Spy x Family

Corrupt politicians, frenzied nationalists, and other warmongering forces constantly jeopardize the thin veneer of peace between neighboring countries Ostania and Westalis. In spite of their plots, renowned spy and master of disguise "Twilight" fulfills dangerous missions one after another in the hope that no child will have to experience the horrors of war.

In the bustling Ostanian city of Berlint, Twilight dons the alias of "Loid Forger," an esteemed psychiatrist. However, his true intention is to gather intelligence on prominent politician Donovan Desmond, who only appears rarely in public at his sons' school: the prestigious Eden Academy. Enlisting the help of unmarried city hall clerk Yor Briar to act as his wife and adopting the curious six-year-old orphan Anya as his daughter, Loid enacts his master plan. He will enroll Anya in Eden Academy, where Loid hopes she will excel and give him the opportunity to meet Donovan without arousing suspicion.

Unfortunately for Loid, even a man of his talents has trouble playing the figure of a loving father and husband. And just like Loid is hiding his true identity, Yor—who is an underground assassin known as "Thorn Princess"—and Anya—an esper who can read people's minds—have no plans to disclose their own secrets either. Although this picture-perfect family is founded on deception, the Forgers gradually come to understand that the love they share for one another trumps all else.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Forger, Anya Main

Tanezaki, Atsumi Japanese

Forger, Yor Main

Hayami, Saori Japanese

Forger, Loid Main

Eguchi, Takuya Japanese

Forger, Bond Supporting

Desmond, Damian Supporting

Fujiwara, Natsumi Japanese

Briar, Yuri Supporting

Ono, Kensho Japanese

Franklin, Franky Supporting

Yoshino, Hiroyuki Japanese

Henderson, Henry Supporting

Yamaji, Kazuhiro Japanese

Blackbell, Becky Supporting

Katou, Emiri Japanese

Sherwood, Sylvia Supporting

Kaida, Yuuko Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Fukushima, Yuuichi Producer

Nakatake, Tetsuya Producer

Murakami, Maasa Producer

Reviews

Jun 25, 2022

Stark700

Recommended

Spy x Family is an anime of the year candidate. Yes, I say this with confidence for it managed to exemplify entertainment at consistent quality. It's an anime that sells itself as exactly what it is without misleading the audience. And with such a marketing wheel behind the show, it managed to reach a large audience. There's plenty of reasons why I believe Spy x Family indeed deserves its rating and to be quite honest, this is one of the few anime that I can recommend just about anyone this year.

First, I want to congradulate Tatsuya Endou on putting himself on the map with his ... Spy x Family franchise. To be honest, before Spy x Family launched, I don't remember any of his previous works. His one shots are obscure titles that most people have never heard of. That is, until Spy x Family launched in 2019. The series quickly established itself with its simple and complex themes. Mind you, the idea of a family of spies isn't exactly an unique idea, but it is the charm of the characters and refreshing writing style of the story that made this enjoyable from day one.

Now you're asking yourself what exactly is Spy x Family? Do yourself favor and don't read the MAL synopsis as it may sound more complex than it looks. Meanwhile, you should watch the first episode and full indulge on what the author wanted to SHOW us. Watching the first episode brings together two characters with very different backgrounds and personalities - Loid Forger (also known as 'Twilight) and Anya. Loid proves himself to be a human with extraordinary skills in esponiage, physical feat, and master of disguise. You could say that he is the perfect spy. On the other hand, Anya is a young girl with the ability to read minds but also with a fascination of spies in the media. Watching their character chemistry immediately brings together a degree of elegance and charm. Let's just say how quickly the two connects with one another. Even though Anya knows Loid often lies to others for his work, she also knows that deep down, he is a kind hearted person. Representing the essence of a perfect spy, Loid deeply cares about his role but also has a soft side for his family.

We can't have a family without the mother of course. That's where the assassin, Yor Forger comes in. Introduced in second episode, Yor is essentially an assassin with deadly skills to match her intellect and physical talents. Although sometimes airheaded with a lack of common sense, she deeply cares about Anya and Loid despite not knowing their full backgrounds. In fact, you could easily call Yor and Loid's first encounter as a chance meeting. It's as if destiny set these two up together. In perhaps one of the most memorable sequences of the this season, Loid ties the knot by putting a grenade pin on Yor's finger. It's a refreshing take as in most marriages, you see an generic type of ceremony with flowers and bridemaids. Obviously, Yor and Loid aren't actually a married couple a they pretend to be one to carry out their respective missions. And with Anya, they are the heart and soul of Spy x Family.

Anya herself is a complex character despite her age. She has the ability to read minds and practically uses it as a necessity than just a helpful tool. It's with this ability that she barely gets into the prestigious Eden Academy. Academically wise, Anya is not intelligent and overly relies on her mind reading skill. From the first day of class, she isn't motivated and ends up falling asleep before her classmate Becky wakes her up. However, Anya makes an extreme impression towards her peers. Immediately, she is able to befriend Becky due to her kindhearted nature and standing up for her. Second, Anya also withstands another top student at the academy named Damian. Desmond. Proving herself to be a tough girl who isn't afraid to be pushed around by others, Anya withstands not just his verbal assault but also landing a fist into his face. It's the first time that Damian experiences defiance and thus, academy life for Anya becomes a whole lot more complicated.

But trust me, understanding Spy x Family isn't too complex despite the author setting up various degrees of storytelling segments. To tell a story like this, Tatsuya made each relevant character unique and carrying their own role. Anya, Loid, and Yor are the main characters but there are also others who makes an impact in the show such as housemaster Henry Henderson or Yor's brother Yuri. The anime give a great impression of the casts' personality to always get audience to react in some way. Anya is the most prominent case for her various degree of human expressions. Because of her mind reading talent, she often reacts in exaggerated ways like a kid her age would. Besides, who can ever forget about her iconic 'heh' face when she punched Damian's wind out? Let me just say that Anya is destined to belong in this show for everything she represent.

The big question to ultimately ask yourself is 'why should I watch Spy x Family'? After all, this just the first part and tip for the iceberg. To truly embrace into this franchise would mean to invest time into part 2 and the manga. However, I will say that Spy x Family is enjoyayble for all its character elements, comedy gags, and ultimatley the effective storytelling. It doesn't sell itself as an action thriller despite some of the advertised material. In today's anime industry where it's dominated by isekai, battle shounens, and rom-coms, Spy x Family is a breath of fresh air. Tatsuya Endo took this series into a lighthearted direction, a contrast to some of the action thrillers you're more used to seeing. According to the author himself, he often reads other works to brainstorm ideas of his own. By doing so, he invents and evolves his ideas into this series. It's what makes Spy x Family so special and amassing such a fanbase.

Wit Studio and CloverWorks are not the perfect production studios but they managed to bring the creativity of Spy x Family in the most effective form possible. The theme songs are decorated with a simple and colorful chereography that further conveys the show's cheerfulness. Character designs for Anya, Loid, and Yor are unique and great to point out for their technical achievements. You can tell how their expressions are connected to their feelings when we see them in crucial scenes. Examples of these include the family's interview at Eden Academy or Anya's sincere apology to Damian. The fact is, human emotions is especially important for this show as it brings out the best out of its cast. Similarly, I applaud the voice actors for being spot on their roles, in particuar for Anya. It's not easy to voice a character at her age but she made the character as credible as she can be. Loid, Yor, and Damian are also voiced exactly as how I pictured from the manga and on point. In fact, I can say that this is one of the very few anime adaptation that may have exceeded its manga counterpart.

If I said it once, I've said it a hundred times. Spy x Family is a contender for anime of the year. Yes, a show like this isn't absolute perfection but for what it has shown us, it captured just about everything I had expected and perhaps more. This is the type of show that is a refreshing breath of air that we need more often. And with part 2 to come, there's no better time than to jump into this hype train.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Jun 25, 2022

samsince04

Mixed Feelings

Mediocrity can mask itself in funny ways. When I think of the word “overrated”, I think of shows that have been able to hide their mediocrity in such admirable fashion that they do not get noticed by the majority of anime fans. We’ve had our fair share of overrated anime like Clannad which was able to mask its mediocrity with emotional p0rn, No game no life, and even more recently Sono bisque doll with its uncanny ability to cater to the most down bad section of weebs. But no mediocre anime has been able to reach such heights of popularity as quickly and as effortlessly ... as Spy X family has. Some of us are quick to convince ourselves that ratings don’t matter but when an anime(a first season at that) reaches so close to the top of the charts on this site before even clocking six episodes, there’s something in the works. This is my first complete review of an anime. I’ll try to keep things spoiler-free but some minor spoilers from the anime might spew out on account of my rage.

Spy X family is the new anime on the block taken on by two popular studio veterans, Wit and Cloverworks, who know more than a thing or two about how to adapt a successful anime. If you haven’t been living under a rock for the past three months, you’ve probably heard about it. A spy on an undercover operation marries and adopts a child all in the name of avoiding war. The plot follows Twilight, a renowned spy who is tasked with investigating Donovan Desmond, who I think is a leader of some country, group, or something. Desmond apparently only shows his face in his child’s school thus sparking the culmination of convenient story arcs and just all-around nothingness that fails to leave me with much satisfaction or anticipation.

Spy X family falls short in quite a few areas starting from its overly convenient plot. There’s just too much that didn’t need to happen. Firstly, the existence of Yor. In what school do you need two parents to be present for an interview? Aren’t concepts like death, divorce, adoption, and many others present in this anime? This means that Yor has no right to be this integral to the plot this season. Now don’t get it twisted, I don’t hate Yor I think she’s a tolerable character but the way she was introduced to the story was stupid. The only reason she exists, to begin with, is to appear in Anya’s interview. She hasn’t done anything else to prove that she can be important to the overarching plot of the show yet. That might change but you have to admit that for now she’s kinda just flailing around having very little importance to the story so far and is mainly used as eye candy. I would rather have characters pop up randomly and then be included in the story rather than being included in the most ridiculous and unrealistic ways.

Secondly, the dialogue. I value dialogue a lot in a story. A good dialogue aids in creating convincing characters by exposing essential details about their backgrounds, quirks, etc. It reveals aspects of characters that make them relatable. Spy X family does not excel here, unfortunately. The dialogue is forgettable and doesn’t leave me with any impression that these characters can be entertaining in any fashion. The most fascinating relationship is between Anya and Loid but that does not get explored enough or as in-depth as I would like. The other characters leave very much to be desired as well in terms of dialogue. The characters are not entertaining or thought-provoking. It’s not like the interactions between the characters are incredibly witty or funny, intellectual, natural, or realistic. The interactions between the three main characters seem lifeless at times and it feels like time is moving that much slower when I watch these characters communicate with each other. I feel like if an anime(A “comedy anime” at that) cannot establish some form of entertaining dialogue that goes past the stereotypical cheesiness that SXF advertises, then it is simply not worth my time. The dialogue is easily the weakest part of this show and when people such as me try to discuss these issues with Spy X family twerkers, it always comes back to one lazy ass point,” iT’s JuSt a SliCe Of LiFe CoMeDy iT’s NoT tHaT sErIoUs”. Okay, let’s address the comedy then.

When anyone criticizes the anime, the stans are so quick to say that it’s just a comedy slice of life and whatnot but here’s the twist, it’s not even that funny! Comedy is subjective and everything but I want to see the people that get a good laugh by watching some of the “comedic” scenes in this show. The comedy is repetitive with slow and awkward timing and it’s normally filled with Anya or Yor doing something over the top like slapping a relative until he starts bleeding or Anya falling on her face like an idiot. Also, can we talk about the fact that Anya, a four-year-old is being forced to an elite school with people two years older than her and not only expected to keep up with her elite classmates but to do so well academically that she gets a Stella? I feel like it’s another stupid and cruel attempt at comedic relief. Admittedly, the manga is a better representation of comedy but I feel like the anime’s shameless use of meme moments and explosive animation to pass off as comedy does not work for me. What makes it even more confusing is that it’s not hard to make me laugh. Some of my favorite comedy anime are trashy anime that don’t take themselves too seriously. The simplest joke can have my chest hurting from laughing too much. As with most “funny” anime these days, Spy X family is filled with wholesome moments that get the fans going. Watching Loid act like a dad is cute, Anya being stupid is cute, and Yor blushing for no reason is cute but it’s not funny at all. I can’t even think of an anime that came out in the past four or five years that hasn’t outrageously relied on these overused tropes and tried to pass it off as comedy.

This section will be dedicated to all the stupid things that didn’t need to happen. Can we talk about episode five? The most over-the-top celebration of a child going to school I have ever seen. Also, the organization that Loid works for made itself to be an absolute joke, and the “best” spies were just really dumbed down to fit the subplot which was to “save” Anya from a “villain”. In a show that people praise for its relatable slice-of-life moments, I don’t know how anyone could tolerate this episode. Another episode that didn’t advance the plot was that dodgeball episode. Never have I ever seen such attention to detail in a pointless episode that does nothing different than the previous episodes. I don’t think there’s been enough plot development to allow for irrelevant episodes. If Loid’s mission was so urgent that he had to enroll his four-year-old child in an elite school with people two years older than her then surely the plot should progress faster right? While we’re at it what about the backstories? Does Anya’s tragic backstory revealed to us in the earlier episodes play a part in the progression of the story? Certainly not. The show focuses on scenes that make the fan base melt over interesting scenes that reveal to the audience the implication and why that backstory is so relevant to the character. But instead, we had about two or three full episodes of not building up anything. It’s such a shame because everything has been set up, the plot looks interesting, and the characters? Fairly bland but can improve if they focus more on the actual story. Ultimately, all we get is a poorly written slice-of-life anime with the occasional dark episode or two which I feel is a huge waste of potential.

To end this review let’s discuss some of the few moments where Spy X family showed the potential to be great. I could write about the art, music, or animation but I feel like that is already the topic of discussion in many other reviews of this show. What I want to focus on are the moments where there was potential for a good anime.

First off, Anya passing the exam. We all knew that she was going to pass but seeing the genuine excitement from Loid as he sees her number on the board! One of the first instances we see a genuine father-daughter bond grow is during Loid and Anya's celebration together and it was honestly beautiful and relatable and is by far the best moment in the anime until it was ruined by that stupid hide and seek game. Another moment is where Loid lashes out during the interview. Again that did nothing but strengthen the bond between Loid and Anya. It showed that he is not just creating a family to fulfill his mission but he cares about Anya. The show clearly shows promise but it holds itself back from being good by always clicking the reset button on any meaningful progress, reducing it to a standard comedy series(depends on what your definition of comedy is) with no actual intention of advancing its plot so far. I’ve read a bit of the manga which suffers from the same problems as well. All in all, Spy X family is a disappointment but not an unsalvageable one. It showed good perhaps even great moments but not nearly enough to justify its incredibly high acclaim.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Jun 26, 2022

chronolord

Not Recommended

This is the season's most overhyped anime. I read the plot summary and thought, this had a lot of potential, with everyone leading double lives, there would be lots of suspense and subtext.

Like any good work of art, it's important to show not tell. Unfortunately, they give everything away within the first few minutes of the first episode. We are directly told by a narrator, Loid is a spy, Anya is a telepathic child, Yor is an undercover assassin.

Good shows present to you characters and develop them over time. For this entire premise to be enjoyable, we should learn about these characters slowly, figure out ... what each of their goals and backgrounds are. Loid's actions should lead you to understand he's a hidden operative. Anya should respond and react to things in a way that makes you realize, she has secret powers.

Incidentally, the one character that comes close to being properly portrayed is Yuri. In the limited screentime that he was allotted, you grasp at the character's mindset and multiple facets.

The show leverages extremely generic tropes, leading to each episode becoming cliche and predictable. Anya needs to pass a hard entrance exam? While some incident occurs, a miracle happens and everything works out.

Given all of the attention it received early on, this was a major letdown. The one saving grace was that this was a well produced show with quality animation and soundtrack. Anything less would've made this a complete disaster.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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	Poll: Spy x Family Episode 4 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Stark700 - Apr 30, 2022	408 replies	by InferGilgamesh »» Yesterday, 9:47 PM
	Poll: Spy x Family Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Stark700 - Jun 25, 2022	504 replies	by Hitamu-kyan »» Nov 14, 1:04 PM
	Poll: Spy x Family Episode 11 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ) Stark700 - Jun 18, 2022	235 replies	by sharosharo »» Nov 12, 3:16 AM
	Poll: Spy x Family Episode 10 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Stark700 - Jun 11, 2022	323 replies	by sharosharo »» Nov 12, 2:45 AM
	Poll: Spy x Family Episode 9 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Stark700 - Jun 4, 2022	250 replies	by sharosharo »» Nov 12, 2:13 AM