Holy crap! VERY well done I knew there was tons of symbolism but not to this depth. I'm amazed. Truly reinforces that spice and wolf is an amazing series.
This might be just my overthinking this op, but just for fun: The whole thing is song by a female, while part where male is singing with her is very small, and the whole thing ends with her words. Could that be about how Holo is very old, and the adventure she has with him is only a small part of her life, and at the end of the adventure, she will stand alone once again because she is immortal?
Holo has stated that she is not truly immortal, but simply very long lived. As a Pagan deity, she exists as long as there are people who believe that she does, or as long as her physical form is bound to the earth by the wheat she dwells within.
Doesn't that still make her immortal? I mean things like vampires are still called immortals even if they can be killed, because they can live forever.
+MR aa immortal is more can't die unless killed...(people die when they are killed)...that didn't work try again...without an outside source you won't die e.g wolverine and hook just takes a really like time to die naturally
MR aa I think you may be right about how the voices represent the lifespan of the characters life. Im going to take it a step further and say that the male voice comes in at the climax of the song. This might represent that meeting Lawrence and traveling with him is the highlight of Holo's life
My sister and I noticed how the opening turns into a duet partway through, which can be indicative of the relationship between the characters. This is also kind of emphasized in the lead singer being the female with the stronger voice that almost drowns out the male as it can represent how one is ultimately destined to out perform or outlive the other. I may be wrong though.
SanjiTyloxion Awesome theory, that makes alot of sense considering I'm starting the second season (holy shit, episode 3...) Loving the series ad characters alot and can't wait to see more!!
+battleon81 Absolutely, but don't let the systematic nature of it fool you, cold and calculating is not the only way of doing it, I think, for directors like Quentin Tarantino, he never thought about how to frame a shot, what to symbolize, who is where what is where to produce this and that effect, for directors like him he just have watched so many many films, great, bad, strange, etc. he worked in a video rental store and never went to film school, although he went to actor school I think, And so he might never have known any of these rules but his familiarity with how film works means he would say, ah, this shot, you go there, you here, ummm, looks good! On the other hand, you get someone like Stanley Kubrick and I suspect that he calculated every frame like an engineer designing a space ship!
I know i'm late to this particular party (i just finished watching the anime and am now seeing if my bank balance can support buying the collection of light novels), but i wanted to add something else which i thought was interesting. The colour palette of this opening is very interesting for the reasons you noted - with warm, fiery colours being associated with Lawrence, and cooler, wintery colours being associated with Holo. It's a simple enough visual motif, but that doesn't detract from the fact that it's pulled off excellently. Something you didn't cover, though, is that Lawrence and Holo's visual designs both contain colours which are more closely associated with the other than with themselves, without directly being either orange or blue. Lawrence's hair is white, as are his eyes, and he dresses in cool colours (an off-white shirt and blue trousers). By contrast, Holo has red-brown hair and red eyes, and dresses in warmer colours (mostly reds, pinks, and purples). To me, this symbolises the fact that both characters have environments in which they are most comfortable (Lawrence has his merchantile city life, and Holo has Yoitsu, represented respectively by orange and blue), but at the same time have a subconscious yearning for something which is outside of what they know. In the opening to the OP both characters are in their element, and yet they are shown to be alone and unhappy for reasons they can't fathom. The fact that they physically contain elements of each other's colour palettes solidifies their desire to be part of each other's worlds. As mentioned, though, this palette is not 100% consistent; Lawrence wears a brown jacket, and Holo wears blue anklettes, just as examples. This might be because the character designs existed before this OP, or because these two characters are still drawn to their "signature" colours, but it may also be because these visual motifs aren't *meant* to be perfectly consistent. One of the things i LOVE about Spice and Wolf is how - unlike the romances in most fictional works, let alone anime - Lawrence and Holo's relationship isn't described as being perfect. There are idiosyncrasies in how they interact, and they get on each others' nerves. They also don't perfectly understand each other, which chips away at their mutual trust when these misunderstandings make themselves known, requiring the pair to spend time rebuilding their bond. That's how normal relationships work. However, the fact that they *do* take the time to build their relationship demonstrates that they work well together, that they deeply want to be with each other, and that their personalities strongly compliment each other. They aren't a perfect match because perfect matches don't exist, and they'd become boring even if they did. Lawrence and Holo's colour palettes compliment each other - both in their differences and similarities - because that's how they are as people. They aren't identical, and sometimes they clash over fringe details, but that doesn't eliminate the fact that they are so good for each other. They make up for each other's shortcomings, help with each other's struggles, and devote themselves completely to both their professional and personal relationship. This is because they discover that they care more about each other than they do about the worlds in which they feel most at home, as shown by the subtle - almost subconscious - wearing of each other's colours more prominently than their own. Lawrence and Holo are partners in the truest sense, and they complete each other. Their colour palettes in this OP represent this beautifully.
OMG! This is FANTASTIC series! Such intellectual and clever explanations! Please do more of this pure gold episodes :) PS. The original song from this opening is crushing my heart with melancholy... Beautiful feeling. This is disaster that there is no season three...
Absolutely wonderful video. I never really noticed how meaningful the opening is to Spice and Wolf. It's so deceptively simple and elegant. I think a great OP to cover would be Monster's OP. I never skipped watching that opening through all of the episodes.
@@LunarPegasus75the thing about monsters op is the song is pretty simple so is the idea of the op. But they go together so brilliantly with the show and themes that it's one of the best ops ever and it doesn't even say a word!
As you mentioned, frames in which Lawrence dominates, the colour orange features throughout the OP, however, I believe you might be missing a small piece of cultural significance; I believe this alludes to yin and yang. Yang, is associated with the sun and masculinity. The Chinese character for yang, 陽, is even used as part of the Japanese word for sun, 太陽 (taiyou), so this symbolism isn't as obscure as it sounds. orange and yellow are the colour of the sun (seen from here). Yin (陰) on the other hand is associated with the feminine gender, as well as gloom and shades. Frames which Holo or wolves (a symbol of Holo) dominate, are either night time, or shrouded in shadows.
Funny thing is - he miss-interpreted the probably biggest point about the entire series. Holo was never afraid of Lawrence dying before she did, she had accepted this and wasn't troubled by it. She feared that after a long time they would tire of each other like she had with all her other wolf god friends, which always ended in them parting ways. Their witty conversations she enjoyed so much would become boring and dull, and in the end she wouldn't remember all the joy and excitement, but rather how trivial their later years felt.
+Bee Bro No, she was definitely also afraid of him dying. The light novels definitely talk about it as well, such as how Holo fears goodbyes, as so many she has departed from she has never seen again.
Nice video. But i think you should have mentioned that a male backing vocalist joins the female vocalist at 0:54 of OP. As that is the moment where there is most balance. They finally come together, so male vocalist joins. But female one is still more dominant.
You bring a whole new level of appreciation to animation. I'm currently writing my own and this has opened my eyes and knowledge even further. It allows me to think deeper and even more meaning :)
You've made me cry. Seeing how you deciphered all these hidden clues, and explained them proving that your analytical skills are hands down amazing. I'm doing a research paper on this opening or psycho pass' first season opening. I love spice and wolf which made me feel more inclined to do the paper. But god damn you've really opened my eyes and I feel that this papers 5 page requirment might turn into a 10+ page paper. My professor has a love for anime might as well call it a passion too. Which will make her possibly want to decipher this opening too. Thank you a lot for your amazing commentary and analytical skills.
I'm so glad to have found this wonderful look into this series' OP. It's my all time favorite and now even more so with the depth you've revealed in it. Looking forward to what you do next!
I love how you go into so much depth with these. Like when I watched it I was like "yeah this looks nice". This has made me look at it in a completely different way. Good job.
Dude great job with the channel and keep up the good work! You have no idea how glad I am to see someone finally show appreciation for the great intro to this show, it's definitely one of my all time favorites. This was a really in-depth review and you guys did a really great job!
Holy shit, as a huge S&W fan and a guy who likes to dig into symbolism I can't believe I never figured any of that. You guys are brilliant! Thank you for this...
Here's what I see on top of your observations; I think the moon is actually representative of the Moon Hunting bear. It's the thing that initially causes Holo to wake up alone, though she may not know why. The reason why it's on Lawrence's side so often is that he's the only one who knows about this information (if you consider what happens in season 2 as well, as they do with the candle). Next is when Lawrence does his first walk on from the alley's perspective. It could be seen that Lawrence walking to the middle where Holo stood is the circumstances, Holo is standing still and Lawrence is the one who runs into her, reflecting her staying in one place while Lawrence has been moving from town to town. In the next shot when they are actually on screen together, having them meet in a wheat field is symbolic of their clashing worlds. Holo says in episode 2 how they "come from different worlds." Wheat is the common ground. It's an important commodity to settlement lifestyle that Lawrence resides in, but it's a place in society where Holo has power, with the ability to affect wheat growth. Next, the flash shots are explained very well, but the cart is a bit more. It is what allows them to travel together, but it's also where they met. How exactly? By the wheat, Holo's tool of choice, that Lawrence bought with his money, his tool; their respective interests colliding together in the cart.
Ah, a classic opening for a classic series (which the Light Novels finally ended now but I'm sad that it's over) once again, my love for music was an INSTANT magnet for me as this op not only has great music, but it's one of the very few ops to give me chills and/or cause extreme excitement after my first time ever listening to them. (others include Attack On Titan op 1, Your Lie In April Op 1 and Clannad After Story's Op) It's very interesting to see this from the animation perspective (I say that for literally every comment I put on your videos now and I sound like a broken record) as not only does this op work BEAUTIFULLY with the song itself, but even WITHOUT the music it's beautiful. The shot of Lawrence and Holo riding in the grassy field with the shadow looming over them, and the shot where they ride with the city and the river in the background are enough to make me want to CRY just from witnessing the beauty of the shot. A beautiful op deserving of a beautiful show.
It's been years, and I've given up on a new season; but to be honest....It's my top, over Outlaw Star, over my 90's nostalgia anime's (which to be honest, growing up in the 80's - 90s,pick your poison). But its an art piece, it really is. And even years later, in all three forms; it makes me smile and I can just unwind with it and watch/read it all in one sitting. I love my Spice and Wolf Collectors Edition novel I got. And will never forget this series. And my kids even love it too, my daughter is going as Holo for Halloween this year! Best.Series.Ever in my book and awesome analysis of the op, good job.
What an amazing video, can't believe it took me that long to find out. I loved so much Spice and Wolf, checking this analysis just made me love it even more.
If this was my first I don’t think I would’ve appreciated it as much as I do today. I’ve seen many good anime, but after watching this anime, it has changed me.
I felt this great... aesthetic experience... pardon the philosophy jargon, you know, goosebumps, my attention being sucked in by the OP, a roller-coaster of emotions and thoughts at warp speed, like an explosion, warm feeling in my heart, spiritual sensations, etc. etc. when I first watched the OP and got stuck to the song, can't skip the OP, watched the OP many times, but I didn't know why... Now I watched this video and all is clear to me now! Same feeling as when I studied chemistry and realized how refrigerators work and overwhelmed by that aesthetic and spiritual experience, awe - some, you know, in the original religious sense of the word. Thank you for such a life changing quality work!
Came back to this about the walking left and right thing after noticing that in the outro to Sime-incarnation where Rumuru is walking right to left in the majority.
Well, that was beautiful. You guys should analyze Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei's Opening sequences. When I initially watched it, it was all just garbled imagery, but after finishing the show and the manga it all made perfect sense and blew my fucking mind. I'd love it if you guys shared it to the world.
I really like this video and this sort of analysis. Some people may believe that this is over-analysis, but I don't think so. The way I see it, the images and sequence may be deliberate, but their effect may not be intentional. The sequence looks right because it communicates what the illustrators wanted to in a deeper than surface, or even conscious, manor. Keep in mind how we communicate with our faces, it's also visual, but we can notice small differences; visual communication, to a certain extent, is universal. It goes with the saying "a smile means the same in every language," even an uncomfortable smile is a universal expression to say "something is wrong, but I don't want to, or can't, tell you." This opening sequence is a good example of universal communication, and I'm not referring to the over-analysis. The song lyrics are in Japanese, but you don't need to understand the words to get what the shows about. It's slow-paced, these are the two mains, they develop a relationship, the tone is laid back and the story isn't about the things that happen so much, but the people you meet along the way. And that's how our story starts, with two people who happen to meet each other.
@@naawch361 YOU'RE RIGHT!!!!! I JUST SAW. WOW. FINALLY!!!! THANKS FOR LETTING ME KNOW. AGAIN THANKS, JUST BE HAPPY IN LIFE DEAR RANDOM STRANGER, THIS RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN.
they met in the dark however they truly love each other out in the day when they both see each other clearly and understandingly and are not afraid to show it
Ok, what? How on earth did you get that much meaning out of this opening? That is a fantastic level of overanalysis. I mean, I'm not saying it's wrong, or that S&W isn't the sort of show I'd expect such things of, but wow. I figure I'm going to just get my lessons on shows from you now. It feels like you're stretching on all the symbolism and even making stuff up half the time, but it all seems consistent enough that I have to wonder, so I'm hoping I'll learn something if I pay attention.
the grain can be taken as a Symbol of Ökonomy. And Holos first Shot looks a little like her birth. Exspecialy whit the Fetus position at the beginning.
It's sad how everyone forgot abou this anime, it second season is the best anime i ever seen, now i'm saving up to buy it light novels because they are pretty price here, at least i will see the end of this masterpiece.
To explain the reason why the sides are of the screen is how they are, it is because in there view point, she is to his left, which is what in medieval times a man does for a lover because it is easy for him to draw a sword for protection.
I really love these "what's in an OP?" videos. Have you seen Ergo Proxy? If so, I think it would be really cool if you'd do an analysis on the opening of that show.
You should do another op by the same director. Takeo Takahashi directed spice and wold and yosuga no sora. I know the latter is controversial, but it's opening is beautiful and features a lot of the same color dynamics and symbolism. Personally I think it has everything you liked in this one, just even moreso. Be very pleased if you did : )
Can't help but think that 1 or 2 of those points might just be coincidence. Beyond that the video pretty much blew my mind. ...and reawakened my depression on the cancellation of SnW. (KickStarter!!!)
How about the music? The choice of using two voices and the way they sing slightly different songs although the female voice is much, much more prominent than the male voice (unfortunately I don't know Japanese, so I don't know what the lyrics say)
I'm surprised he didn't mention the music. Not only is the music beautiful, but have meaning in relation to the anime too. Here's a translation grabbed from animelyrics: All alone, on a journey, I lost my way; as I stood still, my heart alone wandered. But now I can walk again, as far as I need to; yes, ever since I met you on this road. The song travelers sing, though I don't know it, sounds familiar to me as long as I'm with you. If the world we dreamed of exists anywhere, let's go look for it, beyond the wind. The freezing dawn, the parched midday, the trembling night; let's go see what's at their end. Your eyes, which know loneliness well, blink, and that color is reflected. I'll fly into the sky and become a crescent moon; those mint-colored stars must be shards of tears. A dock in the country to the east; the western sea; a southern town in a dark forest; a golden tower; a hill in the south, shaken by water; above all, the same moon. As long as you'll let me hold your hand, how far shall we go? Together with you, I can go anywhere. Let's go embrace the rustling scent of a world yet unseen.
One more thing I think you missed: At the beginning of the series Holo has been serving as an agricultural fertility goddess for a few centuries. In the opening shot of her, she's in a fetal position that also has the light browns of a seed. I'd say it's a direct reference to her waking up and rebirth as herself instead of a spirit of the fields. She even uncurls a bit like a a seed sending out a shoot before standing up.
Moonlight , night , cold is Holo . Sunlight , day , warm is Lawrence Snow Flake is what Holo think of human life span > sudden , weak , short and vanish Candle is what Lawrence think of human life span > Warm , meaningful , hope and comfort Holy sheiza , total genius !!! And i dont think the creator meant those things they created , just like how poetics never meant to fully realized of what they have created in their poem , it just happens to appear to them on a whim and they just do it unconsciously , which only be discovered by us later on . The Japanese just have the OP epicness in their blood that they do it subconsciously . They are genius !!!
Holy crap! VERY well done I knew there was tons of symbolism but not to this depth. I'm amazed. Truly reinforces that spice and wolf is an amazing series.
Dakota Beaudoin If you havent seen the rest of his Whats in an OP, he goes very far into depth of the meanings with all symbolism you could want. XD
This might be just my overthinking this op, but just for fun: The whole thing is song by a female, while part where male is singing with her is very small, and the whole thing ends with her words. Could that be about how Holo is very old, and the adventure she has with him is only a small part of her life, and at the end of the adventure, she will stand alone once again because she is immortal?
Holo has stated that she is not truly immortal, but simply very long lived. As a Pagan deity, she exists as long as there are people who believe that she does, or as long as her physical form is bound to the earth by the wheat she dwells within.
Doesn't that still make her immortal? I mean things like vampires are still called immortals even if they can be killed, because they can live forever.
+MR aa immortal is more can't die unless killed...(people die when they are killed)...that didn't work try again...without an outside source you won't die e.g wolverine and hook just takes a really like time to die naturally
+i8u2manytimes *holo... damm tablets
MR aa I think you may be right about how the voices represent the lifespan of the characters life. Im going to take it a step further and say that the male voice comes in at the climax of the song. This might represent that meeting Lawrence and traveling with him is the highlight of Holo's life
I approve of this.
Holo The Wise Wolf I approve of me.
Holo The Wise Wolf Me too.
+Holo, Wise Wolf of Yoitsu Three Holos? I wonder how you three would act around each other.
TrollingWolf A rad game of rock paper scissors.
+Alexei Strife That would be amazing to watch, and I'd love to be their as well. Do you mind if people touch your tail?
This song hits me right in the feels every time
My sister and I noticed how the opening turns into a duet partway through, which can be indicative of the relationship between the characters. This is also kind of emphasized in the lead singer being the female with the stronger voice that almost drowns out the male as it can represent how one is ultimately destined to out perform or outlive the other. I may be wrong though.
SanjiTyloxion Awesome theory, that makes alot of sense considering I'm starting the second season (holy shit, episode 3...) Loving the series ad characters alot and can't wait to see more!!
People seriously put this much work in these openings... Just...wow. I knew anime openings were great but..wow...
+battleon81 Absolutely, but don't let the systematic nature of it fool you, cold and calculating is not the only way of doing it, I think, for directors like Quentin Tarantino, he never thought about how to frame a shot, what to symbolize, who is where what is where to produce this and that effect, for directors like him he just have watched so many many films, great, bad, strange, etc. he worked in a video rental store and never went to film school, although he went to actor school I think, And so he might never have known any of these rules but his familiarity with how film works means he would say, ah, this shot, you go there, you here, ummm, looks good! On the other hand, you get someone like Stanley Kubrick and I suspect that he calculated every frame like an engineer designing a space ship!
I know i'm late to this particular party (i just finished watching the anime and am now seeing if my bank balance can support buying the collection of light novels), but i wanted to add something else which i thought was interesting.
The colour palette of this opening is very interesting for the reasons you noted - with warm, fiery colours being associated with Lawrence, and cooler, wintery colours being associated with Holo. It's a simple enough visual motif, but that doesn't detract from the fact that it's pulled off excellently.
Something you didn't cover, though, is that Lawrence and Holo's visual designs both contain colours which are more closely associated with the other than with themselves, without directly being either orange or blue. Lawrence's hair is white, as are his eyes, and he dresses in cool colours (an off-white shirt and blue trousers). By contrast, Holo has red-brown hair and red eyes, and dresses in warmer colours (mostly reds, pinks, and purples).
To me, this symbolises the fact that both characters have environments in which they are most comfortable (Lawrence has his merchantile city life, and Holo has Yoitsu, represented respectively by orange and blue), but at the same time have a subconscious yearning for something which is outside of what they know. In the opening to the OP both characters are in their element, and yet they are shown to be alone and unhappy for reasons they can't fathom. The fact that they physically contain elements of each other's colour palettes solidifies their desire to be part of each other's worlds.
As mentioned, though, this palette is not 100% consistent; Lawrence wears a brown jacket, and Holo wears blue anklettes, just as examples. This might be because the character designs existed before this OP, or because these two characters are still drawn to their "signature" colours, but it may also be because these visual motifs aren't *meant* to be perfectly consistent.
One of the things i LOVE about Spice and Wolf is how - unlike the romances in most fictional works, let alone anime - Lawrence and Holo's relationship isn't described as being perfect. There are idiosyncrasies in how they interact, and they get on each others' nerves. They also don't perfectly understand each other, which chips away at their mutual trust when these misunderstandings make themselves known, requiring the pair to spend time rebuilding their bond. That's how normal relationships work.
However, the fact that they *do* take the time to build their relationship demonstrates that they work well together, that they deeply want to be with each other, and that their personalities strongly compliment each other. They aren't a perfect match because perfect matches don't exist, and they'd become boring even if they did.
Lawrence and Holo's colour palettes compliment each other - both in their differences and similarities - because that's how they are as people. They aren't identical, and sometimes they clash over fringe details, but that doesn't eliminate the fact that they are so good for each other. They make up for each other's shortcomings, help with each other's struggles, and devote themselves completely to both their professional and personal relationship. This is because they discover that they care more about each other than they do about the worlds in which they feel most at home, as shown by the subtle - almost subconscious - wearing of each other's colours more prominently than their own.
Lawrence and Holo are partners in the truest sense, and they complete each other. Their colour palettes in this OP represent this beautifully.
OMG! This is FANTASTIC series! Such intellectual and clever explanations! Please do more of this pure gold episodes :)
PS. The original song from this opening is crushing my heart with melancholy... Beautiful feeling. This is disaster that there is no season three...
NieJestemzPolskiPL you should read the original book
Absolutely wonderful video. I never really noticed how meaningful the opening is to Spice and Wolf. It's so deceptively simple and elegant. I think a great OP to cover would be Monster's OP. I never skipped watching that opening through all of the episodes.
I love Monster's opening, it captures the atmosphere of the series really well!
@@LunarPegasus75the thing about monsters op is the song is pretty simple so is the idea of the op. But they go together so brilliantly with the show and themes that it's one of the best ops ever and it doesn't even say a word!
@@LunarPegasus75uh wait I just realized this was from 8 years ago hahahaha
As you mentioned, frames in which Lawrence dominates, the colour orange features throughout the OP, however, I believe you might be missing a small piece of cultural significance; I believe this alludes to yin and yang.
Yang, is associated with the sun and masculinity. The Chinese character for yang, 陽, is even used as part of the Japanese word for sun, 太陽 (taiyou), so this symbolism isn't as obscure as it sounds. orange and yellow are the colour of the sun (seen from here).
Yin (陰) on the other hand is associated with the feminine gender, as well as gloom and shades. Frames which Holo or wolves (a symbol of Holo) dominate, are either night time, or shrouded in shadows.
Funny thing is - he miss-interpreted the probably biggest point about the entire series.
Holo was never afraid of Lawrence dying before she did, she had accepted this and wasn't troubled by it. She feared that after a long time they would tire of each other like she had with all her other wolf god friends, which always ended in them parting ways. Their witty conversations she enjoyed so much would become boring and dull, and in the end she wouldn't remember all the joy and excitement, but rather how trivial their later years felt.
*cough*dreams of piles of human bones*cough*
+Bee Bro No, she was definitely also afraid of him dying. The light novels definitely talk about it as well, such as how Holo fears goodbyes, as so many she has departed from she has never seen again.
Can you do one for Steins;Gate opening? Seems like it would be a great analysis for you and me both.
Renmark Soriano Yes, let us make him do that and bring me along again. I fucking love that show.
Oh yeah! Steins;gate! Best anime for me for now
+Renmark Soriano El Psy Congroo
We will reach Steins Gate someday... :)
ho shit, you gave me expectations, way too many expectations.
now you need to take your responsabilities, senpai
Nice video. But i think you should have mentioned that a male backing vocalist joins the female vocalist at 0:54 of OP. As that is the moment where there is most balance. They finally come together, so male vocalist joins. But female one is still more dominant.
Tabi no Tochuu is a great song. I still play it often.
Same
You bring a whole new level of appreciation to animation. I'm currently writing my own and this has opened my eyes and knowledge even further. It allows me to think deeper and even more meaning :)
Holy cow, that candle metaphor. Did not equate that to Lawrence till you mentioned it.
The more I watch, the more I think you're a genius.
You've made me cry. Seeing how you deciphered all these hidden clues, and explained them proving that your analytical skills are hands down amazing. I'm doing a research paper on this opening or psycho pass' first season opening. I love spice and wolf which made me feel more inclined to do the paper. But god damn you've really opened my eyes and I feel that this papers 5 page requirment might turn into a 10+ page paper. My professor has a love for anime might as well call it a passion too. Which will make her possibly want to decipher this opening too. Thank you a lot for your amazing commentary and analytical skills.
I'm so glad to have found this wonderful look into this series' OP. It's my all time favorite and now even more so with the depth you've revealed in it. Looking forward to what you do next!
Woah! I'm just watching this mid-2017, and, golly, Geoff, you have improved so much!! Am I allowed to be proud of a person I watch on RUclips?
I love how you go into so much depth with these. Like when I watched it I was like "yeah this looks nice". This has made me look at it in a completely different way. Good job.
Dude great job with the channel and keep up the good work! You have no idea how glad I am to see someone finally show appreciation for the great intro to this show, it's definitely one of my all time favorites. This was a really in-depth review and you guys did a really great job!
I was waiting for this, it came faster than I expected, and I was not disappointed. Well done.
This is so nice.
Holy shit, as a huge S&W fan and a guy who likes to dig into symbolism I can't believe I never figured any of that. You guys are brilliant! Thank you for this...
Here's what I see on top of your observations;
I think the moon is actually representative of the Moon Hunting bear. It's the thing that initially causes Holo to wake up alone, though she may not know why. The reason why it's on Lawrence's side so often is that he's the only one who knows about this information (if you consider what happens in season 2 as well, as they do with the candle).
Next is when Lawrence does his first walk on from the alley's perspective. It could be seen that Lawrence walking to the middle where Holo stood is the circumstances, Holo is standing still and Lawrence is the one who runs into her, reflecting her staying in one place while Lawrence has been moving from town to town.
In the next shot when they are actually on screen together, having them meet in a wheat field is symbolic of their clashing worlds. Holo says in episode 2 how they "come from different worlds." Wheat is the common ground. It's an important commodity to settlement lifestyle that Lawrence resides in, but it's a place in society where Holo has power, with the ability to affect wheat growth.
Next, the flash shots are explained very well, but the cart is a bit more. It is what allows them to travel together, but it's also where they met. How exactly? By the wheat, Holo's tool of choice, that Lawrence bought with his money, his tool; their respective interests colliding together in the cart.
Ah, a classic opening for a classic series (which the Light Novels finally ended now but I'm sad that it's over) once again, my love for music was an INSTANT magnet for me as this op not only has great music, but it's one of the very few ops to give me chills and/or cause extreme excitement after my first time ever listening to them. (others include Attack On Titan op 1, Your Lie In April Op 1 and Clannad After Story's Op) It's very interesting to see this from the animation perspective (I say that for literally every comment I put on your videos now and I sound like a broken record) as not only does this op work BEAUTIFULLY with the song itself, but even WITHOUT the music it's beautiful. The shot of Lawrence and Holo riding in the grassy field with the shadow looming over them, and the shot where they ride with the city and the river in the background are enough to make me want to CRY just from witnessing the beauty of the shot. A beautiful op deserving of a beautiful show.
It's been years, and I've given up on a new season; but to be honest....It's my top, over Outlaw Star, over my 90's nostalgia anime's (which to be honest, growing up in the 80's - 90s,pick your poison). But its an art piece, it really is. And even years later, in all three forms; it makes me smile and I can just unwind with it and watch/read it all in one sitting.
I love my Spice and Wolf Collectors Edition novel I got. And will never forget this series.
And my kids even love it too, my daughter is going as Holo for Halloween this year!
Best.Series.Ever in my book and awesome analysis of the op, good job.
What an amazing video, can't believe it took me that long to find out.
I loved so much Spice and Wolf, checking this analysis just made me love it even more.
This was one of the first anime I have watched, and it will always have a special place in my heart
The analysis in this video is wayyy too good...
I just realized Spice and Wolf was the first anime I've seen.
Not my first. . . but now. its definitely my best ;)
First and most favorite ;)
If this was my first I don’t think I would’ve appreciated it as much as I do today. I’ve seen many good anime, but after watching this anime, it has changed me.
Very calming and different and engaging to literally everything else that's out there there is no experience like it.
Great analysis. It would be amazing to see What's in an op for sora no otoshimono.
So your videos are fucking amazing and I'd totally subscribe multiple times if I could
I felt this great... aesthetic experience... pardon the philosophy jargon, you know, goosebumps, my attention being sucked in by the OP, a roller-coaster of emotions and thoughts at warp speed, like an explosion, warm feeling in my heart, spiritual sensations, etc. etc. when I first watched the OP and got stuck to the song, can't skip the OP, watched the OP many times, but I didn't know why... Now I watched this video and all is clear to me now! Same feeling as when I studied chemistry and realized how refrigerators work and overwhelmed by that aesthetic and spiritual experience, awe - some, you know, in the original religious sense of the word. Thank you for such a life changing quality work!
Came back to this about the walking left and right thing after noticing that in the outro to Sime-incarnation where Rumuru is walking right to left in the majority.
I know you don't mention the music in OPs, but holy fuck is the song in Spice and Wolf actually perfect.
Never new that an anime opening could be dissected so well!!! Amazing! Great video.
i love this anime so much! it was actually the firstanime i watched as an anime! love holo too
You did this. You are my favourite person for the month.
Well, that was beautiful.
You guys should analyze Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei's Opening sequences. When I initially watched it, it was all just garbled imagery, but after finishing the show and the manga it all made perfect sense and blew my fucking mind. I'd love it if you guys shared it to the world.
Just finished the series and i just couldn't resist to fall in love with it, hope there will be a season 3
There is no season 3. It have been 7 years lol and also the light novel have ended. So the hope for season 3 is most unlikely :(
Holy shit what great analysis
Your videos are amazing, I love it. You're going places kid
Wow, this was excellent. I may even subscribe in patient wait for the review/analysis of the second op.
Only found this series like a week ago but it's gotten me into anime
i love this op song so hard, same like aishiteiru from natsume
You are so good with what you do! Hope to see a lot more content in the future!
I really like this video and this sort of analysis. Some people may believe that this is over-analysis, but I don't think so. The way I see it, the images and sequence may be deliberate, but their effect may not be intentional. The sequence looks right because it communicates what the illustrators wanted to in a deeper than surface, or even conscious, manor. Keep in mind how we communicate with our faces, it's also visual, but we can notice small differences; visual communication, to a certain extent, is universal. It goes with the saying "a smile means the same in every language," even an uncomfortable smile is a universal expression to say "something is wrong, but I don't want to, or can't, tell you." This opening sequence is a good example of universal communication, and I'm not referring to the over-analysis. The song lyrics are in Japanese, but you don't need to understand the words to get what the shows about. It's slow-paced, these are the two mains, they develop a relationship, the tone is laid back and the story isn't about the things that happen so much, but the people you meet along the way. And that's how our story starts, with two people who happen to meet each other.
Ow holy hell I never knew there was so much in this OP. Thanks for showing me it!
holy fuck the intro is sooooo deep! what an amazing video
Still watching this in 2022.
New anime announced
@@naawch361 When? any youtube links?
@@naawch361 YOU'RE RIGHT!!!!! I JUST SAW. WOW. FINALLY!!!! THANKS FOR LETTING ME KNOW.
AGAIN THANKS, JUST BE HAPPY IN LIFE DEAR RANDOM STRANGER, THIS RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN.
@@therebelliousgeek4506 can't believe it bro😭😭
man that video was too epic
and btw thumbs up to the HL3 - SW3 meme
Oh my god, what a masterful analysis
Wow, I did not realize that there was that much symbolism in it.
I really like how you did a collab and did it like a conversation
great collab!!
Miss when you used to do these often.
they met in the dark however they truly love each other out in the day when they both see each other clearly and understandingly and are not afraid to show it
Dear god, how can you be so good at this? I never even thought about anything in this OP.
I love this serie so much, so sad they never make the next season, so I had to read the novels
Amazing video.
You should make one about the openings in Monogatari series.
You crazies SOB you guys have blown my mind.
And that's not even addressing the masterful song tying everything together. Single handed the best opening of all time
Wow, that's amazing. None of this ever occurred to me. I can barely track the story of this show on its surface. I must be broken.
Damn! You guys are amazing! I am so glad I stumpled upon your channel!
Ok, what? How on earth did you get that much meaning out of this opening? That is a fantastic level of overanalysis. I mean, I'm not saying it's wrong, or that S&W isn't the sort of show I'd expect such things of, but wow. I figure I'm going to just get my lessons on shows from you now. It feels like you're stretching on all the symbolism and even making stuff up half the time, but it all seems consistent enough that I have to wonder, so I'm hoping I'll learn something if I pay attention.
the grain can be taken as a Symbol of Ökonomy. And Holos first Shot looks a little like her birth. Exspecialy whit the Fetus position at the beginning.
Great video, guys. Really, I love your stuff.
Now let's talk about that thumbnail.
OMG how did I not notice this. This is over and beyond professionalism
Dude, you are a fucking genius. Great work.
Fantastic video spice and wolf is a amazing series
Absolutely brilliant
Now I want to watch S&W again :)
Thank you!
It's sad how everyone forgot abou this anime, it second season is the best anime i ever seen, now i'm saving up to buy it light novels because they are pretty price here, at least i will see the end of this masterpiece.
New anime announced
@@naawch361 i saw the news, i'm so fucking hyped
I died when I saw the ending card of the S&W season 3 conspiracy! Brilliant! Haha!
Damn that's deep, but I think it's accurate. Thank you for making the OP that I love even better. :)
To explain the reason why the sides are of the screen is how they are, it is because in there view point, she is to his left, which is what in medieval times a man does for a lover because it is easy for him to draw a sword for protection.
I really love these "what's in an OP?" videos.
Have you seen Ergo Proxy? If so, I think it would be really cool if you'd do an analysis on the opening of that show.
What the FUCK is your view count.
You deserve more.A LOT more.
You should do another op by the same director. Takeo Takahashi directed spice and wold and yosuga no sora. I know the latter is controversial, but it's opening is beautiful and features a lot of the same color dynamics and symbolism. Personally I think it has everything you liked in this one, just even moreso. Be very pleased if you did : )
THANK YOU VERY MUCH... IM A BIG FAN OF SPICE AND WOLF!
Can't help but think that 1 or 2 of those points might just be coincidence. Beyond that the video pretty much blew my mind.
...and reawakened my depression on the cancellation of SnW. (KickStarter!!!)
I'd like to see you do Clannad's op. Either one, both preferably. :)
Can you do one on Kill La Kill
Great analysis, love me some Spice & Wolf.
requesting demo for the next collab
Yeah, this op really pulled me in to the show.
Damn... I didn't know (good) OPs were this meaningful!
=D
what is the video about 4:30 you talking about an episode regarding walking right , meaning sinister. i saw son goku i wanna watch that video. thanks!
Dude, this blew my mind.
How about the music? The choice of using two voices and the way they sing slightly different songs although the female voice is much, much more prominent than the male voice (unfortunately I don't know Japanese, so I don't know what the lyrics say)
I'm surprised he didn't mention the music. Not only is the music beautiful, but have meaning in relation to the anime too. Here's a translation grabbed from animelyrics:
All alone,
on a journey, I lost my way;
as I stood still, my heart alone wandered.
But now I can walk again,
as far as I need to;
yes, ever since I met you
on this road.
The song travelers sing,
though I don't know it,
sounds familiar to me
as long as I'm with you.
If the world we dreamed of
exists anywhere,
let's go look for it,
beyond the wind.
The freezing dawn,
the parched midday,
the trembling night;
let's go see what's at their end.
Your eyes, which
know loneliness well,
blink, and that color
is reflected.
I'll fly into the sky
and become a crescent moon;
those mint-colored stars must be
shards of tears.
A dock in the country to the east; the western sea;
a southern town in a dark forest; a golden tower;
a hill in the south, shaken by water; above all, the same moon.
As long as you'll let me
hold your hand,
how far shall we go?
Together with you,
I can go anywhere.
Let's go embrace
the rustling scent
of a world yet unseen.
One more thing I think you missed: At the beginning of the series Holo has been serving as an agricultural fertility goddess for a few centuries. In the opening shot of her, she's in a fetal position that also has the light browns of a seed. I'd say it's a direct reference to her waking up and rebirth as herself instead of a spirit of the fields. She even uncurls a bit like a a seed sending out a shoot before standing up.
I thought the OP was good, but that it had so much detail that subconsciously sold the idea of the story, that was just a wow analysis.
Great analysis.
You earned a sub!!!
I think the moon that woke her up might have symbolized Holo's past relationship with the odd human who wasn't afraid of her instead of Laurence.
i think yowamushi pedal season 2 second opening will be a nice one to do
Great one guys
Moonlight , night , cold is Holo .
Sunlight , day , warm is Lawrence
Snow Flake is what Holo think of human life span > sudden , weak , short and vanish
Candle is what Lawrence think of human life span > Warm , meaningful , hope and comfort
Holy sheiza , total genius !!! And i dont think the creator meant those things they created , just like how poetics never meant to fully realized of what they have created in their poem , it just happens to appear to them on a whim and they just do it unconsciously , which only be discovered by us later on . The Japanese just have the OP epicness in their blood that they do it subconsciously . They are genius !!!