Spice and Wolf

75 Books in 2015 - II and III (Spice & Wolf)

Richard Carroll
When was the last time I managed to post on consecutive days? For that matter, when was the last time I posted on consecutive weeks? Also, how should I format post titles? Heck if I know. Anyway, I can knock out graphic novels pretty quickly, as evidenced by getting through volumes nine and ten of Koume Keito’s adaptation of Spice & Wolf. The first thing I noticed about these volumes is that I had totally forgotten what was going on in the plot at this point; such are the dangers of letting so much time pass between reading installments of an ongoing story.

A Touch of Spice & Wolf

Richard Carroll
Spice & Wolf is a series that I’ve wanted to write about for a long time, but I’ve struggled with actually putting pen to paper for it. It’s like the Haruhi series in that it’s charming and competently written, but lacks the subtlety and complexity that make for a great, re-readable novel series. Spice & Wolf’s basic premise is that Lawrence, a traveling merchant in a world loosely based on late Medieval or Renaissance Europe, meets Holo, a wolf-spirit and harvest goddess in a village he does business in, and agrees to help her return to her homeland of Yoitsu, far in the north.

Anime Autobiography - In the Modern Fashion

<– Previous: Anime Autobiography - Endless Delinquency and Despair In 2010, my university career ended with a whimper, and I entered the “real world.” Actually, I just continued at the job I already had and spent most of the next year or so wondering what to do for a career. It was a somewhat depressing time, in a way, but hey - I still had my Japanese cartoons. Now, at this point I’d seen enough that fewer and fewer shows offered really new experiences for me.

Anime Autobiography - Endless Delinquency and Despair

<– Previous: Anime Autobiography - Into the Bowels of College Sometimes, one discovers the right show at the right time. In high school, I found Azumanga Daioh, early at university I found Genshiken, and early in 2009, the second half of my junior year, I found Welcome to the NHK!, about a seemingly hopeless shut-in who dropped out of college. Having already noticed a pattern in the shows I watched, I thought, “Is this what I have to look forward to?