One of the best series of the previous year, “Spy x Family” continued in 2023, adapting Mission 39 to Mission 59 chapters of the original manga by Tatsuya Endo, along with a couple of side stories: Extra Mission 2 and Short Mission 6 to 7.
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After a couple of episodes that focus individually on Yor, Bond, Damian and Loid, the series introduces its main arc, which has Yor assigned by The Shopkeeper, the leader of Garden, to be the bodyguard of Olka Gretcher and her son, the sole survivors of a deposed crime family, until they can safely escape to a neutral country after boarding the cruise ship Princess Lorelei. Coincidentally, Anya and Loid also win a trip on the same cruise via a shopping mall raffle, thus bringing the whole family together once more, although in totally different places within the ship. While Yor and The Shopkeeper have to face scores of assassins hired to kill Olka, Loid is trying to dismantle a series of bombs another assassin has placed inside the ship, while Anya is trying to help both without revealing her powers.
Although the surprise regarding the main premises of the series is not here any more, the second season of “Spy x Family” definitely retains its appeal, particularly due to the characters and their intermingling dynamics, which actually evolve this season. In that fashion, Loid gets more and more confused whether this is a mission or an actual family after a point, while the crush that Becky, Anya's best friend from school, has on him adds another hilarious element in the narrative. The feelings the Second Son has for Anya are also a treat to watch, particularly since he desperately tries to ignore them and she has no clue about them, while her continuous effort to help both her parents without revealing her powers is both intriguing and quite funny. Yor also does not seem to fully realize how she has grown feelings for Loid and considers Anya her actual daughter, while her intense fights throughout the season are the most captivating moments, both action-wise and in dramatic terms, of the whole part. Furthermore, that her despair actually makes her realize her feelings to an extent, is equally rewarding to watch.
At the same time, it is interesting to see how the main characters and the way they live their lives is actual a product of pressure and oppression. Loid is constantly pressured by his agency for more results, as much as from his fame as a top assassin, which is actually the reason he cannot clearly realize his feelings for his supposedly fake family. The same, more or less, is happening to Yor and the Garden, with the fact the she is becoming clumsier highlighting that her mentality is changing. The way The Shopkeeper seems to micromanage her adds even more to this approach, while her relationship with her brother, and the appearance of a new “rival” for Loyd are shaping an explosive situation that will be probably revealed in the third season.
Anya, who also still carries the mystery of her past and her powers, also feels the pressure of retaining the current harmony in the family, as the alternative will see her alone once more, while her desperate effort to get good grades, which is essentially a prerequisite for the aforementioned, is both adorable and quite dramatic. The way she tries to hide her power and at the same time, to keep helping her parents despite the fear she feels every time she realizes what they and their enemies are about, continues to be one of the most appealing elements of the whole series.
At the same time, the eagerness that probably all viewers of the series feel, of when the family members will start cooperating openly against all their enemies, and if a clash among them will occur due to Yor's brother for the most part, continues to carry the series throughout its episodes.
Regarding the artform, what applied in the first season applies here too, more or less. Kazuaki Shimada's character design results in a series of characters that appear European, with the shortness of the kids being particularly funny to watch, and Yor's enemies looking both dangerous and ridiculous at the same time. The silly faces are here once more, particularly through Anya, but in this case, are well-embedded in the narrative and they don't end up being annoying as usual. The combination of drama, action and comedy that characterizes the story also finds its place in the action scenes, which do seem a bit more brutal this time, with the animation by Clover Works and Wit Studio being on a rather high level in the particular prism.
“Spy x Family Season 2” is definitely as good as the first one, both managing to progress the story in the most captivating way and to create anticipation for the seasons to come.
