I was not sure what to expect when this new manga series cropped up in June of last year. From the outset, “Spy X Family” dresses itself up as an espionage thriller in a setting reminiscent of East and West Germany during the Cold War. For the sake of peace between the nations of Ostania and Westalis, the super spy codenamed “Twilight” is on a mission to ingratiate himself to the head of a prestigious academy in order to gather intelligence. He just needs two things: a child, and a wife. He finds them easily enough, assembling the Forger family, but there are some… complications. It turns out his “fake wife” Yor is an assassin, his “fake daughter” Anya is a telepath, and only Anya knows what her parent’s secret jobs are!
This series masterfully blends spy action with comedy, keeping everything relatively light-hearted but with lots to lose. Every character is incredibly dumb and/or wildly eccentric, which is a huge selling point for me personally. It feels like no one will ever uncover each other’s secrets, but also that they are incredibly close to letting everything slip. What makes this even better is that Anya has access to the most information, being able to read minds, but is still a six-year-old child and does not completely comprehend all of it. The exceptional facial expressions in particular enhance the mood of the manga. There is also very obviously the building sense of found family between the Forgers as they start to find a measure of comfort and peace with their “fake” family. It’s all great! I will not spoil what future volumes hold, but volume 1 is an excellent start to a fantastic series. Please give it a try!
As a side note, Spy X Family volumes 1-3 have been nominated for the 2021 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards!
You can reserve yourself a copy of volume 1 by clicking here!
