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Spy × Family

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Not to be confused with My Spy Family.

Spy × Family
Cover of the first tankōbon volume, featuring Loid Forger/"Twilight".
GenreAction, comedy, spy[1]
Manga
Written byTatsuya Endo
Published byShueisha
English publisher
ImprintJump Comics+
MagazineShōnen Jump+
DemographicShōnen
Original runMarch 25, 2019 – present
Volumes9 (List of volumes)
Anime television series
Directed byKazuhiro Furuhashi
Written byKazuhiro Furuhashi
Music by
  • Makoto Miyazaki
  • Shūhei Mutsuki
StudioWit Studio
CloverWorks
Licensed byCrunchyroll
Original networkTXN (TV Tokyo), ux, TV Shizuoka, RCC, BS TV Tokyo
Original run April 9, 2022 – present
Episodes8 (List of episodes)

Spy × Family (stylized as SPY×FAMILY; pronounced "Spy Family") is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tatsuya Endo. The story follows a spy who has to "build a family" to execute a mission, not realizing that the girl he adopts as his daughter is a telepath, and the woman he agrees to be in a marriage with is a skilled assassin. The series has been serialized biweekly on Shueisha's Shōnen Jump+ application and website since March 2019, with the chapters collected in nine tankōbon volumes as of April 2022. It was licensed in North America by Viz Media.

An anime television series adaptation by Wit Studio and CloverWorks premiered on TV Tokyo and its affiliate stations in April 2022, and was licensed by Muse Communication in Asia and Crunchyroll worldwide.

As of May 30th, 2022, the series has over 21 million copies in circulation.[2]

Plot

Main article: List of Spy × Family characters

In order to maintain the state of peace between the rival nations of Westalis and Ostania[a], a Westalis agent codenamed "Twilight" is tasked with spying on Donovan Desmond, leader of the National Unity Party within Ostania. However, due to Desmond being notoriously reclusive, the only way Twilight can get close to him is to enroll a child in the same private school as Desmond's sons and pose as a fellow parent.

To accomplish this and present the image of a happy family, he creates the alias of Loid Forger, adopts a young orphan girl named Anya, and marries a woman named Yor Briar. However, unbeknownst to him Anya can read minds and Yor is in fact a professional assassin. Neither Loid nor Yor are aware of each other's true identities, or that Anya knows their true professions. The family later takes in a dog with precognitive abilities whom they name Bond. Despite these unknown factors and Twilight’s occasional lapse of common sense due to years of being a spy, he must learn to play the role of the perfect father and husband in order to carry out his mission.

Production

Tatsuya Endo and his editor Shihei Lin have known each other for over ten years; Lin was his initial editor on his first serial Tista (2007).[5] When Lin was moved from the Jump Square editorial department to Shōnen Jump+, Endo happily followed, and they began developing new work. Spy × Family takes elements from three of Endo's Jump Square one-shots; "Rengoku no Ashe," "Ishi ni Usubeni, Tetsu ni Hoshi" and "I Spy," Lin said that its reception among the editorial department was so good that serialization was practically decided before the official meeting was even held.[5]

The initial draft was given a working title of Spy Family written in Japanese. When deciding the final name, Endo came up with over 100 options, but they ultimately decided to use the same title but in English and with a "cross" in between, the latter influenced by Hunter × Hunter.[5] Lin said that he and Endo are always conscious of the line where violence, a necessary aspect in a spy manga, is given a pass for comedy's sake. With Tista and Gekka Bijin both having a dark tone, the editor told Endo to give Spy × Family a more cheerful one. Anya was inspired by the main character of "Rengoku no Ashe." Her extrasensory perception was decided early on, and Lin cited its use for comedic effect as one of the series' strengths. Lin said that the series has a broad readership among all ages and genders. He also cited Endo's clean art and ability to convey emotions as part of the manga's appeal.[5]

Lin feels that the world and characters were firmly established as of volume two. As such, he revealed that he and Endo would start to include longer narratives in the series.[5]

Media

Manga

See also: List of Spy × Family chapters

Written and illustrated by Tatsuya Endo, Spy × Family has been serialized biweekly on the Shōnen Jump+ application and website since March 25, 2019. The chapters, which are released every other Monday, have been collected and published into tankōbon volumes by Shueisha. Shueisha also simultaneously publishes the series in English for free on the Manga Plus app and website.[6]

Viz Media began publishing Spy × Family in English digitally on their website for free on September 22, 2019.[7] They released the first volume in print in spring 2020.[8]

Anime

See also: List of Spy × Family episodes

On November 1, 2021, a website opened to announce an anime television series adaptation produced by Wit Studio and CloverWorks.[9] The series is directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi, with character designs handled by Kazuaki Shimada, and music produced by [K]NoW_NAME.[9] The series will run for two split cours. The first cour premiered on April 9, 2022, on TXN stations.[10][11] The opening theme song is "Mixed Nuts" (ミックスナッツ, Mikkusu Natsu) by Official Hige Dandism, while the ending theme song is "Kigeki" (喜劇, "Comedy") by Gen Hoshino.[12] Crunchyroll licensed the series outside of Asia.[13] Muse Communication licensed the series in Taiwan, South and Southeast Asia;[14] they are streaming it on their YouTube channel (limited time for some of the available regions), Netflix, iQIYI, bilibili, and other regional streaming services.[15]

On April 11, 2022, Crunchyroll announced that the series would receive an English dub. It had an early preview on Crunchyroll's Twitch channel on April 15, before premiering the following day.[16]

Other media

The manga series has one companion book, Spy × Family Official Fanbook: Eyes Only. The book, serving as an collective information book, was published on May 2, 2022. It includes detailed information and analysis about the series' characters and worlds, colored artworks, early character designs, guests' art contributions, a long interview with Endo, and commentary on most chapters by Endo and Lin.[17] The light novel book Spy × Family: Kazoku no Shōzō (SPY×FAMILY 家族の肖像, lit. Spy × Family: Family's Portrait), containing four short stories and a seven-page "short novel" written by Aya Yajima, was published on July 2, 2021.[18] Accompanied the anime, the guidebook Animation × 1st Mission, that includes anime character designs, storyboards, key animations, interviews and comments from its staff, was released on April 4, 2022.[19]

Reception

Popularity

In December 2019, Brutus magazine included the series on their "Most Dangerous Manga" list, which included works with the most "stimulating" and thought-provoking themes.[20] Later that same month, Polygon included it on a list of the best comics of 2019.[21] The 2020 edition of the Kono Manga ga Sugoi! guidebook named Spy × Family the best manga series for male readers.[22] It came in first on Honya Club's Nationwide Bookstore Employees' Recommended Comics of 2020 list, compiled by surveying 1,100 professional bookstore employees in Japan.[23] It was named as the "No. 1 Popular Web Comic of 2019," the "No. 1 Popular Shonen Jump+ Work," and a "Signature Work of Jump+".[24]

Sales

In 2020, Spy × Family had 800,000 copies in circulation including digital and physical sales, upon release of its second volume. This number exceeded 2 million with the release of volume three, and 3 million in circulation by volume four.[25] According to Oricon, volumes three and four of the series were some of the top 30 best-selling manga of 2020.[26] Volume six received an initial print run of over 1 million copies, a first for a Shōnen Jump+ series. With its release in December 2020, Spy × Family had over 8 million digital and physical copies in circulation. At that time, it was the ninth best-selling manga in 2020, with over 4.5 million copies sold within that year.[27][28]

In May 2021, Spy × Family reached 10 million copies in circulation and increased to 11 million copies by the next moth.[29][30] With 537,558 copies sold in its first week, volume six became the series' second consecutive volume to debut at number one on Oricon's weekly list of the best-selling manga.[31][32] As of November 2021, the manga had over 12.5 million copies in circulation.[33] It was the eighth best-selling manga in 2021, with over 4.9 million copies sold within that year.[34]

On April 3rd, 2022, right at the release of volume 9 and before the premier of the anime, the manga had over 15 million copies in circulation.[35] As of May 30th, 2022, the manga had over 21 million copies in circulation.[2] It was tentatively the 4th best-selling manga in the first 5 months of 2022.[36]

In France, the series has had one million sold copies as of volume 6.[37]

Critical response

In a positive review of the first 11 chapters, Antonio Mireles of The Fandom Post summed up Spy × Family as a great comedy about a dysfunctional family put into uncanny situations that never pan out as planned due to their unique personalities. He described the family setup of Loid as the straight man, Yor the "dumb character" and Anya the adorable child "that readers fall in love with," as the perfect recipe for a comedy. However, he felt the humor that comes from Yor being the dumb character was underutilized.[38] Comic Book Resources' Hannah Collins hailed the first volume as one of the best manga releases of 2020. She had strong praise for Endo's art; writing that "Action-comedy is no mean feat even in animated or live-action mediums. To pull it off so well in still images takes real artistic talent." The reviewer called the artist's range of facial expressions his secret weapon, which he deploys to win over the hearts and minds of readers; particularity with those of Anya, whom Collins said, "steals every page she appears on."[39]

Morgana Santilli of The Beat stated that Spy × Family volume one does an excellent job balancing fun espionage action with heartwarming family moments. She called Endo's art "clean and appealing," which makes his parody of post-war Berlin easily recognizable. Santilli compared its comedy to that of From Eroica with Love, another Cold War-centric series.[40] In a review for Polygon, Julia Lee stated that Endo takes a premise that could make a "typical, corny, action manga" and uses it to make one of the funniest series out right now. Like the other reviewers, Lee praised Endo's art, writing that he has a knack for action scenes, as well as "expressive panels that really show you how the characters are feeling."[41]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Result Ref.
2019 Next Manga Awards Web Manga Won [1]
2020 4th Tsutaya Comic Awards Next Hit [42][43]
44th Kodansha Manga Award Best Shōnen Manga Nominated [44]
24th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Cultural Prize [45]
13th Manga Taishō Manga Taishō 2nd Place [46][47]
Da Vinci 21th Annual Book of the Year Book of the Year 3rd place [48]
2021 14th Manga Taishō Manga Taishō 10th Place [49][50]
Eisner Award Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia Nominated [51]
Harvey Award Best Manga [52]
2022 Eisner Award Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia Pending [53]

Notes

  1. ^ Westalis and Ostania are alternate-world versions of West and East Germany, respectively[3][4]

References

  1. ^ a b Loveridge, Lynzee (August 22, 2019). "SPY × FAMILY, Kusuriya no Hitorigoto Win Tsugi ni Kuru Manga Award 2019". Anime News Network. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  2. ^ a b 林, 士平 [@SHIHEILIN] (May 30, 2022). "『SPY×FAMILY』１巻〜９巻 連続大重版御礼❗️📚累計2100万部突破致しました‼️" (Tweet). Retrieved May 30, 2022 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ Will Taylor, How Cold War Germany Inspired Spy x Family. Epicstream.com, April 19, 2022. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
  4. ^ Spy X Family is inspired by Germany and real historical events in Europe!. RV Game PC, April 25, 2022. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d e "The Making of a Jump Manga! vol. 7 – Spy × Family". Manga Plus. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  6. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (April 4, 2019). "Shueisha's Manga Plus Adds 2 New Manga in English". Anime News Network. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  7. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (September 23, 2019). "Viz Adds Tatsuya Endō's Spy x Family Manga". Anime News Network. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  8. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (October 4, 2019). "Viz Licenses New Bleach, Naruto, One Piece Novels". Anime News Network. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  9. ^ a b Hodgkins, Crystalyn (October 31, 2021). "Spy×Family Domestic Spy Comedy Manga Gets TV Anime in 2022". Anime News Network. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  10. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (December 18, 2021). "Spy×Family Anime's Video Reveals Cast, April 2022 Premiere, Half-Year Run". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  11. ^ Loo, Egan (March 6, 2022). "Spy×Family Anime Reveals More Staff, April 9 Premiere, Visual". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  12. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (March 17, 2022). "Spy×Family Anime's Video Reveals, Previews Theme Songs". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  13. ^ Pineda, Rafael (November 20, 2021). "Crunchyroll Streams Spy×Family, Tomodachi Game, In/Spectre, A Couple of Cuckoos More 2022 Anime". Anime News Network. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  14. ^ "【MUSE ASIA 2022 DISTRIBUTION ANNOUNCEMENT】 《SPY x FAMILY》 One happy family...?". Facebook. November 20, 2021. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  15. ^ Muse Asia (April 6, 2022). "《SPYxFAMILY》Distribution Platforms: Muse Asia YouTube (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Vietnam; Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand [*Only available for the first three hours]), MeWATCH, CATCHPLAY+, Sushiroll, Genflix, UPSTREAM, POP TV, iQIYI, NETFLIX". YouTube. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  16. ^ Mateo, Alex (April 11, 2022). "Spy×Family Anime Gets English Dub with Early Premiere on Twitch". Anime News Network. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
  17. ^ "SPY×FAMILY 公式ファンブック EYES ONLY／遠藤 達哉 | 集英社　―　SHUEISHA　―". Shueisha (in Japanese). May 2, 2022. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  18. ^ "SPY×FAMILY 家族の肖像／遠藤 達哉／矢島 綾 | 集英社　―　SHUEISHA　―". Shueisha (in Japanese). July 2, 2021. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  19. ^ "TVアニメ『SPY×FAMILY』公式スタートガイド ANIMATION×1st MISSION／遠藤 達哉 | 集英社　―　SHUEISHA　―". Shueisha (in Japanese). April 4, 2022. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  20. ^ Morrissy, Kim (December 18, 2019). "Spy×Family Included in Brutus Magazine's 'Most Dangerous Manga' of 2019 List". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  21. ^ Polo, Susana (December 30, 2019). "The best comics of 2019". Polygon. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  22. ^ Pineda, Rafael (December 11, 2019). "Kono Manga ga Sugoi! Editors Unveil 2020 Rankings". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  23. ^ Mateo, Alex (February 1, 2020). "Japanese Bookstores Recommend 15 Top Manga for 2020". Anime News Network. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  24. ^ 株式会社インプレス (March 25, 2021). "目標は鬼滅超え。大ヒットを生み出す「少年ジャンプ＋」 SPY×FAMILY・怪獣8号". Impress Watch (in Japanese). Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  25. ^ SPY×FAMILY：第4巻で累計300万部突破 ハイペースで部数増. Mantan-web. May 4, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  26. ^ Loo, Egan (November 29, 2020). "Top-Selling Manga in Japan by Volume: 2020". Anime News Network. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  27. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (December 19, 2020). "6th Volume of Tatsuya Endō's Spy x Family Manga Gets 1-Million 1st Print Run". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  28. ^ 2020年度 オリコン年間“本”ランキング【コミック作品別】TOP10. Oricon (in Japanese). Oricon ME Inc. Archived from the original on January 8, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  29. ^ "漫画『SPY×FAMILY』累計1000万部突破へ アニメ化なしで異例のヒット". Oricon (in Japanese). May 17, 2021. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  30. ^ @shonenjump_plus (June 22, 2021). 『SPY×FAMILY』１巻〜７巻が早くも累計1100万部、突破致しました❗️ (Tweet) (in Japanese) – via Twitter.
  31. ^ 週間 コミックランキング 2021年01月11日付 （2020年12月28日～2021年01月03日）. Oricon (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 8, 2021. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
  32. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (January 8, 2021). "3 Demon Slayer Manga Volumes Are 1st Since 2008 to Sell 5 Million Each in Print". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  33. ^ 『SPY×FAMILY』アニメ化記念イラスト公開！ コミックス最新刊も（マグミクス）. Yahoo!ニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  34. ^ "Top des meilleures ventes manga de 2021 au Japon". manga-news.com (in French). December 1, 2021. Archived from the original on December 25, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  35. ^ 林, 士平 [@SHIHEILIN] (April 3, 2022). "累計３億PV突破🌎 明日『SPY×FAMILY』最新第9巻の発売日です❗️" (Tweet). Retrieved May 30, 2022 – via Twitter.
  36. ^ @WSJ_manga (May 30, 2022). "Oricon's Half Year Comic Sales Ranking 2022 - Top 10" (Tweet). Retrieved May 30, 2022 – via Twitter.
  37. ^ Kurokawa [@Kurokawa] (January 27, 2022). "Nous sommes heureux et fiers de fêter LE MILLION !" (Tweet) (in French). Retrieved April 7, 2022 – via Twitter.
  38. ^ Mireles, Antonio (August 23, 2019). "Spy X Family Chapters #01 – 11 Manga Review". The Fandom Post. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  39. ^ Collins, Hannah (June 11, 2020). "Spy x Family, Vol. 1 Is a Pure Joy From Start to Finish". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  40. ^ Santilli, Morgana (June 1, 2020). "REVIEW: SPY X FAMILY blends espionage and family comedy together in a perfect marriage". The Beat. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  41. ^ Lee, Julia (June 10, 2020). "Expert criminals must pretend to be a normal family in one of the year's best comics". Polygon. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  42. ^ "みんなが選ぶTSUTAYAコミック大賞2020 結果発表". Culture Convenience Club (in Japanese). Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  43. ^ Loveridge, Lynzee (June 17, 2020). "Spy×Family, A Man and His Cat Win 4th Annual Tsutaya Comic Awards". Anime News Network. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  44. ^ Pineda, Rafael (April 2, 2020). "44th Annual Kodansha Manga Awards' Nominees Announced". Anime News Network. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  45. ^ Pineda, Rafael (February 27, 2020). "24th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Nominees Announced". Anime News Network. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  46. ^ Pineda, Rafael (January 19, 2020). "13th Manga Taisho Awards Nominate 12 Titles". Anime News Network. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  47. ^ "マンガ大賞2020は山口つばさ「ブルーピリオド」に決定". Natalie (in Japanese). March 16, 2020. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  48. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (December 5, 2020). "Demon Slayer Tops Da Vinci Manga Ranking". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  49. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (January 24, 2021). "14th Manga Taisho Awards Nominate 10 Titles". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  50. ^ マンガ大賞2021、大賞は山田鐘人・アベツカサ「葬送のフリーレン」. Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. March 16, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  51. ^ Hazra, Adriana (July 24, 2021). "Junji Ito's Remina, Venus in the Blind Spot Manga Win Eisner Awards". Anime News Network. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  52. ^ Grunenwald, Joe (July 16, 2021). "2021 Harvey Awards nominees revealed, and voting is now open". Comics Beat. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  53. ^ MacDonald, Heidi (May 18, 2022). "2022 Eisner Awards Nominations Announced, led by DC and Image". The Beat. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
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