New anime series have emerged with the arrival of the spring anime season. Good thing too, because without fresh episodes of Demon Slayer or Attack on Titan for at least another year, we have two significant gaps to fill. The current schedule of shows includes some returning series, such as the well-known rom-com Kaguya-sama: Love Is War.
The Spy x Family buzz may astound some individuals. How is it that anticipation for a brand-new series is already so high?
Although their involvement doesn’t hurt, it can’t be entirely attributed to the anime being a partnership between Studio Wit (Attack on Titan, Vinland Saga) and CloverWorks (Horimiya, My Dress-Up Darling).
It turns out that the source material holds the key to the solution.
In 2019, Spy x Family made its manga debut. It has subsequently become one of the best-selling series in Japan and North America. In a time when manga dominates the world of comics, this might not seem like a big thing, but most well-known manga series become bestsellers as a result of an anime adaptation. Together with Tokyo Revengers, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Demon Slayer, we saw this phenomenon.
On the other hand, the Spy x Family manga began topping bestseller lists the year after it was published, well before an anime adaptation was expected. With such a large readership, the anime’s success was practically assured.
However, if you don’t read manga, you might be unsure of why you should watch Spy x Family. You might think it’s been exaggerated. (It isn’t.) You might not want to watch something just because it’s popular because you’re a contrarian. (All of us have been there.) Here are some justifications for why you ought to give it a shot.
A Pleasant Change of Pace
In recent years, the supernatural horror and fantasy genres have produced some of the most popular anime shows. Demons and those who hunt them are prevalent in Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen.
Even the upcoming Chainsaw Man centers on a character who strikes a deal with a monster. Although the premise inspires intriguing plotlines and gripping battle sequences, occasionally you need a break from that sort of thing.
Spy x Family appears to have several recognizable characteristics at first glance, especially for espionage thriller lovers. The Cold War is fought between Ostania and Westalis, two opposing nations.
Here, assassination, sabotage, and intelligence gathering are used to wage covert wars. However, the uneasy peace is about to crumble, and Westalis sends its top agent to spy on an Ostanian politician to prevent the start of a new conflict. Twilight, the agent in question, will need to create a false family to complete this job. Look at the title.
These details can lead you to believe that Spy x Family is an exciting thriller with lots of twists and turns. Although there are some unexpected twists and turns, this is not a plot-driven novel. It isn’t a traditional thriller, Spy x Family. It is a slice-of-life comedy-action film.
Two of the three major characters are adults, which is an extra bonus. true grownups. Although there is nothing inherently wrong with the teen protagonists in shows like Demon Slayer or My Hero Academia, there are times when we prefer to follow narratives with adult protagonists who are dealing with adult issues and leading adult lives. What if those adults are also assassins and spies? Better still.
Spy x Family Accepts Its Absurd Set-Up
Twilight must maintain his covert identity because of the nature of his assignment. He is Loid Forger, a psychiatrist with a wife and a young daughter from a previous marriage, not a master of disguise.
With everyone, including the other two members of his new pretend family, he must maintain this cover narrative. He is not the only person harboring a secret, though. His newly adopted daughter and his new “wife” each have secrets that are equally as large as Loid’s.
Loid believes he wed Yor, a lovely woman who works as a clerk at City Hall. Yor was in fact raised from an early age to be a terrible assassin for the Ostanian people. Loid believes he adopted Anya, a bright six-year-old child. But Anya is probably younger than that, and she also fled from a covert government initiative to produce psychics.
In other words, Yor conceals her genuine occupation from Loid and Loid maintains his true identity as a spy a secret from Yor. Both of them attempt to keep the truth from Anya, but she is telepathic and is aware of everything.
Anya is not your typical girl, therefore you wouldn’t think that having spies and killers for her parents would make her nervous. She’s never had more fun than she is right now. Since psychics aren’t allowed to exist in this reality, Loid and Yor also aren’t aware that Anya is a telepath.
How long everyone can keep up the act is a key element in the anime’s attractiveness. They are all telling each other lies. When will the reality be revealed? What will they say in response? Why, therefore, are Loid and Yor unaware of how strange the people they live with are? It’s a recipe intended to captivate audiences and maintain their interest.
The way the series finds humor in the collision between real identity and false identity is ultimately what makes the show successful. Even though Loid is a very skilled spy, none of his expertise in espionage had prepared him for fatherhood. Yor can easily murder several people, yet she struggles to deal with workplace petty talk.
Wait till you see the other characters who have secrets (and hidden identities). There are still many manga stories to be adapted, even though the anime has only shown three episodes thus far.
Also read: Bubble : Beautiful Romantic Anime that you should not miss
The Delicious Slice-of-Life Approach Will Touch Your Soul
An anime about spies and assassins wouldn’t be expected to be family-friendly. Actually, you probably anticipate the complete opposite. Typically, these professions don’t draw delectable cinnamon pastries. However, everything is conceivable in anime.
The secret to why Spy x Family’s outrageous components work so well together can be discovered in Loid and Yor’s individual histories. To spare other kids from having the same horrible childhood he endured, Loid decided to become a spy.
After their parents passed away, Yor turned to assassination to support her younger brother. Both of these circumstances are not ideal. But even though Anya is anything but a typical child, Loid and Yor do their best to provide her a regular life as a result of their various experiences.
The emotional center of the series is this fuzziness between the truth and lies. When his task is complete, Loid intends to give Anya back to the orphanage, but do we really think that will happen? Yor and Loid wed because it was convenient, but they would undoubtedly develop affections for one another. Although the motifs are well known, the way they are used keeps you going back for more.
Crunchyroll is currently offering Spy x Family for streaming.
