Spice and Wolf Volume 4
Spice and Wolf Volume 4 Cover
It's been a while, but Volume 4 of Spice and Wolf has finally been released. It should have been released at the start of this month (June) but all UK outlets had a delay in receiving it. I then decided it would be a good idea to pre-order from two places and cancel whichever dispatched first... but it seems that the first place who dispatched it never told me when they dispatched it and consequently i've now got two copies. I'm already planning to give the spare away to a friend, so no loss overall!
As usual, there are the 3 beautiful full colour illustrations at the front of the book. The 2nd one features Holo lying down, with Lawrence's arm resting on her, extremely adorable! The 3rd one however seems to have Holo putting on a very disinterested face in the background.
Volume 4 picks up where Volume 3 left off, with Lawrence and Holo travelling ever further in search of Holo's homeland. As they stop off in Tereo to find out more however, things are do not seem entirely normal. Indeed, the plot line of this volume takes on a much more mysterious theme. Economics does not play as much as a role as in the previous volumes, but nevertheless it is an interesting plot line with lots of witty dialogue between Lawrence and Holo. There where also many 'sweet' scenes in this volume and I'm curious to see how they've handled this in the anime series, which i'll be catching up on soon. For reference, this volume takes us covers the mid point of Season 2 until the end of Season 2.
Volume 5 is due out on the 6th of December 2011. As usual, my preorder has been submitted since long ago. Hopefully this winter the weather won't delay it's arrival.
Spice and Wolf Volume 4 is available from Amazon.
Note: Most of this post was written shortly after Volume 4 was released in July, it was only in October that I actually got around to publishing it...
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 Volume 3
Original Japanese Cover
Spice and Wolf Volume 3 was released all the way back in mid-December, but due to a combination of snow and Christmas holidays i've not actually be able to read it until now. As a fan of the series and having recently seen the 1st season of the anime I was really eager to get back to reading it again. Yen Press, it would be great if you could speed up the translation a bit - 6 months is an awfully long gap between releases!
As with the previous volumes, there are 3 beautiful double-page colour illustrations showing scenes from the novel. One shows a boy declaring his undying love for "Holo the nun". Based purely off that, I could tell that this would be an interesting read and offer a diversion from the themes of the previous two volumes.
Volume 3 picks up where Volume 2 left off, Laurence and Holo have left Ruvinheigen and are continuing northwards in order to find Holo's home town of Yoitsu. Along the way though, they encounter a wealthy fishmonger called Amati. He takes quite a fancy to Holo and offers to repay Holo's (falsified) debt to Lawrence in order to secure her hand in marriage (the debt being a way to explain why they're travelling together rather than an actual debt). Thus, Lawrence must find some way of managing to prevent Amati from gaining enough money to pay the debt. However, due to questions over Yoitsu's existence the relationship between Holo and Lawrence reaches an all time low. Lawrence soon realises how much Holo meant to him and hence the pressure is really on to stop Amati, but will he manage it alone?
Unlike the previous volumes, this volume was initially was quite light on economics and focused more upon the characters and plot, which was nice change. However, economics did eventually come to play a significant part in this volume and as always it fitted perfectly with the storyline. Unusually, Holo did not have to transform to her wolf-form, presumably because it's Lawrence who has to do the legwork in order to win Holo back.
Overall, Volume 3 was an enjoyable read however I felt that it wasn't as good as the previous two, albeit only slightly. I suspect this is due to the limited direct involvement of Holo compared to the previous volumes - I enjoy like the dialogue that gets going between them. Additionally, some of Holo's actions seemed abnormal to me, such as wanting a baby. However, I agree that it can be justified given her feelings at the time.
Volume 4 is currently scheduled for release on the 21st of June 2011. Yet again, i'm eagerly anticipating it but frustrated by the long wait!
Spice and Wolf Volume 3 is available from Amazon.
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.