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]
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Comentários
Stark700
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 hisSpy 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.
noob2121
Contains spoilers, Spoiler free TL;DR at the bottom. "I like this show" ~Anya Forger in episode 1. You could not have possibly missed this, Spy x Family has taken the community by storm. It is everywhere, be it in the form of Yor and Anya fanarts (with an appalling lack of Loid ones) or Anya smug face memes. I simply have to praise the production of this. This is clearly a passion project, you can't tell the difference between Wit's episodes and Cloverwork's episodes, because it's so coordinated and seamless. The anime takes the manga's material and elevates it by leaps and bounds. The best example of thisis in ep 5, or the (I guess you can call it a filler?) episode where Anya makes Loid and his agents enact out her favourite scene of a tv series she watched. If this was picked up by any other anime studio, it would likely be presented as a minor, unimportant slideshow that took place in their house, just as the manga presented it. However with the production's emphasis on seamlessness, the anime does not merely animate only the panels itself, rather it adds to the panels, and it goes above and beyond to show the flow between the panels too. Thus, the anime manages to make a seemingly unimportant sequence in the manga into a full length episode that is almost completely anime-original, with stellar animation, and an amazing, though rather short fight scene between Loid and Yor. The sound design in the anime is also very fitting. The combination of spy thrillers and jazz music has always worked perfectly since forever, and Spy x Family is no exception. The main background “suspense” theme strikes that perfect balance to be noticeable enough to add to the mood of the scenes it's in, and also subtle enough to not be distracting. SxF uses this music really well, without going overboard with it.
This anime is called Spy x FAMILY, and one of the other key appeals of it is the dynamic of a found family that the anime creates. The facade of a family turns more and more into a genuine familial relationship as the anime goes on. This is made extremely clear to your face as the series goes on. Loid especially saw his family members at first as nothing more than a stepping stone to world peace. While he of course still sees them as tools to world peace, he also starts to genuinely care for them and look after his daughter’s well-being more and more out of love, and less out of obligation. He’s also uncharacteristically dense when it comes to Yor and her secret identity, which I find it funny above all else, but can be taken as a possible criticism. Yor and Anya’s relationship is also so heartwarming!! The most wholesome moments of Spy x Family for me at least, are the moments when Yor trains with Anya, both before the start of school, and the dodgeball match. I think the whole family dynamic is best exemplified in episode 4 during Anya’s interview to get into a prestigious school. Anya rates her parents with a “perfect 100 points”, spelling out their heartwarming familial relationship. The futility and stupidity of comparing parents, and worse trying to force a child to do it, is then embodied by a professor of that school, a rich, arrogant and pompous sadist. You are supposed to hate him, he was written to be hated, and the catharsis that the viewers experience after seeing Loid thoroughly intimidate him and causing the professor to be berated, though rather contrived and simplistic, is what helps us love and get behind this found family.
The primary appeal of Spy x Family isn't the thrilling spy action, its stunning production, or its found family aspect. These are great reasons to love this anime, but the main reason that this is so beloved by the community is its comedy, and the thing that ties all the comedy together, is Anya. Anya carries the comedy, no scratch that, Anya IS the comedy. The whole ED is dedicated to Anya. Most of the comedic scenes will somehow involve Anya in it, whether that be Anya's shocked expression whenever Loid or Yor think of something unhinged, or her smug face when something goes her way. Chances are, if you think Spy x Family is overrated, or you straight up dislike it, you probably do not like Anya as well. Ep 11 being considered to be the worst episode of the series by some, just because Anya acted a little more kid-like than those people were comfortable with, just proves this even further. The one major scene where Anya was not involved would be Yuri Briar's visit to the family, and for me at least, this was easily the most unfunny episode of Spy x Family. In fact, Anya waking up the following morning complaining about missing the excitement was easily the funniest part of the whole sequence. Anya’s antics and shenanigans in order to feel that sense of excitement and go “waku waku” reflects her mischievousness, her eagerness to save someone from drowning reflects her purity, Her studying hard to appease her father and in her mind achieve world peace reflects her child-like innocence and naivete, all of these make her such an endearing and adorable character. Of course, the people who understandably dislike Anya will probably think her actions are cringe, or her cuteness is forced, but i have to disagree there. I simply think she acts like a typical child would, and am more than willing to dismiss her occasional “cringe” moments simply as child-like naivete.
Anya's ability to read minds is one of the most unique things about Spy x Family, and it's worth talking about a little. It’s the perfect excuse to create funny internal monologues. The 2 differing backgrounds and mentalities of Loid and Yor will almost always allow them to offer 2 vastly differing perspectives, and the fact that they are actively hiding their identities just make it even funnier. However in episode 3 it's also used to show the differing but mostly negative attitudes of attendees of a nationalist rally. While Loid points to the importance of educating Anya politically, all Anya does is get dizzy from all of the hate and patriotism of the members of the rally, reflecting the gross state of politics within the country. This so-called “gimmick” is genuinely really well explored so far, and I really look forward to seeing how else Anya’s ability will be used more later during Part 2 in Fall.
Spy x Family being this popular due to its family-friendly accessibility and great writing just gives me hope that passion projects can still exist amid the endless drag of seasonal anime these days. A brilliant adaptation we did not deserve, Spy x Family blends thrilling action, hilarious comedy and endearing characters to create an absolutely superb and well-rounded experience. Highly recommended indiscriminately to all anime fans. Thank you for reading.
SingleH
SPY×FAMILY is the first mainstream anime to come out in a very long time that I can confidently say is worth the hype. I mean, it might be a bit overhyped, but what isn’t these days? I expected a generic, uninteresting, gimmicky piece of shounen-action trash, and what I got was a clever and oh-so-endearing slice of life with lovable characters, fantastic visual set pieces, a brilliant setting, and, if you can believe it, a genuinely funny sense of humor and gut-busting comedic timing. It’s way more simplistic and tensionless than I expected it to be, and that is a good thing. I recently wrotea review for 86 that went deeply misunderstood, and not just by the people who read my reviews solely to hate them. It was a tedious, four-paragraph review that takes three paragraphs to make even a single point, and while you’re probably falling asleep just listening to me describe it, I thought the tedium was worth it at the time of writing, because the point I was making was quite particular. My whole argument against the show was how poorly considered its presentation was; to quote everyone’s least favorite Greek snob, “86 plays out like a soap opera written by and aimed at teenagers who don’t really know anything about real war.” It’s horrible CG action, simpleminded social commentary, and unbelievable, generic characters were all legitimate issues, but what made the show truly unwatchable was its incongruous presentation that wanted you to view it as a serious war drama while also boasting the same moe fanservice and child-like, immature characters you’d see in any average highschool anime. SPY×FAMILY is the ultimate response to this critique.
This is, if you haven’t figured it out by now, a show about a family of spies, but despite the gravity of their situations, the show does not take itself serious at all, and its presentation is consequently perfect. Twilight, our protagonist who I will henceforth be referring to by his alias, Loid, is a spy working for West German intelligence, and he’s tasked with making contact with a certain East German official who plans to turn the Cold War into a hot one. However, the only public appearances made by this individual are at his son’s school, where High Honor students are admitted into a fraternity where their parents can meet for pleasantries. In light of these circumstances, Loid is now in a position where he’s forced to find a wife and child, manage a believable appearance for this new fake family, and mold his new child into someone capable of earning their way into the fraternity and thereby handing Loid a meeting with his target. I know this premise already sounds a bit silly on its own, but only after you’ve actually sat down and watched the show will you be able to fully wrap your head around the true extent of its low-stakes, intentionally contrived, and often hysterically funny presentation and appreciate what makes its formula so entertaining and fun. Loid is a jack of all trades, but he is by no means a master of none, yet despite being comically proficient at everything, he’s limited by the fact his mission is totally out of his own hands, as he cannot rely on his usual wheelhouse of skills for this particular mission. It’s no longer a matter of stealth or brains, but rather a matter of your wife and child staying on script, and this is obviously far easier said than done.
Loid’s wife, Yor, is not only a completely air-headed idiot, but she’s also secretly an assassin—think Mr. & Mrs. Smith—and his new daughter, Anya, is not only a completely bumbling incompetent, but she’s also secretly an esper who can read minds. This set-up of having Loid and Yor oblivious to one another’s true dealings while Anya knows literally everything despite having none of the agency nor ability to actually effect any meaningful change is exquisitely balanced and, at least so far, has proven to be a Haruhi-level premise, only with less legendarily memorable characters. If we’re going to stick with the Mr. & Mrs. Smith comparison, it would be like if Brad Pitt had little to no understanding of human intimacy and connection, and Angelina Jolie was pretending to be a retard, while also being a genius…but then also…was a retard. The show is fucking funny, and every character is delightfully lovable almost instantly. There’s no stupid melodrama, and any serious emotional developments the series does contain are genuinely wholesome. One episode ends with a six minute long scene of two adult characters having a human conversation, reflecting on their personal memories and life choices, and while watching it I thought I had died and gone to Heaven. Meanwhile, another episode ends with a ten minute long sequences of Loid playing Total Wipeout against an army of BND agents trying to reenact Anya’s favorite spy cartoon in a conveniently placed theme park castle right outside East Berlin, displaying what was perhaps the best action animation of the season on a literal, in-universe joke. And BOTH scenes worked marvelously.
Speaking of the animation, the production of this series is probably its biggest downside, despite being well above average. There’s CG pedestrians, CG cars, and the usual, but the real continuous issue is the art direction. I understand the story is supposed to be taking place in East Germany, so there was clearly a vision to realize this drab, post-war, communist shithole, and in that sense the colors work perfectly, but I just wish they would’ve prioritized consistent detail. The backgrounds are just so empty sometimes, and it really undercuts how much effort the series puts in elsewhere. As for the actual artwork and animation, let’s just say you don’t have to wait until the credits roll to figure out which episodes were done by WIT Studio and which ones were done by Cloverworks. I mean, when one episode is mostly lip flapping and still characters storyboarded shot/reverse shot, and the next one immediately opens with the same scene of the same characters smacking each other across the room, moving all over the foreground and the background of shots, and being animated with multiple times the frames from needlessly difficult angles, then it’s not exactly a coincidence. I would describe the soundtrack the same way I would describe every other anime soundtrack that (K)NoW_NAME has done: fun, energetic, and, when necessary, absolutely badass. The character designs are excellent, and I’m not surprised this manga is a best-seller with these designs on the cover. Pretty much every major character has the ability to become an iconic design, and the artists behind this series fucking know it, because some of the facial expressions they pull out are priceless.
It’s not just the designs, though. I keep failing to go in depth and really paint a picture of how charming this cast truly is, because they’re what really sells SPY×FAMILY and all that really matters within it. Loid feels like he was created in a laboratory designed to synthesize the most perfect heartthrob anime husbando imaginable, while also being a well-rounded, introspective, likable protagonist; Yor is equally perfect to carry the collective attention span of new-seasonal-waifu-seeking male otaku while simultaneously just being a good character; and Anya is simply irreplaceable. Everyone is familiar with the phrase, “a character is only as smart as their author,” right? Personally, I’ve always loved this phrase and agreed with it’s sentiment, but I’ve also found the inverse to be weirdly true as well. This is to say, a character can only really seem as stupid as their author is willing to make themselves, and it’s this phenomena which I think makes Anya such a perfect character. She is a child, and she’s written to act like a child and process things in a convincingly childish manner, but sometimes she’s strangely conniving, observant, and aware in a way that feels way too mature for the character she’s been sold as. Again—deliberate presentation, yada, yada, yada—this all works for aforementioned reasons, and it just makes her character so hilarious, because the author never hesitates to give Anya the punch line for a set-up no real child would have the social acumen to catch. I know I’ve been swearing by this show’s comedy insistently without providing anything to back up my claims, but I simply refuse to spoil any of the jokes in this review.
I’ve recently gotten a few comments on my page from people telling me they’re anticipating this review, and while sentiments like this always make my cold, icy heart flutter with the bliss of a true attention whore, they’ve also made me feel rather guilty, because I haven’t really done anything special with it, and this final paragraph won’t be making any effort to change that fact. I’ve had this issue over the course of the last few weeks with Paripi Koumei as well, where, after seeing the OP and hearing about the show second-hand, I had all these ideas of how I wanted to approach my eventual review, but when I actually went to watch the show, I was betrayed by its simplicity. It was just good—simple as that—and the reasons why it was good were very easy to say, so all my hollow drafts completely caved in on themselves, and I had to settle for a much more laid-back, two-paragraph review that covered everything it needed to cover in a fairly unexceptional manner, and I’m afraid the simplistic charm of SPY×FAMILY has left me in a similar situation. If you think slice of life is a worthless genre made for human sloths whose own lives are more boring than watching paint dry, then I guess I could recommend steering clear, but if anything I’ve described has sounded even remotely entertaining, then please remember the show itself is certainly going to be many times more enjoyable to you than reading my shitty writing will ever be. Yes, it’s been overly praised, so maybe don’t be expecting the next classic anime masterpiece in the making, and there’s nothing terribly revolutionary about its humor, but its formula is fresh, and its characters are the absolute dearest.
Thank you for reading.
samsince04
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 effortlesslyas 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.
HellLyter
Heh, I can't believe how incredibly popular and highly rated Spy X Family has become. Especially when it isn't an anime that contains a lot of the more "epic" or "emotional" moments that a lot of the other top shows on this site bring to the table. But I too have been captived by it's charm ever since reading the Manga. So what's the secret formula that makes Spy X Family a resounding success? Let's dive into it, shall we? And no, it's not because the characters are relatable. There's absolutely no way...unless of course you happen to be a spy, an esper, an assassin, orhave started a fake family for the sake of world peace. In which case yeah, I guess you could relate.
The setup of the anime is solid without being too detailed. Viewers learn that the state of this anime's world revolves around the incredibly strained relationships between two rivaling nations with heavy inspiration from East and West Germany during the Cold War Era and how our protagonist Loid Forger, a.k.a. Agent Twilight, a.k.a. best fake father and fake husband ever, is given a super special secret mission to get close to a leader of his opposing nation for the sake of striving for world peace. We're quickly given the scoop for what the anime is going to be about, and it's done well. I do wish there was a little more world building since aside from a few explanations of some jobs and roles that people have in this fictitious society, we don't get as much as I would like in terms of really fleshing out this world and making it feel like an immersive place that makes sense. But this isn't the primary focus of the anime and is still executed well enough, so this is mainly just me nitpicking a little.
What Spy X Family truly is is a character focused comedy. I really enjoy how unlike other stories that try to hide a character's true role and motivations to be revealed near the end as some sort of plot twist, we know absolutely everything about these characters from the get-go. Everything is revealed to the viewer, and that unique yet excellent approach in my mind is one reason why this anime truly stands out. Now if the core cast were normal people, then this wouldn't be a big deal.
But they are most certainly not normal.
I already mentioned how Loid is a spy. Well, his mission involves creating a family and having his child attend a prestigious school in order to get close to his target. And this is where the fun begins. He adopts a small girl named Anya...who can read everyone's mind...as his daughter and marries a bit of an airheaded woman named Yor...who assassinates people as a job. And where Spy X Family truly shines in my mind is in the bonds these three share. Each of them pose as a member of this family for their own secretive purposes, and it's just really engaging to see how they keep so much from each other while still slowly bonding and becoming a real family. Because damn, the author is excellent at depicting their relationships. So let's get into this trio!
Anya actually acts like a child unlike most anime kids I've seen, and she's incredibly endearing. The girl craves excitement, and since she's the only one who knows everything that's going on, she loves this seemingly normal yet secretly crazy environment. And I would like to take a moment to mention just how great of a character Anya is in general. Of course she has her legendary meme face, but she's just such a fun character in all of her entirety. She has so many great moments across all the episodes and just really shines like a Stella Star. I'd honestly say that she's the most entertaining anime girl that I've seen in a long time. I actively burst out laughing during several of her moments, which is pretty rare for me. Anya truly is best daughter!
Of course there's also Yor, who is quite enjoyable in her own right. She's probably the most adorable house wife ever while also being a cold killer on her spare time. Huh, what a combo. She's pretty much the definition of both ditzy and deadly, and she combines her two sides in a crazy yet engaging way. Plus her bond with both Loid and Anya is incredibly cute. There are many adorable moments shared within this fake family. And while Loid himself is incredibly stoic and entirely focused on his mission, I really like how he connects with these two and acts as a straight man in many ridiculous scenarios. But he's not prone from doing ridiculous things himself. As the top spy in the world, I can assure you that Loid partakes in many over the top missions that put Tom Cruise from Mission Impossible to shame. Though each of their signature moves seems to be disguising as others so perfectly that they even take on their target's voice, so I guess they're both equally over the top. But it's certainly fun to watch.
Spy X Family is a bundle of entertainment. I focused entirely on the core cast in this review, but the supporting characters like Damian and Becky are all enjoyable as well and bring a little something to the table. Especially during the school scenes. Seriously, those have no business being as entertaining as they are. When reading the Manga, those are the moments that stood out to me the most, and I'm glad to see them excellently adapted here. The Anya vs Damian moments like the punch scene and the dodge ball game especially made me burst out laughing, they're just so well done. I really have to give the combined efforts of Wit Studio and Cloverworks massive props for making such a brilliantly designed show.
Comedy is subjective, so Spy X Family certainly isn't for everyone. But if it's incredibly high scores aren't an indicator, this is certainly one of the best comedies in anime, which can be attributed to the wonderful writing and masterfully set up characters. It has things that I'm sure mostly everyone could enjoy, so I'd wholeheartedly recommend this anime to pretty much anyone who enjoys comedy and likes over the top fun characters. Here's hoping for a sequel to continue Anya's quest at achieving world peace!...well, technically it's Loid's mission, but we all know that Anya is the true hero here.
RayReynolds
Spy x Boring is a wasted potential where the spy and parody stuff that seemed to be the main appealing of the first few episodes completely disappears to make way for a lot of filler, awful characters and repeating the same visual gag of a that girl who is more a meme than being human. The only reason a lot of people seem to rave about this is the hints of it being a family centered anime, the nuclear family created by a spy dad, murderous wife and daughter with psychic powers which AGAIN you only seen in the first few episodes to then bething mundane and irrelevant which is why I see no reason to be praising him for this all the time considering how careless the parents are and above all that this whole thing is still a farce. So if you want to see an anime that shows the family aspect better, you better go find another one like usagi drop (an original anime that is not based on anything more).
The characters seem to be another blunder as almost every are not really interesting or show anything more than a one-dimensional aspect, Loid is the only good character and seems to remember his mission, while the rest are bland or downright unpleasant. Yor is relegated from the plot and only yearning to be a good wife, Anya is just a dumb faces generator, Damian and Yuri are the worst characters in the series that it is preferable that they disappear since it only harms the supposed wholesome atmosphere that it tries to create. If it played things a little bit closer to the vest, and just a little more seriously, all the dramatic and emotional elements would be so much more effective.
chronolord
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 outwhat 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.
pedram_foroughi
The epitome of massive media marketing. No substance but the appearance quality is very good. The VAs especially Anya are so appealing and amazing. There's no story, to be honest here. This is a RomCom anime so as long as you don't expect too much you probably would enjoy watching it. The comedy side of it is also a joke. To my understanding, the budget for this anime might have been spent like this: 65% marketing, 20% 10% production, and 5% for the rest( story, etc...) Not a good anime at all but because there's so much advertisement for it and also Anya who is socute and lovable, you can watch it with absolutely and I repeat absolutely no expectations.
immosha
Spy x Family suffers from being very okay in a genre of very more-than-okay anime. The production quality of being a CloverWorks x WIT Studio is obviously nothing to sneer at - the art and animation do not suffer, and the sound design is very solid. Voice acting by Takuchi Eguya, Hayami Saori (even if she wouldn't be my top pick), and Atsumi Tanezaki are all top notch. But while the premise of a spy, an assassin, and an esper masquerading as a family unit seems unique and interesting, the execution falls flat in both its action and slice-of-life elements. The strongest aspect of thestory is Loid's spy plot - his surrounding cast have good chemistry with the character and present interesting scenarios a la the aquarium scene. But in a genre with shows like Princess Principal and ACCA, SxF finds it hard to compete on the political intrigue and action-mindgames fronts.
From here, the weaknesses compound. Yor is unfortunately chalked up to an attractive ditz who also happens to be an assassin, rather than the other way around, and the constant usage of alcohol or misunderstandings in her interactions with Loid or any of her supporting cast greatly cheapens the plot. The academy setting and its point-earning plot progression also feels like a waste of a great political setting and limits what this anime could achieve, leading to a relatively... boring story.
That leads me to the other half of this show's target genre: the SoL element with found-daughter Anya. This genre is far too diluted for SxF to successfully break into. While Anya is certainly meme-bound, the show suffers from an unfortunate fact - realistically young kids stymie the plots of mature adults. It's a good perspective to understand the pains of fatherhood; certainly, you can't expect kids to understand everything or pick up on complex issues quickly. But Anya's esper abilities are used frustratingly at the plot's convenience, leaving the viewer to guess if this show wishes us to enjoy Anya as a naive child or a character actually relevant to moving the plot forward. Obviously, the public has vindicated Anya as a moe character worthy of veneration, but I think this process could have been easier if writing of Anya was done more in the line of Hinamatsuri, Kakushigoto, or Yotsubato, without the hair-pulling of child's antics and more emotional scenes.
Spy x Family had high potential with many good premises, but chose to take many safe routes with its story that resulted in my lackluster enjoyment.
Yumerlol
"Everyone has a secret self they don't show to other people. Not to friends... Not to lovers... Not even to family. They hide who they are and what they want behind lies and painted smiles. And thus the world... maintains its thin veneer of peace." Spy x Family explores a rather unconventional topic that is rarely brought up in other shared anime mediums. Though refreshing and innovative, Spy x Family sometimes cascades and displays its unoriginality and satirical identity. However, that is neither negative or a criticism from me; in fact, I would argue the complete opposite. Spy x Family takes place in a fictional world,where two countries, Ostania and Westalis, are at war with the other. Spy x Family is heavily inspired by the Cold War era, using characters such as badass spies, hot assassins, crazy politicians, and everything in the middle that can be alluded to the Cold War era. The three main characters include: a spy, an assassin, and an esper, respectively who play the roles of a father, mother, and daughter. For their self interests, they portray themselves to society as a family, but in truth, they are three people with completely different and contrasting natures. Their real occupations are unbeknownst from one another, and thus, they maintain their only real connection: family. And that's where Spy x Family excels at.
There are a considerable amount of slice-of-life, comedy anime, so the question is: How does Spy x Family differ? Well, let me explain. Spy x Family is able to incorporate its differing themes from the social issues that are present in episode 4, to a feel-good action-comedy in episode 5, and alongside maintaining the family identity to the public eye. The plot is intentionally incohesive and silly, but that, in turn, allows the viewer to enjoy its unique and endearing themes. Spy x Family balances it all together, encapsulating the viewer with heartwarming, joyful, and entertaining moments. It does not boast anything new, nor is it done perfectly, but for what it's worth, I enjoy the hell out of it.
The characters in Spy x Family is what brings it all together. Each of them has their pros and cons. Loid Forger, the husband and spy, is exceptionally intelligent and observant, yet at the same time, also very dumb. He sometimes has no social cues and abilities, and can be shown to be very pragmatic and harsh. Although, he cares a bunch for his family, and goes out of his way to create an environment of a real family, despite of his mission as a spy. Yor Forger, the wife and assassin (and my mommy), also deeply cares for her family and her younger brother. Though sometimes clueless and incapable, she is a true mystique of a character that will hopefully get explored more in the next cour. Anya Forger, the daughter and esper, is a young girl that lived in the orphanage after moving from family to family. The assumed reason is because of her esper abilities. As a result, she is hesitant to reveal her powers to Loid and Yor because of the possibility of the family disbanding, since she knows of their true identities. However, she loves her family despite their secrets, and honestly, she is just very *waku waku* to be with them. (Sorry not sorry)
The overall production of Spy x Family proved to be competent and further enhanced the show's quality. Despite there being two studios (CloverWorks and Wit Studio) who worked on Spy x Family, there were hardly any issues with the production. In fact, they built off each other's weaknesses, and created a fantastic anime adaptation, that most Spy x Family fans are fond with. What really stood out to me were the casting choices and the seductive visuals in both opening and ending themes. Having Saori Hayami and Takuya Eguchi being VAs for the main roles again meant that I had to watch Spy x Family. The irresistible art also were another factor, as they were so appealing and fascinating to watch.
I must admit that Spy x Family will cater and induce to a majority of people because of its soft and tender nature. I share the same sentiment, as many fans such as myself admired the theme of family more than anything else. Though not by any means perfect, Spy x Family is definitely stimulating and thrilling if you're willing to give it the chance.
Manocoba
Anime Review 001 Manocoba Review Here Spy X Family was released in 2022, so it might be a bit late for a review (╥﹏╥). It tells the story of a spy with the code name 'Twilight' assigned a mission crucial for world peace. Twilight's journey to gather information requires him to disguise himself as an ordinary resident and form a small family in the country. The anime combines comedy, slice of life, and a touch of action at various points. The presented comedy is light and enjoyable for anyone, while the slice of life elements offer a comfortable experience, especially for those who favor this genre. Spy xFamily doesn't forget to inject a bit of exciting and humorous action at certain points in the anime.
Overall, Spy x Family is a worthy watch, especially for those who enjoy comedy and slice of life. The anime also carries profound meanings for those who can interpret them
MCA
Bhrsoo
When I first heard about the concpet of the show, it seemed intresting to me, heard good word of mouth about it, so i decided to watch it. So what i thought of it,well This show is a bundle of joy, a show which is overflowing with wholesomeness, but it has it's weakness tho. Story - as i said concpet itself was intresting enough to catch my attention, so concept was good, but it seemed very episodic and plot was not moving foward, specially the 2nd part of season 1, in part one they compensated the slow moving plot with humor but in 2nd part the showand humour both felt repetitive.
Some times it felt "Shinchan" with good production.
Character - they all were very loveable, specially annya, she is the soul of the show a character,I haven't such wholesome character in anime till date.
Direction and dialogue - they absolutely nailed it, humour hits you, wholesomeness bring smile, not much action but makes you hyped up whenever its there.
Voice - it's soo damn good specially annya, the voice actor has put heart and soul into it.
Overall the show isn't for big brain people who just wanna watch subtle nature of human behaviour, it's a show that you watch with your loved ones and smile together.
Natsuki_SanJuan
THIS REVIEW WAS OUR MIXED RECEPTIONS AND CO-WRITTEN BY MY BROTHER, MY FRIENDS WHO LOVE ACTION SPY COMEDY SHOWS/MOVIES AND ANTICIPATED THIS, AND BY YOURS TRULY *contains some meaty spoilers from the anime and hints from the manga/for the second part* “Don’t let the hype ruin you.” Well, it did. But it doesn’t mean it’s bad. At least, I have proven myself right that this show isn’t a masterpiece or a masterclass of media after all. I still don’t get the hype that revolves around this show, and I’m kind of sad that the word, “masterpiece” is being beaten up to death. People are just easily pleased these daysand I don’t know what the heck are the reasons why. What does it take to be a show a “masterpiece”? Great story, great characters, great production design, a great message from the author to the audience, and the overall wow factor from the audience, who are enjoying it. It can’t be flawless, but it’s something “perfect”. But all of that is subjective. Does this show meet the corresponding criteria? Let’s see…
I have an example scenario:
My friend told me about this famous restaurant that’s trending for most people. I went there to check it out.
Me: Waiter, what’s your best-selling dish?
Waiter: Tomato Pasta.
Me: Is this Tomato Pasta popular in this restaurant?
Waiter: Yes.
I ordered that pasta and went for a taste. The taste was just the same and I noticed it was nothing special. My friend asked me how’s the taste of that pasta from that restaurant. I wanted to be honest but I ended up saying, “It’s great…”. I don’t want to admit it was bad. In the end, it’s the same Tomato Pasta all over again, and to be honest, my cooking is better than the restaurant.
What’s the lesson from this scenario? There are three things but the last one is at the end of the review:
- Just because it’s new and popular, doesn’t mean it’s good. (It applies to other new and popular animes)
- Mainstream fans don’t want to admit the obvious faults or flaws of a certain show because it’s “enjoyable”.
When this show got an anime adaptation, I remember how I used to made a research about this. I went to many forums on the internet, and I was surprised that many manga fans were hyped about this. They said this is a great action, great characters, a great story, and a refreshing action show because it’s a spy story. They even called it the anime version of “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”. I love Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and action spy stories because they made up my childhood even now. Especially it’s an action-spy comedy show, and I’m a massive fan of it. Even bounty hunter stories, police buddy-cop action-comedy like White Chicks and Central Intelligence, thrilling spy-agent stories like Die Hard and Mission Impossible, and criminal heists action stories like Fast and Furious.
I went up and read the manga, and I remember the first impression of my older brother while reading. Same as for me and my friends who read the manga. All of us were watching the anime adaptation every weekend. Yes, we were somewhat enjoying it. But at the same time, we found ourselves scratching our heads and asking, “when does it get good?” I saw several manga readers set the bar high for the anime-onlies that this is a “masterpiece” of an action. But in the end, I think the fans deserve a “HYPE BACKLASH”.
[Spy x Fam Narrator Voice:]
[Hype Backlash. According to the internet, your friends have been bugging you to watch the latest TV show that everyone's talking about. Every newspaper raves about its originality, well-deserved popularity, and effective mix of comedy and drama, on the front page of the Entertainment section. Critics are rushing to hail it as the re-definition of its genre. After the thirtieth or so "Just watch it already, geez!" and maybe a Hype Aversion stage, you finally give in; you rent the show's first season on DVD, pop it in your player, and lay back to enjoy the latest masterpiece...
...Except you come away with a very different opinion than your friends; to you, it's at best a mediocre show with average plots and few laughs or an utterly confusing one with more than enough twists to boggle the mind, a show that isn't the seminal classic everyone's touting it as.]
Thank you for that! Now, where were we..?
Spy x Family is an action… Wait, I made a mistake there so let me fix it.
*scribble* *scribble*
Spy x Family is a situational comedy or sitcom, slice of life, drama show that both manga and anime onlies widely anticipated. They said it’s a great and refreshing “action” because it’s rare for action animes to get a spy theme. Fans were cried out of happiness because they wanted an anime adaptation of the “perfect manga” for a long time, and their wish granted. They said it lives up to the hype and called it a “masterclass and masterpiece” of modern shounen. Wait, the question is, is it true? I guess? However, I found some problems or flaws that I found the show, not incredibly great.
So the story is about the main character, Anya— Wait, I made a mistake again so let me just fix it…
*scribble* *scribble*
So the story is about the main character, Twilight. It’s just his codename. He’s a spy from the west and his mission was to create a family to infiltrate an elegant academy. Because there’s this Desmond guy who wanted to start a war between the east and the west camp. But the twisted part was his daughter was a telepath, and his wife a contract killer or assassin. The three of them were from different backgrounds and throughout the story, they somewhat forge a bond to become a family, even though it’s a façade.
The premise is quite interesting and intriguing, not gonna lie about that. But throughout, the story and narrative fell flat from a potential masterpiece to a decent/average show. That’s problem #1. I remember the manga was promoted as an “action-packed” story. But, the author didn’t intend this show as an action spy story. Instead of getting a Mr. and Mrs. Smith kind of a story, I got a family sitcom show The Simpsons. Most of the parts were like episodic fillers or slice-of-life sitcom moments from the fake Forger family than focusing on the Operation Strix mission. It’s more like, OPERATION STRIPPED. I mean, the story should focus on Operation Strix, since it’s the premise of the show. The exploration of characters is also a great thing, but again, Operation Strix is the main concept of the show. I noticed that most of the scenes were focused on Anya inside the school. The author should’ve named it, “The Daily Life of Anya” or whatever. Now don’t give me that shit when you say “This show focus only on the wholesomeness of the Forger family”, because if that’s so, the show should be intended as a gag show in the first place. Now back on the reason why she seemed the primary main character of the show and the supposedly main characters are getting sidetracked. Even in the manga, it’s not focused. It’s full of fillers or side quests that aren’t related to the main mission and to the point that it went nowhere. It kinda remembers me of what happened in Black Lagoon. I don’t mind the comedy aspects, since comedy makes the action more entertaining. Even the moments of them being a fake family. But the author somewhat forgot that his work is supposed to be an action spy. The action spy story lacked the depth that would make the show more thrilling and exciting. I failed to see this show as an action, it was somewhat a gag sitcom show. If I will compare this show to a similar anime, it would be Angel Beats! or Gintama. Yes, Gintama is an action and I’ll consider it to be great for what it had because the gorilla intended his work to be a gag show from the start. In Angel Beats!, they had the same formula but the difference was the show lacked some exploration of the characters, and the “action” element in Spy x Fam’s case.
Problem #2 are plot inconsistencies, and lacking a common concept of realism and basic knowledge. You see, one of the objectives in Operation Strix was either to get Anya into some superclass section or to be friends with the son of Desmond guy. But rather than focusing on that objective, why don’t just Twilight infiltrate the school or the enemy instead? He can disguise himself as one of Desmond’s henchmen or whatever and he’s a “spy”, right? I bet he’s professionally trained for that, and a spy is like a ninja. He should know that his time for the mission is running out and Desmond’s plan can be carried out anytime he likes. He’s so-called the master of disguise and he completed any missions, even if it’s light or difficult.
The second one is the setting. The story was set in a European setting. I’m not being racist or sexist, but to be honest, how the heck there are no black European people there? I don’t understand the reason why but it’s like in a setting, only guys are there but no women. I don’t know if I’m going to believe this kind of concept, but this was kind of ridonkeylous (eh, it’s just a minor issue so let’s move on).
The third one is about Anya. How the heck a 6-year-old child, can act, do, and think like an adult, with a professional status? Yes, she’s an esper, she can read minds but does she know what the heck is the meaning of those thoughts she reads? She’s a child in the first place, but how she can help her parents in their missions perfectly? It’s freaking ridiculous somewhat, no offense.
The fourth one is about Yor. In episode 2, before Twilight’s engagement, they were somewhat attacked by some gangsters because of the treasure. I seriously couldn’t believe that Yor didn’t know that they were attacked by some gangster who fired some guns at them. She received a hand grenade pin as a ring on their engagement, and she somewhat didn’t notice that it was a hand grenade pin. Yes, she’s dumb. But come on, she’s a contract killer, right? I’m sure she encountered and fought many co-assassins and gangsters who carried guns and explosives. I’m sure she had seen a gun or an explosive and how it works, right? And where does she see a psychiatrist that is being chased and shooting guns? Dumb, right?
The fifth one is this, in episode 5 when Yor confronts Loid in a battle. How the fuck didn’t he notice when Yor was great in fistfights? She wounded his face with she kicked him and he didn’t feel her dark aura at all? Are you sure he’s a spy? I’m sure a spy is intelligent.
The sixth one is when Yor’s brother, Yuri visited their home. Remember the part when he asked why Yor didn’t say to his baby brother that she’s already married? And Yor said while smiling, “I forgot!”. And then he asked again, and then she said, “I forgot!”. And then he accepted it. What the fuck? It’s a lame excuse that Yor just forgot to tell Yuri that she’s married. And the funny part is, they were married for already a year! Did Yuri forget that he’s police from a secret organization? I doubt he knows what’s the difference between an excuse and a truth. I almost forgot, do you remember the part when Yuri told about his childhood with his sister? When he was a child, he saw Yor when she came home, drenched in blood. I repeat, drenched in blood. Yes, he was a child, but didn’t he think about it when he became the police? I don’t get it. Police that acting so tough in front of other people or criminals, but an idiot. Even I will freak out if I see my older sister that her clothes drenched in blood. Much of course, I would be so worried. Well, I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from a tree.
There were many ridonkeylous moments I’ve seen from the manga that I want to mention, but it’s the first part of the show so I’m not giving any spoilers.
Even with those ridonkeylous moments I’ve mentioned so far, there were many decent scenes from the show. There were moments and cheesy dialogues that were easily predictable, and somewhat felt a bit cringing. I mean, if you want to shut your brains off while watching this, it could be this so-called, “wholesome” for you. But for us, was pretty… okay, I guess. Heck, I don’t know what’s the meaning of wholesome anymore. It’s beaten up to death. As for the comedy… I hate to say it but it’s very plain average, and it’s quite repetitive so far. It was 95% more predictable than I expected. Not gonna lie, the jokes from the anime were trying hard from the manga. In other words, the jokes from the manga were pretty much better. I’ve seen many comedies shows that were pure masterclass of comedy telling. The comedy factor of Gintama, Grand Blue, Baka to Test, School Rumble, etc., and even the second season of Komi-san’s comedy made me impressed so far. I know comedy shows can be a “masterpiece”, but this show ain’t going to surpass that, even by comedy standards. If you lived inside a rock and you’re new to comedy, you might find it a “masterpiece”. It can be hit or missed for some people, but generally, it’s still average. But not that garbage or trying hard either. I think Anya was somewhat “carried” the whole show in terms of comedy. The author made her a comic relief but it could be better if all the characters share the same screentime of comedy.
“But Anya is so cute and it’s loved by many so why you didn’t just enjoy it?”
So what if Anya is cute? Haven’t you seen any cute characters or kids from other animes in your entire life? Haven’t you seen any more entertaining shows than this? Again, only those who lived under a rock or first-timers will only enjoy this. And almost forgot, she kinda annoyed me to the highest level. She acts like a spoiled brat from the rest of the show (even in future stories).
And there’s this Desmond kid. His character became one of those male tsundere when he’s in denial mode to his relationship with Anya. Not gonna lie, that part became one of those cliched and cringe moments in my whole years of watching. I don’t know why the fuck they did that, but still, no friendship had been developed between them in the story.
The close relationship part of Yor and Loid was pretty fine, as they were gradually close to each other from strangers from different backgrounds. I predicted what would happen if the moment comes when they found each other’s hidden status and agendas. But I’m sure it will happen in the manga. The characters were pretty good though but it needs more depth and development, as well as the story.
The production quality was decent. I didn’t notice the signature artwork of both Wit and Cloverworks. They were doing great in adapting the manga. But I think it could be better if only Wit adapted it. Because most of the animation sequences looked like from Cloverworks. The detail and style of every panel were quite lacking, but the character designs were good. It’s not very detailed, but it’s decent enough for the show.
The sound is very decent enough. It reminds me of Cowboy Bebop and Black Lagoon. The OP and ED were pretty decent enough, but it’s somewhat forgettable. The seiyuu performances were really good, especially of Saori Hayami and Takuya Eguchi. They made me every weekend great because they reminded me how they used to work in Oregairu, as Hachiman and Yukinoshita. Although, I found the performance of Anya very annoying. She’s not that kind of annoying from the manga but it could be better.
Overall, we enjoyed it, despite those problems we’ve said. But it seems we will not be considered it as one of the best action anime, because of the misconception that this is an action spy comedy show. This is one of the poorly representations of the action genre. The hype from the manga fans made us feel some massive disappointments from this show, but it’s not bad either. It had some ups and many downs. In other words, the story is still lacking and it’s one of those not-so-solid shows. If you come to this show and expect this a great action spy, then please don’t watch this if you don’t want to get disappointed. This show is another type of those show that might you want to rely on for your enjoyment. Don’t let yourself be swept by these hype-tards and watch it from your judgment. This show overall is pretty decent. Not a garbage, special, or masterpiece. But sadly, to say, it could be better.
I have five words to say before ending this review, as my 3rd thing that I learned and advice for the potential viewers there;
DON’T. RIDE. THE. FUCKING. HYPE.
Thank you for reading and see you see at my next review.
Story: 5/10
Animation: 8/10
Characters: 5/10
Sound: 7/10
Entertainment factor (Action: 2/5, Comedy: 2/5): 4/10
Enjoyment: 6/10
Score: 6/10
Drakestalker
If you were looking for an anime version of Mr. and Mrs. Smith with less action and a whole lot more comedy and wholesomeness, this is the answer to your prayers. The universe presented by Spy x Family is a fictional one with fictional countries, but nonetheless very similar to out own. I would place it somewhere in the 60s or 70s, but with the occasional anachronistic gadget or technology for the sake of the narrative. We are informed early on that this is a world that has just freshly overcome the age of wars and bloodshed and is now held in a precarious balance bythe work of various intelligence agencies and spy networks. The two main superpowers seem to be the creatively named nation states of Westalia in the west and Ostia in the east.
As a Westalia operative, our protagonist, known only by the codename Twilight, who is basically a James Bond-esque Ethan Hunt every-super-spy-secret-agent-bro, is tasked with infiltrating the social circle of an Ostia high ranking war hawk. If he can't get close to him and snuff out the spark of conflict, the entire world might once again be engulfed in a world war. Trouble is, for reasons you will find out when watching the show, he cannot complete this mission alone. In order for his infiltration to be functionally possible, he needs to create a fake family as a cover. Mission start: T-minus one week. Twilight has merely seven days to find a wife and child! Good luck!
A while ago, I'd made a list of the top 3 lolis in anime that I actually liked because they weren't sexualized. Tanya Degurechaff still reigns at number 1 with an iron fist, but Anya is, to the best of my memory at the moment, the cutest fucking loli I have ever seen in any anime ever. I recognize this might also be a case of recency bias, for I believe that if I were to watch season 4 of My Hero Academia again, I'm pretty sure Eri would win out in the end, but the basic point stands. I've seen a lot of "cute girl" anime in my time. Studio Doga Kobo in particular seems to have specialized in them, shows that seem to be solely designed to give you diabetes. That said, I am mostly desensitized to moe bait, candy-colored hair and eyes, sparkling eyes, cute expressions, blushing, the whole 9 yards - yeah, ok, I get it. It mostly feels cynical to me, like there's no actual character behind it all, just a vehicle to make me puke sugar and cotton candy.
In opposition to all of that, Anya, a character in something more of a thriller than a pure moe slice-of-life anime, felt so cute and precious to me, I found myself literally awww-ing out loud several times. As a sidenote, I've heard criticism lobbed at the show about claiming that there's supposedly this gag in which Anya mispronounces words and it gets run into the ground. As such, I expected some Marvel movie type bullshit where I can almost feel a balding Marvel executive breathing heavily in my face while sweating profusely with bloodshot eyes begging me to laugh at the funny joke, bro, please laugh, bro, it's a joke, bro, they're all action heroes, but they did a funny, bro, please laugh, bro, this isn't like the other 10967678687 comic relief moments in the movie, bro, this is a different comic relief moment, bro, please laugh, bro, trust me, this is funny, bro, please laugh! I was pleasantly surprised to find that Spy x Family forces no such humor down your throat. Yes, Anya does mispronounce words, but that didn't even show up on my radar as a gag the show actually expected to make me laugh at and they waste absolutely no time highlighting these moments. There's no Jeb Bush "Please laugh." pause or anything of that nature. It just feels like a character quirk that's simply there to flesh out who Anya is and what she's like.
Do not go into this, however, with the expectation of a genuine thriller. It has crime and spy thriller elements, yes, and the occasional action scenes are animated exceptionally well, but at its core, Spy x Family is a slice-of-life comedy. It's just that the kind of life it shows you a slice of happens to be... a bit more on the peculiar side. The last time I saw a show even remotely as fun as this was back when I watched HameFura. While that one was perhaps more pleasant and homey, and as enormously as I enjoyed it, I would suggest this is way funnier, and I look forward to rewatching it on my 2nd screen while gaming.
Be that as it may, we need to talk about Yor. As the main heroine, she is voiced by Hayami Saori, the woman I confused with Kana Hanazawa for the longest time. In fairness, she's very close to a clone of hers. You'll be sure to also know her as Miyuki from The Irregular at Magic High School, and Kochou Shinobu – bug girl – from Demon Slayer, Sachi from SAO, and others. She's quite popular. It wouldn't surprise me if that's what got her her break in the industry, the likeness to Kana, much like how Keira Knightley got her break as a Natalie Portman lookalike.
Nevertheless, Yor is such a fantastic waifu, I now understand why the fandom at the time was saying that she would dethrone Marin from My Dress-Up Darling. While the debate about whether or not she's "better" than Marin does not interest me, what does interest me is a phenomenon going on with Yor that I believe is worth observing. She never shows any meaningful amount of skin. The most classic fanservice you get from her is some milquetoast cleavage in the first episodes. It's not even particularly deep or anything. It's literally the bare minimum that qualifies as cleavage. This stands in stark contrast to Food Wars!, which I talked about recently and which felt desperate to show as much skin as possible in any given moment without getting canceled out of Shounen Jump. And yet, Yor, fully clothed and without even being an overtly sexual character – her personality is fairly shy and conservative – packed an order of magnitude more sex appeal in 11 episodes than the entirety of the female cast of Food Wars! combined across all seasons.
Yor is undeniable proof you don't need to shove as much tits and ass as humanly possible in every single frame of your production (welcome as though that is) in order to stimulate your male audience's fantasies. You don't need string bikinis or torn clothes (I'm looking at you, Ikkitousen and Fairy Tail) in order to prove that a particular waifu is hot. For a good part of the show, Yor wears what I believe is called a tube dress made out of wool or some other kind of linen. It's similar to the Virgin Killer (look it up), but it's a proper, whole fabric with long sleeves, definitely long enough for even the risk of a panty shot to not exist, and since it comes up over her shoulders, it reveals absolutely no cleavage whatsoever. Even more importantly, her clothing hangs naturally on her. It's form-fitting enough that you can tell she's got quality, but it doesn't look painted on. It just looks like really good clothing worn by a really hot woman. What I really want to draw your attention to, however, is that there are creative ways of showing skin without being crude. Her sweater-dress has small a circular hole just above the small of her back. It really is small, just about the size of the palm of an adult's hand, and it's nowhere near low enough to show her ass crack à la Nero from Fate/Extra, but every time it's visible, it looks just so damn sexy and attractive, I almost had the impulse to reach towards the screen.
The point I'm trying to make is that there is a tasteful way of displaying sex appeal that doesn't require showing skin, and if you do show skin, there's an elegant (haha, pun intended, you'll understand when you watch the show) way of doing that, too. Also, don't get me started on her chilling expressions whenever she gets angry. I CAN FIX HER, BRO!
Evidently, this also has a lot to do with the animation. It may not be some decade-defining masterpiece like Violet Evergarden or Fate/Zero, but it's definitely top tier. Being a collaborative project between Wit Studio and CloverWorks, the visual presentation cannot be called into question. There is one particular scene where Yor throws a kick that left me with the impression that it packed more weight and momentum than anything I've ever seen in 99% of bona fide action shows, say, Tenjou Tenge or Basilisk.
The opening is also one of the most ambitious visual productions I have ever seen. Unfortunately, the actual song used, Mixed Nuts performed by Official HIGE Dandism, did not impress me. On the other hand, the ending, Kigeki (Comedy) sung by Gen Hoshino, is now easily one of my favorite anisongs of all time. Still, the visual production of the ED can also not be dismissed out of hand, though nowhere near as eccentric as the OP.
There's also a school involved as a subplot. In order to infiltrate the target's social circle, Twilight has to get to him through his son, so he must enroll Anya into the same school as the target's son and use her as leverage. While not as intricately developed as, say, Hogwarts, the staff, classmates, and school activities at Anya's school are presented in such a detailed and frankly interesting manner, that I would honestly not mind watching a spin-off show about Anya's curricular activities.
It's short, sweet, wholesome, funny, and contains some spectacular sakuga scenes (though few) to feast your eyes upon. I felt it passed in a flash and now I'm left wanting more. I strongly recommend you watch this. These are 4 hours you will not regret wasting!
RebelPanda
Spy x Family is an oddball tonal mashup that blends the action-packed and high-stakes world of spies with a heartwarming, family-friendly comedy. Loid Forger, codename "Twilight" is possibly the greatest spy in the world, and he has just received the most harrowing mission of his life: To make a family. The task requires him to mend the relationship between countries in a cold-war era Europe. To do so, Loid must worm his way into high society and spy on the leader of one political party. To complete his mission, he has to adopt a child and pose as an ideal parent, then enroll her into thesame prestigious school as the leader's son, a challenging process alone. He quickly adopts a daughter, Anya, a secretly psychic 6-year-old. Soon after, he marries Yor, a civil servant who was also in the market for a pretend spouse to prevent the secret police from discovering her real identity: an assassin. Each person has their own secret, which gives this found family slice of life a unique twist.
Everyone has to hide aspects of their life for happiness, especially parents having to hide dark truths to protect their family. Loid is a spy but poses as a psychiatrist. Anya's a telepath but acts like a normal kid to drive away suspicion. Yor is a civil servant but secretly a blood-thirsty assassin. These alter-egos are not all there is to them, however. Anya is just an innocent kid challenged with abandonment issues which motivate her need to impress her parents. Loid is so self-assured of his espionage abilities that it causes him to make mistakes, revealing there's a normal guy beneath his icy exterior. Even though Yor is a murderer, she possesses a strange sort of moral compass that justifies killing corrupt people in power for the greater good. The unlikely couple grows into the role of loving parents and learns to become better people from one another. It doesn't stand to reason that a veteran master of disguise wouldn't figure out his partner is secretly an assassin, but this anime relies so greatly on suspension of disbelief that it'll collapse if you don't forgive a few leaps in logic. Anya's powers typically work at convenient times, seemingly with no rhyme or reason, because she lacks control of them. It doesn't hold up to criticism but rarely takes itself seriously, so a few hiccups are easy to overlook. It is basically a way to relay information that can't be read through body language, but ultimately the story is told through a third-person omniscient point of view. Her power adds little to the storytelling and is more for keeping Anya in the loop, additionally making her a one-of-a-kind kid.
The show doesn't get bogged down in the details of the setting, an ambiguous cold-war-inspired European country during the mid to late 20th century. There's barely any exposition dumping, and I love it for that. Loid's mission and politics are as detailed as the show needs to be because it's so much a spy anime as it is a family comedy with an added psychological twist and infrequent action scenes. An exciting part of spy flicks is spies' gadgets, such as James Bond's grenade pen and dagger shoes. That's not really a thing here. The most we get are secret messages Loid receives from his boss, such as through a microscopic coded letter inside a fake coin. I am tempted to say they underutilized the premise, but I wouldn't go as far as to say the whole spy aspect is simply window dressing on a typical seasonal comedy. It's merely a case of me setting my expectations too high because I fell for the zeitgeist again.
The sincere emotional core is what truly makes the show unique. The first half builds the family's relationship to make room for the second arc, minus episode five, an exciting, filler episode that serves no narrative purpose, builds upon nothing and is never referenced afterward. As a comedy, the gags are often hit or miss in my experience, so an episode dedicated to one joke overstays its welcome quickly. Often more humorous than outright funny, where it succeeds the most is the endearing family dynamic and powerful backstories.
There's a warm theme of companionship and teamwork at the center of Spy x Family, but what makes it subversive is its emphasis on how classism wrongfully defines people. It's an intriguing theme that gives the narrative some dramatic weight and makes for one of the show's strongest episodes when the family trio interviews to enroll Anya in the hoity-toity grade school. One school administrator targets Anya for being an orphan and judges Yor for her background. The interview brings out some entertaining performances; a comically devilish aristocrat administrator and other over-the-top aristocrats judging the family like they're on American Idol, but it's also a familiar story about superficiality. Most of all, it makes great comedy from an easy target, rude and uptight rich people. The theme continues as Anya experiences classism at the academy from pretentious children, and she retaliates in quite funny ways. Yor and Loid's devastating backstories reinforce this theme and add tons of depth to their interactions. Any critique of classism in the school system is muddled because there are certain aristocrats we're certainly meant to respect (not happening, sorry).
While Cloverworks' infamously ugly CGI crowds are still present here, WIT Studio's solid animation makes it worthwhile. To create constant motion in the backgrounds, they shot themselves in the foot with 3D crowds, an issue that extends to every vehicle rendered in eye-popping CGI. Though the background art is solid, it's no match for the visual exhilaration of those fight scenes. I only watched the opening a couple of times because of its gorgeous fusion of colorful eyepopping visuals and energetic editing that is nowhere to be found in the show itself. Watching the opening made me wish the show was half as creatively directed. Expertise in the sound design is what elevated the manga adaptation, every motion has a sound effect finely tuned to give each scene liveliness; an achievement which extends to the well-mixed jazzy original soundtrack.
I would recommend Spy x Family to anyone looking for a wholesome slice of life. There's a spy in it, and he certainly does spying, but it takes very little inspiration from the spy fiction genre and uses vague concepts to flavor a perfunctory family-friendly comedy anime. Nevertheless, the action scenes derived from the wacky premise are thrilling; car chases, hand-to-hand combat, and psychological warfare it's there and it's expertly animated. It's not exactly the masterpiece that the zeitgeist would have you believe, but it's a fun time I came away from enjoying.
Feliperro
Honestly, this anime is renowned not just for being impressive and relaxing, but also for being suitable for the whole family. If you're new to the anime world, this will be one of the best options. It's also true that after watching Spy x Family, you might find yourself wanting to have kids. XD Now, addressing the important points: I'd give it a 10/10 for animation. Wit Studio and CloverWorks did an incredible job, especially with the colors and motions. For the story, I’d rate it 8/10. The plot of the first season is really good and innovative. The combination of funny moments and serious ones makesit an almost perfect plot, similar to what happens in Gintama, for example.
The characters are an 8/10. It features incredible characters like Anya, Loid, and Yor, but it's also true that there are many filler characters. As a consequence, there are a lot of filler episodes. Finally, I’d give the OST a 10/10. The music is the perfect blend of relaxation and action. Being the best, the music.
katkatkatkat
Everyone in the anime community is acting like this show is the next best thing since sliced bread which I am incredibly devastated to inform you that it is not. I guess a wholesome family relationship is something new for the community cause this was the most average show I've watched that's been this hyped up. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the cute nature of the story and the character's relationships, but ultimately it did not go in depth with any of them and stuck to a normal family fun gag show, leaving me kind of bored while watching. Story: As I've said above,the story did not go in-depth and stuck to it's genre as a family-friendly comedy. As someone who likes character-driven stories and plots I did not enjoy it from a critical perspective. There's nothing else really to critique, as someone who likes to watch more critical shows, this was just not for me. But from an enjoyment perspective, Loid best boy argue with the wall.
Animation: It's WIT studio so everything is 11/10. The characters movements felt realistic and the character designs were nicely incorporated from the manga's style. They of course went hard on every single fight scene. As such, the animation for me definitely bough the score up, otherwise it wouldn't be as enjoyable, which is why I gave my overall score an 8, but for this review it's a 7.
TLDR: If you want a nice, wholesome, funny, heartwarming watch, go for it - but do not expect any in-depth character arcs.
Mcsuper
It’s no masterpiece, but you know why this show is so good? Because it gives me nostalgia towards my childhood. It makes me remember the Saturdays when I was a kid, and just plopped on the couch when I woke up to watch my favourite cartoons. Spy X Family is like a Saturday morning cartoon to me, in that it’s as ridiculous like a kid’s show, but ends up feeling a bit of mature than them. Another reason is that it’s so meme-worthy, since Anya expressions are like a memer’s best friend. I was impressed with the solid animation and groovy OST as well. Asan anime-only watcher, I expected a bit more from this cour, but we’re just getting started, because you and I all know, there’s way more to come.
My grading criteria: Story: /25 Art: /10 Music: /10 Characters: /20 Enjoyment /15 Thematic Execution /20
STORY: 19.5/25
The thing that stands out is obviously how unique it is compared to other anime. They managed to make a spy show about a “pretend family”, they make it cute and childish looking, but also make it really refreshing to watch. It doesn’t try to have depth, and be very thought-provoking, but what it does is charm the audience through sheer ridiculousness, with the grenade pin proposal being the pinnacle of its absurdity. This show doesn’t need depth to be honest, it’s fun even with it being a simple story. Though, some things would benefit from further explanation, like how Anya can do her mind reading, and the backstory of all the characters. Of course, I’d love to see some more plot development next cour.
ART: 9.4/10
WIT Studio and Cloverworks did a solid job of animating this series for sure. Props to director Kazuhiro Furuhashi for a solid job at creating fun cinematography and over the top scenes, like the dodgeball scene.
MUSIC: 9.6/10
The OST really evokes a sense of a spy atmosphere, while being fun and bubbly at the same time. Opening is solid, but the ending “Kigeki” by Gen Hoshino was by far my favourite ED this season, with the vibes fitting perfectly to the show, and the lyrics were really wholesome, for example, the lyrics of the chorus of the ending in English started with “Shall we hold hands and head home? What should we eat tonight? Here’s what happened today”, which feels like such a wholesome family dynamic.
CHARACTERS: 17.5/20
The characters are straight up lovable, and they each have their developments too. Loid used to be a cold-hearted spy, but after being with Yor and Anya for a while, he became a solid dad, that learned to take care of his family, and learned to trust others a bit more, even though he’s a spy. Yor is a clumsy character, yet she’s an assassin, which is as ridiculous as the plot of the show. She becomes a wonderful mother figure to Anya, and keeps Loid in check too, teaching him how to treat Anya in a nice way. Now, everyone’s favourite walking meme, Anya, is obviously cute, and gives me nostalgia of being a kid. She’s curious about things, and always wants to help the people she likes. On top of that, she can read minds, which makes for excellent comedy at times.
The side characters are also fun to watch. Franky is a ridiculous helper to Loid, and pulls off some fun costumes. Yuri has a bit of a sister complex, but it almost made for a kiss between Loid and Yor, and who doesn’t want that? Damian is a tsundere to the highest degree, but I love the dynamic between him and Anya, and of course, we all love Anya’s smug face!
ENJOYMENT: 14.3/15
Great for Saturday mornings, and I really enjoyed it. I admit, I lost a little interest in the middle of the series, but the over the top comedy and character interactions was fun.
THEMATIC EXECUTION: 17.3/20
The spy theme was executed pretty well, with solid world building. The comedic elements are a bit repetitive at times, a lot of times with the comedy focusing on Anya’s “shock” faces. There hasn’t been a lot of action yet, but we’ve some engaging action scenes, and I’d love to see more of those next cour.
OVERALL: 87.6/100
A wholesome family show that everyone should watch, and will likely enjoy. It doesn’t try to be overly ambitious, and that’s fine. It’s just pure fun, and while it’s not a masterpiece, it’s just gives me such nostalgia to those Saturday morning cartoons, and this is a prime Saturday morning cartoon indeed. Looking forward the next cour two in the Fall!
Soulmask
Spy x Family is a show that doesn't fully live up to it's concept. While it's one of the few shows to combine the worlds of spies, assassins and espers into one, it then fails to realize the potential of this mix-up and proceeds to be a mediocre romcom instead. While it sells the show on this concept of 3 different exceptional people forming a family, you end up not seeing much other spies, assassins or espers, and instead watch the relationships of those 3 characters grow. The main plot seems secondary to the relationships, and the humor is few and cute rather than really funny.The show focuses more on the traditional japanese family lifestyle rather than the supposed cold war era spy world that is the setting. Complete with pressure on Anya to be accepted and perform in a prestigious school, Yor being a good housewife, and Loid learning to trust and care for his family, this is in fact nothing but the life of a mundane Japanese family, with exceptional abilities and an exceptional setting put on top of it.
The dialog, artstyle and production arent that bad, but the show honestly becomes tedious, especially in the moments that focus more on family building, which is most of the show.
Imagine how cool this show could have been, the family defending itself from a conspiracy of spies, assassins and espers, being besieged from all sides from different shadowy organizations... Instead, we get a sentimental romcom that approaches more the melodrama than the really clever. There could still have been plenty of emotional and family building around this, the family could have "kept together against all odds and shadowy organization hellbent on destroying them" but no, instead we get 3 awkward people struggling to make it in society, with a sprinkle of spy backstory here and there.
