Final Cut: Hetalia: World Series (Season 3) (DVD)
Keep It or Delete It?: Paper Monsters (iPad)
Keep It Or Trade It?: Duke Nukem Forever (X360)
Final Cut: kimi ni todoke Vol. 1 Premium Edition (Blu-ray)
Read or Recycle?: Gate 7 Volume 1This summer, everyone’s favorite wolf-girl-plus-economics anime returned for a second season. There were some staff changes between season, though. Toshimitsu Kobayashi replaced Kazuya Kuroda as the character designer and chief animation director and Brain’s Base took over the animation. How would the franchise fare under new management?
Spice and Wolf II
Firstly, I have to say that if you haven’t watched season one, I would not suggest watching season two, yet. While it is possible to enjoy season two as a standalone, there is quite a bit of character development between Craft Lawrence and Holo that you miss out on by jumping directly into season two. For those who haven’t seen season one, the series centers around Craft Lawrence, a traveling merchant whose dream is to own a shop someday. One day he finds Holo who claims to be a wolf goddess that can turn human who asks him to take her back to her home. The story follows their travels together. With that out of the way, the review:
Spice and Wolf II began airing on July 9th and has 12 official episodes, but there was an additional prologue OVA episode that was sold bundled with the art book Spice and Wolf: Wolf and Gold Wheat that came out April 30th. Episode zero serves to further close the door on the first season, and, while it isn’t entirely necessary to watch for the purpose of story, it is a cute side story for any fan of the series. Season two is split into two story arcs, each centering around activity in a particular city. While some of the events and dealings in each city are quite similar, things end up being handled in very different ways. Some of the twists and turns are easy to see coming, but a few are a little less expected. In Kumerson, the first city, Lawrence seeks out more information on Holo’s hometown, and in the meanwhile, ends up involving himself in a very dangerous deal. With a lot of help from his partner, he manages to extricate himself, and her, from the situation intact, and the pair head north. Upon arriving at the second city, Renos, Craft Lawrence again involves himself in a shady deal. However, he’s a little more wary and handles things himself, but not without some losses. All in all, the storyline of Spice and Wolf II is a bit heavier than its predecessor, but it is quite well executed. Some may find the pacing of the series a bit slow at times, but this is not a series that lends itself to high-flying action. The series centers around a common merchant and his travels and interactions.
Graphically, there were some improvements to the animation by Brain’s Base. The backgrounds were quite well done and matched the tone of the story well. The misfortunes and problems that Lawrence and Holo face during thier travel northward were augmented well by the grayer, drearier cities they were set in. The characters themselves seemed to be a little lower quality animation at times. For the most part, it wasn’t detrimental at all, but one particular scene from the final episode (that I cannot reveal due to spoilers) was not drawn up to par. It didn’t ruin the feeling, but it could have made it far, far better than it was.
And the next day, it's even grayer!
The sound from Spice and Wolf was quite well done. Many times, there was not music playing, and the ambient noise of horses hooves and and carts rolling was all that could be heard behind the conversations. This made the interjections of actual music all the more salient and effective. The choice of strings playing behind serious scenes helped to deliver a sense of anxiety and urgency, while the woodwinds that play during the scenes of playful banter give a much needed lift to the audience’s spirits. The opening song, “Mitsu no Yoake” is sung by Akino Arai, perhaps best known for singing the ending to Outlaw Star. She has a very distinctive voice that I was able to identify right away, and it meshes quite well with the visuals from opening credits. The ending theme is once again sung by Rocky Chack who forgoes the English-filled “Ringo Hiyori” this season in favor of “Perfect World.” The song and ending animation are much more cutesy than the opening, which is somewhat needed after some of the dreary settings and situations that Craft and Holo find themselves in.
Much cuter and brighter than the main storyline.
All in all, I found Spice and Wolf II to be entertaining and a true gem of a series. I hope that there will be a third season on the way in the near future. If you enjoy a series with a good story and visuals and don’t need to see giant robots or magical schoolgirls, you should make time to watch both seasons one and two.
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