Spy x Family

Title:Spy x Family
Overall:Buy
Keywords: , , , , , ,
Notables: Animation - CloverWorks
Animation - Wit Studio
Agent Twilight, the greatest spy for the nation of Westalis, has to infiltrate an elite private school. In order to do so he assumes the identity of psychiatrist Loid Forger, adopts an orphan girl, and marries a city hall employee. Unknown to him, his daughter Anya is a telepath and his wife Yor is an assassin. The three learn to become a family while working to complete Twilight's missions and maintain world peace.
(Summary Courtesy of Anime News Network)


TV anime that premiered on April 9, 2022.
Animated by Cloverworks and Wit Studio.
OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Buy 9 9 9 6 8 8 Ggultra2764 [series:4466#1552]
(Buy-/ Rent+)

Spy x Family focuses on a spy, an assassin, and a young girl secretly a telepath acting as a family together for a mission conducted by the spy Loid Forger (alias: Twilight), with all three attempting to conceal their true purpose and abilities from one another. The series mixes action and comedy coming from the three attempting to gel together in their roles as a family, while Loid and Yor still perform missions on the side as far of their professions with Anya knowing of their true jobs thanks to her telepathy. For the most part, I'll admit the chemistry of the Forgers and their personality quirks did entertain me such as Loid's cluelessness about being in a family, Yor being quite dense to Loid's lies about his profession and underestimating her strength due to her abilities as an assassin, and Anya's reactions to knowing about her adoptive parents' true personas. On the other hand, I was not so much a fan of Anya's school life being given focus since said focus added nothing to the series as a whole beyond seemingly pandering to the audience and I did get creeped out by the sister complex that Loid's brother seemingly has for her. Also, the series ends inconclusively as a second season of the series is set to air for the Fall 2022 anime season. In spite of some hiccups, I'll admit I was otherwise mostly entertained with the premise for Spy x Family and may be tempted to check out its second season when it airs later this year.

Last updated Saturday, June 25 2022. Created Saturday, June 25 2022.
Unevaluated AstroNerdBoy [series:4466#436]
Through 3 episodes...

I love this series. Anya is literally my favorite daughter character, managing to surpass Yotsuba. There's tinge of tragedy in this comedy as Anya is an orphan desperate to not be abandoned again. But I don't think the anime will have her abandoned. (I've not read the source manga.) That would kill the dynamic of this artificial family of a spy "Papa", an assassin "Mama", and a telepath little girl.

Last updated Tuesday, April 26 2022. Created Tuesday, April 26 2022.
Rent Stretch [series:4466#628]
(Rent-)

(All episodes watched):

I don't know about this show. It seems to be a hit, and has some definite good points, but I wonder if the excitement it is generating is really justified. It didn't seem uproariously funny to me, and therefore the plot was what I was looking to for entertainment. Set amid the Cold War-like struggle between Ostania and Westalis, it seemed semi-realistic, at least more realistic than most anime with spy or assassin motifs. But several things about episode one bugged me. Instead of just plain announcing to us that Anya (the pink-haired girl that Robert recruits to pose as his daughter) is a telepath, I would have let the audience figure that out for themselves. I was confused regarding whether Robert had quickly realized that she had this ability, given her uncanny ability to answer his questions before he even asks them. But no, it was later made clear that he hasn't, perhaps to facilitate more (weak) jokes. He's supposed to be James Bond brilliant, isn't he? And how the f--- did Robert switch places with this Nguyen guy who (I assume) he had never met and produce a perfect disguise to pose as him? Does he carry a tiny mask making kit with him at all times? About the most plausible explanation is that while Anya is a telepath Robert is a sorceror. As I wondered why this show hadn't thrilled me, the thought occurred to me 'do I like either of them?'. He's a superb secret agent but otherwise a mystery man with little or no personality. All we know about him is that he is fiercely loyal to Westalis and will set aside things like having a real family of his own. And Anya being a telepath was kind of annoying. Is that ability really necessary for the story, or is it just a gag? We must wait until episode two to see who the 'mother' will be.

This woman, 'Tor', has a curious personality which I'm not sure whether to like or hate. She is scoffed at by her coworkers as a naive, loveless loser when in fact she is (or can be) a merciless killing machine when assigned people to assassinate. Perhaps my problem is that I'm not sure if that is funny or disturbing. Does she only kill people who deserve it? She seems to obey orders without a second thought. Yet when not in assassin mode she seems rather gullible and dimwitted. I wish some additional effort had been made to make her more complex and unusual (because expert assassins are dime-a-dozen). Also, she's sort too good to believe--or, rather, her opponents are so easy to kill that doing so doesn't really seem like much of an accomplishment. I guess the assumption was that the audience would find her to be hilarious, so there was no need for plausibility. And, does she work for East, West, or some other group?

In episode three, Tor objects to a petty crime, which suggests she has a brain and some ethics after all. The bulk of this episode consists of the three getting to know each other better, and thereby us viewers getting to know them as well. While I still think this show is overrated (it was judged nothing less than the best show of the season in a April 28 poll at ANN), at the end I felt that maybe I could sympathize with this oddball family and like them after all. In episode five Anya gets a reward for getting accepted into the prestigous Eden Academy, a reward which balloons out of control. Curiously, I don't think she employed her telepathic skill at all in this episode. As usual, I found it to be amusing but not LOL funny. In episode six the school year begins and Anya promptly makes an enemy of the person Robert wanted her to ingratiate herself with. In episode seven he tries to reset things and Anya makes a new friend.

In episode eight an unexpected hitch occurs: Tor's younger brother, Yuri, is nothing less than an agent of the Secret Police, Robert's mortal enemies. This event made me sit up and take notice. How will Tor, when in her usual not terribly bright mode, keep what's really going on secret from her sibling who adores her and is inherently suspicious of anyone who threatens to take her away from him? Anya's telepathy might come in handy. This tale in general didn't seem to be anywhere near a conclusion as the Spring season neared its end. We have yet to even meet the man Robert is trying to make a connection with. Maybe this show is all about the jokes and the plot is a low priority. Episode twelve has a sort of a refresher course on how things got started and where they stand. And apparently, that's it for now. Several fansubbers are describing these twelve episodes as Season 1, so a second one must be on the way. I guess I would not mind watching it, but taking a break from this show for a while might be a good idea for me. No doubt most critics will be gushing about this show but it sometimes seemed kind of tiresome to watch for me. Despite the odd premise it sometimes felt as if the writers were not aiming very high.


After a three month break S2 of the series arrived. Anya is being rewarded for her accomplishments with a pet dog, which turns out to have such curious capabilities that it may well come to be thought of as the fourth member of this team. Nevertheless, I was not terribly excited. The jokes are lukewarm and I couldn't help looking at the clock frequently and wishing this episode 13 would be finished.

Last updated Wednesday, October 12 2022. Created Sunday, April 17 2022.

Other Sites
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Official Japanese Series Web Site https://spy-family.net/

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