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REVIEW: Spice & Wolf Novel 4


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Kohii



Joined: 12 Nov 2010
Posts: 428
PostPosted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 12:10 am Reply with quote
This was a great volume. And the review was pretty accurate.

I especially liked the bar's owner and her little backstory.
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Loki4life



Joined: 19 Jul 2008
Posts: 1
PostPosted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 12:59 am Reply with quote
I'm sorry, the original cover art isn't flattering to Holo?

Well I guess that's how it is with light novel art, you either like it as part of the story or you don't Confused
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Animerican14



Joined: 19 Aug 2006
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Location: Saint Louis, MO
PostPosted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 1:55 am Reply with quote
^ It just might be a semantics thing... by "original cover art," he might be referring to the original, slipcase cover with Yen Press's edition of the book. And that "art" is original to Yen Press's release, so... yeah.

Though Theron uses the term "original art" to describe the original Japanese-illustrated cover art, so it might not be a semantics issue after all. Which, if that's the case, seems to be pretty unconventional thinking, to say that the Japanese art isn't flattering to Holo...
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enurtsol



Joined: 01 May 2007
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 2:10 am Reply with quote
Who cares about the cover arts! It's a novel! Wink
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lhernan02



Joined: 12 Jun 2005
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 3:44 am Reply with quote
I don't get the cover art comment. I did not have any problems with the Japanese cover (she looks pretty much like the anime). If anything, the "live action" cover seems less atractive: the model appears older than "human" Holo (based on her hands), her proportions appear stretched out (taller and thinner [proportionately] than Holo), and the fact that she covers her face [I understand why from a technical standpoint] puts a greater distance between viewer and subject.
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Thunder-Break



Joined: 13 Oct 2010
Posts: 28
PostPosted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 7:23 am Reply with quote
Wow, I didn't realize that the 4th novel was published. Looks like I have a new Amazon purchase.
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Pippin4242



Joined: 01 Jan 2006
Posts: 111
PostPosted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 7:37 am Reply with quote
Animerican14 wrote:
^ It just might be a semantics thing... by "original cover art," he might be referring to the original, slipcase cover with Yen Press's edition of the book. And that "art" is original to Yen Press's release, so... yeah.

Though Theron uses the term "original art" to describe the original Japanese-illustrated cover art, so it might not be a semantics issue after all. Which, if that's the case, seems to be pretty unconventional thinking, to say that the Japanese art isn't flattering to Holo...


If that's the case, I'm with Theron on this. The Japanese art has always had a slightly distressing tendancy to draw her with proportions that are too childlike. Her head-to-shoulders ratio is that of a very young child, and it's completely distracting.

- Pips
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Echo_City



Joined: 03 Apr 2011
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 4:15 pm Reply with quote
I'll cast my vote against the original artwork. I don't find Holo's face in that depiction to be aesthetically pleasing (it looks like her jaw is jutting out, in an almost simian manner), and I also find the childlike body build with which she is generally depicted to be displeasing.

During the course of S&W I've wondered why the people Lawrence & Holo interact with don't castigate Lawrence for traveling unescorted with a girl so young, instead of jealously ogling her. I suppose that these faux-medieval Europe towns could be more, ah, "progressive" than what we have today, but it still doesn't float my boat.

I'm glad that the anime, particularly the English dub, has (so far) kept the Lawrence/Holo romantic relationship on the back-burner. In printed media I can imagine Holo in a form that doesn't appeal to some sort of quasi-loli fanbase.

Back on topic, I greatly prefer the dust cover to the illustrated cover for this volume, and I'm still pleased that this can be offered for a civilized price @ Amazon (under 8 bucks).
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Twilightmaster



Joined: 24 Aug 2008
Posts: 129
PostPosted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 8:42 pm Reply with quote
It's amusing that with so many loli titles in anime, people easily forget that in medieval europe, it was quite common for girls around the age of twelve to get married. The tag of pedophile wasn't as strong until more recent times, and this was mainly due to the shorter life spans of that era, and the need to have children as soon as possible.
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tuxedocat



Joined: 14 Dec 2009
Posts: 2183
PostPosted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 9:15 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
With the continuing release of The Twelve Kingdoms novels now seeming unlikely, Spice and Wolf has taken its place as the premiere Japanese novel series being released in the States.


yeah, yeah. Rub it in .... Crying or Very sad

While I like Spice and Wolf, I can't say the the world-building compares to the Twelve Kingdoms.

And .... are people here seriously comparing Holo to a loli? The thing I have always liked about S&W is the portrayed relationship between two adults...

oh well. Embarassed
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doctordoom85



Joined: 12 Jun 2008
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 10:01 pm Reply with quote
tuxedocat wrote:
And .... are people here seriously comparing Holo to a loli? The thing I have always liked about S&W is the portrayed relationship between two adults...

oh well. Embarassed


Holo is definitely NOT loli in any sense of the word. Why anyone would think that is beyond me.
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Key
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Joined: 03 Nov 2003
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Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 12:44 am Reply with quote
Holo has been consistently described as a "young woman," and I've seen some comments which specifically place her as looking like she's 15. (I would peg her as more like 18 based on the anime version, though.) In medieval times, no one would have batted an eye at that.

As for the cover art: I've made it no secret that I prefer the anime renditions of Holo to the ones in the novels and their original Japanese cover art. Even though Holo is a thin and lanky girl in the anime, she still looks better-rounded than in the book illustrations.


Last edited by Key on Fri Oct 21, 2011 11:03 am; edited 1 time in total
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Veers



Joined: 31 Oct 2008
Posts: 1197
Location: Texas
PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 12:48 am Reply with quote
It is amusing and heartening to see the only bad thing you have to say in the summary is in regards to something as minor as the cover art Laughing
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Scormio





PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 1:34 am Reply with quote
Quote:
Original cover art is not flattering to Holo.


Shocked Personally, I think the light novel art is beautiful, which was why I was pleasently surprised when FUNimation used that style for the season 2 LE box. I know it's different from the anime, but I think they both have different qualities that still make Holo her pretty-self.

Overall, though, another good review from Theron.
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nargun



Joined: 29 Mar 2006
Posts: 924
PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 5:25 am Reply with quote
tuxedocat wrote:
While I like Spice and Wolf, I can't say the the world-building compares to the Twelve Kingdoms.


There's actually a lot more to the worldbuilding of Spice & Wolf than you might think: behind the scenes we've got some decent actual current-events politics and a broad outline of history. It doesn't compare with 12kk, perhaps, but... remember, the 12kk novels are massively longer than S&W, maybe twice the length each.
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