Rekindled Love?
Truth be told, within recent years of viewing different films and television series, my once keen fidelity into scoping and watching an anime series that immediately catches my attention isn’t as potent as it should be. As much as the long-running anime series of Attack On Titan, Demon Slayer and My Hero Academia are very much the exception to this notion, considering how the three aforesaid shows produce engaging narratives and compelling characters that inherently interweave wit the messages that these three respective stories imbue, it’s equally fair to state how strenuous it can be to go towards a new property that ultimately doesn’t grip your interest. Indeed, it’s not that farfetched to say, from my own perspective, that when viewing new anime shows in recent memory, there’s a part of me that subsides and makes me ponder, “ohh, Cowboy Bebop did that well…I may as well watch that!” The obvious reason for this disdain is myself viewing and knowing where certain concepts are going to lead; which renders the viewing experience to be rather tiresome. This as well links into my own maturity in viewing different genre’s and being accustomed to ideas that are wholly unique, or adopt a contextual facet that, even though it is fundamentally recognisable, it’s executed in an engrossing manner. This goes the same with the Spring anime hitter of Spy X Family which, despite it adopting familiar ideas of yore, proceeded to catch me – and many others – by a wonderful surprise…
Master spy Twilight is unparalleled when it comes to going undercover on dangerous missions for the betterment of the world. But when he receives the ultimate assignment – to get married and have a kid – he may finally be over his head! Not one to depend on others, Twilight – now known as Loid Forger – has his work cut out for him procuring both a wife, named Yor, and a child, named Anya, for his mission to infiltrate an elite private school. What he doesn’t know is that the wife he’s chosen is an assassin and the child he’s adopted is a telepath!…From contending with a rigorous school interview, to proving their family status at the local penguin park, this is the story of the Forger’s!
What’s intersting to learn, and to ponder over even as I write this, is how much Spy X Family does a wonderful job of surprising the viewer with a source material that proudly meshes espionage thriller aspects – occupying elements of battles that are fought in the shadows via intelligence gathering, sabotage and assassination – with a slice-of-life action-comedy elements that’s fronted by funny and heart-warming characters. Indeed, with the whole Forger family trying to maintain their own respective façade’s right the way through, with Loid crucially concealing his true identity as a spy a secret, Anya funnily hiding her telepathic ability and Yor covering her killer instinct as an assassin, there’s a charm to be noticed here and how long everyone can keep-up their own respective persona’s whilst dealing with the wacky situations that they’re frequently up against. When will the truth come out? What will their reactions be? And why haven’t Loid and Yor noticed that the people they live with are just plain weird? It’s a recipe tailor-made to hook people and keep them invested and rather provides a poignant commentary about family life and lies loved-ones uphold to keep peace and prosperity. It’s through this very collision of between true and fake identity that serves where the humour is mostly founded and is delightfully spearheaded, in my own opinion, through the gaze of Loid. As much as the character of Anya, and her way/circumstance of knowing the thoughts and intentions of others through her telepathy, accommodates much of the comical space that’s there to be adored and remembered long after viewing a particular episode, I found Loid’s predicament of balancing his time between being a father and a spy to be the most chucklesome. As we explore with the early episodes, and the how the series progresses when faced with life-threatening school interviews and a circumstance of locating the right penguin neat the end of the series, Loid is a hypercompetent spy that is renowned in the espionage world for his previous missions. However, it’s clear that none of his espionage training prepared him for the unexpected mission he took in becoming a father. Through inner-monologues of the character – explaining his process of dealing with the simplest family situations – and adapting to precarious yet uncanny situations involving either Anya or his overall mission, Loid fronts the comic-relief in a way which isn’t wasteful in its delivery and rather communes to this perception that the funny actions that he provides in wake of a certain situation, especially in episode 5 where Loid celebrates Anya’s enrolment at Eden Academy by enacting a rescue scene from her favourite cartoon, results in a meaningful discourse about the importance family and what it means to always be there for those in your life. At its heart, this is an anime about family, and how the ideal family unit is an idea very much influenced by a specific view of class and privilege. Though not the sole focus of Spy x Family, it still manages to have a poignant message on how much harder it is to have to fight to achieve a certain status when you’re not born into it. Even without the fate of the world at stake, the Forgers know their current position is very fragile, and they’ll do anything to keep the illusion of their perfect family together. This speaks true with the character of Yor who continually wants to do everything for Anya as her new mother and tries to be the best wife she can be for Loid.
Some of the biggest anime series in recent years fall into the supernatural horror and fantasy genres. Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen are filled with demons and the people who hunt them. Even the forthcoming Chainsaw Man, due to be released later this year, is about a guy who makes a pact with a demon. While these like-minded premises lead to exciting plotlines and intense fight scenes, sometimes you need a break from that kind of thing. As they say, variety is the spice of life. It was rather welcoming for me then when I happen to come across Spy X Family which was a rather different anime than what I would normally consume out of an animated series. Normally, I’d often go for pieces of animation which either lend to the Shōnen genre, that mainly occupy the anime space, or series which adopt a more thriller or metaphysical approach that is smartly outlined and has you questioning larger-than-life meanings. To put it simply, Spy X Family would be an exception to my own viewing rule and rather links into my own maturity as a viewer of entertainment in general, which I mentioned in my introduction. As I get older and older, and with the more times I approach a new anime series, I’ve become accustomed to concepts which are more in-line with where I am in my personal stage of life; this being in terms of my age and my prospects in life as I grow older. Rather, Spy X Family eclipses my future wants in life and the successes or troubles that riddle adult life. With Spy X Family pirouetting around two main characters that are adults, it’s refreshing to view something animated which wasn’t revolving around someone much younger for once. We’re presented with the likes of Loid and Yor, husband and wife, who are constantly trying to figure-out what it means to be in a family and how they can be the best that they can respectively be. As much as its arguable to suggest that the aforementioned series doesn’t hold any punches from the get-go, in comparison to a lot of other anime series, Spy X Family takes a slower approach than most anime adaptations in terms of manga chapters per TV episode, taking its time to set things up and giving the show an almost slice-of-life tone and pace where the mundane are imperative to the central protagonists. When it needs to, it also manages to elaborate and expand on tiny details with incredible results, like a whole episode dedicated to the best dodgeball match since Hunter x Hunter, or a delightfully wholesome party for Anya at a castle.
You wouldn’t expect an anime about spies and assassins to be wholesome. In fact, you probably expect the exact opposite. These occupations generally don’t attract sweet cinnamon rolls. But in anime, anything is possible and Spy X Family makes it so with it’s simply charming source material. It’s an anime property that’s just getting started, but its first part provided a weekly source of comfort and laughs that, like the best sitcoms, you could easily picture yourself watching every week for a decade. The reason as to why the over-the-top elements work so wonderfully is found in its characterisation of Loid and Yor and their respective backgrounds. Loid became a spy to prevent other children from experiencing the same tragic childhood he did. Yor became an assassin to provide for her much-younger brother after their parents died. Neither of these situations are ideal. But it’s because of those respective backgrounds that both Loid and Yor try their best to provide a normal childhood for Anya, despite Anya not being a normal child in the slightest.
That blurring of what’s real and what’s a lie serves as the emotional heart of the series and has all the key ingredients to make a classic family sitcom. It’s got a memorable family with funny and heart-warming character dynamics, wacky situations that spiral out of control, in addition to its kickass action animation and poignant commentary about lies and family. From my introduction, I spoke about seeing familiar tropes within new series of anime and how this very recognition leaves me disdained; disappointed knowing that these latest animated concepts don’t uphold much or any distinct qualities of their own. As much as there is an argument that Spy X Family is similar in that regards, where you can identify aspects that have come from pieces of entertainment of yesteryear, it’s the way in the shows executes these familiar ideas that’ll keep you engaged and interested. Spy X Family uses these recognisable facets in its own wholehearted way by delivering characters and a premise that you want to love…
On that note, it’s time for me to end this week’s Film Review. As always everyone, thank you for reading my latest Film Review of Spy X Family and I hope you’ve all enjoyed the read! Thank you for reading this week’s Blog Post and I’ll be back next week! Have a nice day! Adieu!
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ – Alex Rabbitte