Spice and Wolf - Episode 4

I said after episode three that Spice and Wolf required a little more... well, spice, aside from the admittedly wonderfully portrayed relationship between Lawrence and Horo, and so episode four has brought just that to the table, turning the relatively mundane journey the pair have embarked upon thus far on its head.

Indeed, this episode seemed so keen to get to the crux of the matter that the opening part of the episode really felt rather rushed, trying to quickly cram in the whole story about silver coins and the true expected role of Lawrence in the deal he'd previously made with another merchant at break-neck speed. After zipping through that, the story finds some time to focus on the pair's relationship once again, with what were some really quite emotionally fraught and intriguing moments, again almost perfectly played out to grab the watcher's interest.

But, no sooner does that aspect of the story seem to be revealing itself than the action starts for real, pulling us along with it to what is the show's first real cliff-hanger, which may well disappoint those who would quite happily enjoy an entire series of Lawrence and Horo scooting around selling things, but was certainly needed to give the plot a kick into life. Spice and Wolf may not be lining itself up as my favourite anime of this season, but once again this episode has proved its worth in holding my attention.