Spy x Family

Spy x Family is an anime of the year candidate. Yes, I say this with confidence for it managed to exemplify entertainment at consistent quality. It's an anime that sells itself as exactly what it is without misleading the audience. And with such a marketing wheel behind the show, it managed to reach a large audience. There's plenty of reasons why I believe Spy x Family indeed deserves its rating and to be quite honest, this is one of the few anime that I can recommend just about anyone this year. First, I want to congradulate Tatsuya Endou on putting himself on the map with his Spy x Family franchise. To be honest, before Spy x Family launched, I don't remember any of his previous works. His one shots are obscure titles that most people have never heard of. That is, until Spy x Family launched in 2019. The series quickly established itself with its simple and complex themes. Mind you, the idea of a family of spies isn't exactly an unique idea, but it is the charm of the characters and refreshing writing style of the story that made this enjoyable from day one. Now you're asking yourself what exactly is Spy x Family? Do yourself favor and don't read the MAL synopsis as it may sound more complex than it looks. Meanwhile, you should watch the first episode and full indulge on what the author wanted to SHOW us. Watching the first episode brings together two characters with very different backgrounds and personalities - Loid Forger (also known as 'Twilight) and Anya. Loid proves himself to be a human with extraordinary skills in esponiage, physical feat, and master of disguise. You could say that he is the perfect spy. On the other hand, Anya is a young girl with the ability to read minds but also with a fascination of spies in the media. Watching their character chemistry immediately brings together a degree of elegance and charm. Let's just say how quickly the two connects with one another. Even though Anya knows Loid often lies to others for his work, she also knows that deep down, he is a kind hearted person. Representing the essence of a perfect spy, Loid deeply cares about his role but also has a soft side for his family. We can't have a family without the mother of course. That's where the assassin, Yor Forger comes in. Introduced in second episode, Yor is essentially an assassin with deadly skills to match her intellect and physical talents. Although sometimes airheaded with a lack of common sense, she deeply cares about Anya and Loid despite not knowing their full backgrounds. In fact, you could easily call Yor and Loid's first encounter as a chance meeting. It's as if destiny set these two up together. In perhaps one of the most memorable sequences of the this season, Loid ties the knot by putting a grenade pin on Yor's finger. It's a refreshing take as in most marriages, you see an generic type of ceremony with flowers and bridemaids. Obviously, Yor and Loid aren't actually a married couple a they pretend to be one to carry out their respective missions. And with Anya, they are the heart and soul of Spy x Family. Anya herself is a complex character despite her age. She has the ability to read minds and practically uses it as a necessity than just a helpful tool. It's with this ability that she barely gets into the prestigious Eden Academy. Academically wise, Anya is not intelligent and overly relies on her mind reading skill. From the first day of class, she isn't motivated and ends up falling asleep before her classmate Becky wakes her up. However, Anya makes an extreme impression towards her peers. Immediately, she is able to befriend Becky due to her kindhearted nature and standing up for her. Second, Anya also withstands another top student at the academy named Damian. Desmond. Proving herself to be a tough girl who isn't afraid to be pushed around by others, Anya withstands not just his verbal assault but also landing a fist into his face. It's the first time that Damian experiences defiance and thus, academy life for Anya becomes a whole lot more complicated. But trust me, understanding Spy x Family isn't too complex despite the author setting up various degrees of storytelling segments. To tell a story like this, Tatsuya made each relevant character unique and carrying their own role. Anya, Loid, and Yor are the main characters but there are also others who makes an impact in the show such as housemaster Henry Henderson or Yor's brother Yuri. The anime give a great impression of the casts' personality to always get audience to react in some way. Anya is the most prominent case for her various degree of human expressions. Because of her mind reading talent, she often reacts in exaggerated ways like a kid her age would. Besides, who can ever forget about her iconic 'heh' face when she punched Damian's wind out? Let me just say that Anya is destined to belong in this show for everything she represent. The big question to ultimately ask yourself is 'why should I watch Spy x Family'? After all, this just the first part and tip for the iceberg. To truly embrace into this franchise would mean to invest time into part 2 and the manga. However, I will say that Spy x Family is enjoyayble for all its character elements, comedy gags, and ultimatley the effective storytelling. It doesn't sell itself as an action thriller despite some of the advertised material. In today's anime industry where it's dominated by isekai, battle shounens, and rom-coms, Spy x Family is a breath of fresh air. Tatsuya Endo took this series into a lighthearted direction, a contrast to some of the action thrillers you're more used to seeing. According to the author himself, he often reads other works to brainstorm ideas of his own. By doing so, he invents and evolves his ideas into this series. It's what makes Spy x Family so special and amassing such a fanbase. Wit Studio and CloverWorks are not the perfect production studios but they managed to bring the creativity of Spy x Family in the most effective form possible. The theme songs are decorated with a simple and colorful chereography that further conveys the show's cheerfulness. Character designs for Anya, Loid, and Yor are unique and great to point out for their technical achievements. You can tell how their expressions are connected to their feelings when we see them in crucial scenes. Examples of these include the family's interview at Eden Academy or Anya's sincere apology to Damian. The fact is, human emotions is especially important for this show as it brings out the best out of its cast. Similarly, I applaud the voice actors for being spot on their roles, in particuar for Anya. It's not easy to voice a character at her age but she made the character as credible as she can be. Loid, Yor, and Damian are also voiced exactly as how I pictured from the manga and on point. In fact, I can say that this is one of the very few anime adaptation that may have exceeded its manga counterpart. If I said it once, I've said it a hundred times. Spy x Family is a contender for anime of the year. Yes, a show like this isn't absolute perfection but for what it has shown us, it captured just about everything I had expected and perhaps more. This is the type of show that is a refreshing breath of air that we need more often. And with part 2 to come, there's no better time than to jump into this hype train.

hahaha that was LITERALLY a kid's show I just watched. Like, I might show my child this show in the future and they would really enjoy it. You know how lots of slice of life animes are in middle school or high school because that's the target audience they're trying to hit? This show isn't meant to be slice of life but anya is in kindergarten so it literally could be. i really don't think ANYTHING interesting happened in that show like at all. Some good funny moments though. Understandably there is probably more interesting things happening later in the show but I"m probably not going to continue watching. Like there is no substance to these characters that would warrant anything genuinely interesting happening. Also this whole family in disguise thing is so contrived. What a convenient way to just hit every check box of what the kids are watching these days. At least in Conan he's like actually working on cases and stuff. If you liked this but thought sword art online was dumb ur literally a hypocrite lol

SPY×FAMILY is the first mainstream anime to come out in a very long time that I can confidently say is worth the hype. I mean, it might be a bit overhyped, but what isn’t these days? I expected a generic, uninteresting, gimmicky piece of shounen-action trash, and what I got was a clever and oh-so-endearing slice of life with lovable characters, fantastic visual set pieces, a brilliant setting, and, if you can believe it, a genuinely funny sense of humor and gut-busting comedic timing. It’s way more simplistic and tensionless than I expected it to be, and that is a good thing. I recently wrote a review for 86 that went deeply misunderstood, and not just by the people who read my reviews solely to hate them. It was a tedious, four-paragraph review that takes three paragraphs to make even a single point, and while you’re probably falling asleep just listening to me describe it, I thought the tedium was worth it at the time of writing, because the point I was making was quite particular. My whole argument against the show was how poorly considered its presentation was; to quote everyone’s least favorite Greek snob, “86 plays out like a soap opera written by and aimed at teenagers who don’t really know anything about real war.” It’s horrible CG action, simpleminded social commentary, and unbelievable, generic characters were all legitimate issues, but what made the show truly unwatchable was its incongruous presentation that wanted you to view it as a serious war drama while also boasting the same moe fanservice and child-like, immature characters you’d see in any average highschool anime. SPY×FAMILY is the ultimate response to this critique. This is, if you haven’t figured it out by now, a show about a family of spies, but despite the gravity of their situations, the show does not take itself serious at all, and its presentation is consequently perfect. Twilight, our protagonist who I will henceforth be referring to by his alias, Loid, is a spy working for West German intelligence, and he’s tasked with making contact with a certain East German official who plans to turn the Cold War into a hot one. However, the only public appearances made by this individual are at his son’s school, where High Honor students are admitted into a fraternity where their parents can meet for pleasantries. In light of these circumstances, Loid is now in a position where he’s forced to find a wife and child, manage a believable appearance for this new fake family, and mold his new child into someone capable of earning their way into the fraternity and thereby handing Loid a meeting with his target. I know this premise already sounds a bit silly on its own, but only after you’ve actually sat down and watched the show will you be able to fully wrap your head around the true extent of its low-stakes, intentionally contrived, and often hysterically funny presentation and appreciate what makes its formula so entertaining and fun. Loid is a jack of all trades, but he is by no means a master of none, yet despite being comically proficient at everything, he’s limited by the fact his mission is totally out of his own hands, as he cannot rely on his usual wheelhouse of skills for this particular mission. It’s no longer a matter of stealth or brains, but rather a matter of your wife and child staying on script, and this is obviously far easier said than done. Loid’s wife, Yor, is not only a completely air-headed idiot, but she’s also secretly an assassin—think Mr. & Mrs. Smith—and his new daughter, Anya, is not only a completely bumbling incompetent, but she’s also secretly an esper who can read minds. This set-up of having Loid and Yor oblivious to one another’s true dealings while Anya knows literally everything despite having none of the agency nor ability to actually effect any meaningful change is exquisitely balanced and, at least so far, has proven to be a Haruhi-level premise, only with less legendarily memorable characters. If we’re going to stick with the Mr. & Mrs. Smith comparison, it would be like if Brad Pitt had little to no understanding of human intimacy and connection, and Angelina Jolie was pretending to be a retard, while also being a genius…but then also…was a retard. The show is fucking funny, and every character is delightfully lovable almost instantly. There’s no stupid melodrama, and any serious emotional developments the series does contain are genuinely wholesome. One episode ends with a six minute long scene of two adult characters having a human conversation, reflecting on their personal memories and life choices, and while watching it I thought I had died and gone to Heaven. Meanwhile, another episode ends with a ten minute long sequences of Loid playing Total Wipeout against an army of BND agents trying to reenact Anya’s favorite spy cartoon in a conveniently placed theme park castle right outside East Berlin, displaying what was perhaps the best action animation of the season on a literal, in-universe joke. And BOTH scenes worked marvelously. Speaking of the animation, the production of this series is probably its biggest downside, despite being well above average. There’s CG pedestrians, CG cars, and the usual, but the real continuous issue is the art direction. I understand the story is supposed to be taking place in East Germany, so there was clearly a vision to realize this drab, post-war, communist shithole, and in that sense the colors work perfectly, but I just wish they would’ve prioritized consistent detail. The backgrounds are just so empty sometimes, and it really undercuts how much effort the series puts in elsewhere. As for the actual artwork and animation, let’s just say you don’t have to wait until the credits roll to figure out which episodes were done by WIT Studio and which ones were done by Cloverworks. I mean, when one episode is mostly lip flapping and still characters storyboarded shot/reverse shot, and the next one immediately opens with the same scene of the same characters smacking each other across the room, moving all over the foreground and the background of shots, and being animated with multiple times the frames from needlessly difficult angles, then it’s not exactly a coincidence. I would describe the soundtrack the same way I would describe every other anime soundtrack that (K)NoW_NAME has done: fun, energetic, and, when necessary, absolutely badass. The character designs are excellent, and I’m not surprised this manga is a best-seller with these designs on the cover. Pretty much every major character has the ability to become an iconic design, and the artists behind this series fucking know it, because some of the facial expressions they pull out are priceless. It’s not just the designs, though. I keep failing to go in depth and really paint a picture of how charming this cast truly is, because they’re what really sells SPY×FAMILY and all that really matters within it. Loid feels like he was created in a laboratory designed to synthesize the most perfect heartthrob anime husbando imaginable, while also being a well-rounded, introspective, likable protagonist; Yor is equally perfect to carry the collective attention span of new-seasonal-waifu-seeking male otaku while simultaneously just being a good character; and Anya is simply irreplaceable. Everyone is familiar with the phrase, “a character is only as smart as their author,” right? Personally, I’ve always loved this phrase and agreed with it’s sentiment, but I’ve also found the inverse to be weirdly true as well. This is to say, a character can only really seem as stupid as their author is willing to make themselves, and it’s this phenomena which I think makes Anya such a perfect character. She is a child, and she’s written to act like a child and process things in a convincingly childish manner, but sometimes she’s strangely conniving, observant, and aware in a way that feels way too mature for the character she’s been sold as. Again—deliberate presentation, yada…

Spy x Boring is a wasted potential where the spy and parody stuff that seemed to be the main appealing of the first few episodes completely disappears to make way for a lot of filler, awful characters and repeating the same visual gag of a that girl who is more a meme than being human. The only reason a lot of people seem to rave about this is the hints of it being a family centered anime, the nuclear family created by a spy dad, murderous wife and daughter with psychic powers which AGAIN you only seen in the first few episodes to then be thing mundane and irrelevant which is why I see no reason to be praising him for this all the time considering how careless the parents are and above all that this whole thing is still a farce. So if you want to see an anime that shows the family aspect better, you better go find another one like usagi drop (an original anime that is not based on anything more). The characters seem to be another blunder as almost every are not really interesting or show anything more than a one-dimensional aspect, Loid is the only good character and seems to remember his mission, while the rest are bland or downright unpleasant. Yor is relegated from the plot and only yearning to be a good wife, Anya is just a dumb faces generator, Damian and Yuri are the worst characters in the series that it is preferable that they disappear since it only harms the supposed wholesome atmosphere that it tries to create. If it played things a little bit closer to the vest, and just a little more seriously, all the dramatic and emotional elements would be so much more effective.

Mediocrity can mask itself in funny ways. When I think of the word “overrated”, I think of shows that have been able to hide their mediocrity in such admirable fashion that they do not get noticed by the majority of anime fans. We’ve had our fair share of overrated anime like Clannad which was able to mask its mediocrity with emotional p0rn, No game no life, and even more recently Sono bisque doll with its uncanny ability to cater to the most down bad section of weebs. But no mediocre anime has been able to reach such heights of popularity as quickly and as effortlessly as Spy X family has. Some of us are quick to convince ourselves that ratings don’t matter but when an anime(a first season at that) reaches so close to the top of the charts on this site before even clocking six episodes, there’s something in the works. This is my first complete review of an anime. I’ll try to keep things spoiler-free but some minor spoilers from the anime might spew out on account of my rage. Spy X family is the new anime on the block taken on by two popular studio veterans, Wit and Cloverworks, who know more than a thing or two about how to adapt a successful anime. If you haven’t been living under a rock for the past three months, you’ve probably heard about it. A spy on an undercover operation marries and adopts a child all in the name of avoiding war. The plot follows Twilight, a renowned spy who is tasked with investigating Donovan Desmond, who I think is a leader of some country, group, or something. Desmond apparently only shows his face in his child’s school thus sparking the culmination of convenient story arcs and just all-around nothingness that fails to leave me with much satisfaction or anticipation. Spy X family falls short in quite a few areas starting from its overly convenient plot. There’s just too much that didn’t need to happen. Firstly, the existence of Yor. In what school do you need two parents to be present for an interview? Aren’t concepts like death, divorce, adoption, and many others present in this anime? This means that Yor has no right to be this integral to the plot this season. Now don’t get it twisted, I don’t hate Yor I think she’s a tolerable character but the way she was introduced to the story was stupid. The only reason she exists, to begin with, is to appear in Anya’s interview. She hasn’t done anything else to prove that she can be important to the overarching plot of the show yet. That might change but you have to admit that for now she’s kinda just flailing around having very little importance to the story so far and is mainly used as eye candy. I would rather have characters pop up randomly and then be included in the story rather than being included in the most ridiculous and unrealistic ways. Secondly, the dialogue. I value dialogue a lot in a story. A good dialogue aids in creating convincing characters by exposing essential details about their backgrounds, quirks, etc. It reveals aspects of characters that make them relatable. Spy X family does not excel here, unfortunately. The dialogue is forgettable and doesn’t leave me with any impression that these characters can be entertaining in any fashion. The most fascinating relationship is between Anya and Loid but that does not get explored enough or as in-depth as I would like. The other characters leave very much to be desired as well in terms of dialogue. The characters are not entertaining or thought-provoking. It’s not like the interactions between the characters are incredibly witty or funny, intellectual, natural, or realistic. The interactions between the three main characters seem lifeless at times and it feels like time is moving that much slower when I watch these characters communicate with each other. I feel like if an anime(A “comedy anime” at that) cannot establish some form of entertaining dialogue that goes past the stereotypical cheesiness that SXF advertises, then it is simply not worth my time. The dialogue is easily the weakest part of this show and when people such as me try to discuss these issues with Spy X family twerkers, it always comes back to one lazy ass point,” iT’s JuSt a SliCe Of LiFe CoMeDy iT’s NoT tHaT sErIoUs”. Okay, let’s address the comedy then. When anyone criticizes the anime, the stans are so quick to say that it’s just a comedy slice of life and whatnot but here’s the twist, it’s not even that funny! Comedy is subjective and everything but I want to see the people that get a good laugh by watching some of the “comedic” scenes in this show. The comedy is repetitive with slow and awkward timing and it’s normally filled with Anya or Yor doing something over the top like slapping a relative until he starts bleeding or Anya falling on her face like an idiot. Also, can we talk about the fact that Anya, a four-year-old is being forced to an elite school with people two years older than her and not only expected to keep up with her elite classmates but to do so well academically that she gets a Stella? I feel like it’s another stupid and cruel attempt at comedic relief. Admittedly, the manga is a better representation of comedy but I feel like the anime’s shameless use of meme moments and explosive animation to pass off as comedy does not work for me. What makes it even more confusing is that it’s not hard to make me laugh. Some of my favorite comedy anime are trashy anime that don’t take themselves too seriously. The simplest joke can have my chest hurting from laughing too much. As with most “funny” anime these days, Spy X family is filled with wholesome moments that get the fans going. Watching Loid act like a dad is cute, Anya being stupid is cute, and Yor blushing for no reason is cute but it’s not funny at all. I can’t even think of an anime that came out in the past four or five years that hasn’t outrageously relied on these overused tropes and tried to pass it off as comedy. This section will be dedicated to all the stupid things that didn’t need to happen. Can we talk about episode five? The most over-the-top celebration of a child going to school I have ever seen. Also, the organization that Loid works for made itself to be an absolute joke, and the “best” spies were just really dumbed down to fit the subplot which was to “save” Anya from a “villain”. In a show that people praise for its relatable slice-of-life moments, I don’t know how anyone could tolerate this episode. Another episode that didn’t advance the plot was that dodgeball episode. Never have I ever seen such attention to detail in a pointless episode that does nothing different than the previous episodes. I don’t think there’s been enough plot development to allow for irrelevant episodes. If Loid’s mission was so urgent that he had to enroll his four-year-old child in an elite school with people two years older than her then surely the plot should progress faster right? While we’re at it what about the backstories? Does Anya’s tragic backstory revealed to us in the earlier episodes play a part in the progression of the story? Certainly not. The show focuses on scenes that make the fan base melt over interesting scenes that reveal to the audience the implication and why that backstory is so relevant to the character. But instead, we had about two or three full episodes of not building up anything. It’s such a shame because everything has been set up, the plot looks interesting, and the characters? Fairly bland but can improve if they focus more on the actual story. Ultimately, all we get is a poorly written slice-of-life anime with the occasional dark episode or two which I feel is a huge waste of potential. To end this review let’s discuss some of the few moments where Spy X family showed the potential to be great. I could write about the art, music, or animation but I feel like that is already the topic of discussion in many other reviews of this show. What I want to focus on are the moments where there was potential for a good anime. First off, Anya passi…

THIS REVIEW WAS OUR MIXED RECEPTIONS AND CO-WRITTEN BY MY BROTHER, MY FRIENDS WHO LOVE ACTION SPY COMEDY SHOWS/MOVIES AND ANTICIPATED THIS, AND BY YOURS TRULY *contains some meaty spoilers from the anime and hints from the manga/for the second part* “Don’t let the hype ruin you.” Well, it did. But it doesn’t mean it’s bad. At least, I have proven myself right that this show isn’t a masterpiece or a masterclass of media after all. I still don’t get the hype that revolves around this show, and I’m kind of sad that the word, “masterpiece” is being beaten up to death. People are just easily pleased these days and I don’t know what the heck are the reasons why. What does it take to be a show a “masterpiece”? Great story, great characters, great production design, a great message from the author to the audience, and the overall wow factor from the audience, who are enjoying it. It can’t be flawless, but it’s something “perfect”. But all of that is subjective. Does this show meet the corresponding criteria? Let’s see… I have an example scenario: My friend told me about this famous restaurant that’s trending for most people. I went there to check it out. Me: Waiter, what’s your best-selling dish? Waiter: Tomato Pasta. Me: Is this Tomato Pasta popular in this restaurant? Waiter: Yes. I ordered that pasta and went for a taste. The taste was just the same and I noticed it was nothing special. My friend asked me how’s the taste of that pasta from that restaurant. I wanted to be honest but I ended up saying, “It’s great…”. I don’t want to admit it was bad. In the end, it’s the same Tomato Pasta all over again, and to be honest, my cooking is better than the restaurant. What’s the lesson from this scenario? There are three things but the last one is at the end of the review: - Just because it’s new and popular, doesn’t mean it’s good. (It applies to other new and popular animes) - Mainstream fans don’t want to admit the obvious faults or flaws of a certain show because it’s “enjoyable”. When this show got an anime adaptation, I remember how I used to made a research about this. I went to many forums on the internet, and I was surprised that many manga fans were hyped about this. They said this is a great action, great characters, a great story, and a refreshing action show because it’s a spy story. They even called it the anime version of “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”. I love Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and action spy stories because they made up my childhood even now. Especially it’s an action-spy comedy show, and I’m a massive fan of it. Even bounty hunter stories, police buddy-cop action-comedy like White Chicks and Central Intelligence, thrilling spy-agent stories like Die Hard and Mission Impossible, and criminal heists action stories like Fast and Furious. I went up and read the manga, and I remember the first impression of my older brother while reading. Same as for me and my friends who read the manga. All of us were watching the anime adaptation every weekend. Yes, we were somewhat enjoying it. But at the same time, we found ourselves scratching our heads and asking, “when does it get good?” I saw several manga readers set the bar high for the anime-onlies that this is a “masterpiece” of an action. But in the end, I think the fans deserve a “HYPE BACKLASH”. [Spy x Fam Narrator Voice:] [Hype Backlash. According to the internet, your friends have been bugging you to watch the latest TV show that everyone's talking about. Every newspaper raves about its originality, well-deserved popularity, and effective mix of comedy and drama, on the front page of the Entertainment section. Critics are rushing to hail it as the re-definition of its genre. After the thirtieth or so "Just watch it already, geez!" and maybe a Hype Aversion stage, you finally give in; you rent the show's first season on DVD, pop it in your player, and lay back to enjoy the latest masterpiece... ...Except you come away with a very different opinion than your friends; to you, it's at best a mediocre show with average plots and few laughs or an utterly confusing one with more than enough twists to boggle the mind, a show that isn't the seminal classic everyone's touting it as.] Thank you for that! Now, where were we..? Spy x Family is an action… Wait, I made a mistake there so let me fix it. *scribble* *scribble* Spy x Family is a situational comedy or sitcom, slice of life, drama show that both manga and anime onlies widely anticipated. They said it’s a great and refreshing “action” because it’s rare for action animes to get a spy theme. Fans were cried out of happiness because they wanted an anime adaptation of the “perfect manga” for a long time, and their wish granted. They said it lives up to the hype and called it a “masterclass and masterpiece” of modern shounen. Wait, the question is, is it true? I guess? However, I found some problems or flaws that I found the show, not incredibly great. So the story is about the main character, Anya— Wait, I made a mistake again so let me just fix it… *scribble* *scribble* So the story is about the main character, Twilight. It’s just his codename. He’s a spy from the west and his mission was to create a family to infiltrate an elegant academy. Because there’s this Desmond guy who wanted to start a war between the east and the west camp. But the twisted part was his daughter was a telepath, and his wife a contract killer or assassin. The three of them were from different backgrounds and throughout the story, they somewhat forge a bond to become a family, even though it’s a façade. The premise is quite interesting and intriguing, not gonna lie about that. But throughout, the story and narrative fell flat from a potential masterpiece to a decent/average show. That’s problem #1. I remember the manga was promoted as an “action-packed” story. But, the author didn’t intend this show as an action spy story. Instead of getting a Mr. and Mrs. Smith kind of a story, I got a family sitcom show The Simpsons. Most of the parts were like episodic fillers or slice-of-life sitcom moments from the fake Forger family than focusing on the Operation Strix mission. It’s more like, OPERATION STRIPPED. I mean, the story should focus on Operation Strix, since it’s the premise of the show. The exploration of characters is also a great thing, but again, Operation Strix is the main concept of the show. I noticed that most of the scenes were focused on Anya inside the school. The author should’ve named it, “The Daily Life of Anya” or whatever. Now don’t give me that shit when you say “This show focus only on the wholesomeness of the Forger family”, because if that’s so, the show should be intended as a gag show in the first place. Now back on the reason why she seemed the primary main character of the show and the supposedly main characters are getting sidetracked. Even in the manga, it’s not focused. It’s full of fillers or side quests that aren’t related to the main mission and to the point that it went nowhere. It kinda remembers me of what happened in Black Lagoon. I don’t mind the comedy aspects, since comedy makes the action more entertaining. Even the moments of them being a fake family. But the author somewhat forgot that his work is supposed to be an action spy. The action spy story lacked the depth that would make the show more thrilling and exciting. I failed to see this show as an action, it was somewhat a gag sitcom show. If I will compare this show to a similar anime, it would be Angel Beats! or Gintama. Yes, Gintama is an action and I’ll consider it to be great for what it had because the gorilla intended his work to be a gag show from the start. In Angel Beats!, they had the same formula but the difference was the show lacked some exploration of the characters, and the “action” element in Spy x Fam’s case. Problem #2 are plot inconsistencies, and lacking a common concept of realism and basic knowledge. You see, one of the objectives in Operation Strix was …

Heh, I can't believe how incredibly popular and highly rated Spy X Family has become. Especially when it isn't an anime that contains a lot of the more "epic" or "emotional" moments that a lot of the other top shows on this site bring to the table. But I too have been captived by it's charm ever since reading the Manga. So what's the secret formula that makes Spy X Family a resounding success? Let's dive into it, shall we? And no, it's not because the characters are relatable. There's absolutely no way...unless of course you happen to be a spy, an esper, an assassin, or have started a fake family for the sake of world peace. In which case yeah, I guess you could relate. The setup of the anime is solid without being too detailed. Viewers learn that the state of this anime's world revolves around the incredibly strained relationships between two rivaling nations with heavy inspiration from East and West Germany during the Cold War Era and how our protagonist Loid Forger, a.k.a. Agent Twilight, a.k.a. best fake father and fake husband ever, is given a super special secret mission to get close to a leader of his opposing nation for the sake of striving for world peace. We're quickly given the scoop for what the anime is going to be about, and it's done well. I do wish there was a little more world building since aside from a few explanations of some jobs and roles that people have in this fictitious society, we don't get as much as I would like in terms of really fleshing out this world and making it feel like an immersive place that makes sense. But this isn't the primary focus of the anime and is still executed well enough, so this is mainly just me nitpicking a little. What Spy X Family truly is is a character focused comedy. I really enjoy how unlike other stories that try to hide a character's true role and motivations to be revealed near the end as some sort of plot twist, we know absolutely everything about these characters from the get-go. Everything is revealed to the viewer, and that unique yet excellent approach in my mind is one reason why this anime truly stands out. Now if the core cast were normal people, then this wouldn't be a big deal. But they are most certainly not normal. I already mentioned how Loid is a spy. Well, his mission involves creating a family and having his child attend a prestigious school in order to get close to his target. And this is where the fun begins. He adopts a small girl named Anya...who can read everyone's mind...as his daughter and marries a bit of an airheaded woman named Yor...who assassinates people as a job. And where Spy X Family truly shines in my mind is in the bonds these three share. Each of them pose as a member of this family for their own secretive purposes, and it's just really engaging to see how they keep so much from each other while still slowly bonding and becoming a real family. Because damn, the author is excellent at depicting their relationships. So let's get into this trio! Anya actually acts like a child unlike most anime kids I've seen, and she's incredibly endearing. The girl craves excitement, and since she's the only one who knows everything that's going on, she loves this seemingly normal yet secretly crazy environment. And I would like to take a moment to mention just how great of a character Anya is in general. Of course she has her legendary meme face, but she's just such a fun character in all of her entirety. She has so many great moments across all the episodes and just really shines like a Stella Star. I'd honestly say that she's the most entertaining anime girl that I've seen in a long time. I actively burst out laughing during several of her moments, which is pretty rare for me. Anya truly is best daughter! Of course there's also Yor, who is quite enjoyable in her own right. She's probably the most adorable house wife ever while also being a cold killer on her spare time. Huh, what a combo. She's pretty much the definition of both ditzy and deadly, and she combines her two sides in a crazy yet engaging way. Plus her bond with both Loid and Anya is incredibly cute. There are many adorable moments shared within this fake family. And while Loid himself is incredibly stoic and entirely focused on his mission, I really like how he connects with these two and acts as a straight man in many ridiculous scenarios. But he's not prone from doing ridiculous things himself. As the top spy in the world, I can assure you that Loid partakes in many over the top missions that put Tom Cruise from Mission Impossible to shame. Though each of their signature moves seems to be disguising as others so perfectly that they even take on their target's voice, so I guess they're both equally over the top. But it's certainly fun to watch. Spy X Family is a bundle of entertainment. I focused entirely on the core cast in this review, but the supporting characters like Damian and Becky are all enjoyable as well and bring a little something to the table. Especially during the school scenes. Seriously, those have no business being as entertaining as they are. When reading the Manga, those are the moments that stood out to me the most, and I'm glad to see them excellently adapted here. The Anya vs Damian moments like the punch scene and the dodge ball game especially made me burst out laughing, they're just so well done. I really have to give the combined efforts of Wit Studio and Cloverworks massive props for making such a brilliantly designed show. Comedy is subjective, so Spy X Family certainly isn't for everyone. But if it's incredibly high scores aren't an indicator, this is certainly one of the best comedies in anime, which can be attributed to the wonderful writing and masterfully set up characters. It has things that I'm sure mostly everyone could enjoy, so I'd wholeheartedly recommend this anime to pretty much anyone who enjoys comedy and likes over the top fun characters. Here's hoping for a sequel to continue Anya's quest at achieving world peace!...well, technically it's Loid's mission, but we all know that Anya is the true hero here.

Spy x Family, or more apt, Reddit: The Anime. If you want something besides "wholesome Loid x Yor moment", you'll be sorely disappointed. It's just bad gag reels over and over again - once you've read the premise, you've seen the show, because it doesn't grow beyond its core gimmick. The show's terrible writing is apparent early on - Loid is supposed to be a world-class spy, yet still blushes and gets flustered around women. This is, of course, because the anime doesn't want him to lose relatability points - god forbid we alienate the audience in any way. Besides that, nothing in this anime feels natural. Ah yes, the wife happens to be an assassin, and her brother happens to be a secret state agent... it's just a bunch of out-of-place gimmicks interacting with each other - forget character writing or development. The anime also doesn't even contain a modicum of tension, because it devolves into episodic nonsense instead of following a through line. You might enjoy it if you turn your brain off, but have our standards really fallen that low? All in all, the worst impulses of anime concentrated into one. Don't watch.

This is the season's most overhyped anime. I read the plot summary and thought, this had a lot of potential, with everyone leading double lives, there would be lots of suspense and subtext. Like any good work of art, it's important to show not tell. Unfortunately, they give everything away within the first few minutes of the first episode. We are directly told by a narrator, Loid is a spy, Anya is a telepathic child, Yor is an undercover assassin. Good shows present to you characters and develop them over time. For this entire premise to be enjoyable, we should learn about these characters slowly, figure out what each of their goals and backgrounds are. Loid's actions should lead you to understand he's a hidden operative. Anya should respond and react to things in a way that makes you realize, she has secret powers. Incidentally, the one character that comes close to being properly portrayed is Yuri. In the limited screentime that he was allotted, you grasp at the character's mindset and multiple facets. The show leverages extremely generic tropes, leading to each episode becoming cliche and predictable. Anya needs to pass a hard entrance exam? While some incident occurs, a miracle happens and everything works out. Given all of the attention it received early on, this was a major letdown. The one saving grace was that this was a well produced show with quality animation and soundtrack. Anything less would've made this a complete disaster.

I know i’m gonna get hate for this but.. this is definitely the most overhyped anime of 2022. I mean 8.74, seriously? How did this heaping pile of trash surpass so many other good shows? I won’t go into that though since this is a review and not a rant so let’s continue. Plot: A spy who goes on a mission has to adopt a child and get married as part of the plan. And he can’t let them know it’s part of his mission. Predictable and lackluster. Just another anime where some grumpy fool adopts a little girl. Definitely haven’t seen other animes with that premise used a million times!! If your looking for a anime with a consequential plot I wouldn’t say this is the right show for you, let me explain why. Characters: Loid forger, Yor forger and Anya forger are the mcs of this show. Loid is a cold and serious smart man while anya is very kind, goofy, and kawaii!! Totally haven’t seen an anime with two opposite characters having to live together and learn how to get along with each other. Totally not generic.. Yor is also aloof and cold, she doesn’t really add to any of the story. She pretty much is just there for the sake of it. She is always having to save loid and anya but nothing else really happens with her. She’s a pretty wearisome and bland character. Comedy: This label is misleading, it was labeled as a comedy. Not one scene got a laugh out of me, not even a single smile and the jokes were all platitudinous. Maybe slightly funny at first but then they used the same joke fifty more times. For example, anya is obsessed with peanuts and the peanut obsession gets brought up every episode and it gets tiring and the comedy just dies down. And anya being dumb is not funny or cute. And Lood and Yor aren’t even funny. It’s like for example Loid kicks a criminal in the balls and your supposed to laugh at that..and it happens in every episode, it’s so uproarious when they beat the criminal hahaha!! Action: Not one slightest bit of the action or fighting was pragmatic, Yor and Loid are op, neither of them ever get damaged or beaten in a baggle because they are typical shounen protagonists of course. And the fight scenes don’t even last for a long time, maybe like 5 minutes, and the fights are just so bland. When I heard my friends talking about this show having good fight scenes I expected it to be like My Hero Academia but instead it’s just slothful animated fights with no meaningful exceptions. This show is not an action, just another misleading and unnecessary label. Conclusion: Nothing really special about this anime other than the character designs and the animation being okay. But overall a bland anime with unexciting action and dull and generic characters and a premise that we’ve seen get used a million times. The soundtrack is also unremarkably stupid and ridiculous. Just not worthwile and a complete waste of 4.8 hours of your life. If you like this anime then that’s good, i’m just explaining my opinion on it and giving it some criticism.

How to describe Spy x Family in one word? Overhyped The plot is not interesting at all and usually it's repetive. I hope people will forget about this show soon because it's almost everywhere. Mostly edits with Anya and Yor. People are obsessed with Yor because she's hot and that is enough for some people to get hooked on the show. She's an assassin but we only get to see her do her fake normal job. Loyd is also handsome and perfect Gary Sue. He can deal with all problems somehow without any fail. He doesn't have any weaknesses (expect eating Yor's sh*tty food) or bad side. If all men were like Loyd then no problems would be unsolved. Anya is overly hyperactive child with no filter on her mouth and will say absolutely everything that comes to her mind. She's supposed to be interesting with her mind-reading ability but she is just annoying little brat instead. Overal this show is not that bad it just need better story concept. Same goes for season 2.

Spy x Family suffers from being very okay in a genre of very more-than-okay anime. The production quality of being a CloverWorks x WIT Studio is obviously nothing to sneer at - the art and animation do not suffer, and the sound design is very solid. Voice acting by Takuchi Eguya, Hayami Saori (even if she wouldn't be my top pick), and Atsumi Tanezaki are all top notch. But while the premise of a spy, an assassin, and an esper masquerading as a family unit seems unique and interesting, the execution falls flat in both its action and slice-of-life elements. The strongest aspect of the story is Loid's spy plot - his surrounding cast have good chemistry with the character and present interesting scenarios a la the aquarium scene. But in a genre with shows like Princess Principal and ACCA, SxF finds it hard to compete on the political intrigue and action-mindgames fronts. From here, the weaknesses compound. Yor is unfortunately chalked up to an attractive ditz who also happens to be an assassin, rather than the other way around, and the constant usage of alcohol or misunderstandings in her interactions with Loid or any of her supporting cast greatly cheapens the plot. The academy setting and its point-earning plot progression also feels like a waste of a great political setting and limits what this anime could achieve, leading to a relatively... boring story. That leads me to the other half of this show's target genre: the SoL element with found-daughter Anya. This genre is far too diluted for SxF to successfully break into. While Anya is certainly meme-bound, the show suffers from an unfortunate fact - realistically young kids stymie the plots of mature adults. It's a good perspective to understand the pains of fatherhood; certainly, you can't expect kids to understand everything or pick up on complex issues quickly. But Anya's esper abilities are used frustratingly at the plot's convenience, leaving the viewer to guess if this show wishes us to enjoy Anya as a naive child or a character actually relevant to moving the plot forward. Obviously, the public has vindicated Anya as a moe character worthy of veneration, but I think this process could have been easier if writing of Anya was done more in the line of Hinamatsuri, Kakushigoto, or Yotsubato, without the hair-pulling of child's antics and more emotional scenes. Spy x Family had high potential with many good premises, but chose to take many safe routes with its story that resulted in my lackluster enjoyment.

I failed to understand why Spy x Family became so popular and is treated like a masterpiece by many people. I'm not judging other people's opinions but this anime lacks so many things to be honest. 1- The story showed promise at the beginning of it but instead of getting deeper, it became shallower and shallower. 2- I thought this was a realistic anime but I guess I was wrong. I can give the story some slacks in that part though at best, it is only average but characters are very unrealistic on almost every term. They lack backgrounds or origins, sometimes you feel like you learned something very important about one of them but what happens? It turns out to be not even significant and it doesn't effect anything. It also feels like they forced so hard to make them seem "human" but mostly, they act like robots. 3- It feels like it tries to depend on its humor and wholesomeness to cover those lacking parts up but they fail on that as well. I will use the same term I just used up above. Forced. Humor and wholesomeness feel forced as well. 4- This might trigger many people based on the general opinion about this anime and about Anya but I have to say this, Anya is a little annoying. I don't know whose idea was it thinking that if we make her talk "cute" and act "cute" and look cute, people would love her but yeah it worked pal. Guess that's all what it takes. Yeah she is cute, she brightens the show here and there but she is more annoying than she is cute. I talked about Spy x Family's negative sides, at least for me, on purpose because I find it meaningless to highlight its positive sides since it has been done countless times by countless people already. I'm not saying that it was a total waste of time but at best, once again this is my opinion, it was slightly above the average, a weekend snack at best and nothing more than that. 5/10

TL;DR: it’s not too bad, but hardly worth watching. The set up looks very promising but it just doesn’t deliver. There is hardly any plot going. It feels that plot is a burden for show creators who would’ve rather froze things in place and shot filler episodes. It’s particularly visible in the end of the show — normally you expect that last episode sums and ends the whole season, and here the characters go to yet another distraction episode which adds nothing from plot perspective. It’s probably similar to those cartoon with thousand episodes you’ve watched in childhood with little relation in between. It’s not bad per se, but something very odd for the anime format. Unfortunately there is no character development either. There is virtually no change of the characters over the whole season, despite a bunch of topics to explore e.g. Anya and school academics, Anya and her classmates, Loid's perception of spy vs family priorities, Anya and her management of psycho power, etc. The only good part is a good dose of humour, but even jokes feel very repetitive by the end of the season. “Papa is a big liar”, etc.

"Everyone has a secret self they don't show to other people. Not to friends... Not to lovers... Not even to family. They hide who they are and what they want behind lies and painted smiles. And thus the world... maintains its thin veneer of peace." Spy x Family explores a rather unconventional topic that is rarely brought up in other shared anime mediums. Though refreshing and innovative, Spy x Family sometimes cascades and displays its unoriginality and satirical identity. However, that is neither negative or a criticism from me; in fact, I would argue the complete opposite. Spy x Family takes place in a fictional world, where two countries, Ostania and Westalis, are at war with the other. Spy x Family is heavily inspired by the Cold War era, using characters such as badass spies, hot assassins, crazy politicians, and everything in the middle that can be alluded to the Cold War era. The three main characters include: a spy, an assassin, and an esper, respectively who play the roles of a father, mother, and daughter. For their self interests, they portray themselves to society as a family, but in truth, they are three people with completely different and contrasting natures. Their real occupations are unbeknownst from one another, and thus, they maintain their only real connection: family. And that's where Spy x Family excels at. There are a considerable amount of slice-of-life, comedy anime, so the question is: How does Spy x Family differ? Well, let me explain. Spy x Family is able to incorporate its differing themes from the social issues that are present in episode 4, to a feel-good action-comedy in episode 5, and alongside maintaining the family identity to the public eye. The plot is intentionally incohesive and silly, but that, in turn, allows the viewer to enjoy its unique and endearing themes. Spy x Family balances it all together, encapsulating the viewer with heartwarming, joyful, and entertaining moments. It does not boast anything new, nor is it done perfectly, but for what it's worth, I enjoy the hell out of it. The characters in Spy x Family is what brings it all together. Each of them has their pros and cons. Loid Forger, the husband and spy, is exceptionally intelligent and observant, yet at the same time, also very dumb. He sometimes has no social cues and abilities, and can be shown to be very pragmatic and harsh. Although, he cares a bunch for his family, and goes out of his way to create an environment of a real family, despite of his mission as a spy. Yor Forger, the wife and assassin (and my mommy), also deeply cares for her family and her younger brother. Though sometimes clueless and incapable, she is a true mystique of a character that will hopefully get explored more in the next cour. Anya Forger, the daughter and esper, is a young girl that lived in the orphanage after moving from family to family. The assumed reason is because of her esper abilities. As a result, she is hesitant to reveal her powers to Loid and Yor because of the possibility of the family disbanding, since she knows of their true identities. However, she loves her family despite their secrets, and honestly, she is just very *waku waku* to be with them. (Sorry not sorry) The overall production of Spy x Family proved to be competent and further enhanced the show's quality. Despite there being two studios (CloverWorks and Wit Studio) who worked on Spy x Family, there were hardly any issues with the production. In fact, they built off each other's weaknesses, and created a fantastic anime adaptation, that most Spy x Family fans are fond with. What really stood out to me were the casting choices and the seductive visuals in both opening and ending themes. Having Saori Hayami and Takuya Eguchi being VAs for the main roles again meant that I had to watch Spy x Family. The irresistible art also were another factor, as they were so appealing and fascinating to watch. I must admit that Spy x Family will cater and induce to a majority of people because of its soft and tender nature. I share the same sentiment, as many fans such as myself admired the theme of family more than anything else. Though not by any means perfect, Spy x Family is definitely stimulating and thrilling if you're willing to give it the chance.

A spy, an assassin, and a girl who can read peoples' minds walk into a bar. The result is a somewhat decent sitcom that's fairly funny, as long as you're comparing it to other anime which is grading on an extremely generous curve. There were a few gags that could consistently make me smirk, e.g. the telepath girl's horrified reactions when someone thinks something bad, or her smug face when she comes up with a galaxy-brained plan. But there was certainly still nothing laugh-out-loud funny, and I swear this isn't just me with a stick up my butt. Japanese humor just really doesn't translate well at all. The bigger downside is how corny this show is. It's an anime, so some level of cheesiness is to be expected, and it's a sitcom on top of that, so even more would be expected, but this still takes it up to 11. There's hardly any attempt at all to conceal the plotlines bending over backwards so the show can contort itself into whatever sitcom scenario it wants in any given episode. This corniness nearly pushed me to the breaking point in episode 5, although I eventually decided to stick with the series for at least 12 episodes. I'm not sure I made the right call, because although the rest of what I watched didn't reach that level, it was still a constant feature nevertheless. It wasn't a total waste of time, but I didn't really want to continue watching after 12 episodes or so.

Spy x Family, despite how it wants to appear with its Cold-War setting and its bad-ass characters, is a very average anime. WIT’s and CloverWorks’s experience is evident from the smooth animation, beautiful and well-researched art, and the appealing OP and soundtrack. As animation studios, they have done their job perfectly. However, the same could not be said about the manga, whose story-telling abilities display visible flaws that carry on to the anime. First of all: Where did all the spy plots go? We are routinely shown who Loid Forger is, but we are rarely shown who Twilight is. We rarely see the “Best in the West” spy in action, most of the time, the spy plot is completely unrelated to the main one. For example, the heist in the second episode is barely connected to the plot; all it does is explain why Loid leaves and to introduce the ring into the fray. The “stealing the papers” reference is just as useless; once again, it doesn’t tell us anything about Twilight. WIth that said, the show still manages to do well sometimes. The first episode uses the kidnapping encounter to demonstrate Twilight’s thought process in action. And the last episode hits the mark directly, tying the spy mission to his family one. We know Spy x Family is fully capable of integrating our spy and our family worlds, but aside from the first and last episode, it chooses to focus solely on the family world. However, succeeding in creating family interactions that stand out is very hard in the anime genre. Yor’s character, while certainly not shallow, is still far from the best deuteragonists anime has to offer. Her background as an assassin is never explored in the show. Anya is quite well-developed, but the school setting the story places her often confines her character to dealing with well-explored tropes. And Loid and Yor’s (and Anya’s) progress on trusting each other more has progressed slower than how the East German economy did in the 1980s. Spy x Family is also not very funny. Anya’s telepathy is confined to reacting: she reads the minds of one of her parents, is shocked by their thoughts, and maybe says a line or two. But her role is all but passive. What if there was a whole episode where she, trying to please one of her parents after mind-reading what they want, goes out on an adventure and gets mixed up in a secret police plot without the help of her parents? That would be entertaining, and it would also tell us much more about Anya and her powers than the current story does. But no, all we get are student scenes, which have been explored so thoroughly in anime that every comedic interaction is practically a trope in and of itself (And don’t get me started on the headmaster, who uses the word “elegant” like how a newfound critic uses the word “pretentious”: all the goddamn time). Aside from Anya and school, there is practically no comedy to be found, except for the story with Yor’s brother, which I still found quite entertaining despite being predictable. The genre of Cold War-era spy films is extensive, and it has plenty of tropes that are novel to anime. But Spy x Family never reaches out to use them, instead sticking to the tropes it knows well. Spy x Family seems different with its Cold War-vibe, and that may be slightly true, but it is largely just another family + school anime. If you’re looking for a family/SoL anime with a different setting, I would recommend Spy x Family. But if you’re looking for a unique spy anime, I would still recommend it, but you might not be getting what you’re hoping for.

The epitome of massive media marketing. No substance but the appearance quality is very good. The VAs especially Anya are so appealing and amazing. There's no story, to be honest here. This is a RomCom anime so as long as you don't expect too much you probably would enjoy watching it. The comedy side of it is also a joke. To my understanding, the budget for this anime might have been spent like this: 65% marketing, 20% 10% production, and 5% for the rest( story, etc...) Not a good anime at all but because there's so much advertisement for it and also Anya who is so cute and lovable, you can watch it with absolutely and I repeat absolutely no expectations.

Spy x Family is a show that doesn't fully live up to it's concept. While it's one of the few shows to combine the worlds of spies, assassins and espers into one, it then fails to realize the potential of this mix-up and proceeds to be a mediocre romcom instead. While it sells the show on this concept of 3 different exceptional people forming a family, you end up not seeing much other spies, assassins or espers, and instead watch the relationships of those 3 characters grow. The main plot seems secondary to the relationships, and the humor is few and cute rather than really funny. The show focuses more on the traditional japanese family lifestyle rather than the supposed cold war era spy world that is the setting. Complete with pressure on Anya to be accepted and perform in a prestigious school, Yor being a good housewife, and Loid learning to trust and care for his family, this is in fact nothing but the life of a mundane Japanese family, with exceptional abilities and an exceptional setting put on top of it. The dialog, artstyle and production arent that bad, but the show honestly becomes tedious, especially in the moments that focus more on family building, which is most of the show. Imagine how cool this show could have been, the family defending itself from a conspiracy of spies, assassins and espers, being besieged from all sides from different shadowy organizations... Instead, we get a sentimental romcom that approaches more the melodrama than the really clever. There could still have been plenty of emotional and family building around this, the family could have "kept together against all odds and shadowy organization hellbent on destroying them" but no, instead we get 3 awkward people struggling to make it in society, with a sprinkle of spy backstory here and there.

This could be my expectations being out of whack but I thought Spy x Family was going to be spy operative group doing various assignments as a family but the whole show thus far is basically an espionage slice of show. Thought this was going to be something along the lines of Lupin the 3rd and Cowboy Bebop with a whiff of Case Closed and it wasn't really that. After watching this and Arjuna, I prefer slice of life anime when the stakes are low and are more grounded. It's hard to take this kind of stuff seriously when the world could end and it has overarching threat. That and the characters aren't that great especially Yuri Briar, haven't seen an anime character that aggrevating in a while. The guy just screams, "LOOK AT ME, I SO OBVIOUSLY HAVE A SISTER COMPLEX" and the fact that he works for a villain organization that is supposed to be worth their marbles like the Secret Police and acts so moronic is enough to make me dislike him. Llyod is interesting but not enough to make me want to watch more. Also, Yor seems pretty inept all around for an assassin too. She keeps providing Anya with advice that is sound on paper yet Anya always screw things up and the former acts super insecure as well. I was expecting her to be more level headed. Anya is pretty useless and she keeps squandering any potential she could have by downplaying her telepathy. Plus she feels out of place considering how grounded the setting is. The pacing also seems off, I knew something felt kind of weird when they spent half of this season doing slice of life stuff and then around episode 7, they start doing the actual infiltration of the school. It also just feels strange to me why on earth Llyod would go so much out of his way to motivate Anya when that girl hasn't shown much promise, I get the idea behind but spending that much money? I just don't get. Not terrible but not enough to make me want to watch more or read the manga.