Spice and Wolf - Episode 10

Episode nine of Spice and Wolf hinted that there may be trouble ahead for Lawrence, and episode ten sees those problems manifest themselves in the worst possible manner as our favourite merchant's luck finally runs out in spectacular fashion.

While I could consider Lawrence's financial and economic problems in great detail here, let's be honest - nobody really cares too much about the whole merchant thing, it just happens to be a great vehicle for Lawrence and Horo's relationship. Once again, Horo is on top form, teasing and verbally jousting away while making it difficult to understand where her teasing ends and real feelings towards Lawrence begin. Horo's presence in, and effect upon, Lawrence's life come to a head at the end of this episode, leaving us with a bit of a cliffhanger as to how things will shake out next time around.

Unfortunately, the animation quality of Spice and Wolf seemed to take quite a steep dive in episode ten unless my eyes deceive it, but thankfully the Lawrence-Horo relationship is still the big draw of this show, and it still works brilliantly. As a purely character-driven piece, Spice and Wolf remains largely delightful, and more than makes up for its relative lack of action or even a particularly interesting plot by leveraging this single relationship alone. Enjoyable stuff, and strangely relaxing to watch with its olde world charms and likeable duo at the helm.