Spice And Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 1 “The Harvest Festival And The Crowded Driver’s Box”: The Economic Adventure Begins Again [Review]

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 1 “The Harvest Festival and The Crowded Driver’s Box” is the beginning of a reboot no one thought would ever happen. Not since the original 2008 Spice and Wolf anime ended at two seasons, with the third season stillborn in the cradle. Fortunately, this is not a dream. Studio Passione have indeed given us this reboot, and it’s just as great as the trailers promised. Maybe even a bit better, really.

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 1 “The Harvest Festival and The Crowded Driver’s Box”: Details

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 1 “The Harvest Festival and The Crowded Driver’s Box” is the first episode of season 1 of this reboot anime series by studio Passione (Citrus, Mieruko-chan, Yuri Is My Job!). Said anime series is the reboot of the 2008 anime Spice and Wolf by studios Imagin (season 1) and the duo of Brain’s Base and Marvy Jack (season 2). Said original anime series (along with this reboot) are the anime adaptations of the light novel series of the same name by Isuna Hasekura (World End Economica, Magdala de Nemure).

Mitsumoto Kitamura directed Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 1 “The Harvest Festival and The Crowded Driver’s Box”, with Tatsuhiko Urahata as the writer, and Takeo Takahashi as the storyboarder. Hijiri Sanpei is the director of Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF overall. Takeo Takahashi is actually returning from the original 2008 anime series as the chief director. Kevin Penkin (Made in Abyss, Tower of God, Bye Bye, Earth) is the composer for the music you hear in this reboot anime.

Speaking of music: the opening theme music for this reboot anime is “Tabi no Yukue” by Hana Hope. Meawnwhile, “Andante” by ClariS is the ending theme music for the same.

Voice Cast

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 1 “The Harvest Festival and The Crowded Driver’s Box” features the voices of Jun Fukuyama as Kraft Lawrence and Ami Koshimizu as Holo the Wise Wolf. The other notable voice role in this episode is Tomokazu Sugita as Yarei.

When and Where to Watch

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 1 “The Harvest Festival and The Crowded Driver’s Box” made its airing and streaming debut on April 1, 2024. You can watch this episode only on Crunchyroll. In fact, you can watch this reboot anime as a whole only on Crunchyroll for now. If you want to watch the original 2008 Spice and Wolf anime for comparison, then you can do that on Crunchyroll as well.

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 1 “The Harvest Festival and The Crowded Driver’s Box”: Synopsis

Alas, Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF only just barely began as of this writing. Thus, you will all get the official synopsis of Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 1 “The Harvest Festival and The Crowded Driver’s Box” from Crunchyroll. At least, that’s what I want to say. Alas, there is a blank box instead of the usual episode synopsis. Thus, you will all get the official Crunchyroll synopsis of the reboot anime as a whole. You can read that synopsis below:

Lawrence is a traveling merchant selling various goods from a horse-drawn cart. One day, he arrives at a village and meets a beautiful girl with the ears and tail of an animal! Her name is Holo the Wisewolf and she brings bountiful harvests. She wishes to return to her homeland, and Lawrence offers to take her. Now, the once-lonely merchant and the once-lonely wisewolf begin their journey north.

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 1 “The Harvest Festival and The Crowded Driver’s Box”: The Good

There’s a reason why I’m giving Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 1 “The Harvest Festival and The Crowded Driver’s Box” a 100% score. The best reason out of all of them is the story. This is one of the most unique premises of any anime story in history, with said story being all about economics. Even this episode has a mention of Lawrence’s deals with the local village, and how economics affected that village. It sounds boring on the surface, but it produces a very intriguing story. Especially when the economics are mixed with fantasy elements.

Oh, and fans of the light novels and manga will find the opening minutes of the anime very interesting. You’ll know what I mean when you see them.

The story isn’t the only good thing about this episode though. I have to give props to the animation here. Studio Passione really went all out on that animation. The quality is just so much better than the original 2008 anime. Everything from the lighting to the art style is just gorgeous. Especially the opening and ending animation sequences. Especially the ending animation sequence in particular. That one looks like a moving medieval painting, but with chibi-style anime animation mixed in. It’s this artsiness that adds that little bit more to the story.

And of course, the music is just the chocolate sprinkles to top off this delectable anime cake. Kevin Penkin did a wonderful job with the background music, giving it a medieval fantasy flair to it through music alone. All of this combined is why Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF is getting my vote.

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 1 “The Harvest Festival and The Crowded Driver’s Box”: The Bad

The one bad thing about Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 1 “The Harvest Festival and The Crowded Driver’s Box” might be its best thing as well. If the idea of an anime with an economics-focused plot doesn’t appeal to you, then this is not the anime for you. If you want an action-packed anime, then this anime is also not for you. This anime is the kind of anime for people looking for a slow-paced, relaxing story with moments of tension. If you don’t want that, then I suggest looking elsewhere.