The next generation hits the road in the Spice and Wolf world.
Creative Staff
Story: Isuna Hasekura
Art: Hidori
Translation/Adaptation: Jasmine Bernhardt
What They Say
When Col leaves the cozy mountain village of Nyohhira aspiring to become a full-fledged member of the clergy, a certain impetuous wolf can’t help stowing away aboard his ship to follow him for a chance to have a grand adventure of her own!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Spice and Wolf was a long-running series where the protagonists, the traveling merchant Lawrence and the wisewolf Holo, ultimately achieve a happy ending. However, loyal fans often want more, and to feed this craving, Hasekura-sensei has created the sequel Wolf and Parchment. Like the original, it’s a travel tale, but the focus has shifted to Holo and Lawrence’s tween daughter Myuri and the former waif Tote Col, who’s now a diligent twenty-five-year-old.
The Wolf and Parchment manga provides bits of background so that those unfamiliar with the Spice and Wolf world get the gist of how beings like Holo and Myuri are viewed and the nature of Col’s relationship to Holo’s family. However, Wolf and Parchment would be best enjoyed after having read Spice and Wolf.
In terms of this new journey, Col, whom Lawrence and Holo met as a wandering student, has continued in his aspirations to study religious scripture. However, the Church has become embroiled in a fierce dispute with the Kingdom of Winfiel over taxes. When the Pope retaliates by suspending all religious services, Col decides to go support the efforts of Winfiel noble Heir Hyland to root out the Church’s corrupt practices. But shortly after sailing away from Lawrence and Holo’s bathhouse inn where he’s lived the last fifteen years, he discovers a stowaway – Myuri.
Unlike Col, Myuri doesn’t have a lofty mission. Rather, she can’t bear to be apart from Col, for whom she bears a puppy dog love. Thus the tone of these travelers’ interactions are very different from Holo and Lawrence’s. Still, they have this in common; Myuri, like her mother, doesn’t hesitate to point out the faults of her chosen male, and Col, very much like Lawrence, bears Myuri’s sass with a long-suffering air.
The original series focused on trade but often incorporated elements of politics and religion. Similarly with the sequel, religious reformation is Col’s pursuit, but he’s already taking political influences into account as he aligns himself with Hyland. And in addition to the economic impacts of the Church tax, Col and Myuri witness the problems caused in Atiph because the Church there has tied up the town’s copper coinage.
While this power struggle is intriguing and I’m interested to see how the crisis over small change will play out, a key element of the story strikes me as baffling: Col’s dedication to the faith. Having interacted with members of clergy at the bathhouse inn, he’s well aware of the hypocrisy among their ranks. Moreover, Holo and Myuri, whom he loves deeply, are beings who’d be condemned as demonic by the Church. It would be one thing if he had a deep connection with the God of the Church, but Col describes that God as one “that had yet to look [his] way.” As such, it’s odd he would devote himself to living out the teachings of such a religion with idealistic zeal rather than calling out the institution’s bald-faced corruption and striving to eliminate it entirely.
However, Hasekura-sensei seems intent on making Col an over-serious stickler to the rules so that Myuri can poke holes into his conviction. And if you’re willing to overlook the baselessness of Col’s faith, you can probably enjoy that exchange.
One more thing. Myuri can’t be more than thirteen, and she’s portrayed with an innocent personality. However, Hidori-sensei at times draws her in provocative positions, which I find distasteful. While Holo at times flaunted her body before Lawrence, it was understood that she was a centuries-old wisewolf who knew exactly what she was doing. Casting a Lolita air over Myuri is unnecessary and taints the feel of the actual [chaste] relationship between Myuri and Col.
Extras include the first six pages in color and commentary from the series’ creators.
In Summary
Fifteen years after Tote Col met a traveling merchant and wisewolf on the road, he sets out on a new journey, this time accompanied by the couple’s daughter Myuri. While religious reformation is Col’s goal, the plot includes interplay between money, politics, and religion as in the original Spice and Wolf series. But instead of Holo’s centuries-old wisdom, we have Myuri’s youthful exuberance, and although the basis of Col’s convictions is somewhat baffling, his serious demeanor provides a good balance to the wolf girl’s impulsiveness.
Content Grade: B+
Art Grade: B
Packaging Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: B
Age Rating: 16+
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: December 15th, 2020
MSRP: $13.00
