Wolf and Gangsters
Jan. 11th, 2010 12:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dejadrewBought myself two DVD box sets with my Christmas money and have been bouncing happily back and forth between the two of them all weekend. Spice and Wolf is a little rough going at times due to some of the plotlines revolving fairly heavily around economics, but I always get sucked back in due to the characters being just so damn awesome.
*************************
Lawrence: "Math."
Holo: "Math math! Math?"
Lawrence: "Math, math math math. Math math; math."
Me: "I am somewhat confused by this no doubt riveting story about currency speculation..."
Holo: *is smart and awesome*
Lawrence: *is not threatened by the awesome*
Holo: *sly flirtation*
Lawrence: *flustered attempt at responding in kind*
Me: "....SQUEEEE!"
Lawrence: "Math!"
***************************
Mathematics may not be my favourite subject, but damn do I love Chemistry. *smirk*
Seriously, Spice and Wolf is quite possibly the most grown-up romance I've seen in anime. (I assume it's a romance, they're just friends and business partners at the point I've gotten to, but the sexual tension is pretty darn tense)
There's none of the "I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU wait I actually totes love you" stuff we're all sick of. (It was old when Rumiko Takahashi did it the first three times, and I'm even more tired of it now.) Holo and Lawrence LIKE each other before they start to LIKE-LIKE each other. They snark, and sometimes argue, but they also tease and flirt and just talk (about, well, math, mostly, but still) and their relationship is progressing slowly and steadily from acquaintanceship to friendship to something more. Like a REAL relationship! Between sane people!
And even though Holo has animal ears and a tail and is occasionally naked, she never comes across as creepy moe fodder. Maybe because of how she behaves and carries herself. Holo is an ancient harvest goddess, and she acts it.
Creepy Moe Catgirl: "Oh, gee, I have no idea of the effect my nudity has on the male observer! Nyo! Oops, clumsy me, I fell over into a compromising position! Nya!"
Non-Creepy Wolf Woman: "Pfft, I know exactly what effect my being naked has on you, I just don't give a damn because that's your problem. Though I am amused by your discomfort."
And Lawrence is pretty cool himself. More mature-looking than your typical anime lead, with greyish hair colouring and stubble. More mature emotionally, too. He has a job, skills, goals. He teaches Holo about economics and currency, and often, since she's got a few centuries of observation of humanity on him, she totally schools him. They really feel like equal partners thus far, and I wuvs them so.
My other box set is Baccano!, and that's confusing-yet-awesome in a whole different way. Think anime as directed by Quentin Tarantino.
**************************************************************
Non-Linear Plotline: *IS NON LINEAR!*
Seventeen characters introduced in opening credits: "HI!"
Non-Linear Plotline: "IT'S 1711!"
Non-Linear Plotline: "NO WAIT IT'S 1932!"
Non-Linear Plotline: "NOW IT'S 1931!"
Non-Linear Plotline: "YOINK! 1930!"
Seventeen characters introduced in opening credits: "WE HAVE GUNS!"
Gratuitous Violence: *IS GRATUITOUS!*
Me: "I think my brain has whiplash and I think I like it!"
*************************************************************
So fun. So cool. So jazz. And it has the single most awesome episode titles I have ever seen in my whole life EVER. I mean, "Episode One: The Vice President Doesn't Say Anything about the Possibility of Him Being the Main Character." Awesome! Can you top that? No you cannot.
So I think I chose well for my post-holiday purchases, and with their help I am recovering nicely from what was actually a fairly dismal New Year's. May the 2010 uphill curve continue.
*************************
Lawrence: "Math."
Holo: "Math math! Math?"
Lawrence: "Math, math math math. Math math; math."
Me: "I am somewhat confused by this no doubt riveting story about currency speculation..."
Holo: *is smart and awesome*
Lawrence: *is not threatened by the awesome*
Holo: *sly flirtation*
Lawrence: *flustered attempt at responding in kind*
Me: "....SQUEEEE!"
Lawrence: "Math!"
***************************
Mathematics may not be my favourite subject, but damn do I love Chemistry. *smirk*
Seriously, Spice and Wolf is quite possibly the most grown-up romance I've seen in anime. (I assume it's a romance, they're just friends and business partners at the point I've gotten to, but the sexual tension is pretty darn tense)
There's none of the "I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU wait I actually totes love you" stuff we're all sick of. (It was old when Rumiko Takahashi did it the first three times, and I'm even more tired of it now.) Holo and Lawrence LIKE each other before they start to LIKE-LIKE each other. They snark, and sometimes argue, but they also tease and flirt and just talk (about, well, math, mostly, but still) and their relationship is progressing slowly and steadily from acquaintanceship to friendship to something more. Like a REAL relationship! Between sane people!
And even though Holo has animal ears and a tail and is occasionally naked, she never comes across as creepy moe fodder. Maybe because of how she behaves and carries herself. Holo is an ancient harvest goddess, and she acts it.
Creepy Moe Catgirl: "Oh, gee, I have no idea of the effect my nudity has on the male observer! Nyo! Oops, clumsy me, I fell over into a compromising position! Nya!"
Non-Creepy Wolf Woman: "Pfft, I know exactly what effect my being naked has on you, I just don't give a damn because that's your problem. Though I am amused by your discomfort."
And Lawrence is pretty cool himself. More mature-looking than your typical anime lead, with greyish hair colouring and stubble. More mature emotionally, too. He has a job, skills, goals. He teaches Holo about economics and currency, and often, since she's got a few centuries of observation of humanity on him, she totally schools him. They really feel like equal partners thus far, and I wuvs them so.
My other box set is Baccano!, and that's confusing-yet-awesome in a whole different way. Think anime as directed by Quentin Tarantino.
**************************************************************
Non-Linear Plotline: *IS NON LINEAR!*
Seventeen characters introduced in opening credits: "HI!"
Non-Linear Plotline: "IT'S 1711!"
Non-Linear Plotline: "NO WAIT IT'S 1932!"
Non-Linear Plotline: "NOW IT'S 1931!"
Non-Linear Plotline: "YOINK! 1930!"
Seventeen characters introduced in opening credits: "WE HAVE GUNS!"
Gratuitous Violence: *IS GRATUITOUS!*
Me: "I think my brain has whiplash and I think I like it!"
*************************************************************
So fun. So cool. So jazz. And it has the single most awesome episode titles I have ever seen in my whole life EVER. I mean, "Episode One: The Vice President Doesn't Say Anything about the Possibility of Him Being the Main Character." Awesome! Can you top that? No you cannot.
So I think I chose well for my post-holiday purchases, and with their help I am recovering nicely from what was actually a fairly dismal New Year's. May the 2010 uphill curve continue.
