Некропостер в треде.
Аниме смотрю очень... дозированно и избирательно, скажем так. Этот сериал посмотрел несколько дней назад и он меня, мягко говоря, удивил. Кому интересно, копипастну ревьюшку с анимелиста. Осторожно, нерюсске.
As how sceptic I was when I first heard of "Spice and wolf", as how easily it made me fall in love with it after a couple of episodes.
No spoilers here.
I should note that "Spice and wolf" is basically a road-movie, with all the attendant. We're presented with a wide cast of supporting characters and, with few exceptions, they fade away for good in a short period of time. That's is neither good nor bad, that's just the way it works. People and places come and go. Yes, some of them are more appealing than the others but... A travelling merchant's life is a series of farewells, remember?
With this being said, I'll just focus on the leading couple.
Lawrence, despite what you might think at the first glance, has something up his sleeve to surprise you. If you expect him to be yet another reckless romantic or, vice versa, yet another unscrupulous commercialist, you won't see what you expect because he is none of that. Or more exactly, he is some sort of both. If he fools you and you lose some cash, that is your problem and he won't apologize. If you ask him for help, he'll do, but you'll owe him and don't hope he'll forget about it. 'Cause a trader's main value is profit. At the same time he won't hesitate to put his everything at risk for those he holds dear. Yes, later it'll appear that actually he had a plan and the dreams were not denied but postponed... so, well, he's a businessman after all.
Holo... well, actually I can't say she steals the show because it is initially hers, but anyway, she is the heart and soul of the whole series. Yes, she tends to overreact, yes, her mood changes in less than no time, and yes, she often says quite the opposite of what she thinks. DESPITE that and at the same time BECAUSE of that, Holo is merely adorable. The Wise Wolf of Yoitsu and a self-willed young woman, both combined in the same personality, complementing each other and trading places all along, form a suprisingly living image you'll hardly be able to forget anytime soon.
But it's not even Lawrence and Holo themselves what advances "Spice and wolf" to a completely different league. It is the interaction between them. Their verbal swordplay, their mutual taunts, their ogling, the way they gradually start reading each other's minds, the way things are said or left unspoken; all of this is just brilliant. With literally a dozen of phrases and a couple of glances it manages to tell and show more than some average romantic series does in hours.
Finally, art and sound. Good grief, this opening is one hundred percent perfect. The mixture of calm and light sorrow it creates is the true image of the show's spirit. I can't say the same about the ending though, perhaps I'm not getting the idea but, honestly, I just don't like it.
Voices were very nice and though I don't remember anything that amazed me here, there was not a single sour note, and that's enough. Same with the artwork. It's rather diligent and good looking, so as long as it performs its task I won't resent.
I bet you can immediately name at least several movies or serials (not necessarily anime) that do their best showing they are "not like all" just for the sake of that. Now, this is not the case. "Spice and wolf" doesn't fall over itself to be "different". It simply IS. This show gracefully demonstrates how a simple outline, colorized with heart, taste and sense of measure, can bring up a truly distinctive piece of art. That is an achievement. And it's worth a lot.
Слаг объявился?
Ага, давно я в болталку не заглядывал