Spy x Family

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Spy x Family – Spoiler Free – Recommended – 12 Volumes Read

TLDR
Story: 6,5/10 – 27.5% of the final grade – 6.5 x 0.275 = 1,78
Art: 8,5/10 – 20% of the final grade – 8 x 0.2 = 1,7
Characters: 10/10 – 22.5% of the final score – 10 x 0.225 = 2,25
Enjoyment: 7,5/10 – 30% of the final grade – 7,5 x 0.3 = 2,25
Total = 7,98 -> 8

Story - 6.5/10
Spy x Family's story is perhaps the weakest element of the whole manga, because the narrative often doesn't seem to move forward, with the story's central objective and driving force frequently at a standstill. This doesn't ... mean it's a bad read: the side stories are often good, well-constructed and add details about the characters - by far the best aspect of the manga. Without going into details and spoilers, the story is comical, and it's built to be so. And it does that very well; its only weakness is the lack of complexity in the plot (which isn't necessarily bad); although it is coherent, it always leaves a feeling that something is missing. Fortunately, other elements of the manga mean that the story isn't the centrepiece of it all.

Art - 8.5/10
Spy x Family's artwork is great, with well-detailed settings and exceptional character design, making it easy to discern the different characters. The art is also expressive and gives the manga a great deal of humour and adds valuable details to the narrative.

Characters - 10/10
The genius of the characters in Spy x Family should not be underestimated. It is by far one of the manga with some of the most accomplished characters, with Anya standing out, but that can actually be extended to a whole host of others.
The characters are memorable and easily recognisable through their art. Their interaction, especially between Anya, Loid, Yor and Bond, makes for a very comic and enjoyable reading. The characters have been thought out in detail and work like a Swiss watch; they are definitely the most accomplished aspect of the manga.


Enjoyment - 7.5/10
It's a very easy manga to read with many comical moments filled with intelligent comedy. The characters are designed so that the comedy can flow, as well as some of the best interactions I've read in recent times - especially with Anya. The manga has a few moments of action that help lighten the overall scenario - which isn't complex in itself - and work very well as ‘seasoning’. Overall, the excellence of the characters combined with great art, as well as a story that, in some matters, enhances them, make Spy x Family a great manga.

Spy X Family has captured the hearts of Spies and Families all over the world, and it's easy to see why. An intriguing setup with striking characters, a skillful interweaving of spy/action stories and comedy/slice-of-life, with just the right amount of heart - but for me, after following this series for over two years, the series developed into a direction I am not really interested in anymore, and perceived dents to my enjoyment that were more incidental at first ballooned into issues that actually keep me from enjoying myself reading it.

Let's talk about the heart and soul of this series first - the characters! Loid ... is the initiator of the story as is, adopting a little child as a cover story, and then going out to find a mom for said child in order to add to his story. And here, an ingenious decision was made - making said child the very center of the show. She is the only one understanding what's going on with both her parents, she knows about both "worlds" the show it set in, but at the same time acts believably childlike, and not even like a particularly sweet child at that. She's egotistical, silly, not the brightest, but those make her one of the most engaging child characters in recent memory and it's easy to see her charm. She's not interested in saving the world except maybe the vague idea she's doing something good by just having fun (i.e. contributing to world peace by just spending time with her new family). She finds innocent joy in knowing her parents lead these exciting lives, but are also there there for her as her loving guardians. If you, dear reader, remember the mid 2000's Disney Channel Show "The Replacements" - it reminds me of that in the best way possible. A hapless fun dad who does action and stunts, a cool Spy Mom (or in the case of Spy X Family, the reverse) - sounds like the premise a child could come up with and it sparks the imagination. And of course the line between Loid's mission that initially required him to be more cold and practical in regards to the child, blurs almost immediately and the Forgers start to become a real found family - that is, until they sort of stop to develop.

What got me into the manga initially and kept me enjoying in for a while was the premise - basically, a fake family becoming a found family. A Manga that constantly present new obstacles, and has the family grow closer by overcoming them together despite all hiding a major secret about themselves from each other. It was one thing after another - adopting a child, making a home, finding a wife, getting into the school, making sure Anya keeps up and performs well at school, all the while befriending the child of Loid's mission target - it writes itself! However, starting around volume 5 or 6, the series grinds to a halt - or at the very least down to snail's pace. It has a lot of fun with the comedy aspect, and I feel it's more comfortable being a Comedy series with the family acting as an anchor. And the little cynic in me can't help but feel that, for better or for worse, it has to do with this manga's immense popularity. I get the impression that it's going on a lot longer than what was initially expected.

The series exploded in popularity very quickly, and you basically can't visit an anime convention anymore without seeing merchandise, cosplayers and everything. And granted, the perceived oversaturation isn't the manga's fault. It's popular for good reason, a lot of people enjoy it plentiful, people watch it together and as a person who has a cultural connection to the vaguely divided-Germany inpired setting, with Trabis driving around and more - the details are there. I love seeing it. It's a great Manga. It's just that for me, it has less and less of what makes it great to ME. There are little moments later in the series that still bring home the spirit I initially liked: Anya acting for the sake of someone else to do the right thing, Yor befriending an important person to the central conflict, a glimpse at Loid's past that gives more weight to his initial badass introductory "for a world where no child has to cry", seeing Anya's schoolmate and what impact his father's circumstances have on him, Anya actually getting into a dangerous situation and for once getting to be more than an aloof silly sassy goofball again - these are all moments I enjoyed! But they're far and in between, and they're bogged down so much by chapter upon chapter than I don't enjoy, with annoying characters just becoming worse the more I have to see them.

- Every chapter involving Yor's brother Yuri is about his obsession with his sister and his suspicion of Loid. Yuri is always annoying and I don't get the feeling the deep bond between the siblings is really there. He is a joke.
- Every chapter involving Anya's classmate Becky involves Becky fawning over Anya's father (including imagining Yor out of the picture) or acting like a somewhat overbearing older sister-type to Anya. Becky is a good foil to Anya, but eventually she just says and does the same stuff again and again
- every chapter involving Loid's fellow spy Nightfall is about how much she wants to be Loid's wife "for the mission only, unless..." and wanting Yor out of the picture. Nightfall is really annoying. Her rage being hidden behind her deadpan demeanor is maybe funny for a little but... she is basically just a jealous coworker and only fun when she gets to partake in action together with Loid.
- regrettably, every chapter focussing on Yor is her being unsure if she's doing a good job as a wife and/or trying (and failing) to do better. I like Yor, but she really suffers from not being involved in the Spy stuff. She mostly just flanders around, and I can't help but feel the author himself is as unsure about what to do with her as she is about her role as a wife.
- Bond is pretty much just there after his admittedly pretty nice introduction. That's okay, he is a dog. It's just not always clear how much he really understands the human world above the basic understanding a dog has.
- Franky feels like a plot device more than anything, and I'm sorry, he is never funny, not even once!

And every so often, a chapter or even a bunch of subsequent chapters tell of another Spy Mission - and to be frank, I am never under the impression they will have any impact on the overall story, so I just don't really care about them.

The manga has gotten comfortable in its status quo, and instead of futhering the story, it's content coming up with more stories involving side characters, giving the reader some spy action, Anya being a meme. And you know what? Fair enough! Plenty of people enjoy the manga, the Anya shenanigans, the Action and the dynamic drawings. But I still feel the joy of my initial discovering the manga, and devouring those early chapters, when I read one of the chapters I was eluding to earlier - that give me the feeling of progress, deepening the characters and their motivations, setting up connections that, in the future, may pay off. I like these characters. I want to learn more about them and see them grow..! But in the past 2, 3 volumes, I've cooled on the series more and more, and the idea that I may continue buying these volumes for another 10, 20 volumes or even more, fills me with mild annoyance rather than joy, and that's the point where I just have to accept that this Manga isn't for me anymore. Will I still keep an eye on how certain developments pay off, or would I be willing to come back if there's a major status quo shift just a few chapters down the line? Yes. Spy X Family is happy being a slice of life comedy now more so than a Spy Story about a fake family. I want more "Drama" in a sense out of this Slice of Life Comedy. And that's entirely on me.

In that sense, if you, esteemed reader (thank you for reading my ramblings!) like Spy Action, precocious little kids that actually act like real children, or just fish-out-of-water comedy - this manga is for you. Plenty of readers all over the world find joy in the comforting status quo this series establishes. But if you like me, enjoy the initial chapters so much that every other chapter that doesn't appear to further anything elicits a sigh, you may be better off prioritizing other manga for the time being.

This might be the most brutal manga review I've ever done.

Now, if you are a fan of this series then please skip my review because I will be criticizing it as someone who hates this series with a burning passion or you don't

I believe in the media industry there is something called "popularity syndrome", when something becomes popular or sells well, its quality decreases instead of improving, because the creators or people responsible have less incentive to improve their work, or maybe they just drag it out as long as possible just to milk it and make endless money, which makes things worse. This is ... not the case for all popular series, but it definitely exists. Yes, one of them is "Spy X family"

This is one of the most overrated series I've come across since I started reading manga, and it's also one of the most pointless series out there.

1.) Story & plot
It's not bad if you just read the synopsis, it's quite interesting and I should have liked it, but no, it lost everything it had and its soul for something called "money". If this manga had followed its plot, it would have ended long ago, because it didn't have much things or even have the potential to be a long series. but because it sold very well so they chose to filled it with pointless fillers and shit ton of unnecessary chapter & arc as much possible as possible

The plots and lore are treated as if they were a joke and unimportant. just think about it, 5 years later, all shits i've mentioned has progressed less than the motorway in my country that took 30 years to build and is still not finished because of corruption. I have never seen a series insulting its readers as much as this one. I don't think the author himself knows what he should do next and what the purpose or goal of this series is, other than to keep doing it for money (I believe the publisher and editor has some influence on this)

B..BU...BUT MUH BECAUSE IT'S COMEDY & SLICE OF LIFE REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE !!!!!!!!!!!!

This is an excuse that makes me even more irritated

No, not at all. First, I don't dislike comedy and slice-of-life, I actually quite like them if they're actually good. but everything in this series are so repetitive and so recycled that I don't find any difference in each chapter or arc. It's like reading the same things over and over again and the jokes aren't funny at all. not at all. just very dull and cringe

Now what makes it worse is the balance between seriousness and "slice of life and comedy" which is pretty everything that this series can offers

The characters meets problems & conflicts & lore drop > it seems like a big deal > it's not, all of this is just nothingburger & misunderstanding and it was easily solved just because > the next chapter is about a dog that has no connection or cohesive to the previous chapter whatsoever > repeat for 50 times > funny, right ? now laugh and forget everything happened before

This is such a terrible storytelling and narrative that I can't even put it into words.

If you're looking for a slice of life and comedy, I think there are 90% of series out there that are better than this and deserve a lot more attention.

2.) Characters
You think the characters are good, right ? Yes, they are memorable and the pink-haired kid is cute. that's all. However, I find the characters in this series to be incredibly flat more than they are. Most of the characters in this series are one note, one trope, one personality, and have little to no character development. None at all. I don't think any series other than a gag manga would qualify as a good series if it didn't have some sort of character development.

Yor is one of the worst female characters I've ever seens, and her brother, Yuri, is just incredibly annoying and insufferable

Loid is a super talented and super smart spy. he should know all the secrets that doesn't even seem to hard to know, but no, he can't. because if he finds out everything too quickly, this series will end and the author won't be able to make any more money right ?, do you think it makes sense that a character who is supposed to be smart ends up getting dumber as the story progresses ?

Franky is nothing more than a comic relief, he's smart and knowledgeable about everything but he was treated like trash. which I think is the most pitiful character in this series.

Anya yeah, I think this girl is so annoying. (This one is just my personal opinion)

All of this is to say that I hate the way they treated the characters so stupidly and unreasonably.

3.) Art
I think this is probably the only thing I can admire. It's a shame that it was wasted in this series.

Spy x Family is just a piece of soulless, manufactured, artificial and it's nothing more than a slop