''Spy × Family'' (stylized as ''SPY×FAMILY'' and pronounced "spy family") is a Japanese

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

television series based on the

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series of the same name by Tatsuya Endo. The series broadcasts on

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as is a Japanese television station that serves as the flagship of the TX Network.Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation. The service primarily distributes fi ...

outside of Asia. The series is distributed by

Muse Communication Muse Communication Co., Ltd. (also known simply as Muse) is a Taiwanese distributor and licensor that specializes in the distribution of Japanese animation. Based in Xinzhuang District, New Taipei City, the company also distributes Asian and E ...

in the rest of the Asia-Pacific region. It follows master spy

Twilight Twilight is daylight illumination produced by diffuse sky radiation when the Sun is below the horizon as sunlight from the upper atmosphere is scattered in a way that illuminates both the Earth's lower atmosphere and also the Earth's surf ...

, who must disguise himself as psychiatrist Loid Forger and build a mock family in order to investigate political leader Donovan Desmond. Unbeknownst to him, his wife, Yor, is actually an assassin known as the Thorn Princess, while his daughter,

Anya Anya, Ania or Anja is a given name. The names are feminine in most East European countries and unisex in several African countries. Origins and variant forms * Anya (Аня) is a Russian diminutive of Anna. * Ania is the spelling in Polish ...

, has

telepathic Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic ...

abilities. The series received critical acclaim for its storytelling, comedy, action sequences, characters, animation, voice acting, and world-building, as well as numerous awards, including Animation of the Year at the

Tokyo Anime Award Festival The Tokyo Anime Awards started in 2002, but was named in 2005. The first, second and third award ceremonies were simply named 'Competition'. The award ceremonies were held at the Tokyo International Anime Fair (TAF) until 2013. In 2014, after the ...

. A feature film based on the series, '' Spy × Family Code: White'', was released in Japan in December 2023 to positive reviews.

Episodes

Cast and characters

Notes

Production

Season 1

Produced by

Wit Studio , stylized as WIT Studio, is a Japanese animation studio founded on June 1, 2012, by producers at Production I.G as a subsidiary of IG Port. It is headquartered in Musashino, Tokyo, with Production I.G producer George Wada as president and ...

and

CloverWorks is a Japanese animation studio that was rebranded from A-1 Pictures' Kōenji Studio. It is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan's anime production firm Aniplex. Establishment On April 1, 2018, A-1 Pictures rebranded its Kōenji Studio ...

, the first season of ''Spy × Family'' was broadcast on

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as is a Japanese television station that serves as the flagship of the TX Network. The first season was directed by

Kazuhiro Furuhashi is a Japanese anime director and supervisor. He is amongst anime's most foremost directors, having directed the '' Rurouni Kenshin'' series (including the original television series, and its subsequent original video animation iterations), '' Zi ...

, with

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

by (K)now Name, character designs by Kazuaki Shimada, while Kazuaki Shimada and Kyoji Asano are chief animation directors. It was first announced in October 2021. Following the chapter naming practice of the original manga, the episode titles in the anime series are written as "Mission" with a number (e.g. "Mission 1", "Mission 2", etc.) which the counting continues to the subsequent seasons. This season adapts 38 main chapters of the manga, from Mission 1 to Mission 38, along with a couple of side stories: Extra Mission 1 and Short Mission 1 to 5.

Season 2

In December 2022, a second season and a

theatrical film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation ...

were announced at the Jump Festa 2023 event.

Ichirō Ōkouchi is a Japanese screenwriter and novelist. He is a graduate of the School of Human Sciences in Waseda University. Ōkouchi is best known for collaborating with director Gorō Taniguchi for composing the story and script of the Sunrise original p ...

is replacing Furuhashi as scriptwriter, with the remaining staff and cast reprising their roles. The second season, consisting of 12 episodes, aired from 7 October to 23 December 2023.

Season 3

On 9 June 2024, a third season was announced at the Spy × Family Anime Extra Mission special event. It is set to premiere in October 2025.

International release and distribution

This series is licensed by

Crunchyroll, LLC Crunchyroll, LLC is an American Entertainment#Industry, entertainment company based in Coppell, Texas. It currently operates the anime-focused Crunchyroll, eponymous over-the-top media service, over-the-top video on demand#Subscription models, ...

along with streaming and home video, while it is distributed by

in a selection of countries in Asia-Pacific.

Music

The

of the ''Spy × Family'' anime series was composed and produced by (K)now Name. The opening theme for the first part of the first season uses the song by

Official Hige Dandism , commonly abbreviated , is a pop rock band formed in Shimane, Japan in 2012. After signing a record deal with the major label Pony Canyon in 2018, Official Hige Dandism released the debut single ''No Doubt'', the lead single from the extended p ...

and is directed by Masashi Ishihama; while the ending theme uses the song by

Gen Hoshino is a Japanese singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and writer. Career Music From its formation in 2000 until its disbandment in 2015, Hoshino led the instrumental band Sakerock, where he played marimba and guitar. They released over ten albums. ...

and is directed by Atsushi Nishigori. The opening theme for the second part uses the song "Souvenir" by

Bump of Chicken is a Japanese alternative rock group from Sakura, Chiba. The band members are Motoo Fujiwara (Vocalist, vocals, Rhythm guitar, rhythm), Hiroaki Masukawa (guitar), Yoshifumi Naoi (Bass guitar, bass) and Hideo Masu (Drum kit, drums). Since their c ...

and is directed by

Tetsurō Araki is a Japanese animator, storyboard artist, and director. He goes by the alias when working as an episode director and key animator. He is best known as the director of the widely acclaimed anime adaptations of ''Death Note'' and the first three ...

; while and the ending theme uses the song by

Yama Yama (), also known as Kāla and Dharmarāja, is the Hindu god of death and justice, responsible for the dispensation of law and punishment of sinners in his abode, Naraka. He is often identified with Dharmadeva, the personification of ''Dharm ...

and is directed by

Takayuki Hirao is a Japanese anime director credited for work with Ufotable on ''The Garden of Sinners: Paradox Spiral'', ''Gyo'', ''Majocco Shimai no Yoyo to Nene'', and ''God Eater (anime), God Eater''. Filmography Anime Films References External links ...

. The second season's opening theme uses the song by Ado and is directed by

Masaaki Yuasa is a Japanese director, screenwriter, and animator affiliated with Science SARU, a Japanese animation studio which he co-founded with producer Eunyoung Choi in 2013. Yuasa previously served as president of Science SARU, but stepped down from th ...

. The ending theme uses the song by Vaundy ( feat.

Cory Wong Cory Juen Wong (born March 8, 1985) is an American guitarist, songwriter, record producer, and video producer based in Minneapolis. He has released many works as a solo artist and in partnership with others. His background spans several genres i ...

) and is directed by Eugene Winter. The music of the movie '' Spy × Family Code: White'' was also composed and produced by (K)now_Name. On 30 October 2023, the anime social media announced " Soulsoup" by Official Hige Dandism as the main theme song. On the premiere day, they revealed the song , performed by Gen Hoshino, was used for the ending theme.

Home media release

Japanese

English

Reception

Popularity

The anime had received high TV rating percentage since its release in April 2022, until the end of its first season. With the premiere of its second cour on 1 October 2022, ''Spy × Family'' sets a new record for

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as is a Japanese television station that serves as the flagship of the TX Network.Takara Tomy Arts (trade name, trading as Takara Tomy in Asia and Tomy elsewhere) is a Japanese toy company. It was established in 1924 by Eiichirō Tomiyama as , became known for creating popular toys like the B-29 friction toy and luck-based game Pop-up Pi ...

said: " he seriesis popular among a wide range of people, just like '' Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba''.

is particularly popular. It is likely that there will be even more toys and goods in the future, including products for children." Anya's popularity led to Toho make a music video heavily featuring her. Additionally, a

Tamagotchi is a brand of handheld digital pets that was created in Japan by Akihiro Yokoi of WiZ and Aki Maita of Bandai. It was released by Bandai on November 23, 1996 in Japan and in the United States on May 1, 1997, quickly becoming one of the bigge ...

involving Anya was released in June 2022. In a survey conducted by FinT, ''Spy × Family'' and Anya were ranked first and fourth respectively, on the top trending things among

Generation Z Generation Z (often shortened to Gen Z), also known as zoomers, is the demographic cohort succeeding Millennials and preceding Generation Alpha. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1990s as starting birth years and the early 2 ...

in Japan for 2022. In the same survey, was the no. 1 trending phrase of the year in part due to a mash-up with the song "

Renai Circulation is a song from the 2009 Japanese anime television series ''Bakemonogatari'' (the animated adaptation of the first book from the ''Monogatari'' series by Nisio Isin) and performed by Kana Hanazawa as her character, Nadeko Sengoku. Composed by Sa ...

" on

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

Critical response

The series has met critical acclaim. On

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the first season of ''Spy × Family'' holds an approval rating of 100% based on six reviews, with an average rating of 9/10. The reviewers of ''

Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and ot ...

'' praised the first episode of the series. Caitlin Moore and James Beckett gave it a perfect score; Moore lauded the show for its "consistent sense of comic timing" which perfectly deliver each joke and calling it a "guaranteed crowd-pleaser and a solid choice for almost everyone," while Beckett wrote that the "breakout star of the show" is Anya though what made him won over the show is its heart. Nicholas Dupree noted that "

he show He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

operates in a very precarious space between a goofy comedy of coincidences and a serious spy thriller, where the result is a world that mostly runs on cartoon logic." Richard Eisenbeis described Anya as a "fantastic little character" while praising the anime for its characters and world-building. Rebecca Silverman, similar to all of her manga reviews, she called Anya as the "beating heart of the series" while praising the anime for its story and animation. Kambole Campbell of ''

Polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure made up of line segments connected to form a closed polygonal chain. The segments of a closed polygonal chain are called its '' edges'' or ''sides''. The points where two edges meet are the polygon ...

'' noting about

's parenthood to Anya. While the action isn't particularly flashy, Campbell found that the animation in those moments is quite pleasing, and the choreography is precise and snappy. Rafael Motamayor of ''

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

'' praised the show for its comedy, action, animation, characters, and poignant commentary on family and class. He also compare Anya to Baby Sinclair of the 1990s comedy series ''

Dinosaurs Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...

'', while stating that "''Spy × Family'' manages to strike a great balance between commentary, drama, action, and slice-of-life comedy without undermining any of those respective elements in the process." Rebecca Silverman of ''Anime News Network'' listed ''Spy × Family'' as the best anime of 2022, stated that the story crafts a delightful and emotionally meaningful tale about one family wrapped up in all of this. Silverman also hailed Anya and Bond as the best characters of 2022, due to how wonderful they are as a person and the dog in which they represent the same sign that Anya gets to keep the family she desperately wants.

Accolades

In 2022, ''Spy × Family'' won in the anime category while Anya Forger voice actress

Atsumi Tanezaki is a Japanese Voice acting in Japan, voice actress formerly affiliated with Toritori Office. She is represented by Tokyo Actor's Consumer's Cooperative Society. Biography In an interview with ''Repotama'', Tanezaki revealed she watched ''Sailor ...

won in the voice actor category of the Yahoo! Japan Search Awards, based on the number of searches for a particular term compared to the year before. Yor and Anya Forger were ranked fifth and tenth respectively, on the top 10 overall buzzwords list while the anime series was awarded the

Pixiv Pixiv is a Japanese Virtual community, online community for artists. It was first launched as a beta test on 10 September 2007, by Takahiro Kamitani and Takanori Katagiri. Pixiv Inc. is headquartered in Sendagaya, Shibuya, Tokyo, Shibuya, Toky ...

Award at Japan's Internet Buzzword Awards. In 2023, the series received the award for Animation of the Year at the

. At the

7th Crunchyroll Anime Awards The 7th Crunchyroll Anime Awards was held on March 4, 2023, at the Main Banquet Hall of the Grand Prince Hotel New Takanawa in Tokyo, Japan. It was the first ceremony to be held in person since 2020; both ceremonies in 2021 and 2022 were held vi ...

, ''Spy × Family'' was one of the three series to win the most awards with six; the series won in the categories: Best New Series, Best Comedy, Best Supporting Character and "Must Protect At All Costs" Character (Anya Forger), Best Ending Sequence ("

Comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

" by

), and Best VA Performance – Portuguese (Nina Carvalho as Anya Forger). It was also nominated for twelve other categories, including Anime of the Year. It won the 2023 Excellence Award at Japan's 28th annual Association of Media in Digital (AMD) Awards. In June 2023, the anime series won the Character License Award at the Japan Character Awards by Japan's Character Brand Licensing Association (CBLA).

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

*
Wit Studio page
* CloverWorks Inc. pages
SxF1SxF2
* * {{Tokyo Anime Award for Animation of the Year Action anime and manga Anime and manga set in fictional countries Anime and manga set in schools Anime series based on manga CloverWorks Comedy anime and manga Crunchyroll anime Crunchyroll Anime Award winners Espionage in anime and manga Fiction about assassinations Japanese spy television series Anime and manga about marriage Muse Communication Spy × Family Television series about adoption Television series about the Cold War Television series set in fictional countries Television series set in the 1980s Television shows about precognition Television shows about telepathy Television shows written by Ichirō Ōkouchi Toho Animation TV Tokyo original programming Upcoming anime television series Wit Studio Works about sham marriage Works about torture