Spice and Wolf

Light novels

Spice and Wolf began as a light novel series written by Isuna Hasekura, with illustrations by Jū Ayakura. Hasekura entered the debut volume into ASCII Media Works' twelfth Dengeki Novel Prize in 2005 and won the Silver Prize.^[23] ASCII Media Works published 17 novels between February 10, 2006, and July 10, 2011, under their Dengeki Bunko imprint.^[24] The tagline for the novels is "Merchant meats spicy wolf.", an example of Engrish. The author of the novels has commented that what "meats" in the tagline really means is kept a secret, alluding to a possible intentional misspelling of "meets".^[25]

In celebration of the series' 10th anniversary, Hasekura began writing a sequel in the 49th volume of Dengeki Bunko Magazine, released on April 9, 2016.^[26] In 2016, publication of new books in the main series resumed with the release of the eighteenth volume, along with the start of a spin-off series titled Wolf and Parchment: New Theory Spice & Wolf,^[f] focusing on Myuri, Lawrence and Holo's daughter, and Cole.

In September 2008, the novels were licensed by Yen Press for distribution in English.^[27] The first volume was released in December 2009, and a new volume was released every four months.^[7] While Yen Press redesigned the cover of the first novel, a dust jacket retaining the original cover art was released to select online retailers,^[28] and Yen Press also bundled the same jacket in the December 2009 issue of their manga anthology magazine Yen Plus.^[29] Despite the different cover art, the illustrations within the novels remain unchanged.^[29] Yen Press later announced that future volumes of the series and reprints of the first volume would retain the original artwork while dust jackets would carry the new covers, citing that the redesigned covers were requested by retailers in order to appeal to a wider audience.^[30] Yen Press has also licensed the Wolf and Parchment series, with the first volume released in November 2017.^[31]

Manga

A manga adaptation illustrated by Keito Koume began serialization in the November 2007 issue of ASCII Media Works' seinen manga magazine Dengeki Maoh. The first tankōbon volume was released by ASCII Media Works under their Dengeki Comics imprint on March 27, 2008, ending with the release of the sixteenth and final volume of the main series in 2018.^[32]

A manga adaption of Wolf and Parchment by Hidori began serialization in the July 2019 issue of Dengeki Maoh.^[33] Yen Press has licensed both the main and spin-off manga series, and has begun releasing it in English in North America.^[34]

Anime

Internet radio shows

An Internet radio show hosted by Animate called Ōkamikku Radio (オオカミックラジオ) aired ten episodes between December 7, 2007, and April 25, 2008.^[60] One episode was broadcast every other week on Friday, and the show was meant to promote the anime series. The show is hosted by Jun Fukuyama who plays Kraft Lawrence in the anime, and Ami Koshimizu who plays Holo.^[61] The show contains eight corners, or parts to each broadcast which includes news about the series, comments and submissions from listeners, and a radio drama. A second radio show titled Ōkamikku Radio II aired ten episodes between June 10 and October 28, 2009, with the same producer and hosts.^{[citation needed]}

Video games

Spice and Wolf: Holo's and My One Year,^[h] a dating and business simulation visual novel based on the series, was developed by ASCII Media Works for the Nintendo DS and released on June 26, 2008, in Japan.^[62][63] It never had an official Western release, but received a fan translation into English by AGT Team on February 20, 2021, under the localized title Spice and Wolf: My Year With Holo.^[64] The player assumes the role of a nameless character (the titular "Boku", who closely resembles Kraft Lawrence). In exchange for cheaply obtaining Holo's wagon, he promises to help her find her hometown before the year's end by using his merchant skills to purchase information. In the meantime, the player raises their intimacy with her via story-based event scenes, potentially resulting in different endings.^[62] The story differs from that of the original novels or anime, and is presented as an alternate universe.^[65] Ami Koshimizu voices Holo in the game.^[62] The game was released on the same day in limited and regular editions; the limited edition was sold at a higher price, but came with a life-sized poster of Holo among other bonuses.^[62][66]

A sequel, also by ASCII Media Works for Nintendo DS, was released on September 17, 2009, in Japan, titled Spice and Wolf: The Wind that Spans the Sea.^[i][67] The player once again assumes the role of Kraft Lawrence. A fan translation of the game into English has been done by the AGT Team.^[68]

A virtual reality adventure game titled Spice and Wolf VR^[j] and made by Spicy Tails, a doujin group founded by Isuna Hasekura, was released on June 3, 2019, for Microsoft Windows supporting the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive VR headsets as well as the standalone Oculus Go headset.^[69] It was later released for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 on September 5, 2019, supporting the Nintendo Labo VR Kit and PlayStation VR respectively.^[70] A port to the Oculus Quest headset was released in November 2019. Its sequel, Spice and Wolf VR2,^[k] was released on December 10, 2020.^[70]

Other media

In April 2008, the maid café Cafe with Cat in Akihabara, Tokyo, Japan hosted a specially themed event called Cafe with Wolf for a period of three days between April 4 and April 6.^[71] The event included three new items on the menu and tied in with the sale of the first anime DVD volume which went on sale on April 2, 2008. People who bought the DVD from the Comic Toranoana Akihabara Honten store (which is on the first floor below Cafe with Cat) and brought the receipt with them into Cafe with Wolf were entered into a lottery to win rare Spice and Wolf goods.^[72]

Sales

ASCII Media Works reported that by December 2009, the novel had sold over 3.5 million copies.^[73] By October 2020, it had sold over 5 million copies.^[74] The first manga volume of the English release in North America debuted at No. 4 on The New York Times Best Seller Manga list,^[75] while the third volume reached No. 3.^[76]

Critical reception

In a retrospective review of the 2008 anime, Michael Basile of Anime News Network acclaimed it as an "incredibly fascinating and captivating work". He commended the story's "shockingly wide" and detailed handling of economics, which he felt enhanced the world's realism and made for a complex plot. He also praised the show's portrayal of Holo and Lawrence, who had "perfect chemistry" and "wonderful, often poignant exchanges". Basile saw their romantic relationship as a particularly strong point, with their dialogue allowing "romantic encounters to soar", and concluded by calling the show an "absolute delight" to watch.^[77]

Accolades

The light novel series has ranked three times in Takarajimasha's yearly light novel guidebook Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi!: first in 2007, and fifth in both 2008 and 2009. In the 2007 issue, Holo won Best Female Character as well.^[78] In 2009, Japanator ranked the anime as the 48th best of the decade.^[79]