Spy x Family Movie: Code: White

I'll admit there may be some biases in my review having experienced a full house at midnight in Japan on a weekday, but this movie really encapsulates the charms of Spy x Family while keeping the audience engaged with a high-stakes story. Comparing it to the 2 seasons that have aired so far, this (while not "canon") is the most exciting Spy x Family arc I've been able to watch.

If you enjoy Spy x Family as a whole, it's a great fun watch. Even for new watchers who want a nice movie to see if they want to give the show a try, it ... gives enough exposition to the characters for you to jump right in.

Animation - top notch work from the animators at CloverWorks & Wit once again. The action scenes were splendid, easy to follow, and felt nicely paired with the ongoing plot. Yor fans will eat good.

Story - Pacing was really nice, and what initially feels like separate anime episode mini-stories eventually blend nicely into an over-arching plot

Humor - Each cast member's humor was written and executed in a very on-brand way. Especially Anya...

But, yes, the movie is not perfect by all means. You can check my profile for my rating scale. There's inconsistencies, plot holes that make sense for a "filler movie", and lack of screen time for certain characters. Overall though, it was really enjoyable and a fun winter flick!

If you liked the TV shows, and if you liked the characters, well they are all here, almost all of them. The movie feels like a paint by number box checking exercise. Everyone gets to do their "thing" and gets their big screen screen times. But the plot is thin and in normal Anime OVA fashion, nothing is at stake. Sure there are big action, great sakuga moments to show the budget of a movie. But it just doesn't feel like a proper film.

its fun, lots to see, but I was still checking my watch and rolled my eyes a lot at multiple points of ... the film. I don't know if its better or worse, when I think the film itself knows what its doing.

Unless you are looking for mindless entertainment, don't waste your time watching this movie.

Spy x Family, at this point across all adaptations (both the TV series and this movie), is essentially a filler anime, meaning that nearly every single episode is defined by a stark lack of momentum in the storyline.

Or, perhaps it is more accurate to call it a kids show, a cartoon; something akin to the likes of the Powerpuff Girls, even Spongebob Squarepants (not to belittle these shows, they are great... at times, but both are structured very similarly.) Rather than being your typical villain-of-the-week, Spy x Family employs something more ... unique: trivial/mildly-infuriating problem that could be easily prevented by better parenting (i.e. "discipline")-of-the-week.

Even this movie, which is clearly stated to be non-canon, it still feels like your typical Spy x Family episode. That is,

1. An opportunity to gain a Stella / a problem threatening Westalis presents itself.
2. Anya makes it worse.
3. Yor tries to resolve the problem, only to do nothing, get side-tracked in a pointless side-plot, or makes it worse.
4. Loid is left to fix up the mess, as usual.
5. Everything is resolved and we return to the base-line: nothing is learnt, no development is made, no Stella acquired, and Anya still a sniffling, nose-picking dumbass.

Now, an argument does present itself; doesn't nearly every story follow this exact same principle when boiled down to its most simplest form? Yes, to an extent, but the issue lies in the fact that Spy x Family provides absolutely no development, no gratification at the end of this episodic plot line, for all arcs and episodes. Believe it or not, Code: White follows the exact same principle. And chances are, if you're anything like me, you would prefer to watch a story unfold, develop, watch the characters grow and change, rather than seeing it remain stagnant, deflated and completely formulaic.

However, it goes without saying that of course Spy x Family is quite an entertaining series. Each of the characters has their own charm and the idea strikes me as something quite endearing; people who have never experienced the love and care of a family and have been rejected from institutions or society are pushed together to become a family, thus experiencing what it means to be a parent, to love and to be loved, to be a child. Code:White does a great job at bringing out those emotions. And it is important to keep in mind that Spy x Family is not your typical shonen, which is why its such a great watch with people of all ages. There's not many anime that you can genuinely say that you would be comfortable watching it with your parents, even grandparents, and Spy x Family is one of those anime.

Code:White is a kids movie, simply. And if you like the series, understand that this movie is not-canon and is unfortunately not going to contribute anything to the overarching plot of the series — not like the actual anime is doing that anyways — then by all means, watch it with some friends, family, its a great watch. But because it is so trivial and silly and pointless, especially considering the ending, I simply cannot recommend it.