Thank you to Bokksu for sponsoring this video More on them later
So today we're finally talking about Spy X Family I have read all the volumes that are out
And then I've gone online, and caught completely up
I love this series And I want to talk to you about it
I will be talking about it with some spoilers But I'll keep the spoilers mild enough,
that if you're kind of on the fence about reading this, hopefully I can convince you
So this story has three protagonists We start with Twilight who is a spy extraordinaire
He's been given the task to create a faux family, because the high profile target that he needs to get to..
Their child goes to this really elite school
So he needs to real quick find himself a child that can go to the elite school
And maybe, hopefully, find a way to get to him through that
Because he's very, very hard to get to otherwise
Enter Anya. An orphan girl who has been passed around from home to home
And is just.. She just wants a family so bad
She.. She's also a telepath She can read minds. And she's the best
I think a lot of writers struggle to make child characters likeable
I've read many that I haven't liked even though I love children (Just not the ones in Punk Hazard)
But this author does such an amazing job of making Anya sweet and innocent
Also clever, but just naive to a lot of things
She's childish but never annoying. And it's just so much fun to watch her react to the thoughts of the people that she's around
Or just try to figure out her situations and respond to life
She has this very childlike way of looking at life, that always manages to be on the side of adorable
And not on the side of frustrating It's the perfect- It's perfect
Anyway because plot needs it, for this particular school they have to meet with both parents
Which means that Loid now also needs to find himself a fake wife
Enter Yor Everybody's favorite fake wife ever
In this world there's a war going on and there's this secret police
Anybody that acts in any way odd or suspect, the secret police are called and they come for you
And it's a very intense environment
Yor is getting to an age where it's weird, in this setting, that she isn't married yet
And that is making her start to look a little bit suspicious
She really doesn't want to look suspicious because she's an assassin And she'd rather not have that found out
She is an incredibly skilled assassin
Her fixation on knives and her impulse of
"Oh! This is a weird situation Should I kill someone?"
But at the same time being incredibly sweet and doe-eyed
And a lot of times, she just can't really pick up on social cues Which makes a lot of funny situations for her
And both Loid and Yor are entering this fake marriage. Or front of a marriage
They're technically married but you know..They're aware For both of them, it's a marriage of convenience
But neither one of them is aware of the individual situation
So neither one of them knows that they're a spy/assassin
The only one that knows is Anya, who can read minds
Not to mention Yor and Loid are fighting on opposing sides of this Cold War
So at some point when somebody slips up, probably Anya, they could potentially be at each other's throats
We could have a Mr and Mrs smith situation here
Not to mention, you can throw in the fact that Yor's obsessive brother is a part of the secret police
And he isn't aware of either of their secret identities either
But he is specifically looking for Twilight Which is Loid's code name
It's just an amazing fun exciting setup
And with all of these unique character, all these unique personalities
That each individual one is endearing and odd enough
I forgot to mention that Loid is very standoffish He has a hardened exterior, nothing really phases him
Except for Anya Because he just can't figure her out
Each one of them who is very good, at least Yor and Loid, are very good at the skill sets that they have
When they come together as a family it's awkward, and it's goofy, and it doesn't really work
Because Yor can't cook and she practically poisons anyone that she tries to feed
Loid has no idea how to read Anya Even though he's a master at taking on different faces,
and different personalities, and assessing situations and knowing what to do
He cannot figure out Yor or Anya. Anya- I mean Yor can't figure out a social situation to save her life
And they're all just thrown together, in this family dynamic that is very foreign to them, and they don't know what to do
So it's this awkward, silly fun dynamic
But at the same time, they also have developed a very real love for each other
They quickly bond and really genuinely care about each other
And so it's this funny, yet so wholesome and sweet, situation This family situation that we're in
That is such a unique and heartwarming, but exciting and hilarious
It's just perfect- It's perfect
And then from Anya's side of it There's so many funny panels of them
Internally trying to think through a situation based off of their specific skill set
Or being worried about being found out by each other
And then you just have Anya in the background, reading everybody's mind
And just reacting to their very violent or extreme situations, that they have going on in their heads
Or you just have her seeing both of their secrets, and just responding with an internal
"So cool" (Waku Waku!)
And what makes Anya so much fun to follow is not just this childlike innocence
And her reactions to things, or the things that she says and does
It's just so very- Like there's so many times that I as a parent I'm like "Yup, that seems right"
But what makes this story work so well for Anya specifically, is the fact that-
It seems like this author just understands that kids aren't dumb
They're responding to situations in a very intelligent way Just from a very limited life experience
And that's exactly what Anya does She's not dumb. She's thinking through every situation
as well as she can, from her limited understanding of how the world works and who people are
She has this obsession with this spy cartoon that makes her the most fun
When she's trying to act things out. Or when she Oh it's just the best! It's okay, we'll move on
Anya does want to keep her secret as well
Even though she knows everybody else's secret She doesn't want anyone to find out that she's a telepath
Because she doesn't want people to think that she's weird
And then send her back to the orphanage, and put her back through the system all over again
And so she's trying to protect her own secret And as she sees you know murders around
Her parents have pretty high profile jobs and find themselves in dangerous situations
And when she finds these situations, she has to find really unique ways
to point things out to her parents, or to handle the situation herself
Sometimes it's as simple as she finds out that a kid is drowning
Which has nothing to do with her parent’s jobs
But she hears the child drowning through her telepath ways (Observation Haki)
And she can't tell her dad
"Hey there's a kid drowning three doors down I don't know how I knew it"
So she just goes and jumps in the pool
She knows her dad's gonna come running after her and save them both (What a Stellar Child)
And I love seeing her unique ways of wanting to make the world better too. Just like her parents do
But she is so limited that she has to find really unique ways to do that
Next, I want to talk about the action Because the action in this series-
(What is it?)
Someone here?
(I mean.. I am But I'm just "A Silent Voice")
I think someone's in my house
(Not me. You're on your own)
Assassin mode
(Oh wow! You are PREPARED)
(Okay, we're doing this!)
There they are! That's them for sure
Okay! What do I do? What do I do?
Assassin- No Loid will find out
I should-
*Yorphy Special Sneak Attack*
(He)
(Stood)
(No)
(Chance)
*Exhausted Yorphy*
Wait! Oh no! Loid and Anya are going to be home any minute And I haven't even cooked dinner *Exhausted Yorphy*
Wait! Oh no! Loid and Anya are going to be home any minute And I haven't even cooked dinner
I don't know how to cook dinner
I know..! Bokksu
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My favorites are these candied nuts that are so delicious
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I made the mistake of saying "This is delicious! Try this"
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Huh that was weird (Nothing Happened)
Anyway let's talk about the action Because the action in this series is so fun
This is definitely a slice of life story, but what's great is that
Every time the slice of life stuff starts feeling a little bit repetitive
Or I'm just getting a little bit tired of it I'm starting to-
My interest is starting to wane a little bit
That's the moment, just a couple pages later, is when everything shifts
And we have this high action plot line
So we keep switching back and forth between this slice of life wholesome, hilarious goodness
To "Somebody's life is in danger. High stakes Oh my goodness! How are we going to handle this situation?"
And when we're in these action situations, the action panels are incredible The action scenes are incredible
They're so fast-paced, they're well drawn They're so much fun
I find myself in this slice of life, lovely, cozy, wonderful story
And then all of a sudden, I'm on the edge of my seat And I can't read fast enough! It's amazing!
But still at the base of it all, behind all that, after we read these amazing action scenes
We always have Anya as a stand-in, looking at it all and just saying "So cool!"
Because it is These characters are so cool
Even not high-stakes situations. In just simple action scenes Like a dodgeball game at Anya's school
They become so fun with her special abilities Because now Anya can read the mind
of the really big kid that's taking everybody out with ease
And know exactly what he's about to do so she can just dodge everything he's doing
Which gets in his head and gets everybody else hyped
And all of a sudden Anya is like "I'm gonna win this game for everybody"
And she feels so sure of herself, and confident
And we get all this build up of
Oh my goodness Anya's going to do it! Anya is going to handle this situation and she's going to save the day
And then you turn the page
And it ends up exactly as it should Because Anya is still Anya
And that's what's so great about this story Is the art of the page turn
This author has that down
Where sometimes it's a really big build up where we're spending pages and pages
Really hyping up this idea of something that's going to get Anya a little bit farther ahead in her scholastic endeavors
Or in her endeavors to befriend this child So that her dad can save the world
And they can create world peace And it's all built up so big
And then you turn the page and it just completely falls flat, in the most hilarious way possible
Or even just very short build up things Like when a teacher calls on Anya for something
She stands up with the most confidence in the world and delivers the answer
And you turn the page it's like.. Could not be more wrong
Or the typical face gag Where Anya wears all of her emotions on her sleeve
And so when she's stressing out about
"Oh I really need to go help mom! But I can't tell dad that there are people chasing her down and trying to kill her
And she's-.. I need to get there, but I can't tell him"
And so you have Loid's perspective, where he's just trying his best to be a good dad
And Anya is looking at him and he's freaking out because he cannot read this girl,he cannot figure things out
And these these simple face gags, or tropes
Oh my goodness this series is so heavy on tropes
Basically any one of them that you can think of is probably here
But it's done in such a fun, lighthearted,funny and fresh way that it's just..It's just so much fun
Not to mention a very slow build romance
We have Loid and Yor who are in a marriage of convenience
But as this family is bonding and becoming a true honest family
They are also maybe, possibly, developing some feelings for each other
And it's so slow and it's so fun
Because you're filled with a lot of hilarity But also just a lot of really sweet moments
And as someone who really isn't a romance reader And typically doesn't care about a romantic subplot
I'm so invested in these two and whatever is going to develop between them
But that's just the three main characters and how they interact with the world
We also have some incredible side characters
Like Anya's school headmaster, who is obsessed with elegance and anything that may resemble it
A side character who is Loid's, I think one and only friend
No. Maybe you might could call.. It doesn't-
Loid's.. At least the friend that he interacts with the most who also works for this spy agency
Who is oftentimes relegated to a babysitter role Or a dog sitter role
And he hates it He hates it
Because he's really intelligent guy who creates all these great gadgets
And he's just like "Okay you're gonna babysit now" And he's like "I am not a babysitter"
And yet he can match Anya wit for wit
His personality is just as large And he's so much fun every time he's on the page
As well as a school antagonist, that at first you think you're gonna hate
But even he ends up being someone that you really develop a lot of feelings for, a lot of love for
And despite all this wholesome goodness, high action fun stuff that we have
When the story seriously starts talking about,and reflecting on war It sobers up real fast
And all of a sudden we go from. this wholesome, fun, exciting story
To something that shockingly punches you in the gut
Really, really surprisingly can go very deep, very quickly
And in just a few pages, all of a sudden your heart is ripped out
It's surprising how deep and emotional it can go
It really- This series is
It's one of those series where it's trying to do kind of almost everything
But it's actually doing them all well Which is so rare. So rare
Usually when I say a series is trying to do everything.. That's usually a negative
I'm usually saying "And it did none of it well! It was all shallow"
But this story is very self-aware, and knows exactly how much it needs to give and take
And it's so much fun
It's not the most deep story I've ever read Even though it does have very deep scenes
It's not the most deep story I've read It's certainly not the most complex story I've read
But it is wonderful
The artwork is incredibly clean The attention to detail is phenomenal
It creates this perfect vibe of this sort of 50s sitcom But also having a modern feel to it
It's cozy and thrilling The character work is phenomenal
And it's just the perfect combination of "fun, feel good, lighthearted action-packed.. With some really strong emotional hits"
It's such a great balance of so many things And to me it's kind of the perfect feel-good story
Because it's light-hearted and easy to read, and addictive
But also has enough of an emotional pack That it feels like it's really doing something as well
I have been loving reading this I'm now week to week, and it's bi-weekly
So that's fine (Merphy wasn't fine)
But I would love to chat with you more about it
Have you read it? Do you plan to read it? Do you love it?
If not, why? Who hurt you?
I post videos every Monday, Wednesday and Friday
And I post more videos on Thursdays on the other channel Which is linked down in the description
Check out my Patreon if you feel like it
We read through this together and talked, and gushed, and loved it
And we have more series coming up, that we're going to be reading together
I'll see you again soon
Bye