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Not one to rely on others, Twilight faces the daunting task of securing both a wife and a child for his mission to infiltrate an elite private school. What he doesn't realize is that the wife he has selected is an assassin and the child he has adopted is a telepath! Originally published as a web manga on Mechacomic and Shonenjump, it is now available to read for free on Manga Plus. Notably, this series was nominated for the 12th Manga Taishou Award in 2019, the 24th and 27th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prizes in 2020 and 2023, the Best Shounen Manga at the 44th Kodansha Manga Awards in 2020, and the Harvey Awards in 2023. It also won the Japan Cartoonists Association Award in 2023.
Can be satiric at times, but also at times captures the brutalities of war with surprising depth. I hope it continues to balance the humor with the dramatic beats and let the characters evolve.
1000000000/10 balances the cuteness, the romance, and the absolute horror and reality of war and politics and how it impacts actual people
The Good:
First time reading this manga and Anya’s character immediately reminds me of Yotsuba from Yotsubato (minus the psychic power). This is the main reason why I enjoyed the story.
The art is amazing although paneling can be at times confusing (mostly the fight scenes. I guess I’m used to bad paneling with mangas already. Very few mangaka achieve such great paneling techniques (Akira Toriyama and Inoue Takehiko for example). Character design is easily recognizable, some are generic though. Loid’s design is so blah compared to Anya and Yor.
The Bad (IMO):
Is a bit boring. I get it, it’s slice of life. I think there’s a reason why “Slice of Life” can be quite tricky as a genre. Yotsubato did it so well because for the most part, it’s grounded in reality (despite too much positivity). This is also why series like Honey and Clover worked even with a serious plot. Spy x Family suffers from repetitiveness similar to the manga series “Lies of the Sheriff Evans”. I wish it wasn’t in the SOL genre because the dramatic chapters doesn’t hit me. It’s just…there.
I might change my rating once it’s completed. It has the potential to still get better.
Tatsuya Endo said that this series helped him out of his depression. I am grateful to him because this story helped me through the depression I’ve been facing the past few months. If it wasn’t for it, I’m not sure where my mental health would be today. I can’t imagine it’d be anywhere good.
(I’ve read up to latest chapter, 67.1, at the time this review is written)
What got me hooked is that this fictional cold war era world feels raw, lived in, believable. But more than that, it’s because I’ve genuinely come to love and care for these characters. There’s something about the theme of “found family” that is so poignant amidst the backdrop of our own modern world that is brimming with toxicity and dysfunction. It’s nice to come back to this world, to these (lonely) characters as they learn to slowly care for one another and form healthy relationship dynamics that maybe some of us long for (I know I do in my own life).
There are some subplots in this story that are truly amazing!! I can think of a few off the top of my head and I can’t wait to see them animated someday.
Although Anya is cute and the school arcs are wholesome, I’m getting to a point where I want this to turn a bit darker with more of a focus on the spy thriller aspect. I hope that as the tension inevitably unfolds between Loid and Yor’s respective organizations that we will get more of the darker elements of this war and what it means for our character’s loyalties.
Endo’s focus on significant themes like the meaning of found family, what “normal” is supposed to look like, the horrors of war, etc. are some of the reasons I will always love this heartwarming series. I can’t wait to read more! These characters deserve to finally be happy, fulfilled and at peace with themselves ✨
In that it takes long time for main plot to move forward. The initial premises are interesting, but after about 60 chapters repeating almost the same stuff, it has started to be bit bland, and maybe I should expect this situation to go on for a bit more. Tbh I feel kind of a bit let down since early on the story feels like a rather smart one, but it turns out it is not (I should have known the moment I saw the elegant headmaster). Oh it is fun, and endearing at times, but I hope it won't repeat same formulas for another 100-200 chapters.
Have a good premise at first, but later chapters started to have too many fillers chapters. It'd still be fine if we're getting a weekly release, but monthly releases with too many fillers just make this story lose its light
The premise is interesting it reminds me of premises of cartoons I use to watch, but I totally abhor how it tries to exalt clod blooded killing. The girl having powers is totally unnecessary
The best example of how frivolous it is the chapter they inscribe the girl to the school, if you like the then you'll probably like the rest but it totally rubs me the wrong way...
This is comedy gold! The whole family’s got secret identities and are living together as a fake family for one of Twilight’s (the spy) operations, and there are funny action-sequence missions, heartwarming family moments, friendships among school kids, and a (slow burn) romance 😀 I laughed out loud reading this! I think it’s mostly a pleasant, light read which I highly recommend 🙂 The art is also amazing 🤩