After 15 years, actors from one of the best English anime dubs ever recorded return to their roles for the fantasy series’ new adaptation

Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf
(Image credit: CrunchyRoll)

A new adaptation of Isuna Hasekura's beloved Japanese light novel series Spice and Wolf has arrived – and with two of the original voice actors from the English dub of the 2008 anime.

Brina Palencia and J. Michael Tatum, who starred in Spice and Wolf, have returned to voice Holo and Lawrence in Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf.

"'I am Holo, and Holo is all that I am.' I guess the wolf’s out of the bag. It’s wild revisiting this character after so many years. I’m really grateful I’ve gotten to do the audiobooks of the light novels leading up to this reboot of the anime," Palencia wrote on Instagram. "Also just being older and wiser now, I feel connected to the Wise Wolf in a way that wasn’t possible in my early twenties. I’ve never felt so prepared to take on a role. I hope you all enjoy the show as much as I enjoy recording it."

Tatum also announced the return via Instagram, writing simply: "Nice to be back on the wagon after all these years."

Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf follows Lawrence, a traveling merchant who arrives at a village and meets a beautiful girl with the ears and tail of a wolf named Holo the Wisewolf. After Holo expresses the desire to return to her homeland, Lawrence offers to take her, and the two embark on a journey north.

The English voice cast also includes Austin Tindle, Emi Lo, Doug Jackson, Charles Nguyen, and Ben Stegmair, with Michelle Rojas directing.

Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf is streaming now on Crunchyroll. For more, check out our list of all the new anime to add to your streaming queue this year.

Lauren Milici
Senior Writer, Tv & Film

Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for GamesRadar+ currently based in the Midwest. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent's Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.