, and he clearly loves every awkward minute of it. I also like that he isn’t afraid to use this staged crisis against Enberch. The tainted wheat being pushed into a cart all but confirms that it was planted there intentionally, and Riendott knows Lawrence could point this out at any moment. Still, it’s nice that this part ends with everyone enjoying cookies. I believe the proper academic term for this is “win-win.”
Evan’s storyline is the only one that falls a little flat. After confirming his love/loyalty to Elsa last week, he doesn’t have much to do here. Sure, Lawrence sets him up to be a key player in the new trade deal, but that’s not exactly compelling character development. Still, this is my only gripe about an otherwise excellent sendoff. While Holo and Lawrence’s journey is far from over, this seems like a great place to pause before the second season airs, whenever that happens. Lawrence says that travelers leave with fond memories, not regrets, and that’s how I feel about this iteration of Spice & Wolf. It successfully rekindles my affection for this series and these characters, and I’ll be here when their cart rolls back into town.
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Spice & Wolf: Merchant Meets 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.
