SPY x FAMILY Disguised Nicely as Slice of Life
Second part of highly anticipated anime's first season brings action-filled scenes.
By Saya Fujii
Second part of highly anticipated anime's first season brings action-filled scenes.
By Saya Fujii
Taking over the Japanese streaming service Crunchyroll, “Spy x Family” has brought the much-loved manga to a new level. The first season really took off, taking first place on MyAnimeList and becoming the most watched anime of the year in Japan.
Half a year after season one, part one was released, the second part has come to satisfy awaiting fans.
The first part mostly built up a lot on the three characters; Loid (voiced by Takuya Eguchi), Yor, (voiced by Saori Hayami) and Anya (voiced by Atsumi Tanezaki), as well as some background info on the war going on. While those first 12 episodes primarily focused on the found family aspect, this second season turns the spotlight to the spying and action, completing the “Spy x Family” title. It seems that the show is moving away from solely riding the slice of life path, as the first season did, and heading towards an action and adventure genre.
Although I thoroughly enjoyed the first part and the wholesomeness it brought, I really like the idea of it bringing more battle and fast-paced action. This is mostly because it did keep the sweet family moments and slower-paced scenes; it just was mixed in with fights, spying, bombs, et cetera. To match this new change in pace, the animation quality has gone up a notch and I’m sure this will be more noticeable in bigger fight scenes. I wouldn’t expect any less from Wit Studio, whose works include “Attack on Titan,” “Vinland Saga” and “Bubble,” all known for animation.
I expected this season to flesh out other side characters more because the previous 12 episodes basically only focused on developing the main three. So far, the anime is meeting those expectations as they added more to the Handler’s story and gave us insight into Franky's own life. These are actually the characters that I least would have expected to get more information on, but it’s a pleasant surprise. They are quite minor in the overall story, but definitely have the potential to really join the main cast in a more permanent way. Doing this not only gives us a view of other characters, but it also brings out different sides of the central people like Loid and Anya. We see some great examples of these when Loid very wholesomely buys Franky a drink when he’s having a rough day, and when he has a few interactions with Anya.
Not many specific scenes stood out to me so far in the series, but that’s not at all to say that I didn’t enjoy it. It’s the “here and there” things in “Spy x Family” that make it so enjoyable, like the hilarious interactions between Anya and Loid and the now added ones between Anya and her new adorable dog, Bond. His addition blends right into the comedy and sweetness of the show, simply because he is a cute dog that loves his humans. You really can’t go wrong with that. In true found family fashion, Bond and Anya find each other by chance and soon enough, they are ride or die for each other. Literally, Bond carries Anya on his fluffy back to take her away from kidnappers in the electric first episode of the arc. Keeping with the theme of rescue, Yor also saves Anya in a truly motherly way; by telling the kidnappers that Anya is “too young to get married.” That is, of course, after she defeats one of them in a powerful ninja-like fashion, and terrifies the other by doing so! It’s the moments like these that separates “Spy x Family” from other anime that combine action with a dark storyline. This show finds a way to keep the knives and bombs in its core plot while retaining the purity and lightheartedness of simple family scenes.
Media like this is needed now more than ever. Sometimes, instead of all the darkness clouding our TVs, we need the brightness of Starlight Anya shining across our screens.
The first seven episodes of Spy x Family season one part two are now streaming on Crunchyroll and Hulu.
Half a year after season one, part one was released, the second part has come to satisfy awaiting fans.
The first part mostly built up a lot on the three characters; Loid (voiced by Takuya Eguchi), Yor, (voiced by Saori Hayami) and Anya (voiced by Atsumi Tanezaki), as well as some background info on the war going on. While those first 12 episodes primarily focused on the found family aspect, this second season turns the spotlight to the spying and action, completing the “Spy x Family” title. It seems that the show is moving away from solely riding the slice of life path, as the first season did, and heading towards an action and adventure genre.
Although I thoroughly enjoyed the first part and the wholesomeness it brought, I really like the idea of it bringing more battle and fast-paced action. This is mostly because it did keep the sweet family moments and slower-paced scenes; it just was mixed in with fights, spying, bombs, et cetera. To match this new change in pace, the animation quality has gone up a notch and I’m sure this will be more noticeable in bigger fight scenes. I wouldn’t expect any less from Wit Studio, whose works include “Attack on Titan,” “Vinland Saga” and “Bubble,” all known for animation.
I expected this season to flesh out other side characters more because the previous 12 episodes basically only focused on developing the main three. So far, the anime is meeting those expectations as they added more to the Handler’s story and gave us insight into Franky's own life. These are actually the characters that I least would have expected to get more information on, but it’s a pleasant surprise. They are quite minor in the overall story, but definitely have the potential to really join the main cast in a more permanent way. Doing this not only gives us a view of other characters, but it also brings out different sides of the central people like Loid and Anya. We see some great examples of these when Loid very wholesomely buys Franky a drink when he’s having a rough day, and when he has a few interactions with Anya.
Not many specific scenes stood out to me so far in the series, but that’s not at all to say that I didn’t enjoy it. It’s the “here and there” things in “Spy x Family” that make it so enjoyable, like the hilarious interactions between Anya and Loid and the now added ones between Anya and her new adorable dog, Bond. His addition blends right into the comedy and sweetness of the show, simply because he is a cute dog that loves his humans. You really can’t go wrong with that. In true found family fashion, Bond and Anya find each other by chance and soon enough, they are ride or die for each other. Literally, Bond carries Anya on his fluffy back to take her away from kidnappers in the electric first episode of the arc. Keeping with the theme of rescue, Yor also saves Anya in a truly motherly way; by telling the kidnappers that Anya is “too young to get married.” That is, of course, after she defeats one of them in a powerful ninja-like fashion, and terrifies the other by doing so! It’s the moments like these that separates “Spy x Family” from other anime that combine action with a dark storyline. This show finds a way to keep the knives and bombs in its core plot while retaining the purity and lightheartedness of simple family scenes.
Media like this is needed now more than ever. Sometimes, instead of all the darkness clouding our TVs, we need the brightness of Starlight Anya shining across our screens.
The first seven episodes of Spy x Family season one part two are now streaming on Crunchyroll and Hulu.