The official X/Twitter account for the Spice & Wolf: merchant meets the wise wolf anime revealed on Tuesday that the next arc, "Ikyо̄ no Kamigami no Denshо̄" (Legend of the Pagan Gods), will premiere on August 19. The original 2008 anime did not adapt the arc. The staff unveiled new cast and a visual:
The new cast members (who appear in the back of the image above, from left to right)) are:
- Lynn as Elsa
- Atsushi Abe as Evan
The anime is a completely new series, which tells the story of Kraft Lawrence and his meeting with the wolf girl Holo. Jun Fukuyama has returned as Kraft Lawrence, and Ami Koshimizu has returned as Holo. Mai Nakahara also returned in the series as Norah Arendt.
Takeo Takahashi is returning to the franchise, this time as chief director. Hijiri Sanpei (Spice and Wolf II episode director) is directing the anime at studio Passione. Kevin Penkin (Made in Abyss, Tower of God, The Rising of The Shield Hero) is composing the music. ENISHIYA is producing the series. Hana Hope performs the current opening theme song "Tabi no Yukue" (The Journey's Destination), and musical duo ClariS performs the current ending theme song "Andante."
Yen Press publishes the novels in English, and it describes the series:
The life of a traveling merchant is a lonely one, a fact with which Kraft Lawrence is well acquainted. Wandering from town to town with just his horse, cart, and whatever wares have come his way, the peddler has pretty well settled into his routine—that is, until the night Lawrence finds a wolf goddess asleep in his cart. Taking the form of a fetching girl with wolf ears and a tail, Holo has wearied of tending to harvests in the countryside and strikes up a bargain with the merchant to lend him the cunning of “Holo the Wisewolf” to increase his profits in exchange for taking her along on his travels. What kind of businessman could turn down such an offer? Lawrence soon learns, though, that having an ancient goddess as a traveling companion can be a bit of a mixed blessing. Will this wolf girl turn out to be too wild to tame?
Hasekura launched the Spice and Wolf novel series with illustrations by Jū Ayakura in 2006. The novels took a break after the 17th volume in 2011, and returned with the 18th volume in 2016. The 24th and latest volume shipped in January 2023. Yen Press published the 24th novel in North America in August, and is also publishing the manga adaptation. Hasekura began a spinoff series, Wolf & Parchment: New Theory Spice & Wolf, in April 2016. Yen Press is also releasing the spinoff series in English, as well as its manga adaptation.
The novels also inspired two TV anime seasons from director Takeo Takahashi and scriptwriter Naruhisa Arakawa. The first season aired in Japan from January to March 2008, and the second season (Spice and Wolf II) from July to September 2009. Funimation released both seasons on home video.
A virtual reality anime followed the television anime and debuted in June 2019 for Oculus Rift, HTC VIVE, and Oculus Go Edition. A sequel debuted in December 2020.
Sources: Spice & Wolf: merchant meets the wise wolf anime's X/Twitter account, Comic Natalie