Spice and Wolf - Episode 8

Really, this episode of Spice and Wolf could easily have been subtitled "Horo acts cute" - With the focus of this episode simply on her journey and trading alongside Lawrence, there's plenty of time to enjoy the full range of her personality. Thus, over the course of episode eight we get to see Horo overexcited over food, Horo drunk, Horo blatantly manipulating Lawrence to get her own way, and Horo the actress managing to cunningly tip a deal in Lawrence's favour.

Okay, so this might not be edge of your seat stuff, but I really couldn't help but watch it with a smile on my face - Whatever reservations I may sometimes have about Spice and Wolf, an on-form Horo really can make an episode thanks to her characterisation and teasing verbal sparring with Lawrence, with this showing perfect proof of that. If we're honest about it, nothing particularly happened to develop the plot a great deal, but it simply doesn't matter.

At the end of the day, that really rather sums up Spice and Wolf - It's all about the Lawrence and Horo double-act. Is this a bad thing? On a showing such as this, certainly not, and I find myself warming to this duo more all the time.

P.S.: If you're wondering what happened to episode seven, it's slated for a DVD-only release at the end of May. Confusing, I know.