Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 4 “Romantic Merchant and Moonlit Farewell” gives us a rather dark turn for the plot. Before, it had been all a calm and relaxing slice of life fantasy story. Now though, this marks the start of some rather economic intrigue for our Lawrence and Holo.

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 4 “Romantic Merchant and Moonlit Farewell”: Details

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF NA key visual.
There’s a reason why the sky looks slightly darkened in this key visual.

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 4 “Romantic Merchant and Moonlit Farewell” is the fourth episode (you can reviews for Ep. 1, Ep. 2, and Ep. 3 here) 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). Crunchyroll is the company licensing this anime for its NA release.

Junichi Kato is the director behind Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 4 “Romantic Merchant and Moonlit Farewell”, with Tatsuhiko Urahata as the writer, and Hijiri Sanpei doing the storyboard. As for the anime as a whole, we do still know that Hijiri Sanpei is the director. Takeo Takahashi is actually returning from the original 2008 anime series as the chief director. Tatsuhiko Urahata is the overall writer, with Kevin Penkin (Made in Abyss, Tower of God, Bye Bye, Earth) as 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. Meanwhile, “Andante” by ClariS is the ending theme music for the same.

Voice Cast

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 4 “Romantic Merchant and Moonlit Farewell” features the voices of Jun Fukuyama as Kraft Lawrence and Ami Koshimizu as Holo the Wise Wolf.

When and Where to Watch

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 4 “Romantic Merchant and Moonlit Farewell” made airing and streaming (aka. simulcast) debut on April 22, 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. 4 “Romantic Merchant and Moonlit Farewell”: Synopsis

She ain’t going to be this happy for long.

Alas, Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF is an ongoing anime series. In fact, Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 4 “Romantic Merchant and Moonlit Farewell” only just premiered two days ago as of this writing. Thus, you will all get the official synopsis of this episode from Crunchyroll instead of a spoiler-filled plot summary. You can check that out below:

Lawrence has figured out the truth behind the silver scheme, and how to profit from it, but in doing so he has made some dangerous enemies. Meanwhile, Holo and Lawrence discuss his grand plans for the future.

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 4 “Romantic Merchant and Moonlit Farewell”: The Good

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 4 "Romantic Merchant and Moonlit Farewell" visual by Juu Ayakura.
There’s something adorable about Holo being so proud of her doodles here.

There’s no doubt about it: for me, it’s the story of Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 4 “Romantic Merchant and Moonlit Farewell” that’s the best part about it. It is the same story by Isuna Hasekura that gripped me by the throat back in 2008, after all. It was good back then, and it’s just as good now. It’s that weird mix of medieval adventuring and adventurous mercantilism that’s what makes this anime so entertaining. There’s just no other anime out there like this that scratches my very niche itch for this just as niche genre. The thriller aspects of this episode only adds to that.

A large part of what makes this kind of story works isn’t just the niche genre though. Credit also goes to Kraft Lawrence and Holo the Wise Wolf. Their interactions and dialogue with each other is what makes the anime worth the watch just as much as the story. Whether it’s them joking with each other over drinks, or Holo crying out her desperate loneliness, it makes for a compelling bit of dialogue between them.

Then there’s the animation by Passione. I feel like they’ve even improved on the animation of the original 2008 anime. There’s just something about it that’s aesthetically pleasing and easy on the eyes. As though you’re watching a medieval painting in anime form, really.

Last but not least, I do have to give credit to Kevin Penkin. The music for this episode really brings it all together. It screams “medieval fantasy thriller in the night” here. Really, I can’t get over how much I love this anime.

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 4 “Romantic Merchant and Moonlit Farewell”: The Bad

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 4 "Romantic Merchant and Moonlit Farewell" screenshot showing a sad Holo.
Uh oh, we’ve got a sad wolf inbound.

Honestly, if you’re an action junkie, you probably won’t be satisfied with the action of even Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 4 “Romantic Merchant and Moonlit Farewell”. It’s the kind of low-key action scene you would find in a low fantasy story like this anime. If you want something more high fantasy, you might want to check out Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba or Bleach instead.