ANIME REVIEW: SPY x FAMILY - Season 1

4/5

Spy Game.

25 Episodes. Starring: Takuya Eguchi, Saori Hayami & Atsumi Tanezaki. Director: Kazuhiro Furuhashi. 

I spy, with my little eye. Something beginning with, "how do you do, fellow kids". Like a skateboard slung over the shoulder, Steve Buscemi meme. Operation: relate. As an English teacher in Tokyo I see 'Spy x Family' t-shirts on everyone. On kids I teach and adults old enough to be my parents (and I'm pushing 40). The juggernaut that is this hugely popular anime adaptation of a massive manga is everywhere. Trading cards, Pronto promotions in coffee shops, plush toys just waiting to be grabbed by metal fingers as we claw at the controls in Akihabara. It's to Japanese animation what BTS is to South Korea and the watching world. 

Netflix, Disney +, Amazon Prime, let alone Japanese TV, they have all got 'Family' time last year, for Kazuhiro Furuhashi's fantastic quarter-century of episodes. And Season 2 and a movie are already in the works too. That's just how much these spies are in demand. Just like the characters themselves in need to play house and go back to school, all to grab more stellas than the star drinker at your local bar. All undercover in the Berlint, Germany like setting of this sensational Japanese anime that captures the cobbled, compelling, boundless beauty of old European cities, day and night. 

In Japan, they say we all have three faces. One we show in our work and everyday lives. One we show our friends and family. And one we only reveal to ourselves, behind the mask. Well, this 'Spy x Family' is made up of an assassin, a telepath and of course, a spy (think Brad and Angelina's 'Mr and Mrs. Smith'). With incredible vocal work from Takuya Eguchi, Saori Hayami and Atsumi Tanezaki. And none of them are any the wiser when it comes to each other (nice detective work), apart from Anya. The cutest thing to happen to anime since Kiki's Jiji on Ghibli. And let's not forget the lovable Beethoven sized, yuki dog that is Bond. He and his endearing woof may just be a secret agent himself. 

The action is amazing, the detection is a masterclass in deception and as for the heart and humour, you won't know whether you're crying due to a lump in the throat, or a tickle in the ribs. The comic timi...perfect...excuse me. Sorry. The comic timing is perfect. From home to school. The charm and joy of the manga is brought from page to cell screen with delightful results. Anyone for tennis, dodgeball, or a trip to 'Penguin Park' (for a mid-season finale that does anything but waddle)? Because by the time you get to the 'To Be Continued' end, you'll wish you made 'First Contact' sooner, bumping this blossom to Autumn leaf theme like chicken this Christmas. You'll love this like Anya loves peanuts. In a word, elegant. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Further Anime: 'Holmes In Kyoto', 'The Millionaire Detective', 'In/Spectre'.