You know, in these busy days, good news can ease our hearts and look forward to something. But when that good news comes with unwanted information, the day just can’t get any worst. The new Spice & Wolf anime has been announced and as usual, I am late to cover such news. But I do have some opinions and information that you may want to take a look.
About Spice & Wolf for the Uncultured
Kraft Lawrence, a man in his 20s is a travelling merchant peddling various goods from town to town. His goal is to raise enough money to open a shop on his own. One night, he finds in his wagon a 600+ years old wolf-deity named Holo who is known for bringing enriching harvests of wheat and worshiped by many. But as time changed, she isn’t revered as before and thus she holds some resentments. So, she wants to go back to her home way up north and chooses Lawrence as her companion with the promise that she will help him getting good profit. She also wants to experience the world and how it has changed. Thus, we join in their adventure that’s full of heartwarming and heartbreaking moments and learn about economics & the surrounding world.
A look at the Spice & Wolf 2024 Trailer
In short, this looks beautiful with fluid animation & vibrant colors and breathtaking soundtrack by Kevin Penkin. The art has roundish and soft look with thin line arts compared to 2008’s anime which has sharper—angular look with thicker line art. Although some criticism can be made. The art looks too digital-y and doesn’t have the vibe that comes from a traditional hand drawn art.
The Biggest Problem with Spice & Wolf Remake
And what’s worst is that it’s being adapted by Studio Passione, the one responsible for some questionable shows. The real problem is that which version are they adapting: Light Novel or Manga? The manga has some graphic scene that’s completely unnecessary unlike the light novel version. The 2008 is faithful to the light novel one which doesn’t cloud the minds the viewers instead of the manga which came later. I think it’s possible given the studio’s history of making the hottest trash that they might go with the manga. And the demographic is set to “Adult cast‘ on My Anime List. Even so, we don’t really know though, they haven’t shows such in the trailer so there might be some hope.
Original Voice Actors returning for the new Spice & Wolf 2024
The best part is that the original voice actors are returning for the Japanese dub. I as well as many cultured individuals grew up watching the English dub, so I pray that they bring the same English voice actors as well. The dialogue itself is a masterful craft and in the old anime, both Japanese & English dub conveyed them with absolute excellence. And as mentioned before, this is not a sequel, it’s a complete remake with the title “Merchant meets the Wise Wolf“. This direction could proof to be the better choice since they can push this further into the story beyond where the old anime left off. I hope they can live up to the brilliance of Spice & Wolf in terms of visual representation.
Information on Spice & Wolf 2024
◆ Cast:
- Holo: Koshimizu Ami
- Kraft Lawrence: Fukuyama Jun
◆ Staff:
- Original: Hasekura Isuna (“Spice and Wolf” published by Dengeki Bunko)
- Character draft: Fumigura Jū
- General Director: Takahashi Takeo
- Director: Sanpei Sei
- Music: Kevin Penkin
- Produced by: ENISHIYA
- Animation Production: Passione
Conclusion
Watch the original one. Watch this analysis and you’ll know how amazing the anime is. It’s sad that it never got the sequel it deserves and only a select few people know about it. Maybe you’ll be interested in something completely unique after you watch it.
