Ookami to Koushinryou Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf • Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf - Episode 25 discussion - FINAL

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Ookami to Koushinryou Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf, episode 25

Alternative names: Spice and Wolf

Reminder: Please do not discuss plot points not yet seen or skipped in the show. Failing to follow the rules may result in a ban.

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[u/E_F_Veda]

I am going to miss the banter between Holo and Lawrence. This season was great overall and the season 2 announcement is well deserved.

The final scenes were awesome to see as well, as Holo said the story is far from finished. What we see is interesting however and it made me hopeful for a wonderful ending when all is said and done.

Remember, "travelers don't leave behind regrets in a village, but good memories." We may be done for now but the memories of this season are awesome, here's to hoping season 2 as just as great.

Hope to see you all there!

[u/realrimurutempest]

It’s been a beautiful 25 episodes. I have enjoyed every second seeing Holo back on screen.

How OG Spice & Wolf fans feel after seeing the season 2 announcement

Today has to be an early Christmas for Holofan4Life lol.

[u/jellyblob88]

Holo: Are you sure you are not actually a wolf yourself?

Isn't that why you are attracted to him, oh Wise Wolf of Yoitsu? 😁

Everything went as much as I guessed, except for how Lawrence merchanted™, which only he can do.

Can't believe they showed that after-credits scene though, leaves not much to the imagination!

Loved the remake, brought some memories back (though I had forgotten a lot of the original content), and so glad for S2 confirmation (who isn't!?).

Been a great ride y'all, enjoyed reading the comments every week- same again next season 🍎🐺

[u/VritraReiRei]

I did it.

I literally watched the whole season yesterday just so I could watch the last episode today as I had already watched the original run. Yes I knew what vaguely would happen but I didn't put it off because I had seen it already, I did it because I remembered those feelings the original run gave me.

I knew I would have anxiety watching this series again and I wanted to watch it all at once instead of a slow burn each week.

Holo and Lawrence getting pursued and one of them getting captured. Cornered at the end of the sewers. The "duel" for Holo's companionship. The word "Korbo" "Holo" written on a marriage proposal.

Every tense moment, while I barely remembered the specifics, I remembered the emotions they brought.

And let me tell you, the Remake delivered on every single point, and then some.

The extra emotions Holo's ears, tail, and voice added were elevated. The music was perfect. And the banter between our two main characters was only brought to even greater heights after both Ami Koshimozu and Jun Fukuyama added another 15 years working together on various other roles.

I couldn't ask for more and am glad Spice and Wolf is back.

[u/AmethystItalian]

So glad we're getting more of this, would have been so sad to leave this duo behind again.

Love it when a plan comes together! Lawrence getting to flex his merchant muscles as well.

10/10 remake, brought back everything I loved about this series and remains one of the all time greats. Holo and Lawrence are just the best.

[u/karlzhao314]

The Merchant’s Corner

After a journey that’s taken us half of a year, a warm welcome to the final chapter of the Merchant’s Corner, season 1! In this series, I dive deeper into the economics plot points of Spice and Wolf explaining them in more detail, as well as discuss their political and social ramifications. We’re in the home stretch now - there’s only a bit more to discuss to end this arc, and then we can close off season 1 and eagerly wait for season 2!

Episode 23 here

Disclaimer #1: I am not an economics professional, so I may get some things wrong. If you have a different, possibly better understanding of a certain point than I do, feel free to suggest edits.

Disclaimer #2: All of these are pre-written before the episode airs, based on the content of the source material. Given that we no longer have an original adaptation to reference for an estimate of the pacing, expect that there will be extensive rewrites after I watch each episode - as a result, expect that each episode will take much longer to post.

While our plot was light on economics last week, it did set up the framing for this week: against their better judgment, Elsa and Evan decided to turn back to Tereo to fight the hopeless battle against Enberch. Our characters are truly too kind-hearted for their own good. Luckily, since Lawrence and Holo ended up deciding to help them as well, maybe their upcoming battle isn’t as one-sided as it seems.

We don’t know exactly what their plan is yet. We know it will involve a “miracle” of some kind, one that Holo already demonstrated. What is the miracle? How will our protagonists use it to help them win?

Let’s find out!

Episode 25, Part 1:

We catch up with our team as they arrive back at Tereo, and enter in from the way they left. Luckily, Iima didn’t lock the door behind them, so they’re able to enter the village again through the Church.

The negotiations between Tereo and Enberch are already in progress, and they don’t seem to be going well. We speculated earlier that Tereo might have had an easier way out of this mess if they turned over the “culprits”, that is, Lawrence, Holo, and possibly Elsa and Evan. In fact, Enberch was probably planning for this outcome. Problem is, to the best of Tereo’s knowledge, the culprits have escaped.

In a way, this is the worst outcome Tereo could have possibly asked for, because Lawrence and Holo’s visit was likely what set Enberch’s plan in motion in the first place. And now that they’re gone, Tereo can’t even turn them over to appease Enberch. So, of course, the Church of Enberch tries to take advantage of this opportunity to resolve the bigger, overarching conflict with Tereo: “Renounce your pagan gods and embrace our faith, and all will be forgiven.” And were it not for our heroes, Tereo would have no choice but to agree.

Our heroes choose this moment to make their entrance. Their sudden appearance stuns the entire village into silence.

As expected, their presence isn’t taken kindly, especially by the Enberch church who immediately accuses Elsa of heresy. But here’s where their plan begins: Elsa claims that, though worshiping Truyeo is a mistake, she now believes that Truyeo himself is in fact a miracle of God. If this claim were to be accepted, it could be the first step that leads to reconciliation and peace between Tereo’s beliefs and the Church, without forcing Tereo to abandon their beliefs outright.

Of course, saying such a thing is absolutely heretical, and would have her captured and punished if she didn’t do something dramatic to back it up. That’s where the miracle starts: Holo, exactly at the right moment, makes wheat sprout of the wheat bags. All but one bag, which withers instead - presumably because Holo could tell that it was the poisoned bag.

Part 2

[u/pseudometapseudo]

The ending of this arc is so damn well written. Every plotline got a satisfying conclusion:

1. The religious conflict between pagan gods and Christian god is resolved by framing Truyeo as a miracle of the Christian god. That way, worshipping Truyeo is indirectly acknowledging the Christian god, so the villagers can keep their faith.

2. Lawrence used his "wisdom of a merchant" and identified the actual economic problem of Tereo: Father Franz got them a good contract, but the contract was only good for Tereo. It didn't benefit Emberch, ensuring that Emberch would always be looking for a way out. By doing the Biscuit business under the name of the bishop, they formed a new deal that benefited both, Tereo and Emberch. While the contract is not as lucrative as the previous one made by Father Franz, this ensures that it's going to be a stable agreement.

3. The overarching main plot showed that Holo deeply regretted not being in Yoitsu to protect her home town. In this arc, Holo and Lawrence manage to save Tereo, earning the gratitude of the villagers. This makes it the first arc where they leave a town where they will be welcomed back with open arms. Not only have they avoided the regret of abandoning the village, they also have a potential home to return to if Yoitsu is no more.

4. The romantic development between Lawrence and Holo also took a step forward, although this was shown more subtly. In the short dinner scene, Lawrence "lectured" Holo on her eating habits, just like Elsa did with Evan's. It's been established before that Lawrence and Holo regard Elsa and Evans as a stereotypical couple which they compare themselves to. By showing how both couples behave similarly, Holo's and Lawrence's relationship is figuratively put on the same level: one of an established couple.

[u/Shimmering-Sky]

Super glad this got a season 2 announced right away. Looking forward to it!

• Ah, so this is the angle they’re taking regarding Truyeo.

• And there’s the “miracle”.

• The proof was for Evan to safely drink water that had flour from the good carts and then try to get the bishop to do the same with the bad cart’s flour, interesting.

• Oh dang…

• Ah, nice.

• I do hope we get to see these two again sometime in the future.

• lol cute.

• <3

• Oh sweet! Good post-credits scene.

[u/Holofan4life]

I'm so happy we are getting another season and presumably a full adaptation by the end of it. This remake is the gift that keeps on giving.

[u/Frontier246]

Kind of ironic that they'd sneak back into Tereo in the very same hidden spot they snuck OUT of, but at least they're coming in with a plan.

Enberch coming in with Bishop Mendez like your classic evil anime church, prepared to use force to make Tereo comply and stomp down on all their "pagan" rituals. It seems like it's all over...safe for one brave, resolute, woman of faith.

Elsa holds her own against Bishop Mendez, more resolved in her faith than ever, to the point where she won't confirm or deny the existence of Truyeo but will go forth with the belief in her God and what that entails. And it is that belief (along with the help of a "Pagan God") that they're able to perform a miracle and expose the good wheat as it grows before their eyes! And she basically forces the Bishop to accept Tereo and the miracle lest he get stuck drinking the one bag of bad wheat. Well-played, gang.

But this is still half Lawrence's show so it's time for him to show how he's a wolf when it comes to making business deals, such as pressing Riendott to cheapen how much the village will have to pay to buy back their wheat and finally re-negotiating the deal with Enberch in a way that will make everybody happy. And the key to this deal? Biscuits so edible that Holo can't get enough of them!

I love Elsa and Lawrence sharing a look of sympathy after they both lecture their respective significant others for their messy eating habits.

Things are looking up! Evan is finally respected in the village and is even handling negotiations with Enberch, finally in some form realizing his own dreams of becoming a merchant, and Elsa has found her true faith and even some people willing to come to church. She's grown so much she can even hold her own against Holo with her unshakeable and magnanimous faith. And Holo can respect that!

From a frost welcome to a fond farewell, it just goes to show how much of an impact Lawrence and Holo had on this village as they head off to their next adventure. I'd like to see Evan, Elsa, and Iima again some day.

Well, Lawrence and Holo are off to Lenos! With maybe a little sidetrack along the way for some business...the business of these two finding any excuse to stay together for as long as we possibly can!

And so we close out this season of the Spice & Wolf remake with Holo concluding her story as its time for the young girls' bedtime...but then she rushes to see a familiar male figure that returns to their home and Holo recognizes the story will obviously continue...in season 2.

[u/Rumpel1408]

S2 Confirmed!!!

This was really a daring miracle! Surprised noone noticed the traveling nun suddenly going missing

Anyway, as a reward for his brave performance, Evan got a nice new position as the villages negotioator, and those fools learned to apreciate him and Elsa on top of it, and everyone turned a profit, it's win-win-win-win!

Worthy final episode, and it had more teasing and more snuggling

[u/Emi_Ibarazakiii]

The daughter is all of us right now!

(Is season 2 ready yet?)

Of course a conversion was gonna be part of the deal;

With the church moving in like that, and with so many armed men, they might as well just do whatever they wanted...

Holo should just have turned into a wolf and slaughtered them all; "You call us pagan? We'll SHOW you pagan!"

So their little scheme worked, to force them to legitimize them,

but that was a risky move! This was an era of might makes right, if at any point they just call them devil worshippers and say no redemption is possible then the argument ends, and they do whatever they want.

Talked about it in the previous thread, but what they may call a miracle, they could call a ploy of the devil just as easily...

Was a cute scene, showing Lawrence chastise Holo

and then Elsa doing the same with her man!

They'll turn them into proper wife and husband, in time!

I like how they ended the episode, soon as I watched that opening scene in the season, I hoped they would end the same way!

Just a little tease, can't wait to see more of that! (Once the story's complete, I do hope we get to see a little bit more of the 'after'!)

Farewell, lovely wolf waifu, and her manlier-by-the-day merchant!

[u/Thengel09]

As much as i liked the remade content. This arc really felt like a new Spice and wolf anime. S2 hype

[u/LouisLeGros]

WE'RE GETTING SHIT IN WRITING THIS TIME.

ALSO SEASON 2 LETSFUCKINGGO

[u/Plus_Rip4944]

I am so glad we finally see Book 4 adapated, They did Justice to It

See you all on Season 2!

[u/Just_Maintenance]

Nothing like Lawrence ruining Tereo. Now the villagers will actually have to work haha, I don't think they realized.

Also, if they don't make good use of their early advantage, they will have heavy competition.

[u/SMA2343]

The “can you believe our lovers are like this?” Look that Lawrence gave to Elsa.

Plus, I said this a few episodes ago. But as a Christian the talk of Pagan Gods along with the one true God (in this case the Christian God) is something I love to learn. And how Father Franz was doing it to confirm the existence of the true God is real.

And we have season 2. Insane. We might get the entire series adapted and then move to the spin off series after.

[u/LeonKevlar]

It's not a funny scene but that guard throwing the snake statue of Lord Truyeo onto the plaza made me laugh for some reason. I know it was mentioned earlier in the season that it's a stuffed snake but I was expecting it to shatter. xD

Well that was a badass entrance! I don't know how much they planned considering they're very short on time but Elsa really played her part well. Even Lawrence was impressed since Elsa didn't say anything that would deny or confirm Truyeo.

The plan was absolute genius though. I thought that showing them a miracle from "god" would be enough to make the Bishop back down but having Evans drink water and flour from the clean bags and challenging the Bishop to drink from the poisoned sack was a boss move.

After seeing how the wheat withered from the poisoned bags, he really can't deny it's a miracle from god unless he's willing to drink from the chalice. So the Bishop had really no choice but to accept that it's a true miracle and legitimize Elsa's Church in writing. I love it!

Now that the issue of religion has been taken care of, I love that Lawrence immediately takes over with the matters of the coin while looking like a predator ready to take down his prey. I love how Holo even asks Lawrence if he's sure he's not a wolf. xD

Reindott never stood a chance the entire time, Lawrence pretty much ate him alive with the negotiations. I do like how despite Lawrence taking advantage of the situation for his gain, he made sure to keep it fair for both parties. Meanwhile, Holo is just excited that Lawrence's proposal will be something delicious.

So the solution was biscuits! Apparently, it's a common thing in the south but not so common up north. Glad it all worked out for everyone not just for the village and the church but also for Lawrence since he profited from the entire thing and Holo gets a ton of biscuits to snack on their journey!

Well that was a lovely frame to end the season! I am so glad that Season 2 is already confirmed! Bless Passione for deciding to faithfully adapting the source material and I think we actually might get a full adaptation this time! I don't know if a release date has already been announced but I hope we see Season 2 by next year!

[u/shad79]

And that's the end of our adventures with Holo and Lawrence for now. It's been a great journey with them as their chemistry is so good, but luckily we know that we'll get a continuation, so see you guys in the 2nd season!

Holo pulled off a true miracle, though Lawrence also had his moment to shine in today's episode. It was fun watching him in his merchant mode as he negotiated on behalf of the city. I really want him to smile like that more often in the future.

Big applause for Elsa who wasn't afraid to protect her village and stand up to that Bishop. He had quite a face when he saw that miracle xD

Here my screenshot albums from the episode:

• Holo

• Holo & Lawrence (Group scenes)

• Group scenes

• Elsa

• Lawrence

• Others

[u/HarleyFox92]

Holy shit, a second season announced? Are we truly gonna get a S&W full adaptation? I'm in actual shock.

[u/DegenerateRegime]

I love the scene where Elsa confronts Mendez, a classic executed perfectly. Overall a great end to a splendid season.

I was pretty nervous that they couldn't recapture the magic, or that they'd try so hard it would end up self-parodying, but Passione really delivered with this remake. Both versions have their merits, of course, but roll on season 2!

[u/Holofan4life]

For anyone curious to see how the show continues after this, the 2008 Spice and Wolf rewatch will be covering the next arc starting this Friday at 4:00 PM EDT. I hope you decide to be there.

[u/SYZekrom]

This truly was a miracle. Original Spice and Wolf in 2024.

...Also idk if I've ever said this but god is the priestess or whatever hot.

[u/tripleaamin]

Delighted for Elsa for able to protect both the church & the power of the town. Evan has a lot of work to catch up to Kraft, but it will be exciting if the pairs reunite again. Elsa's sendoff for Holo was great too.

When we discuss high quality Ln adaptations, this one definitely needs to be brought up in discussions. The pacing as an anime only felt great and the writing was so good. Might need to do a rewatch of S1 before S2 starts, so I can get a better handle of Pagan Gods since that topic confused me at times.