Originally Posted by
Neichus
Late to the party, but here it goes...
Spice and Wolf Rewatch: 4-7
I like this first arc, but I will be honest I still don't 100% understand how the deal worked. More specifically, they never answer the original question which is: why were Lawrence and Holo targeted by Medio Trading? They bring this up as a bizarre choice by Medio Trading since Milone Trading wouldn't care that much. Is the implication that Chloe recognized Holo's name and authorized the hit out of a hunch? I just never got it.
Which brings me on to the second point, and that is Chloe's involvement in Medio Trading. It strikes me as terribly anachronistic that Chloe would be a major player in a powerful trading company. The author even seems to realize this: she's surrounded by grizzled old men who would naturally be the leaders, so a young pretty farm girl sticks out like a sore thumb. The interaction she has with Holo is important, but the fact that she's there at all has never settled well with me.
Finishing for this week I want to take a look at Lawrence's role in the series. Lawrence is not an extraordinary person. He demonstrates a heightened degree of intelligence and cunning, which has made him into a successful merchant, but beyond this relatively unremarkable. I don't state this as a bad thing, simply that it's important to appreciate the incredible task Lawrence is up against: keeping up with Holo.
This is what makes Spice & Wolf different from most romantic series. Usually the role of males is more dominant: the guy is the one taking care of the problems. He protects the girl and through his effort woos her over. And at first Lawrence tries to do just this. He attempts to show off his business savvy, pose questions he thinks she can't answer, and protect her when they are cornered by Medio Trading. But the truth is, she's just as smart as he is and has centuries of experience that make her far more capable in nearly every regard. She gets better deals, figures out his riddles, and saves them both by turning into a giant wolf. Everything he can do she can do better.
The result of all this is two-fold. For Lawrence it means that as his feelings for Holo grow he has to figure out and overcome his own bruised ego. It isn't a grand transformation, and in fact the series remarks little on it, but it is still a journey that adds a layer to his character. For the audience, it serves as a warning to not expect these roles or even find them desirable, for as we are reminded, "All men are jealous idiots, and all women are stupid to be happy about it. Idiots are everywhere you look."