Episode 3 gives you a quick Economics 101.
Summary:
- Episode 3 introduces economics into Spice and Wolf.
- It’s done in a simple and entertaining way.
- Holo surprises the viewers with her wits.
New week, new episode of Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf (Ookami to Koushinryou: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf), and this time the series is getting into one of its best parts ― economics.
Spice and Wolf has always been popular not only for its charming characters and heartwarming romance, but also for the simple depiction of medieval economics. And Episode 3 finally gives us the first glimpse into it.
Simple and Enjoyable
A lot of people associate such a science with something boring and underwhelming. We all know it exists, but mostly professionals really take the time to explore how economics works. And Spice and Wolf seems to know that pretty well.
The series understands that a thorough depiction of economics can put some viewers off, so it tries to keep things as simple and entertaining as possible. There aren’t any overly complicated details, so that everyone could understand what the deal is.
The show creates immersion effortlessly, and you don’t even notice how you’ve been listening to Lawrence and Holo discussing the purity of coins and their circulation for a big part of the episode.
Holo is not only an outstanding character, she’s also a great device to make some ideas and concepts easier for viewers to understand. She’s not a merchant and doesn’t know how some things in the world of Spice and Wolf work, either, so it’s natural for Lawrence to explain them to her.
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It was very helpful during the aforementioned coin discussion, when Holo summed everything up by asking Lawrence whether a minter implements the change in coin purity gradually to understand the people’s reaction.
Holo Catches Up Quickly
There cannot be a discussion about Spice and Wolf without praising Holo, so bear with us for a second. Not only does the economics in the series work well with the story and provide the basis for interesting conflicts, but it also gives us more perspective on Holo as a character.
Fans were absolutely in love with the way Holo managed to trick a merchant with the apples and pelts. We see more and more of her real self in each episode and understand that she’s more clever and cunning than she might look.
Holo is surprisingly quick when it comes to sealing a business deal on the best possible conditions, and fans completely adore her for that.