Many thanks to Yen Press for providing a review copy
About the Mangaka
Hasekura Isuna is a new writer on the block, with this series, Spice & Wolf, being his first published work.
About the Manga
When I originally watched the anime of this I was unimpressed, rather I thought it was crap. I also didn’t understand all the hype surrounding it, supposedly it was the best anime ever made. In the end I thought the anime was a pathetic waste of time since it didn’t do anything it set out to do. As such you can imagine my total apathy towards reading the novels…
The cover of this novel is a bit misleading as I found out while reading it in my local coffee shop. The waitress thought I was reading a ‘saucy’ book and asked me not to read stuff like that in the shop. We both had a laugh over it once it was cleared up. Everything about the cover screams Black Lace (they’re a women’s erotica publisher in the UK whose covers do bear a striking resemblance to this one hehe), but that’s just the cover design, there’s nothing inside it that’s steamy, other than good read 
One thing I can’t stress enough is that this is Isuna’s first work, as such it’s rough and unrefined. It lacks the polish we see in other fantasy style novels, both imported and native.
However personally once I got settled into the novel I found this roughness to be appealing. A lot of novels I’ve read have, in a way, a clinical cleanliness feel to them. Every word is in the right place, no comma’s in the wrong place and no misuse of verbs; this volume lacks that surgical feel to it.
It’s written in a rather wordy and convoluted way, with repetition and at times it does get bogged down in itself. Rather than being annoying, I found this rather refreshing and made me want to read more of the volume.
Isuna is a good story teller, though he does seem to struggle at times with getting what he wants to say across properly.
However none of that matters because the story and characters he create are truly amazing. Both Horo and Lawrence are alive and vibrant and their interactions are really funny to watch.
What really surprised me however is the way the supporting characters felt. Initially they were pretty average, however as the volume progressed they became stranger and more real,
I really liked Horo in the novel, which is a complete reversal for me since I hated her in the anime. The thing I like about her here though is that while she appears perfect, she has moments of childlikeness that really make her more loveable.
I like the way she uses her centuries of knowledge to to do various things (such as conning a merchant into paying more than he wanted to), and yet this same aspect is what also leads to her embarrassing herself at times. I was also happy to see she had a few flaws that made her superiority and mild arrogance easier to find loveable, rather than hating.
Lawrence is the same, his personality in the novels is more real than the anime, and is more fleshed out. In fact I liked his personality a lot, and found it went well with Haro’s. Though admittedly I do feel he needs a bit of a stronger personality, I found the way he was always being overwhelmed by Horo a bit much, and feel the banter would have been a better if it was more equal.
As the volume progressed, especially in the latter part, his personality does get a bit more stronger, and I’m hoping that this is a sign of things to come.
For me the entire saving aspect of this volume is the premise, a ‘harvest god’ travelling with a wandering merchant while making her way home is a really intriguing concept with a lot of potential. This volume alone shows off that potential and gives hints of something else to come.
Isuna is by no means an excellent writer, however he is one of those writers you don’t really care if they make mistakes. The reason being you see something special in the way they write.
I grew up on high fantasy, the likes of Tolkien, Eddings, Gemmell and Fiest, and I feel that Isuna, while he’s no Tolkien he has the same impact that Eddings and Gemmell have had.
Ayakura Jyu did the art for the series, and I’m in two minds over it. The colour panels are amazing, and several of them are really heart touching, I’m loving the chibi Horo on the index as well. However the art panels inside were less impressive, and lacking something, but it doesn’t hinder the volume any.
I have to admit I don’t really like the oversize nature of the volume, I preferred the normal novel size that Yen Press used for Kieli. Though it’s no where near as bad as some of this months releases, *cough* Ghost in the Shell, Akira *cough*
I’m happy they kept the colour pages in since these really do set the stage for the novel. It’s hard to judge translation in novels, but I have no issues with this volume. The story flows reasonably well, and the few minor issues I had were more down to Isuna’s writing style than anything else.
Overall though I think this is a series that’s well worth buying and reading, I can’t seen anyone really being disappointed with it. So much so that I’m adding it to my Essential Read list.
Where to Buy
November 20, 2009 @ 20:23.
When I can afford the book and I can get it here in Sweden I will probably get it.
I want to read it so it´s a must
manga´s last blog ..First Impressions ｢Dragon Age: Origins｣