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A review by wordsaremyforte
Spice and Wolf, Vol. 7 (light novel): Side Colors by Isuna Hasekura
4.0
Huh, this is the first Spice and Wolf volume that I haven't given five stars. Short-story collections are always taboo for me. I'm always just so meh with all of them. Isuna Hasekura didn't necessarily disappoint, but this volume inherently did not live up to his prime capabilities that the author has clearly demonstrated when crafting the main series.
The first novella was... strange. I really was not fond of the direction he took with the characters of Klass and Aryes. Klass's perspective was just so boring compared to Lawrence's (maybe I'm just way to used to him by this point idk), and Aryes... I just don't care about her either. She was basically Norah--the stereotypical shy girl--except 50% less interesting.
Thankfully, the two short stories that followed made up tenfold for the lackluster opening. The plots were mundane from a story standpoint, but I loved reading about Holo's clothes shopping adventures and brooding and lamentations over being bed-ridden and sick, having to rely on he precious sheep, Lawrence. The Lawrence x Holo banter was amazing, as always, and the lack of it in the first novella was probably what immediately put me off on it before I even finished the first page.
And I almost forgot to mention, the last short story is in Holo's perspective!!! Finally!! I finally got a glimpse into the mind of one of my absolute favorite characters ever. What a treat!
The first novella was... strange. I really was not fond of the direction he took with the characters of Klass and Aryes.
Spoiler
Klass is literally, what, 12 years old and he is already claiming he loves Aryes. It only took Holo seven books and thousands of pages to admit she loves Lawrence, so how the eff does that make sense?Spoiler
The whole sentient deer thing at the end really intrigued me, but, by the end, I just ended up feeling really lost with this novella. Like, why would a deer spirit collaborate with Holo just to challenge a little boy and nearly get him killed? None of it made sense to me.Thankfully, the two short stories that followed made up tenfold for the lackluster opening. The plots were mundane from a story standpoint, but I loved reading about Holo's clothes shopping adventures and brooding and lamentations over being bed-ridden and sick, having to rely on he precious sheep, Lawrence. The Lawrence x Holo banter was amazing, as always, and the lack of it in the first novella was probably what immediately put me off on it before I even finished the first page.
And I almost forgot to mention, the last short story is in Holo's perspective!!! Finally!! I finally got a glimpse into the mind of one of my absolute favorite characters ever. What a treat!