Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 12 “Price of Betrayal and Price of Gold” lets us find out what happens after the stab in the back Lawrence and Holo got in the previous episode. The end result of all this is a whole bunch of very high stakes negotiations. Oh, and a bit of giant wolf action as icing on this economic fantasy cake.

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 12 “Price of Betrayal and Price of Gold”: Details

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF NA key visual.
At last, the dawn has returned to the story once more.

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 12 “Price of Betrayal and Price of Gold” is the 12th episode (you can check out my reviews for Ep. 1, Ep. 2, Ep. 3, Ep. 4, Ep. 5, Ep. 6, Ep. 7, Ep. 8, Ep. 9, Ep. 10, and Ep. 11 here) of season 1 (which hopefully won’t be the only one) 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.

Tatsuya Hagino is the director behind Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 12 “Price of Betrayal and Price of Gold”, with Kizawa Yukito as the writer, and Hiroko Kazui doing the storyboard. As for the Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF 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. 12 “Price of Betrayal and Price of Gold” features the voices of Jun Fukuyama (J. Michael Tatum in English dub) as Kraft Lawrence and Ami Koshimizu (Brina Palencia in English dub) as Holo the Wise Wolf. The other notable voice in this episode is Mai Nakahara (Leah Clark in English dub) as Nora Arendt.

When and Where to Watch

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 12 “Price of Betrayal and Price of Gold” made its airing and streaming (aka. simulcast) debut on June 17, 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. 12 “Price of Betrayal and Price of Gold”: Synopsis

And at last, we see the wise wolf smile once more as well.

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. 12 “Price of Betrayal and Price of Gold” only made its debut 10 days ago as of this writing. Thus, you will all get the official synopsis from Crunchyroll instead of a spoiler-filled plot summary. You can read that synopsis below:

Betrayed and left for dead, Lawrence waits for Holo’s return. Holo is no weak wolf to run off with her tail between her legs, and Lawrence the merchant won’t lose his profit either. But will a wolf be willing to save a shepherd?

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 12 “Price of Betrayal and Price of Gold”: The Good

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 12 "Price of Betrayal and Price of Gold" visual by Jū Ayakura.
As you can see, everyone in this visual here gets a happy ending, courtesy of Jū Ayakura.

Just as it has been for the previous episodes, it’s definitely the story of Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 12 “Price of Betrayal and Price of Gold” that’s the star of this episode. All thanks to Isuna Hasekura, who wrote the story for the original light novels this anime is adapted from. Why? Well, because the drama and thriller in this episode are quite palpable. Whenever Holo transforms into her giant wolf form, you know that violence is the only solution left. And yet, this episode is much more than its action. The action is only there to complement the economic thriller aspects of this episode, which are the true meat and bones of this anime. This combination creates a fascinating plot that entrances the audience, myself included.

Complementing that uniquely amazing economic story is the animation. Passione shows once more that the studio is committed to a pretty high quality and unique style of animation in this episode. Frankly, it’s just gorgeous. The scenery looks like something out of a medieval painting. Not only that, but the wounds that Lawrence shows will almost certainly make you wince. The cuts and bruises on his body just look that realistic. I have to give them props for that alone, never mind everything else that gives you some lovely eye candy.

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 12 “Price of Betrayal and Price of Gold”: The Bad

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 12 "Price of Betrayal and Price of Gold" screenshot showing Nora and the Remerio guy staring at Holo in her wolf form.
You can tell that someone is going to have a bad time here.

Alas, while there is quite a bit of action in Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 12 “Price of Betrayal and Price of Gold”, it may not be enough for action junkies. Not least of which because it’s not the kind of ultra-violent content you would find in bloodier anime series. If you want that and high intensity action, you might want to check out Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Solo Leveling, and/or Kaiju No. 8.

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