Spy × Family (TV series)

Spy × Family (stylized as SPY×FAMILY and pronounced "spy family") is a Japanese anime television series based on the manga series of the same name by Tatsuya Endo. The series broadcasts on TV Tokyo in Japan. It has been streamed by Crunchyroll outside of Asia. The series is distributed by Muse Communication in the rest of the Asia-Pacific region. It follows master spy Twilight, who must disguise himself as psychiatrist Loid Forger and build a mock family in order to investigate political leader Donovan Desmond. Unbeknownst to him, his wife, Yor, is actually an assassin known as the Thorn Princess, while his daughter, Anya, has telepathic abilities.

The series received critical acclaim for its storytelling, comedy, action sequences, characters, animation, voice acting, and world-building, as well as numerous awards, including Animation of the Year at the Tokyo Anime Award Festival. A feature film based on the series, Spy × Family Code: White, was released in Japan in December 2023 to positive reviews.

Episodes

Template:Main List of Spy × Family episodes

Cast and characters

Character	Japanese	English
Main characters
Template:Nihongo / Template:Nihongo	Takuya Eguchi	Alex Organ
Template:Nihongo	Atsumi Tanezaki	Megan Shipman
Template:Nihongo / Template:Nihongo	Saori Hayami	Natalie Van Sistine
Template:Nihongo	Kenichirou Matsuda	Tyler Walker
Secondary characters
Template:Nihongo	Hiroyuki Yoshino	Anthony Bowling
Template:Nihongo / Template:Nihongo	Yūko Kaida	Stephanie Young
Template:Nihongo	Kazuhiro Yamaji	Barry Yandell
Template:Nihongo	Kensho Ono (adult) Mirei Kumagai (young)	Dallas Reid (adult) Sarah Wiedenheft (young)
Template:Nihongo	Natsumi Fujiwara	Caitlin Glass
Template:Nihongo	Emiri Katō	Dani Chambers
Template:Nihongo / Template:Nihongo	Ayane Sakura	Lindsay Seidel
Narrator	Kenichirou Matsuda	Ben Phillips
Supporting characters
Template:Nihongo	Umeka Shōji	Morgan Lauré
Template:Nihongo	Manaka Iwami	Katelyn Barr
Template:Nihongo	Mirei Kumagai	Leah Clark
Template:Nihongo	Shōhei Kajikawa	Jordan Dash Cruz
Template:Nihongo	Hana Sato	Macy Anne Johnson
Template:Nihongo	Haruka Okamura	Michelle Rojas
Template:Nihongo	Junichi Suwabe	Jim Foronda
Template:Nihongo	Takaya Hashi	John Burgmeier

Notes Template:Reflist

Production

Season 1

Template:Main Produced by Wit Studio and CloverWorks, the first season of Spy × Family was broadcast on TV Tokyo in 25 episodes divided into two parts. The first part, consisting of 12 episodes, aired from 9 April to 25 June 2022, and the second part, the last 13 episodes, aired from 1 October to 24 December 2022. The first season was directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi, with music by (K)now Name, character designs by Kazuaki Shimada, while Kazuaki Shimada and Kyoji Asano are chief animation directors. It was first announced in October 2021.

Following the chapter naming practice of the original manga, the episode titles in the anime series are written as "Mission" with a number (e.g. "Mission 1", "Mission 2", etc.) which the counting continues to the subsequent seasons. This season adapts 38 main chapters of the manga, from Mission 1 to Mission 38, along with a couple of side stories: Extra Mission 1 and Short Mission 1 to 5.

The series is licensed for streaming by Crunchyroll outside of Asia, while it is distributed by Muse Communication in a selection of countries in Asia-Pacific.Template:Efn

Season 2

Template:Main In December 2022, a second season and a theatrical film were announced at the Jump Festa 2023 event. Ichirō Ōkouchi is replacing Furuhashi as scriptwriter, with the remaining staff and cast reprising their roles. The second season, consisting of 12 episodes, aired from 7 October to 23 December 2023.

The season is licensed for streaming by Crunchyroll outside of Asia, while it is distributed by Muse Communication in a selection of countries in Asia-Pacific.Template:Efn

Season 3

On 9 June 2024, a third season was announced at the Spy × Family Anime Extra Mission special event.

Music

Template:Main The music of the Spy × Family anime series was composed and produced by (K)now Name. The opening theme for the first part of the first season uses the song Template:Nihongo by Official Hige Dandism and is directed by Masashi Ishihama; while the ending theme uses the song Template:Nihongo by Gen Hoshino and is directed by Atsushi Nishigori. The opening theme for the second part uses the song "Souvenir" by Bump of Chicken and is directed by Tetsurō Araki; while and the ending theme uses the song Template:Nihongo by Yama and is directed by Takayuki Hirao. The second season's opening theme uses the song Template:Nihongo by Ado and is directed by Masaaki Yuasa. The ending theme uses the song Template:Nihongo by Vaundy (feat. Cory Wong) and is directed by Eugene Winter.

The music of the movie Spy × Family Code: White was also composed and produced by (K)now_Name. On 30 October 2023, the anime social media announced "Soulsoup" by Official Hige Dandism as the main theme song. On the premiere day, they revealed the song Template:Nihongo, performed by Gen Hoshino, was used for the ending theme.

Home media release

Japanese

Toho Animation (Japan – Region 2/A)

Volume			Episodes	Cover character	Release date	Template:Ref heading
	Season 1	1	Mission 1–4	Loid Forger	20 July 2022
		2	Mission 5–8	Anya Forger	21 September 2022
		3	Mission 9–12	Yor Forger	16 November 2022
		4	Mission 13–16	Bond Forger	18 January 2023
		5	Mission 17–20	Yuri Briar	15 March 2023
		6	Mission 21–25	Fiona Frost	17 May 2023
	Season 2	1	Mission 26–29	Anya Forger, Damian Desmond & Becky Blackbell	20 December 2023
		2	Mission 30–33	Yor Forger, Loid Forger, Anya Forger & Bond Forger	21 February 2024
		3	Mission 34–37	Loid Forger, Anya Forger, Yor Forger, Yuri Briar & Fiona Frost	17 April 2024

English

Crunchyroll LLC (North America – Region 1/A)

Volume			Episodes	Cover character	Release date	Template:Ref heading
	Season 1	1	Mission 1–12	Loid Forger, Anya Forger & Yor Forger (primary & alternate cover)	9 August 2023
		2	Mission 13–25	Loid Forger (primary cover) & Anya Forger (alternate cover)	13 February 2024

Reception

Popularity

The anime had received high TV rating percentage since its release in April 2022, until the end of its first season. With the premiere of its second cour on 1 October 2022, Spy × Family sets a new record for TV Tokyo in time shift audience ratings. The president of TV Tokyo reveals that the series' second part was the "best among all programs on all stations for the July 2022 season", including the first episode of the second cour into July quarter's statistics. Its debut episode was the second most watched in Japanese streaming site. The series took second place in April and later rose and remained in the first place for the next three months (from May to July) in the Japanese monthly streaming rank lists and VOD rank lists, despite the fact that the anime stopped releasing new episodes in July.

Spy × Family has also started gaining mainstream popularity with a wide range of age groups, from children to adults. An official from Takara Tomy Arts said: "[the series] is popular among a wide range of people, just like Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. Anya is particularly popular. It is likely that there will be even more toys and goods in the future, including products for children." Anya's popularity led to Toho make a music video heavily featuring her. Additionally, a Tamagotchi involving Anya was released in June 2022.

In a survey conducted by FinT, Spy × Family and Anya were ranked first and fourth respectively, on the top trending things among Generation Z in Japan for 2022. In the same survey, Template:Nihongo was the no. 1 trending phrase of the year in part due to a mash-up with the song "Renai Circulation" on TikTok.

Critical response

The series has met critical acclaim. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season of Spy × Family holds an approval rating of 100% based on six reviews, with an average rating of 9/10. The reviewers of Anime News Network praised the first episode of the series. Caitlin Moore and James Beckett gave it a perfect score; Moore lauded the show for its "consistent sense of comic timing" which perfectly deliver each joke and calling it a "guaranteed crowd-pleaser and a solid choice for almost everyone," while Beckett wrote that the "breakout star of the show" is Anya though what made him won over the show is its heart. Nicholas Dupree noted that "[the show] operates in a very precarious space between a goofy comedy of coincidences and a serious spy thriller, where the result is a world that mostly runs on cartoon logic." Richard Eisenbeis described Anya as a "fantastic little character" while praising the anime for its characters and world-building. Rebecca Silverman, similar to all of her manga reviews, she called Anya as the "beating heart of the series" while praising the anime for its story and animation.

Kambole Campbell of Polygon noting about Twilight's parenthood to Anya. While the action isn't particularly flashy, Campbell found that the animation in those moments is quite pleasing, and the choreography is precise and snappy. Rafael Motamayor of IGN praised the show for its comedy, action, animation, characters, and poignant commentary on family and class. He also compare Anya to Baby Sinclair of the 1990s comedy series Dinosaurs, while stating that "Spy × Family manages to strike a great balance between commentary, drama, action, and slice-of-life comedy without undermining any of those respective elements in the process." Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network listed Spy × Family as the best anime of 2022, stated that the story crafts a delightful and emotionally meaningful tale about one family wrapped up in all of this. Silverman also hailed Anya and Bond as the best characters of 2022, due to how wonderful they are as a person and the dog in which they represent the same sign that Anya gets to keep the family she desperately wants.

Accolades

In 2022, Spy × Family won in the anime category while Anya Forger voice actress Atsumi Tanezaki won in the voice actor category of the Yahoo! Japan Search Awards, based on the number of searches for a particular term compared to the year before. Yor and Anya Forger were ranked fifth and tenth respectively, on the top 10 overall buzzwords list while the anime series was awarded the Pixiv Award at Japan's Internet Buzzword Awards. In 2023, the series received the award for Animation of the Year at the Tokyo Anime Award Festival. At the 7th Crunchyroll Anime Awards, Spy × Family was one of the three series to win the most awards with six; the series won in the categories: Best New Series, Best Comedy, Best Supporting Character and "Must Protect At All Costs" Character (Anya Forger), Best Ending Sequence ("Comedy"), and Best VA Performance – Portuguese (Nina Carvalho as Anya Forger). It was also nominated for twelve other categories, including Anime of the Year. It won the 2023 Excellence Award at Japan's 28th annual Association of Media in Digital (AMD) Awards. In June 2023, the anime series won the Character License Award at the Japan Character Awards by Japan's Character Brand Licensing Association (CBLA).

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result	Ref.
2022	MTV Video Music Awards Japan	Best Group Video (Japan)	"Mixed Nuts" Template:Small	Template:Won
	12th Newtype Anime Awards	Best Work (TV)	Spy × Family	Template:Draw
		Best Character (Male)	Loid Forger	Template:Draw
		Best Character (Female)	Anya Forger	Template:Draw
			Yor Forger	Template:Draw
		Best Voice Actor	Takuya Eguchi	Template:Draw
		Best Voice Actress	Saori Hayami	Template:Draw
			Atsumi Tanezaki	Template:Draw
		Best Theme Song	"Mixed Nuts" Template:Small	Template:Draw
		Best Director	Kazuhiro Furuhashi	Template:Draw
		Best Character Design	Kazuaki Shimada	Template:Draw
		Best Mascot Character	Anya Forger	Template:Won
		Best Screenplay	Kazuhiro Furuhashi	Template:Draw
		Best Soundtrack	(K)now Name	Template:Draw
	Yahoo! Japan Search Awards	Anime Category	Spy × Family	Template:Won
		Voice Actor Category	Atsumi Tanezaki	Template:Won
	IGN Awards	Best Anime Series	Spy × Family	Template:Nom
	Internet Buzzword Awards	Pixiv Award		Template:Won
	Reiwa Anisong Awards	Best Work Award	"Mixed Nuts" Template:Small	Template:Nom
		Composition Award	Satoshi Fujihara Template:Small	Template:Nom
		Artist Song Award	"Mixed Nuts" Template:Small	Template:Won
2023	5th Global Demand Awards	Most In-Demand Anime Series of 2022	Spy × Family	Template:Nom
	Tokyo Anime Award Festival	Animation of the Year (Television)		Template:Won
	7th Crunchyroll Anime Awards	Anime of the Year		Template:Nom
		Best Action		Template:Nom
		Best Animation		Template:Nom
		Best Character Design	Kazuaki Shimada	Template:Nom
		Best Comedy	Spy × Family	Template:Won
		Best New Series		Template:Won
		Best Score	(K)now Name	Template:Nom
		Best Main Character	Loid Forger	Template:Nom
		Best Supporting Character	Yor Forger	Template:Nom
			Anya Forger	Template:Won
		"Must Protect At All Costs" Character		Template:Won
		Best Director	Kazuhiro Furuhashi	Template:Nom
		Best Opening Sequence	"Mixed Nuts" Template:Small	Template:Nom
		Best Ending Sequence	"Comedy" Template:Small	Template:Won
		Best Anime Song		Template:Nom
		Best VA Performance (Japanese)	Atsumi Tanezaki Template:Small	Template:Nom
		Best VA Performance (English)	Natalie Van Sistine Template:Small	Template:Nom
		Best VA Performance (Portuguese)	Nina Carvalho Template:Small	Template:Won
		Best VA Performance (Spanish)	Miguel de León Template:Small	Template:Nom
	28th AMD Awards	Excellence Award	Spy × Family	Template:Won
	Japan Character Awards	Character License Award		Template:Won
	37th Japan Gold Disc Awards	Song of the Year by Download (Japanese)	"Mixed Nuts" Template:Small	Template:Won
		Best 3 Songs by Download		Template:Won
		Song of the Year by Streaming (Japanese)		Template:Won
		Best 5 Songs by Streaming		Template:Won
	Japan Expo Awards	Daruma for Best Anime	Spy × Family	Template:Nom
		Daruma for Best Director		Template:Nom
		Daruma for Best Action Anime		Template:Nom
		Daruma for Best Suspense Anime		Template:Nom
		Daruma for Best Slice of Life Anime		Template:Won
		Daruma for Best Opening	"Mixed Nuts" Template:Small	Template:Nom
		Daruma for Best Ending	"Color" Template:Small	Template:Nom
	18th AnimaniA Awards	Best TV Series: Streaming	Spy × Family	Template:Won
	45th Anime Grand Prix	Grand Prix		Template:Draw
		Best Character	Anya Forger	Template:Won
		Best Theme Song	"Mixed Nuts" Template:Small	Template:Won
		Best Voice Actor	Atsumi Tanezaki	Template:Draw
			Saori Hayami	Template:Draw
	13th Newtype Anime Awards	Best Character (Male)	Loid Forger	Template:Draw
		Best Character (Female)	Yor Forger	Template:Draw
		Best Theme Song	"Souvenir" Template:Small	Template:Draw
		Best Mascot Character	Anya Forger	Template:Draw
2024	8th Crunchyroll Anime Awards	Best Comedy	Spy × Family	Template:Won
		Best Continuing Series		Template:Nom
		"Must Protect At All Costs" Character	Anya Forger	Template:Won
		Best Ending Sequence	"Color" Template:Small	Template:Nom
		Best VA Performance (Japanese)	Atsumi Tanezaki Template:Small	Template:Nom
		Best VA Performance (Arabic)	Hiba Snobar Template:Small	Template:Nom
		Best VA Performance (Castilian)	Majo Montesinos Guzman Template:Small	Template:Nom
	46th Anime Grand Prix	Best Character	Anya Forger	Template:Draw
		Best Voice Actor	Atsumi Tanezaki	Template:Won
	Japan Expo Awards	Daruma for Best Ending	"Todome no Ichigeki" Template:Small	Template:Nom
	19th AnimaniA Awards	Best TV Series: Disc Release	Spy × Family	Template:Won
		Best Director	Kazuhiro Furuhashi	Template:Won
		Best Character Design	Kazuaki Shimada	Template:Won
		Best Studio	Wit Studio and CloverWorks	Template:Won
		Best German Voice Acting	Tim Knauer Template:Small	Template:Won
			Lana Finn Marti Template:Small	Template:Nom
		Best Anime Score	(K)now Name	Template:Won
		Best Anime Song	"Mixed Nuts" Template:Small	Template:Nom

External links

• Template:Official website Template:In lang
• Wit Studio page Template:In lang
• CloverWorks Inc. pages: SxF1, SxF2 Template:In lang
• Template:Anime News Network
• Template:IMDb title