Spice and Wolf Manga Volume 5
Spice and Wolf Volume 5 Manga Cover
It's been a busy few months and the release of the 5th volume of the Spice and Wolf manga almost missed me, thankfully Amazon decided to remind me of such important things and I received it, as usual, on the release date. This post has also been sitting in my Drafts folder for quite some time, so long in fact that the 6th volume has now arrived!
Volume 5 picks up where Volume 4 left off, with Lawrence being asked to repay his huge debt just after the armour prices have crashed in Ruvinheigen. Again, we've got a lovely full colour image of Holo relaxing, albeit with an unusually large apple (much to her delight?). The cover image is also fantastic, with Holo putting on quite a cunning grin. This volume also contains the argument scene between Lawrence and Holo, this was very well done in the light novel and the manga has done a fantastic job of illustrating their behaviour and expressions. As usual, the very high standards of artwork have been maintained thought this volume. Keito Koume is truly one of the best mangaka i've ever seen.
The bonus track in this volume takes a bit of an unusual turn and abandons the traditional setting of Spice and Wolf. Entitled K9-ON, it puts Holo and Nora in a band with Lawrence as their manager. I'm not making this up - go read it!
Volume 6 is due for release was released on the 27th of March 2012, hopefully this will conclude the Ruvinheigen arc. I'm keen to see how some of the scenes are handled.
Spice and Wolf Manage Volume 5 is available from Amazon. ISBN 9780316210324.
Spice and Wolf Manga Volume 4
Spice and Wolf Manga Volume 4 Cover
Volume 4 starts around where Volume 3 left off, with Holo and Lawrence finishing up their deal in Poroson. This volume stays mostly true to the original light novel, but adds a few minor things in here and there.
There is one full colour image in this volume, right at the start just like in Volume 3. The image itself is quite a nice one of Holo and Nora together, although Nora looks somewhat uncomfortable with Holo's sudden presence! The bonus track in this volume is a small Nora side story which I found slightly confusing to follow towards the end, the artwork depicting Nora and Enek together though is adorable! Indeed, this volume continues the same high standards of artwork seen in the previous volumes.
Oddly enough, this volume still carries the explicit content warning, despite the fact there is absolutely nothing explicit or even questionable in this volume at all, unlike the previous volumes.
Volume 4 of the manga covers the end of chapter 1 to the end of chapter 3 in volume 2 of the light novel. It would be nice to think that Volume 5 of the manga, set for release on the 25th of October 2011, would cover the remainder of Volume 2 of the light novel but i'm doubtful that they'd be able to fit 3 chapters of content and the epilogue into one volume of manga. Perhaps the recently released (in Japan) Volume 6 of the manga will end Volume 2 of the light novel?
Volume 4 of the light novel is set for release later this month, on the 28th of June 2011. As usual, I can hardly wait. It's always such a long time between each volume's release and this is perhaps my favourite novel series!
Spice and Wolf Manga Volume 4 is available from Amazon. ISBN 9780316178266
Spice and Wolf Manga Volume 3
Spice and Wolf Manga Volume 3 Cover
Volume 3 picks up where Volume 2 left off, with Lawrence and Holo in Pazzio's sewers attempting to escape the Medio company after figuring out their plan. It continues all the way through to the sale of the pepper in Poroson. While mostly true to the original light novel, this volume of the manga adds in scenes of Nora, the shepherdess, before Lawrence and Holo have met her. This works fairly well as we're able to understand her background and previous life as seen by her, rather than as told by her.
Volume 3 has one full colour page right at the start of Holo partially covered by a few furs. I find this a little strange, as they sold the furs all the way back in Volume 1! I would have much preferred to have seen one of the scenes in full colour instead of a picture. The "Bonus Track" chapter in Volume 3 really is a bonus, in the previous volume the bonus track simply continued the story. However, this time we've got a short story set in Japan's Edo period where Holo is a courtesan and Laurence is (still) a merchant. The bonus track was an amusing, if somewhat different, read. As with the previous two volumes, the artwork is extremely detailed thought the manga.
Volume 3 of the manga covers chapter 6 and the epilogue of Volume 1 of the light novel and chapter 1 of Volume 2 of the light novel. Volume 4 of the manga has no release date on the Yen Press website, but Amazon lists it as the 31st of May 2011. Volume 3 of the light novel is set for release very soon, on the 7th of December 2010 - I can hardly wait!
Spice and Wolf Manga Volume 3 is available from Amazon. ISBN 9780316102346.
Spice and Wolf Manga Volume 2
Spice and Wolf Manga Volume 2 Cover
Volume 2 of the Spice and Wolf Manga was released a few days ago, after reading Volume 1 a few months ago and being amazed at the quality of the manga I instantly put volume 2 on pre-order. Like volume 1, it has a small parental advisory imprint on the cover but if anything, volume 2 is far more 'safe' than the first volume. Like volume 1, the artwork is superbly detailed - Keito Koume is an outstanding artist.
Unusually, volume 2 contains no full-colour pages - unlike volume 1 and almost all other mangas. I was somewhat disappointed at their absence but nevertheless I thoroughly enjoyed reading volume 2.
In relation to the light novels, volume 2 of the manga covers volume 1, chapters 4-5 of the light novel. Considering that volume 1 of the manga covered volume 1, chapters 1-3 of the light novel I was expecting volume 2 of the manga to finish off volume 1 of the light novel. However, it seems like we'll have to wait for volume 3 of the manga to see the ending of volume 1 of the light novel! I suspect the reason for this is the extra content that volume 2 of the manga has added to the story. While the story line in the manga stays true to the original, there is an extra scene of Holo conversing with her captors - something that isn't in the original light novel.
Volume 3 is set for release on the 16th of November 2010 Update: Amazon now lists it as the 20th of January 2011, not heard confirmation from Yen Press about this yet Update 2: Amazon dispatched this on the 23rd of November 2010 so I can expect it soon (and Volume 3 of the light novel is set for release on the 7th of December 2010) - i've got my copy pre-ordered in anticipation!
Spice and Wolf Manga Volume 2 is Available from Amazon, ISBN 9780316102322.
Spice and Wolf Manga Volume 1
Spice and Wolf Manga Volume 1 Cover
In preparation for the upcoming release of volume 2 of the Spice and Wolf light novel, I wanted to refresh myself of the storyline of the volume 1. As the first volume of the Spice and Wolf manga was recently released, I decided to read it in order to refresh myself.
The front cover has a "Parental Advisory/Explicit Content" label on it and I did initially fear that the manga might be full of Holo fanservice and ignore the original story. Thankfully though, the manga only has a few Holo fanservice scenes - primarily when Laurence first finds her in his cart. Normally in manga, the first 4 pages are in full colour. However, in this case the 4 colour pages are Holo's discovery instead, which I think was a very good choice. At the very beginning, there is a brief introduction to each character and a map of the area within which the story is set in. The artwork is absolutely stunning - it is perhaps the most detailed i've ever seen in any manga. This level of quality is maintained thorough the manga.
The manga stays true to the original story and doesn't skip any major parts and acutally explains some of the more difficult economic concepts in the story quite well. However, it only covers chapters 1-3 of the Volume 1 light novel - up to where Laurence goes off to make a proposal to the Milone Company. I presume that Volume 2 will cover chapters 4-6 - if/when Volume 2 of the manga becomes available i'll be sure to purchase it!
Available from Amazon.