Spice and Wolf: The Complete First Season

Set during the Renaissance in a European-looking locale, this adaptation of Isuna Hasekura's novel series revolves around merchant Kraft Lawrence and his unconventional partner Holo, a teenage girl with wolf ears and tail. In the initial episode, the peddler visits a farming village and finds the wolf-girl hiding in his wagon, hoping to accompany him on his travels. It seems the town has long honored her as a harvest goddess, but she yearns to return to her people in the North. Agreeing to take her along, Lawrence tells people they meet that she is his wife (in public, she conceals her ears and tail). Lawrence considers her a pest until she starts to use her powers to help him out in various ways, such as detecting lies—a useful tool for a salesman who often deals with strangers. After the pair exposes a coin-trading conspiracy, Holo disappears, and Lawrence fears the worst; but he eventually rescues her, and their adventures continue. Holo's condescending attitude can be wearisome (“It is hardly my fault that all men are idiots”), but the complex plotline will likely appeal to older teens. Compiling 13 episodes from the 2008 first season on a dual-language double-disc set, suitable for 14-up, this is a strong optional purchase. Aud: P. (K. Fennessy)