Over the last couple of years, there’s been a new genre of media that I’ve been consistently starting to enjoy more and more, and that, my friends, is anime. For years, I avoided watching it because of the stigma that was associated with it, but as I’ve gotten older and matured, I’ve realized that anime is actually pretty freaking awesome.
It started off easy, with Studio Ghibli films, and then I started to expand my horizons into popular anime TV shows, such as Attack on Titan, Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen and so many more, while also taking a look at more early 2000’s shows that I didn’t even realize were anime until now - such as Naruto and Pokemon (cut me some slack, I was a really dumb kid).
Some of these anime seriously messed with my head with how much depressing stuff happens in there. I mean, the amount of deaths in Attack on Titan alone can turn me into a sad couch potato. However, there’s one anime recently that I’ve come to love, and that’s Spy x Family.
Based on the manga of the same name, this show ended up exploding all over anime social media, TikTok, and so much more for its wholesome nature. After the trauma I have gone through while watching some of the most popular anime right now, I needed something happy, and this fills that requirement. For those who want to get into anime, or are just looking for a new one to watch, these are five reasons why Spy x Family should be your next wholesome anime to binge.
The Characters Are Genuinely Likable
I’m dead serious. There is not a single character that I don’t like in this anime. I’ll give you a perfect example. Pokemon, in every series, always had different companions for Ash whenever he would go to a new region, and there were some I did not vibe with, even now as an adult. But, Spy x Family has characters I seriously love so much because they’re so wholesome and sweet.
I mean, yeah, one is a spy and the other a deadly assassin, but the ways in which they interact, speak, and live their lives makes it very hard for me to find serious flaws within them - or even get annoyed, because their personalities just work.
There's A Family Dynamic And It Works So Well
I didn’t know I needed a family comedy like this until I started watching.
Two of my favorite anime - both Attack on Titan and Demon Slayer - open up with family members being viciously murdered. I won’t say who if you haven’t seen them, but it sets a tone for the rest of the series as a whole. Every anime I’ve watched has never really had a seriously good family dynamic. That is, until now.
Even though their family is “fake,” as it’s all a part of Lloyd’s super secret mission as a spy, they just work. Yor as a mother, being a literal assassin, is the perfect fit because she’s fierce about the ones she loves and will do anything to keep them safe. Lloyd as a father provides and makes sure that everything runs smoothly, the characteristics of the perfect secret agent. And Anya is, well, just Anya. Adorable, which we’ll get into later.
The ways in which they work as a family are just great, and somehow, they make their little imperfect dynamic perfect, despite the fact that this is all a ruse. I feel like this fake family is more of a family than any blood-related family in any other anime out there.
The Characters' Stories Lead To So Many Great, Wholesome Moments
Something that often happens in a lot of other anime out there is that there’s always some tragic backstory that creates badass characters. Literally look at any character from Attack on Titan, both the Titan-shifters and the non-Titan shifters. They thrive off of their trauma. But when it comes to Spy x Family, they don’t focus on that.
While it’s clear that both Lloyd and Yor, the two adults in this series, had pretty bad childhoods, they don’t put the focus on that aspect of them. Instead, they focus on who they are now as a person, and while their past definitely influenced the paths that they took in life, you can tell that they genuinely just want to do their best - whether it be for the government (in Lloyd’s field of work) or to protect others from evil people (like Yor’s field of work).
Sometimes, we really don’t need to have a character’s tragic past be the center of their arc, and thankfully, Spy x Family recognizes that and instead focuses on the respectableness of the missions they are on - giving us cute family moments.
The Inclusion Of Their Secret Jobs/Abilities Makes The Funny Moments Even Funnier
This show is so funny. You wouldn’t expect it to be considering what the two main characters do for their jobs, but there are so many hilarious moments that are caused directly by both Lloyd and Yor’s secret professions.
For example, in Episode 4, “The Prestigious School’s Interview,” the courtyard is overrun by a stampede, but Yor, using her assassin skills, takes down the lead cow using the pressure point system within their bodies. Because Lloyd doesn’t know about her secret job, he is utterly shocked and Yor has to somehow explain how she was able to take down a cow without exposing her secret - a hilarious scene.
Another scene is during the episode, “Will They Pass or Fail,” when Lloyd literally goes out of his way to get the whole agency around them to gather at an abandoned castle-turned-amusement park so that he can role play with Anya to celebrate her getting into Eden College - all of which is somehow pulled off, creating literally one of the most uplisting and funny moments of the show.
It’s things like that which make this series so popular, and honestly, I’m going to need so much more of that going forward.
Anya Is Seriously The Cutest Anime Character I Have Seen In Years
I just can’t with this girl. Look at that smirk. Look at it.
She is just too damn cute for her own good. This little girl, right here, is a telepath in Spy x Family, meaning she can read minds - which means she knows both Yor and Lloyd’s secret occupations. But, she doesn't give that away because she loves them so much and wants to stay with them forever, so she tries and keeps her own ability hidden, and this in turn leads to some pure and hilarious moments.
Anya is a little girl who has never had the feeling of having a real family, and now that she’s gotten to experience it, she will do everything she can to keep it - even smirk and get close to the enemy’s son in order to do it, and she’s just so dang cute the whole time.
It also helps that she’s so blunt - I mean, that whole episode, “Prepare For The Interview,” where she blatantly calls out the nudity in the paintings in the museum had me rolling on the floor. I love her. I don’t think I will ever like another anime character for their personality as much as I love hers.
While there are so many great anime shows out there, you should definitely check out Spy x Family if you have the time. You’ll laugh, you’ll smile, and you’ll probably cry from how freaking cute it is. But, no matter what, it’ll be a great experience. And it’ll at least keep you occupied until Attack on Titan Season 4 Part 3 releases.
