Tag: Spy X Family

Hello everyone, and welcome to a SpyXFamily double feature! I apologize for missing last week. I was so caught up in writing the Danseur review that I completely forgot to do this. Luckily, the season is taking a break until October so I have all the time in the world now to get ready for the second half. A shame the industry needs this but hey, take what we can get. Now lets dive into the episodes!

So first up, lets talk about SpyXFamily’s animation. There was some great stuff in both episodes, but this week’s certainly takes the cake. There were so many small bits, like the water and character animation when Loid was checking the ID or when Anya was touring her penguin around the house at the end, that simply beautiful. For those who don’t know, parts of this episode were outsourced to Studio Madhouse, getting some help to finish off the season. Now I don’t know who did what scenes, but helping relieve some of the pressure clearly paid off with just how produced the episode looked. It really makes you wish studio’s would take less work so that teams could focus on what they have, rather than having to trade favors and get help just to finish an episode. Regardless, it looked good.

Continue reading “Spy X Family – 11/12 [Stella/Penguin Park]” →

Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of SpyXFamily. I have a treat for you this week. Remember episode 5, and how like… 80% of it was anime original? Turning a single chapter into this whole event? Well it’s happened again. And once again, it’s pretty good. So lets dive into it.

Just like with episode 5, I think this week is another example of what a good adaptation looks like. Because just like episode 5, this week SpyXFamily took a single chapter and expanded on it. The core idea of the dodgeball game? Some small training with Yor, Bill existing? That was all there originally. But the extended sequence in the park? Bill’s little segment with his father? The combo attacks and references? Not to mention all of the little animation upgrades to really enhance the jokes? That’s all new! It feels so much like the staff were allowed to have fun while creating this episode. Like people were just pitching ideas, “How can we fill this time in a fun way”, and then they went and did them. Don’t believe me? Well lets talk about a few of those fun ideas.

Continue reading “Spy X Family – 10 [The Great Dodgeball Plan]” →

Hello everyone, and welcome to another week of SpyXFamily! If you read the Danseur post then you know I’ve been a bit tired this week, so this was a bit late. Still, the show must go on! So without further ado, lets jump into the episode!

Starting off with the bad news, this episode was… I really liked last weeks Yuri, right? He wasn’t to much, not to little, just enough to bring something new to the cast dynamics. His sis-con nature was enough of an excuse for him to be simultaneously suspicious of Loid while also distracted. It was all the justification we needed to make his interactions work. But this week? I feel like SpyXFamily took it a bit to far. His sis-con nature wasn’t amusing anymore, it was creepy and controlling. His whole flashback about wanting to marry Yor was just a step to far. And that’s kind of the whole episode in a nutshell if I’m being honest. The comedy was subsumed by these more… Serious? That isn’t the right word, maybe concerning, narrative threads. What do I mean? Well lets take a look at Loid.

Continue reading “Spy X Family – 9 [Show Off How in Love You Are]” →

Welcome everyone, to another (late) episode of SpyXFamily! I apologize for the delay. Memorial Day weekend has been busy for me and I wasn’t able to watch this episode until now. You know how it is, what with family and everything. No more excuses though, it’s time to get on with the show!

This was another pretty standard week of SpyXFamily. And by standard, I mean what is quickly becoming the standard: A great mix of wholesome family moments and layered, clever comedy. About the only negative thing I can say this week is that this sort of bottle episode, taking place primarily for one scene in one location, didn’t leave much room for any impressive animation. It had some expressive faces, which were nice. Yuri, Loid, Anya and Yor all had some very amusing reactions. But none of the movement was particularly impressive or technical. This isn’t that big a deal, SpyXFamily is a comedy series and all the jokes still landed, so mission accomplished. I think of it more as a missed opportunity to heighten the source material like has been done before. Considering the length of the show though, maybe we shouldn’t ask to much.

Continue reading “Spy X Family – 8 [The Counter-Secret Police Cover Operation]” →

Welcome back everyone, to another episode of SpyXFamily! I have another really good episode for you this week, a fantastic balance of comedy and wholesomeness, so lets jump right into it.

Like I said, I think this was another absolutely perfect episode of SpyXFamily. The balance of comedy to wholesome family moments was spot on. Giving us just enough to laugh at while still progressing the family dynamics. Meanwhile the jokes themselves were, once again, layered and filled with punchlines. The best jokes in SpyXFamily’s arsenal are the ones that play on character expectations, with multiple characters being present and having their own punchline, as well as audience knowledge of what is actually going on. As an example, lets take a look at my favorite joke of the episode: Anya apologizing to Damian while Loid watches on.

Continue reading “Spy X Family – 7 [The Target’s Second Son]” →

Welcome back everyone, to another week of SpyXFamily. This episode Yor struggles with her maternal feelings, Loid has a mental breakdown and Anya finally goes to school! Without further ado, lets dive in.

Starting off with the visuals, I am sad to say that this episode left something to be desired. Filled with a lot of still posing, sliding backgrounds and teleporting characters, it simply isn’t comparable to last weeks effort. This isn’t to say every episode has to be a sakuga fest, last week was a treat. On top of that SpyXFamily definitely tried to be smart with how it used its limitations. Anya teleporting around was used to emphasize cuteness while a lot of the still frames focused on the comedic facial reactions of the characters. This is all fine. I just think that some scenes, such as Yor saving Anya from the kidnappers for example, suffered from this more economic style of production. And that’s a shame.

Continue reading “Spy X Family – 6 [The Friendship Scheme]” →

Welcome everyone, to another episode of SpyXFamily! This week has everything. Action, wholesome family moments, a few jokes. It’s the perfect example of what an anime adaptation of an existing property could, and should, be. What do I mean? Well lets jump in and talk about it.

To say that SpyXFamily is getting a good adaptation would be an understatement. Kazuhiro Furuhashi and his team are going above and beyond this week, taking what was an otherwise pretty standard wholesome family chapter and turning it into an action-packed event. The whole sequence in the castle? With the balls, the quiz, the tower? That’s all anime original. The manga had the concept yes, the agents that got brought in and playing “Save the Princess” with Anya. But it only went so far as to knock over a table and call that a “prison”. The small fight with Yor was the only action the chapter had. So to see it expanded upon like this, to be turned into a sequence that can carry an episode, an excuse for absolutely fantastic animation? I think it just goes to show how dedicated this team are to making SpyXFamily a success.

Continue reading “Spy X Family – 5 [Will They Pass or Fail]” →

This is it everyone. This is, for me, the perfect episode of SpyXFamily. It had everything. Layered jokes, wholesome family moments, good animation. There was even a one-off episode “villain” to watch be defeated. My opening review is: I loved it. Now lets talk about why.

Last week I said I didn’t enjoy episode 3, for what I thought were pretty good reasons. The jokes were simple and flat, the episodes plot was largely toothless and the only engaging bit was the wholesome family moments. Well I am pleased to announce that, as expected, SpyXFamily fixes all of those in episode 4. First and foremost among those being: The jokes. The best way I can put it is that if last weeks jokes were bland, one-off, ham & cheese sandwich’s this weeks were multi-layered, multi-meat subs. Even when repeated there was enough going on that you found different flavors, different things to enjoy, each time they came up. Have I confused you with my weird sandwich metaphor? You blame the dinner I’m eating as I write this then. To help illustrate what I’m talking about though, lets break down one of the jokes after the break.

Continue reading “Spy X Family – 4 [The Prestigious School’s Interview]” →

Hello everyone and welcome to a (very late) episode of Spy X Family! Some of you might be wondering why this took so long. My answer? I actually struggled to write this post. The episode was just so milquetoast, I had very little positive, or negative, to say. Why? Well lets jump on in and see if I can explain.

The best way to explain it is this: I’m not a fan of slice of life. As a genre, I find it incredibly boring. Very little happens. And, regretfully, slice of life is kind of what Spy X Family gave us this week. It was just a normal day in their new lives. Yes, it was all very important. This episode established their family dynamic and overall relationships with each other. The whole thing was about them spending time with each other, that was the point. It’s necessary that this stuff is established now so that things to come make sense and flow naturally. To make a long story short: It has to happen. I acknowledge that. But it doesn’t change that I, by and large, found it boring. I’ve even prepared a few specifics after the break to help explain it.

Continue reading “Spy X Family – 3 [Prepare for the Interview]” →