Spice And Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 25 “Miracle’s Path And Journey’s Continuation”: The Journey Goes On [Review]

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 25 “Miracle’s Path and Journey’s Continuation” marks the end of Kraft and Holo’s (mis)adventures in the village of Tereo. Alas, it also marks the end of their anime adventures for now. However, this is not their end of their journey period. Especially not when studio Passione have just confirmed that they will be making a second season.

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 25 “Miracle’s Path and Journey’s Continuation”: Details

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 25 “Miracle’s Path and Journey’s Continuation” is the 25th and final 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, Ep. 20, Ep. 21, Ep. 22, Ep. 23, and Ep. 24 here) of season 1 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

Shunichi Kato, Mitsuki Kitamura, Hito Tadano, Daishō Miyagi, and Takashi Ikehata all collectively claim credit for directing Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 25 “Miracle’s Path and Journey’s Continuation”, with Yukito Kizawa as the writer, and Takeo Takahashi 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. 25 “Miracle’s Path and Journey’s Continuation” 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 (Jordan Dash Cruz in English dub) as Gyoam Evan and Lynn (Madeleine Morris in English dub) as Elsa Schtingheim.

When and Where to Watch

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 25 “Miracle’s Path and Journey’s Continuation” made its airing and streaming (aka. simulcast) debut on September 23, 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. 25 “Miracle’s Path and Journey’s Continuation”: Synopsis

Alas, Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF only just recently ended its run. In fact, Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 25 “Miracle’s Path and Journey’s Continuation” only made its debut nine 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:

Elsa’s plan succeeds. After Bishop Mendez and the men from Enberch witness the miracle, they leave the village of Tereo alone. Shortly thereafter, Lawrence and Holo plan to continue their journey…

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 25 “Miracle’s Path and Journey’s Continuation”: The Good

Because Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 25 “Miracle’s Path and Journey’s Continuation” is the final episode of this season, this review will also be a review for the anime as a whole. Which I have to say: has been a great pleasure to watch, especially as someone who was a huge fan of the original 2008 anime. Even more especially: because studio Passione is animated the parts of Isuna Hasekura’s light novel that 2008 anime skipped.

Which is why the best part of this episode is still the story. The way Kraft, Holo, and their two new friends from Tereo resolved this conflict combines the best of both of our main characters. The mix of Holo’s magic and Kraft’s mercantile savviness just provided the best of both worlds. All the moreso because this particular arc was the one the 2008 anime skipped. It actually skipped not only important story bits, but also relationship development between Kraft and Holo. Thus, it’s quite nice to see this part animated at long last.

Speaking of which, the animation by studio Passione continues to be pretty good. There’s still that iconic medieval painting look the studio is going for the anime as a whole. However, the high point in this episode is the animation of wheat rapidly growing out of flour sacks. It was a nice fluid animation, and the wheat itself swayed in the wind like wheat would. No context from me for that, but you’ll see once you see that part of the episode for yourself.

Lastly, the music from Kevin Penkin was the cherry on top for this episode. His music has always been good at complementing the story. This is especially true for this episode, especially during that wheat-growing scene.

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 25 “Miracle’s Path and Journey’s Continuation”: The Bad

Alas, as amazing as Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF, it does have a few issues that stand out because of how good the rest of the anime is. The most noticeable is the occasionally mediocre animation quality. While the animation as a whole looks great, there are occasional spots where the animation is either clunky or has a lower quality than the rest of the scene. They stand out more because of how good the rest of the animation is, and is quite jarring when you see it as a result.

Not only that, but two episodes even features spelling and grammar errors in the English subtitles. Again, this is all the more noticeable because of how good the rest of the subtitles has been in comparison. Methinks the translators were under a lot of pressure, thus explaining the errors. This is why it gets a pass from me, and only a minor lowering of the score.

As for the anime as a whole though: if you’re an action junkie, then this anime is probably not for you. Yes, there are action scenes in this anime, and they do get intense and violent. However, they do not make up the majority of the anime. On the contrary, this is an economic slice of life romance first and foremost. If you want action, then might I suggest Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Solo Leveling, Kaiju No. 8, The Elusive Samurai, and/or DEAD DEAD DEMONS DEDEDE DESTRUCTION? Those anime should have more than enough action to slake any thirst for that.

And for those of you who worry about whether this is the end: don’t worry. Studio Passione confirmed that a second season of the anime is in the works. It’s just a matter of when now.

Keep Reading:

Spice And Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 24 “Path Of The Snake God And Answer Of The Wise Wolf”: A Change Of Plans [Review]