"Spy x Family Part 1 & 2" A Breath of Fresh Air


     Is it not just as noble to have something so comforting, so lighthearted, as a grand complex dark drama? That's the thought I had when watching Spy x Family, a wonderfully cute anime about a family of outcasts trying to fit in. When my friend told me that this was THE anime of the season I was a bit skeptical, I mean it seemed like it'd have a lot of intrigue, so I checked out the first episode when it came out. And god, this anime is exactly what I needed.

    Look, I don't mean to disrespect what anyone else does on their free time, but sometimes it's good to just unwind. Since it came out every weekend, I watched each episode Sunday morning, and it was great to just tune in every week to watch a cutesy anime about a family goofing around constantly. Will it ultimately feel as impactful as an anime like Death Parade or Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood? No, of course not, but it doesn't need to, and why do people act like it's wrong for that?

    I'll be the first to admit, I love to eat up these slice of life anime's, nothing feels better than watching a loveable cast go around making trouble for themselves and anyone else around them. I'm in love with the absurd situations, especially Anya's faces, because they're so animated and perfectly encapsulate what I want from an anime series. I mean I'm not watching it so that I can watch Loid achieve world peace, which while an admirable goal, will probably be shoved all the way until the very end.

    Speaking of goals, I'm not quite sure how to feel about Anya and Damien? I think that part of the issue is that they're supposed to be literal kindergarteners? I feel like a lot of the time in media people overestimate how smart kids in that grade are, and how much they actually care about these kinds of things. Like stop shipping children and being weird, why can't they just be a typical rivals to friends dynamic? I just think this extends to a larger issue with the show, where I feel like Anya probably could have been aged up just a little bit.

    Now, in my Walking Dead Final Season review, I absolutely ripped the game up for Alvin Junior, thinking that it really ruined any sort of believability because of his age, but here I think I'm more lenient. I mean Anya just thinks about peanuts 90% of the time and I am much less critical about finer details in a sweet, lighthearted anime compared to a serious zombie thriller about the morality of killing in an apocalypse. Is this an issue plaguing me, and in extension society? Have we become so critical and obsessed with deep pieces that any genre that does not follow the same formula is not held up to the same standards? Should I be more critical of Spy x Family?

    My answer is no, there really is no reason to be critical of the show. I mean it doesn't take itself that seriously in the first place, so why should I? On a side note, I've seen a lot of people complain that some of the characters in this show are just walking caricatures, and I thought that was sort of the point? Like for some reason no one finds Yuri and his obsession with his sister weird in the least bit, and that plays into just the general air of silliness and absurdity that the anime has filled itself with.

    Am I allowed to ask why TV shows and anime have been getting shorter? Is it because we've become so consumed with entertainment that the crunch has become impossible with longer formats? Spy X Family wasn't too bad with this, because both of these parts realistically could have been combined into one season, but I'm really getting tired of TV shows and Anime not wanting to be the standard 24 20 minute episodes. Is it just me or is this a real issue that is happening? It's lead to a lot of scenarios where I feel like content is compacted, stories are not allowed to breathe, the timelines become more unrealistic than ever, and fans complain any time a "filler" episode appears.

Final Score: 85/100

    I'm a bit hesitant to give this anime a rating that's too high, because I feel like if I were to compare it to my ratings of other shows, it might become concerning, but what can I complain about? I suppose it can be a bit boring sometimes depending on the person, but when you're watching on a weekly basis, instead of binging it, each episode becomes a treat to watch that you look forward to, rather than a slog to get through the 24 episodes, if that makes sense in any way. Either way, this is definitely a good watch over the holidays if you're looking to unwind in any way at all.

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