Episode Guide
Project Apple -| Review Score – 4/5 Disarm The Time Bomb -| Review Score – 4/5 A New Family Member -| Review Score – 4/5 Yor’s Kitchen / The Informant’s Great Romance Plan -| Review Score – 2.5/5 Carry Out The Griffin Plan / Fullmetal Lady -| Review Score – 3.5/5 Uncle The Private Tutor / Daybreak -| Review Score – 3.5/5 A Revenge Plot Against Desmond / Mama Becomes The Wind -| Review Score – 2.5/5 Investigate The General Hospital / Decipher The Perplexing Code -| Review Score – 3/5 Nightfall / The First Fit of Jealousy -| Review Score – 3.5/5 The Underground Tennis Tournament: The Campbelldon -| Review Score – 3.5/5 An Unwavering Trajectory -| Review Score – 3.5/5 The Role of a Mother and Wife / Shopping With Friends -| Review Score – 4/5 First Contact -| Review Score – 4/5 The second part of Spy X Family concludes, with the last episode serving as a decent set-up for things to come. It did an excellent job of establishing our cast. With some jazzy music and astounding visuals, the first part had a lot of comical and action-centric moments to get viewers excited. At the same time, it had its share of issues. Some side characters, like Yuri, didn’t offer the best introductions and felt overwhelming. Yor’s worried persona, though wholesome, served as the essence of her character. Viewers never get to see Yor tackle any assassin missions or get a glimpse of witnessing her balance that lifestyle with her new motherly role. The show could’ve developed and fleshed out Yor more by giving her more screen time. With that said, how does this second part fair in comparison? This second batch covers episodes 13-25. Each chapter lasts about 24 minutes. Kazuhiro Furuhashi is directing this anime adaptation, and Wit Studios and Cloverworks tackle the animation side of things. Given how good the first part was, a lot of built-up anticipation had arisen going into this part. While it filled me with satisfaction each week, this part contained more issues. Spy X Family’s second part begins with Loid attempting to adopt a pet for Anya to celebrate her Stellar Star earning the achievement. This leads to him getting involved in an operation involving heinous college students. They plot to murder Westalis Minister Brantz using bombs worn by trained dogs. After Loid foils their plans, he adopts a white canine Anya grew attached to during this operation. Anya names the dog Bond. Then we peer into the Forger’s routine of getting into comedic and slightly action-packed mischief. Eventually, the anime has Loid meet Donovan Desmond. They share some insightful words before going their separate ways. It concludes with Loid plotting to get Damian closer to his father as it will help with Operation Strix. Unfortunately, Operation Strix doesn’t play a big part in this second part. The series focuses on showing our characters participating in a slice of life styled activities. Sometimes it feels overly comical and doesn’t add value to the overarching plot. Segments like Franky needing a girlfriend or Yor rushing to Anya’s school to give her her gym clothes are sub-plots that hold little value. Other times, there’s time spent on side characters who don’t need it. For example, it was nice learning more about Handler’s character. Nonetheless, dedicating an entire segment to explaining how she operates her work was unneeded. That said, the second part also suffers from switching up the formula and giving fans dual-segment episodes. It was at its best when there was a singular focus, as these portray our characters in the best light. That’s not to say all the dual set-piece episodes were failures. Some slipped through the cracks and gave our cast much-needed growth and characterization. Some examples include Yor and Loid discussing Fiona Frost and seeing how much Becky’s evolved since befriending Anya. If the series had delivered more episodes of that magnitude, its shift to dual-part chapters would’ve been more elegant and less bland. Story issues aside, the characters shined a bit better in this part. Anya doesn’t maintain most of the screen time this time, giving us more opportunities to bond with our returning and new cast. Loid tackles his usual missions here and administers spy-like mannerisms as before, but he endures more fatherly issues here than in the last part. He gets involved in problems regarding poor parental supervision and jealousy. Though brief, viewers receive a glimpse into Loid’s childhood living with his mother. While it’s not touched upon in great detail, it’s a breadcrumb worth keeping in mind. As for Yor, we see her tackle similar issues but to a greater extent. She has to combat Fiona for Loid’s attention. Yor also struggles to showcase proper motherly skills, from cooking to having self-confidence. Unfortunately, Yor’s alternative lifestyle isn’t touched upon here still. While it’s touched upon via a goofy thought in Yor’s mind, we don’t see Yor embark on a mission to murder someone. It’s a bummer because it could have led to exciting climatic points between her, Loid, and Yuri. Besides Fiona and Damian, none of the side characters serve vital roles in the plot. Fiona gives Yor a worthy challenge, while Damian’s issues with his family serve as the core for Loid’s next phase of Operation Strix. All around though, this part handled our characters well and gave life to some I didn’t expect. From Damian standing up to his father to having Yor battle with the mental insecurities that plague her mind, I was left satisfied. While it had a few stinkers like Daybreak, George, Franky, and Yuri, fans received more rounded and delightful experiences with people like Fiona, Becky, and Damian. Visually, Spy X Family maintains excellent scenery and delightful animation. This was on par with what fans received from the previous part. It contained exhilarating action sequences and humorous facial and body expressions. The fights and action segments were the instances where the animation is really going to pique your interest. Loid’s battle with Keith to Fiona and his tennis match with the Campbell children looked flawless. Like the first part, the second cour’s music served its purpose well. The voice actors and actresses involved portrayed our cast’s emotions well. I never felt like a voice was too grading to my ears. The new opening and ending theme songs were enjoyable from a visual and sound standpoint. From an animation and soundtrack perspective, Wit Studio, Cloverworks, and the music team deserve praise for their continuous effort here. Despite this part having issues from a story standpoint, it places our cast in many entertaining scenarios to help them grow. While some notable aspects felt abandoned in favor of lighthearted comedy routines, most of them are relatively enjoyable. It may not be as elegant and interesting as part one, but the second part of Spy X Family offers enough hilarious scenarios and charming character segments that’ll keep your attention. Let’s hope things can get more severe and significant in season two.
