Spy x Family Review: Charming anime makes parenthood the real impossible mission

He did not wait long before he literally locked his adoptive son in the new apartment. Spy x Family’s frosty and aloof secret agent, codenamed “Twilight,” discovers that this whole parenthood thing isn’t quite as easy as putting a group of armed henchmen in the hospital.

Based on Tatsuya Endo’s ongoing Shonen Jump action-comedy manga, Spy x Family The humor of this film is a combination of Cold War-era spy dramas, and more common domestic difficulties that come with raising a child. It’s tempting to call it a slice-of-life comedy in disguise, because while there are moments of action and an overarching espionage narrative, it’s mostly about a guy dealing with being a new father.

This genre crossover happens because of Twilight’s latest mission, “Operation Strix.” In order to monitor a political extremist, he must enroll a child in the prestigious school the mark’s own child attends, leading to Twilight’s adoption of the young girl Anya. So, Mission Impossible-style rubber faces make the greatest spy, and the man with 100 faces becomes confused and exhausting.

Though, unbeknownst to Twilight, Anya isn’t an unwitting accomplice in the mission. She’s fully aware of the role she’s playing because of her ability to read minds, a talent resulting from scientific experimentation. In Anya, Spy x FamilyIt turns out that she is an amazing audience surrogate. She’s almost always in on what’s happening from every angle, but she’s incapable of doing much to change the course of the narrative — and Anya’s first attempt to get involved immediately ends in disaster.

Image by Wit Studio/CloverWorks

Spy x Family, which has only aired one episode so far, is very funny — especially when the show plays its mix of absurdism and dark comedy completely straight. (A guy gets executed on the spot for suggesting that maybe it doesn’t matter if a member of parliament wears a toupée.) Though the art style feels fairly plain, there’s a charm to the retro spy pastiche and vague evocation of ’80s Berlin architecture, which includes a long and ominous concrete wall decked in barbed wire. It’s the best part. Spy x FamilyThe growing attachment they have to their child can make even the coolest and most successful person feel weaker. First seen cooly breaking the heart of a beautiful woman whom he had gotten close to for cover, “Loid Forger” (Twilight’s undercover name for this domestic mission) struggles to maintain a similar emotional distance when it comes to his adoptive daughter.

It’s easy to see why Twilight folds so immediately when it comes to Anya. He recognizes in her something of his miserable childhood as an orphan war soldier, which weakens his drive to run and cut. Anya’s also the most adorable comic character of the past couple of years — one primed to become a meme with her broad range of ludicrous expressions and reactions, as well as providing a good half of the show’s comedic moments.

In exploring the iron curtain around Twilight’s heart, the acclaimed director Kazuhiro Furuhashi’s background in action also comes into play. His works include Dororo Mobile Suit Gundam: UnicornAs well as classics such as Hunter x Hunter Rurouni KenshinIt refers to domestic drama and spycraft parodies. Spy x Family in delightful ways.

One might think sequences featuring cold-blooded murder would be at odds with the show’s slice-of-life elements, but in fact, it’s a thematic compliment. In the premiere episode, you can see all of the action. Spy x Family isn’t particularly flashy, but that doesn’t mean it’s unappealing. The animation is very well done and has a great choreography. The fast, one-hit strikes, and quick disappearance of enemies into smokescreens make the action seem more real than ever.

The slickness of the action and its sense of functionality only throws Twilight’s clumsiness as a new parent into sharper relief — especially as he talks about menial tasks as though they’re part of a spy mission and not just the normal aspects of caring for a child. It’s in how he wraps up a fight where he’s outnumbered with speed and grace, but is faltered by a 5-year-old who knows exactly how to emotionally extort him (even with the benefit of telepathy, it’s usually by crying). And so, rather than perfectly planning and executing his mission, Twilight’s learning and making things up as he goes along, like a regular dad.

Image by Wit Studio/CloverWorks

But the setup of the (Spy x) family required by Anya’s conservative private school isn’t complete by the end of the series premiere. This needing to be as close to a nuclear family as possible, Twilight’s next step is to search for a spouse, leading to an episode title that’s already making me laugh: “Mission 2 — Find a Wife.” Though we haven’t met her in the anime yet, Twilight’s “wife” turns out to be an infamous assassin. The Cold War-era will be introduced. Mr. & Mrs. SmithAngle to the series as a continuous game of deception, espionage and domestic bliss plays out.

The manga shows that Twilight’s new family is in place and the story proceeds at a steady pace. This allows for situational comedy to be used instead of high-stakes action. If the anime follows the same formula, it should hit that sweet spot for people who don’t quite want to give up action completely, but are looking for a show that’s a little more introspective than the next shonen slugfest.

Going off the first episode and what we know of the manga’s story, there’s a lot to be excited about with Spy x Family. (Though it remains to be seen how Wit Studio and Cloverwork’s co-production collaboration — something that’s a fairly unique crossover in itself — will work out over the course of the season.) Although it’s early, we have an idea of what the future holds. Spy x FamilyThe film’s lonely, frosty main character discovers the benefits of companionship and (mostly), unconditional love. Twilight, however, will discover that indifferent analysis and anticipation is not a good thing. Sometimes it’s just nice to see a cold heart thaw.