Nerdly » ‘Spy x Family Code: White’ Review

06th May2024

‘Spy x Family Code: White’ Review

by James Rodrigues

Featuring the voices of: Takuya Eguchi, Atsumi Tanezaki, Saori Hayami, Ken’ichirô Matsuda, Hiroyuki Yoshino, Yûko Kaida, Kazuhiro Yamaji, Kenshô Ono | Written by Ichirô Ôkouchi, Tatsuya Endo | Directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi, Takashi Katagiri

Ever since its release in 2022, Spy x Family has been a popular anime series adapted from Tatsuya Endo’s action-comedy manga series. The story follows a master spy known by his codename, Twilight, who acts to maintain peace between rival nations whose tensions recall the Cold War. To achieve his latest mission of getting close to a reclusive far-right leader through his sons, Twilight must pose a family man and enrol a child into the same private school known as the Eden Academy.

To accomplish this, Twilight poses as a psychiatrist named Loid Forger and presents the image of a happy family by adopting a young orphan girl named Anya, while also marrying City Hall employee Yor Briar. Yor is unaware of Loid’s true identity, while Loid does not know that his wife is actually a professional assassin. However, this information is known to Anya because she also has a secret; she can read minds. Rounding off this family unit is Bond, a dog they adopt who can see the future.

On the back of the series’ popularity, a standalone feature film was made entitled Spy x Family Code: White. The story begins with Eden Academy announcing that Anya’s class will be having a cooking competition judged by the principal, which Loid sees as a chance to advance in his mission. The family arrange a weekend winter getaway to a northern country where the Principal’s favourite dish is from, in the hopes that Anya cooking it will sway the competition’s judging, although those plans go awry when Anya mistakenly is embroiled in a military scheme that threatens world peace.

As is tradition with these feature films connected to ongoing TV shows, the ensuing 110-minutes requires the status quo to be left untouched to not disrupt the ongoing series. This unfortunately leaves elements of Spy x Family Code: White to feel dragged out, hinting at things that will not happen such as Yor worrying that Loid has a secret girlfriend, and Loid fearing he will be reassigned. While it avoids making substantial changes, the film still brings alive the fun family dynamics that captured audiences’ hearts.

Whether it is the adorable duo of Anya and Bond evading what they think are chocolate thieves, Loid using his marksman skills to overcome a rigged carnival game, or Yor coping with her feelings by excessively drinking mulled wine, it is a tremendous utilisation of thrills through a comedic lens. It may resemble an overlong episode of the series, yet it can truly comes alive in cinematic ways. The standout sequence that is the right amount of humorous involves the god of poop (yes, you read that correctly), while the airship-set third act is absolutely entertaining. Spy x Family Code: White captures what is so effective about the series in ways that are comforting to those familiar while also feeling welcoming to new viewers.