Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 21 “Pagan Village and Priest’s Contract” is clearly giving us big hints that something’s afoot in this village. It might be malicious, or it might not be. Whatever the case though, Kraft and Holo are definitely getting nervous here. Can they afford to leave without what they sought though? Well, we shall see.

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 21 “Pagan Village and Priest’s Contract”: Details

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF NA key art.
Hint: Holo is ever thinking of Yoitsu.

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 21 “Pagan Village and Priest’s Contract” is the 21st 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, Ep. 11, Ep. 12, Ep. 13, Ep. 14, Ep. 15, Ep. 16, Ep. 17, Ep. 18, Ep. 19, and Ep. 20 here) of season 1 (which hopefully won’t be the only one) of this economic fantasy 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.

Production Cast

Mitsutaka Noshitani is the director of Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 21 “Pagan Village and Priest’s Contract”, with Yukito Kizawa as the writer, and Kenji Setō as the storyboarder. 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 song for this second half of the anime is “Sign” by Aimer. Meanwhile, “Ringo to Kimi” (りんごと君, lit. The Apple and You) by NeRiAme is the ending theme song.

Voice Cast

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 21 “Pagan Village and Priest’s Contract” 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. Other notable voices in this episode include Atsushi Abe as Gyoam Evan and Lynn as Elsa Schtingheim.

When and Where to Watch

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 21 “Pagan Village and Priest’s Contract” made its airing and streaming (aka. simulcast) debut on August 2, 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. 21 “Pagan Village and Priest’s Contract”: Synopsis

Holo is even feeling quite playful in this episode.

Alas, Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF is still an ongoing anime series. In fact, Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 21 “Pagan Village and Priest’s Contract” only made its debut eight 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:

A friendly evening of drinking at the tavern reveals the true beliefs of the villagers, but how are they able to live so comfortably with the church bearing down on them? Lawrence investigates further, and Holo identifies a miracle she’d like to perform.

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 21 “Pagan Village and Priest’s Contract”: The Good

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 21 "Pagan Village and Priest's Contract" episode visual by Jū Ayakura.
The clothes hold is even more adorable than what Jū Ayakura makes it out to be here.

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 21 “Pagan Village and Priest’s Contract” continues the long-running pattern of the story being the best part of the episode, let alone the rest of the anime. All thank to Isuna Hasekura, who wrote the original story for the light novels this anime was based off of. As for this episode, it’s mostly the mystery aspects that keep me on the edge of my seat. The mystery of this village of Tereo just kept deepening with each new thing we learn about it, until Kraft learns some key details that allow him to put it all together. Well, most of it. There’s still some key details that are missing from the puzzle set, and it’s those key details that are what we can look forward to.

Complementing that mystery is the still-pretty animation from Passione. That animation is still quite pretty, especially in terms of the scenery and backgrounds, which look like they came right out of a watercolor painting. Complete with some beautifully falling flour that resembles snow.

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 21 “Pagan Village and Priest’s Contract”: The Bad

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 21 "Pagan Village and Priest's Contract" screenshot showing Holo biting into a fruit that resembles a pomegranate.
And this, Holo, is why you don’t just bite into what looks like a pomegranate.

Alas, action junkies might tire of Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 21 “Pagan Village and Priest’s Contract”. It’s just not an action-packed episode. If you want high-intensity action, then may I suggest Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Solo Leveling, Kaiju No. 8, and/or The Elusive Samurai for you to check out. Those anime series should have more than enough action to satisfy any junkie.