The problem with that grandness is that it does not entirely suit the nature of Holo the character, who is quite playful and very manipulative. Fortunately, Ms. Palencia is an adept enough performer that she can manage to bring out Holo’s playfulness, right from the start. Already in the first episode, when Lawrence, who was taken by surprise by her appearance, draws a dagger, Holo is contemptuous of the disrespect shown her, but when she realizes that Lawrence is not one of the villagers, from whom she would expect greater courtesy, she cheerily tells him to “wield away” with his dagger.

At many points however, I do feel that her voice sounded a touch too “grand” for the character. While Holo might be a centuries-old “wise wolf,” she does not always act in a manner that makes it appear that she takes that status too seriously, though at other times, it is clear that she does mean it when she says it of herself. Happily, Ms. Palencia does break away from that grandness when it is truly required of the character. I was touched by her plaintive tone in Episode 4, when Holo tells Lawrence of her loneliness and her wish to never be alone again. Ms. Palencia was also quite good at injecting the right amount of energy when Holo gets high-strung and demanding.

That is not to say, however, that the performance was entirely satisfying on an emotional level. There were times when I did not sense enough depth of emotion, or any emotional impact, really, from the voice. There was an emotional flatness, a lack of heart, if you will, in the voice that I was hearing. Many times, the playfulness that should have been in the voice did not come across well or at all. There was a lively teasing quality to the original performance in Japanese which I was not hearing in Ms. Palencia's English rendition enough, which was much colder. Professional, clean, and admirable like a classical marble statue. Yet lacking, as I have said above, in warmth and emotion at times.

Craft Lawrence is voiced by J. Michael Tatum, who has made Lawrence his own in a performance that fits the character pretty well without being an imitation of Jun Fukuyama’s original. Mr. Tatum is restrained and calm much of the time, which is right for the role, as Lawrence is a cool and calculating businessman, always thinking about the angles that he can play to increase his profit. There is not too much more for me to comment, since by nature the role of Craft Lawrence is not one that gives scope for grand histrionics and emotional explosions, though that is not to say that Lawrence is an emotionless robot. When called upon, Mr. Tatum does properly voice anger and frustration, sadness and despair, while not going overboard into the realm of over-emoting hammy acting that would not feel natural for the character.

As much of the show is spent watching these two simply talk, a great deal hinges upon how well they sound together. On that score, we are fortunate, for while they may have recorded separately (as is standard industry practice), they sound quite natural playing off of each other. While they sounded slightly more distant in the early episodes (and this is perfectly right, as they were not close at that point), by the middle and later parts of the show, there was a natural repartee and ease of interaction between the characters, something that is very important.

In terms of some of the more important minor roles, three stand out. In the early episodes, there are the dealings that Lawrence has with an important merchant company, the Milone Company, whose branch manager Marlheit (Christopher Sabat) proves be an important aid to Lawrence in detecting an ambitious currency trading plan that Lawrence first catches wind up through an encounter with another traveling merchant (Zheren, voiced in an appropriately untrustworthy manner by John Burgmeier). Marlheit gives us Mr. Sabat showing his ability to be more than just “Mr. Low-Pitched Growly Man” as we hear far too often from him. While his voice will always be distinctive and easily recognizable, Mr. Sabat is quite soft in tone and clean and calm in voice, which gives Marlheit the right feeling of authority and competence. Also playing an important early role is Jamie Marchi, who voices Chloe, a young woman from the village of Pasloe where Holo had been bound as a harvest deity. When we first meet her, she is just a fairly cute voice matching a fairly cute exterior, nothing special. As it turns out, however, Chloe is actually a very sharp financial schemer who is part of a local nobleman’s plot to create a financial blackmail hold over the King of Trenni, the currency plot that Lawrence gets sucked into. Once Chloe reveals her true colors, Ms. Marchi gives a much more interesting performance, as the icy chill of greed and ruthlessness creeps into that once bland cute-girl voice. It is great fun to hear her change, and I suspect that Ms. Marchi had more fun as well when her character threw off her mask.

Later in the show, a key role is that of the shepherd Nora Arendt, played by Leah Clark. While Nora is a talented shepherd along with her trusty sheepdog Enek, she is rather frail and weak looking young woman, and Ms. Clark gives her an appropriately thin and girlish voice. There is an underlying strength, however, as when she is called upon to use her shepherding skills to protect her small flock of sheep and those who are traveling with her from the wolves that prowl in the forests.

Other than those mentioned above, we also have a few amusing appearances from a womanizing moneychanger named Weiz, who is played with obvious glee by Eric Vale. His smooth-talking sliminess in his attempts to gain Holo’s attention contrast perfectly with Lawrence’s stodginess and stiffness.

Adaptation and Localization:

Before I proceed to summing up my thoughts, I would like to address the debate in certain circles about the name of the main character, Holo. In Japanese, of course, there is no “L.” That sound must be rendered by an “R,” and thus her name in Japanese is obviously going to be rendered “Horo.” In the earliest translations (that is, fansub translations), her name was spelled Horo. As we now know, however, according to the Japanese creators and producers themselves, the name is meant to be Romanized as Holo. So, Holo it is.

Final Thoughts: