OOKAMI TO KOUSHINRYOU
STATUS
COMPLETE
VOLUMES
16
RELEASE
December 27, 2017
CHAPTERS
108
DESCRIPTION
With his carthorse as his only companion, the young merchant Kraft Lawrence slowly wends his way through dusty back roads in search of profitable trade. But this monotony screeches to a halt when, one night, he encounters a harvest goddess in the guise of a beautiful young girl…with wolf ears and a tail! Longing for the northern lands of her birth, Holo the Wisewolf joins Lawrence as he follows the ebb and flow of trade through the countryside. And when the two come across a compelling but suspicious opportunity for profit, will Lawrence with his mercantile chops and Holo with her ancient instincts be able to separate the truth from the lies — and make some coin while they’re at it?!
(Source: Yen Press)
CAST
Holo
Kraft Lawrence
Elsa Schtingheim
Nora Arendt
Dian Rubens
Fleur Boland
Col Tote
Evan Gyoam
Marhait Liechten
Zheren
Ted Reynolds
Lud Kiemann
Louis Schtinghilt
Fermi Amarty
CHAPTERS
RELATED TO OOKAMI TO KOUSHINRYOU
NOVEL AdventureOokami to Koushinryou
ANIME AdventureOokami to Koushinryou
REVIEWS
YourAvgOtaku
If you're looking for a REFRESHING read filled with wholesome moments, romance, drama and adventure then here you go!Continue on AniListSpice and Wolf Manga Review - Non Spoiler, So read without worry (if you want to)
Chapters: 100
Genre: Adventure, Seinen, Fantasy, Romance, Drama, Supernatural, Historical
Mangaka: Isuna HasekuraThis is a review about a very unique manga that's way too UNDERRATED IMO, where most fantasy themed manga are about swords and magic this takes on a more trade and economic route and adds in witty dialogs, great story, amazing characters, plot twists and WHOLESOMENESS.
You might think that this manga being about trades and economic in the medieval ages would be boring but here I am reviewing this masterpiece.PLOT:
A traveling merchant Kraft Lawrence meets the Goddess of Harvest Holo in her human form (also known as Holo the Wisewolf). A contract is formed between the two that Lawrence will help Holo reach her homeland while she'll lend him her wisdom in his day to day trading. And here starts a beautiful journey where they face many challenges, obstacles, meet new people, visit new places all the while getting to know more about each other and growing affectionate about each other (not that they show it openly and while reading you're dying on the inside and screaming CONFESS ALREADY DAMMIT! breathes). While the main goal is finding Holo's homeland, our merchant also has a wish to establish his own business, buy a store in a popular town and live off it. While traveling to many new places they try to acquire knowledge about where Holo's from and make some profit as well after all he is a merchant.ARTSTYLE:
The artstyle was decent and simple yet felt so in-sync with the manga's theme. The thing that really caught my attention was the amount of effort put into the backgrounds to make them more appealing and to make the setting more accurate to the medieval ages. The characters well drawn (didn't find any lazy drawings anywhere). All from Holo's angry to playful expression were masterfully drawn.CHARACTERS/CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT:
The characters especially the main are extremely well made, we have the intelligent experienced merchant Kraft who at times is as naive as a baby and then there's Holo one of the BEST if not the best female leads in manga history, her wisdom, personality, charms and quick thinking to read and adapt to situations accordingly literally puts her at the top. The chemistry of the two is so good that you'll grin like an idiot each time they have a conversation (at least I did)
As far as character development goes, you can't perfect already that is perfect aside from their growing feelings for each other and compatibility that grows with time.
Holo is undoubtedly the PERFECT Waifu. Ranked in god-tier waifus.MY THOUGHTS:
This manga is indeed a masterpiece, the very definition of WHOLESOMENESS and as I've always said a very REFRESHING read. The flow of the dialogs especially between the main characters Kraft and Holo is amazingly done, like when they're teasing each other or throwing quick hilarious comebacks or brainstorming for ideas all are wonderful to read and you'll even get a laugh out of it. But one thing, the amount of details about old age trading and economics was surprising, the gain/fall of currency and profit/loses of trade all were easy to understand but some took some understanding. And all this was added beautifully with the main goal that is the journey to Holo's homeland.
All-in-all, I can simply summarize the entire experience in this that it was...
REFRESHINGFAVORITE QUOTES:
“Stories are better when they have an ending, are they not?” – Kraft Lawrence
(and this one was certainly great, sad that it's ended though)
"If you change your perspective, a situation right in front of you, can reverse itself.” – Holo The Wise Wolf
Honestly it's hard having a favorite quote when this manga is a gold mine for them.RATINGS: 9.5/10
Though personally it's a 12/10 for me, because I loved the characters, the feelings, the excitement and the story.
If you haven't read this then this is my top manga recommendation. Especially if you've watched the anime.
GGShang
A story that goes far beyond the romance that it is known forContinue on AniListWhen people hear about the series “Spice and Wolf”, they generally think about Holo and the romance she has with Lawrence since that is one of, if not the most appealing parts of the story as a whole. However, I believe that seeing Spice and Wolf as merely a romance story does it far too great a disservice to a manga that deserves much more. Because as much as Spice as Wolf is known for its romance, I’d say that more than 70% of the manga is spent solving mercantile mysteries and uncovering well hidden plots. Add to that a story of growth fostered through community and you’ll be able to see a fuller picture of just what Spice and Wolf has to offer.
Spice and Wolf, in essence, is a plot driven story. Like I said earlier, a large portion of this manga deals with the economic travels of Lawrence has he goes to bring Holo back to her home in the north. This is the primary driving force of the story, not the romance between the two leads. Honestly speaking, I think that if Spice and Wolf were more romance than adventure, I think I would have liked it far less. I thoroughly enjoy the fact that the story is set up in the way that it is: by giving romantic scenes here and there throughout the greater story arc it keeps the romance fresh while giving readers a break from some of the heavier economic warfare that takes up a majority of the series. In one fell swoop it manages to enhance both parts of the story rather than lose the audience in either half. The other thing that I really enjoy about this series (though you could hardly call it uncommon) is the fact that the end goal of the manga is laid out at the very beginning: Lawrence will take Holo back to her home in the north. Having a set goal like this rather than a murky one brings a sense of progression and anticipation as the leads get closer and closer to the end.
Beyond the plot we get to the characters, which are likely the more memorable part of this manga to most people. When people think about the characters in Spice and Wolf, they immediately think of the quick-witted and money minded Lawrence and his relationship with the witty and charming Holo… and I am right there with them. I love the fact that their relationship plays out in a slightly different and more mature feeling way than a lot of the other series that I’ve read. I enjoy their confidence in themselves to act in very honest ways with each other. I find the teasing war between the two leads to be cute and fun. But even in the character department there is much more here than you'd expect. I won’t talk too in depth into the side characters, but each one brings new viewpoints and perspectives to both our leads and the audience. They prove to be fun companions, powerful allies and fearful enemies to Lawrence and Holo and the way that our two leads change when with each of them make for some of the most interesting parts of the story to me.
And here I want to talk just a little bit about character development in this story. Another review for this manga wrote that the characters don’t really grow because they don’t really need to grow, and I was of this opinion at first as well. However, I think it’s clear upon further thinking that both Holo and Lawrence change quite a bit throughout the series, although not in the most dramatic ways. As the story progresses you see the once proud wisewolf begin to come to grips with her loneliness and realize that pride means nothing in the face of joy. You see the money pinching Lawrence begin to loosen his grip on his coin purse as he learns more and more that trade is meant first and foremost to bring happiness to others rather than to make a profit for oneself. These changes naturally come about through the two leads’ interactions with each other and with those they meet during their travels. The lone wolf goddess comes together with the solitary traveling merchant and the two together become much more than they were alone. Spice and Wolf inherently is a story of coming together in relationship and community.
So then, what flaws does this story have? I think the biggest flaw in the story is the occasional hiccup in dialogue between the two leads. There are times when I honestly have no idea what they are trying to say to each other. I think that the author is trying to show that they understand each other on a more fundamental level so that words aren’t necessarily needed, but that doesn’t mean that the audience will understand it. Maybe I’m just not able to read between the lines far enough but I think that this issue makes some of the teasing banter very hard to get. The other flaw I can tell is the simplistic conflict resolution that happens for each situation that arises. Generally speaking, there is never a big shock when you reach the outcome of any specific arc, which may not really be a bad thing but it’s noticeable nonetheless.
So then what is Spice and Wolf really? Is it an economic thriller adventure, a heartwarming story about the importance of community or a cute and satisfying romance? Spice and Wolf is a series that is able to carry all these ideas and do them well. Whether you like one of the aspects or all of them, I think that there is something here for most people to enjoy, and that is what makes Spice and Wolf such a great read.
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SCORE
- (4.15/5)
MORE INFO
Ended inDecember 27, 2017
Favorited by 546 Users