A very normal family, Spy x Family
Released in 2019, the manga Spy x family (pronounced simply "spy family") has quickly established itself as a benchmark series, both in print and on screen. Tatsuya Endo's work never ceases to enthrall audiences with its superlovable characters of Loid Forger, his wife Yor and their adopted daughter Anya. So much so that the manga is even the subject of an attraction at Universal Studios Japan.
The perfect recipe for a comedy
Spy x Family follows in the footsteps of spy comedies such as True Lies (James Cameron, 1994) and Mr & Mrs Smith (Doug Liman, 2005).
The story takes place in a fictional Europe. Twilight, the top spy in the WISE organisation, must prevent a major conflict between the nations of Westalis and Ostania. To do this, he must travel to Berlint, the capital of Ostania, and approach Donovan Desmond, the leader of Ostania's National Unity Party. But to win his trust, he will have to play on family relations, targeting his son Damian.
Twilight has no choice but to create a false family and send his child to Eden Academy, the most prestigious school in the country. He assumes the false identity of Loid Forger.
The comedy revolves around this fake family, because all appearances are deceptive:
The comedy comes from the fact that each parent hides their true identity, while an immature, impulsive daughter knows all their secrets.
A critique of Japanese society?
The Forger family leads several parallel lives. The two parents each have to work "by day" and "by night", while trying as best they can to maintain a household with a traumatised orphaned child. At the same time, Loid's mission requires Anya to get into and stay at an elite school...
This sounds an awful lot like the societal problems of modern Japan: people sacrifice everything for their work, overtime is practically compulsory, children have to shine at school... and what's left for the family? The simple fact is that the Japanese birth rate is falling because most adults don't have the time to start a family, or to look after one properly. Those who do manage to do so remain professionally deformed and rely solely on their children's school results as proof of their family's success.
Loid and Yor are perfect examples of these professional deformities:
Yor's character attracts a great deal of empathy. On the one hand, she is gifted with superhuman physical strength; on the other, she is a victim of terrible weaknesses, in particular her penchant for alcohol.
And parents aren't spoiled for choice, because while Anya is highly intelligent, she often reacts like a 5-year-old, self-centred, impulsive and incapable of grasping the big picture.
The success of Spy x Family
Allowing everyone to identify with and dream of a life as a super spy or super killer, the manga was first published in Shonen Jump+ magazine in 2019. In 2022, an animated series was launched on television, produced by WitStudio and CloverWorks. In 2023, an animated film "Spy x Family Code: White", directed by Takashi Katagiri, was released. At the same time, the story was adapted into a musical show, presented at the Tokyo Imperial Theatre.
A video game was also created, "Spy x Anya: Operation Memories", released in 2023 and 2024. It's a simulation of everyday life, where the player controls the character of Anya and has to solve little puzzles.
Little by little, our geek shop filled up with franchise goodies, figurines of the Forger family and even Bond, their precognitive dog...