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“Spy x Family” Season 1 Review: Stream it or Skip it?

Season one of the hottest anime that graced this spring and summer, Spy x Family, has finally ended.

This anime was brought to us by Wit Studio and Cloverworks. Wit Studio is responsible for adapting Attack on Titan and Cloverworks giving us My Dress-Up Darling. So, both great studios with heavy titles to their names, and boy, they did not disappoint with this one.

Spy x Family’s English sub version aired from April 9 to June 25, 2022, with 12 episodes. The English dub on the other hand is still being released (currently at episode 10 as of the writing of this article).

Plot and Delivery: Amazing and ELEGANT ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Well said good sir!

Plot: Loid, a spy from the country of Westalis is sent to go deep undercover in the nation of Ostania and gather information on a person of interest there. He’s instructed to blend into their society by forming a family and acting like a regular father and husband while undercover.

He goes to an orphanage where he adopts a child for the mission. He picks a young girl named Anya who meets his standards for the job. Unknown to Loid, however, is that Anya is actually a psychic and she only met his standards by reading his mind and knowing what exactly he was looking for.

Loid then meets Yor, an Ostanian assassin who was worried that her cover might get blown because she was reaching an age where it was unusual for a woman to remain single. Her officemates even mention that people her age have been suspected as spies just for being unmarried.  She voices her need to find a partner to Loid, and with Anya’s psychic assistance, the two agree to get hastily married without knowing each other’s true intentions.

The Forger Family

Together the three of them live… well try to live a normal life as the Forger family while hiding their deep secrets from each other and the rest of the world.

Review: I love it. I truly and honestly love the show’s plot and the way they executed it was practically flawless. I couldn’t even tell you what the main genre for the show is, is it action? Suspense? Comedy? Slice of Life? Romance? Hell if I know, it’s such an excellent mix of these genres that if you’re a fan of any of them, you’ll enjoy Spy x Family.

I never felt bored while watching and there weren’t any bad plot points that I could find. The show doesn’t take itself too seriously and yet you get really attached to the characters and plot. That’s just good anime-making.

But if I had to nitpick, I’d have to say there were some weird plot holes where Loid, Yor, and Anya’s secret identities or powers were so apparent, and yet none of them noticed it. Like Yor somehow being able to keep up with Loid’s fighting skills or the many times Anya somehow knew things she shouldn’t. But like I said, the show never took itself too seriously and the moments were most likely just for comedic purposes so I’ll give the show a pass for this.

Spy X Family Season 2 Trailer

Another nitpick I have is that the ending was kind of uneventful. There was no dramatic twist or exciting new developments. It wasn’t even melancholic or celebratory really. It’s probably because they were expecting the 2nd season to come shortly after the 1st one (a trailer has already been released as well as the announcement that the second season is coming this October) so this wasn’t really meant to be an “ending”. But I don’t think that’s a good enough excuse to not give us some form of a satisfying season finale.

Characters: Fun and Lovable

Yor and Loid

How do you make a cold and calculating spy and an assassin who takes human lives as easily as she breathes lovable? I dunno, but this show certainly nailed it. They made these two seem like a wholesome couple, all the while not making you forget that they have some really violent/dark backgrounds.

When I first learned of the characters of Loid and Yor, I got worried because they sounded really similar (secret undercover people who needed a quick marriage) and thought they were going to be a copy-and-paste of each other.

I was glad to be proven wrong, they really established their differences early on and are actually hugely different characters.  Loid is a smooth operator who could adapt to almost anything while Yor is actually an airhead who is clueless about everyday life due to only knowing how to be an assassin for most of her life.

Anya on the other hand was never a worry. She was written to be the heart of the show and she pulls it off perfectly. You’ve probably seen memes of the pink-haired gremlin yourself, and you’re lying to yourself if you don’t find her the least bit adorable.

The side characters were great too. Even the bad guys (like Anya’s bullies) weren’t just being bad for the sake of it, they were more complex than your average antagonists and not just one-sided evil guys.

We haven’t really seen the supposed “main antagonist” yet (Loid’s target), as confronting him wasn’t the point of the season so I can’t say anything about whether the main baddy is well-written or not.

Art and Animation: Pretty and Colorful

Anya punching the school bully

I thought Spy x Family was well-drawn, colored, and animated. It wouldn’t say it was top-notch, not when compared to some shows that really shined with their animations, but it was definitely pleasing to the eye.

Nothing groundbreaking or unique, but there’s nothing bad that I can say about it either. They came up with some pretty funny shots and the well-choreographed fight scenes were honestly better than a lot of action anime out there.

Music: Makes You Want To Dance!

The OSTs for this anime are really something. They stuck to the theme of jazzy and snappy and they stuck to it well. It really reinforced the mid-to-late 1900s feel that they were going for in the show. I mean, just give this one a listen and tell me it doesn’t just make you wanna snap your fingers and pretend to play the sax or even act like you’re in a ‘90s bond movie.

Spy x Family OST: Strix

And I don’t really judge an anime by its opening and ending songs but it’s really worth mentioning that Spy x Family’s OP and ED were fantastic

Conclusion:

I loved Spy x Family, and to be honest, I struggled in finding anything bad to say about it when writing this. A really good sign. If you’re looking for a good new anime to watch, look no further. I get that mainstream anime tend to be overhyped, and you’ll actually not want to watch them, but you should really give this one a shot.

A second season is already coming up in October and I can’t wait to watch that too!

Need I say more?

Overall Rating: 9/10

Looking for more anime recommendations? Well, here are a couple of anime coming out next month (July 2022) that are showing the most promise.

Written by Adrian Pilanga

A lover of all thing nerdy, well, ALMOST all things (I'm looking at you every bad movie adaptation of video games ever). There's nothing better than talking about the things you're a huge fan of, so here I am.

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