THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS

---

ABBREVIATIONS/TERMS
KA: Key Animation

---

Writing about Spy X Family (SxF) is difficult, because while I still do enjoy the show as it is, I have to admit that it lost some of its charm which it initially had on me. SxF has pretty much anything needed to be a very enjoyable show - It has action, fun jokes, likable characters, a strong emotional core, and a really solid production which knew when it needed to take the extra steps to make certain scenes memorable. SxF is without doubt, a long-term project.

It’s a project taken on by two studios, who took the necessary steps to make a consistent, good-looking co-production. They’re not looking to create something which blows the viewers mind, but they want to create a solid, consistently solid, product. Which shows, as the difference between WIT and Cloverworks episodes is barely noticeable, even with splitted staff, with all kinds of talent assembled for different episodes, but even these don’t manage to overwhelm the overall, consistent image for SxF Tetsuya Nanatake (WIT producer) and Yuichi Fukushima (Cloverworks producer) go for. With Kazuhiro Furuhashi as the director, SxF is supposed to be a fun, memorable series. Maybe even a series which can be a classic and remembered for a long time, like the series Furuhashi previously directed (Hunter X Hunter 99, Rurouni Kenshin). ▶ Video KA: Unknown

SxF does have the ingredients for such a show, and it certainly resonated with me in the first cour, as I really loved the show at that point. I had some really good laughs, Anya was the embodiment of cuteness, and I enjoyed the spy-related antics Loid has to go through just to reach his goal, or clean-up because Anya is doing unpredictable things. I enjoyed Loid, Yor and Anya bonding with each other despite being a patchwork-family, it was just a very enjoyable show I thoroughly enjoyed watching.

So why did it drop the ball, at least for me, in the second cour? It could be something simple like just that I grew bored of its formula. Which is true to an extent, because many things which worked for me at the beginning don’t really work for me now, as the show relies a lot on repetition in its gags too, due to its episodic and slice of life nature. For instance, Anya lost immense charm for me, and while she still has charming moments ( and there are good episodes like her shopping with Becky), many gags revolving around her, like her absurd variation of faces, her overconfidence, and so on, don’t work as much for me anymore. The jokes not landing could also be a problem of the medium and/or direction choices. Jokes in the manga are more snappy from what I’ve seen, because it’s told in panels. With Furuhashi emphasizing what happens between the panels, you could say the jokes and puns lack a certain punch to them, which is needed to make them funny. What it ultimately could also be, is that SxF showed its face: It is first and foremost a slice of life show, when the setting hints that it’s a wacky mixture between different genres. Which is not a bad thing per se, but when the jokes didn’t really work for me and I grew tired of the antics of some characters through the sheer amount of repetition, its slice of life aspect became sometimes rather dry to me, even if it worked out in the first cour. However, I still like SxF. I think it still is a good show, with a generally likable cast, while some jokes don’t land and some do (I am a big fan of the addition of Bond, by the way!). I just don’t love it anymore. It’s not easy to understand why - But it does feel like a pity. I do hope the series can at least maintain its current charm, or help me love it again in the 2nd season, we’ll see how it goes. Last word to the ending and opening - Big fan of the ending. Takayuki Hirao is one of my favorite directors, and he showed it by elegantly constructing some intriguing visuals around the idea to show the forger household with each character having an interaction there. The opening song is great as well, I love Bump and Chicken, the visuals do feel a bit confused though what they want to go for, apart from kinda being a messy AMV without a cohesive theme.