Spice & Wolf: Spring Log - Vol. 1 Ch. 6 - Muddy Messenger Wolf and Wolf 2

[MangaDex]

 

[finalm]

Damn, I try but I just can't get over how weak the art is compared to the original... I know it's unkind but this series is seriously wasted on the artist.

 

[yoitsu__]

I'm not ready for the ending. Holo must be prepared to face loneliness again, even though she now has a daughter. Still, accepting that Lawrence will no longer be there is going to hurt her a lot.

 

[yoitsu__]

Damn, I try but I just can't get over how weak the art is compared to the original... I know it's unkind but this series is seriously wasted on the artist.

Art isn't bad, it's just different from what we're used to. If this were the art used in its first adaptation, everything would be fine, and you know it—only nostalgia makes you say that.

 

[eviljackspicer]

I'm kinda surprised after the long journey these two have had together, they only had the one child.

 

[Tullaryn]

Damn, I try but I just can't get over how weak the art is compared to the original... I know it's unkind but this series is seriously wasted on the artist.

Art isn't bad, it's just different from what we're used to. If this were the art used in its first adaptation, everything would be fine, and you know it—only nostalgia makes you say that.

At the start I also wasn't an instant fan of the new art style, but I think it's as @yoitsu__ says, it's the nostalgia. I slowly started accepting it and now I something even have some panels that I feel like 'damn! That looks good'. I however still am not convinced about the Lawrence artstyle. Not sure if this author is just better at drawing female characters or if it's because Lawrence now obviously is older and that it's that fact that feels off to me haha.

 

[finalm]

Art isn't bad, it's just different from what we're used to. If this were the art used in its first adaptation, everything would be fine, and you know it—only nostalgia makes you say that.

I'm afraid it's not just style. It's inconsistent. Some panels look pretty much fine, while in others the character's are malformed for lack of a better word. Take a look at Lawrence's head at the cover - this isn't how it's drawn subsequently, while in some instances it's even more over the top.

 

[finalm]

At the start I also wasn't an instant fan of the new art style, but I think it's as @yoitsu__ says, it's the nostalgia. I slowly started accepting it and now I something even have some panels that I feel like 'damn! That looks good'. I however still am not convinced about the Lawrence artstyle. Not sure if this author is just better at drawing female characters or if it's because Lawrence now obviously is older and that it's that fact that feels off to me haha.

My main gripe is that this resembles some 4-koma comedy strip, where the character's faces vary wildy between panels. Lawrence especially. Sometimes his head resembles a crescent moon, sometimes he grows a comically long nose, lots of variation without a punchline... The detail work in general seems to be lackluster, as is shading.

 

[Tullaryn]

My main gripe is that this resembles some 4-koma comedy strip, where the character's faces vary wildy between panels. Lawrence especially. Sometimes his head resembles a crescent moon, sometimes he grows a comically long nose, lots of variation without a punchline... The detail work in general seems to be lackluster, as is shading.

Well, I definitely do believe that Futatsu-sensei is putting more work in Holo compared to Lawrence yes. It is as you say, something he feels fine and something he feels off. I hadn't noticed the headshape yet, as I said I assumed to me it was him looking so very old. But now that I pay more attention to it, it is indeed quite inconsistent.

 

[finalm]

Well, I definitely do believe that Futatsu-sensei is putting more work in Holo compared to Lawrence yes. It is as you say, something he feels fine and something he feels off. I hadn't noticed the headshape yet, as I said I assumed to me it was him looking so very old. But now that I pay more attention to it, it is indeed quite inconsistent.

The funny thing is, he's not that old in these stories. He's in his thirties here. If you take a look at the LN's illustrations, then he's pretty much no different from the original series' save for the beard.

 

[Tullaryn]

The funny thing is, he's not that old in these stories. He's in his thirties here. If you take a look at the LN's illustrations, then he's pretty much no different from the original series' save for the beard.

Well how old he exactly is I do not know, but he was 25 at the start of the series. I found this "10 years later after the events of the series, they married and gave birth to their daughter, Myuri.". So, at the point they gave birth to Myuri he'd already be 35. Now, this story takes place after Myuri left. Myuri is I think around 12 years old. Meaning he's likely around 47 years old at this point of the manga. Of course I'm not sure if that's all correct, I'd have to read all the books to try and get it as accurate as possible.

 

[finalm]

Well how old he exactly is I do not know, but he was 25 at the start of the series. I found this "10 years later after the events of the series, they married and gave birth to their daughter, Myuri.". So, at the point they gave birth to Myuri he'd already be 35. Now, this story takes place after Myuri left. Myuri is I think around 12 years old. Meaning he's likely around 47 years old at this point of the manga. Of course I'm not sure if that's all correct, I'd have to read all the books to try and get it as accurate as possible.

No, I think you added an extra 10+ years here by mistake. The epilogue to the original series stated that they've travelled for about 2 years before building their bathhose (which took about a year to build), so they got married and settled down about 3 years after vol 16. After that you get a timeskip of some 10 years when Col is already preperaing to leave and Myuri is already the same appearence that she was when he did leave (there's some incosistency here as to her actual age). That pretty much means they had her almost immediately after marrying and Lawrence is 35-37 years old.

 

[Tullaryn]

No, I think you added an extra 10+ years here by mistake. The epilogue to the original series stated that they've travelled for about 2 years before building their bathhose (which took about a year to build), so they got married and settled down about 3 years after vol 16. After that you get a timeskip of some 10 years when Col is already preperaing to leave and Myuri is already the same appearence that she was when he did leave (there's some incosistency here as to her actual age). That pretty much means they had her almost immediately after marrying and Lawrence is 35-37 years old.

Oh, that's weird! I just checked if they said anything during the conclusion of the series. And in Volume 17, during the wedding prep there's this sentence "Even though he had been with her some six years, he still did not understand Holo." So if he was 25 when meeting Holo at that point he'd be around 30. And that is the moment that Holo is pregnant of Myuri (as she wanted to gloat to the other women). Making him at least around 42 now, assuming Myuri is 12 years old when she left. So I do think he's in his fourties already. Then again, I don't think his age has been properly dropped anytime recently, so uh... the author might've even mixed up the amount of years.

I do think at some point they got 'married' in the sense of they decided they were married. But later decided to have an official wedding (to gloat). That could be the thing that confuses?

 

[finalm]

Oh, that's weird! I just checked if they said anything during the conclusion of the series. And in Volume 17, during the wedding prep there's this sentence "Even though he had been with her some six years, he still did not understand Holo." So if he was 25 when meeting Holo at that point he'd be around 30. And that is the moment that Holo is pregnant of Myuri (as she wanted to gloat to the other women). Making him at least around 42 now, assuming Myuri is 12 years old when she left. So I do think he's in his fourties already. Then again, I don't think his age has been properly dropped anytime recently, so uh... the author might've even mixed up the amount of years.

I do think at some point they got 'married' in the sense of they decided they were married. But later decided to have an official wedding (to gloat). That could be the thing that confuses?

I honestly don't remember that 6 years bit, but Hasekura has always been vague about the passage of time in all of his stories. It might be that he considered the initial journey (till vol 16) to have lasted 3-4 years. There's no real indication of how much time passed on it. Though I do recall Lawrence initially considering whether he'd manage to see her home by the time winter comes... Then the matter is droped entirely. Well, in any case I think we can agree he's not old enough to look decrepit yet.

 

[Tullaryn]

I honestly don't remember that 6 years bit, but Hasekura has always been vague about the passage of time in all of his stories. It might be that he considered the initial journey (till vol 16) to have lasted 3-4 years. There's no real indication of how much time passed on it. Though I do recall Lawrence initially considering whether he'd manage to see her home by the time winter comes... Then the matter is droped entirely. Well, in any case I think we can agree he's not old enough to look decrepit yet.

Yeah, it's indeed a bit vague at times. But it is as you say, returning to the topic ahaha! Thank you though for the discussion/research, I enjoyed it! I hope you also did a bit. Indeed I think he looks too old as well in this artstyle. As I said before, I kinda learned to be happy with how Holo looks in this art style, but Lawrence is the one that feels off at times. I hope—if the series continues long enough—we might see some artstyle growth from this mangaka. I don't think they have a lot of experience from other series. So it might be a good learning opportunity! Even though it's a bit sad for us that this should be a learning experience instead of their masterpiece