Tatsuya Endo's ongoing Spy x Family doesn't have an anime adaptation yet but already, this Shonen Jump manga has been making waves. With only six volumes out, this spy action-comedy series is quickly rising in popularity, hitting over 8 million copies sold and counting. And it's no wonder fans love Spy x Family -- with a cast of quirky, hilarious characters, a suspenseful undertone with everyone trying to keep their identities a secret and political intrigue, there's something for everyone.
With the series gaining more and more attention, now's a great time to start reading the manga. Here's how you can get started with the Jump breakout series Spy x Family.
Spy x Family's Plot
Spy x Family follows elite spy Agent Twilight as he's given one of the most important assignments of his life -- Operation Strix. The mission: to get close to the reclusive Donovan Desmond, the National Unity Party leader, and prevent him from disrupting the tenuous peace between the nations of Ostania and Westalis. To do that, he must somehow create a family out of thin air and enroll his child in Eden Academy, where Donovan is rumored to make occasional appearances. Twilight does manage to find a wife and a daughter in less than a week -- under the appropriate-but-fake name "Forger" -- but little does he know, he's not the only one keeping a secret: his wife, Yor, is an assassin and his daughter, Anya, is a telepath.
Aside from the intriguing set-up, one of the strengths of Spy x Family is the characters, especially the members of the Forger family. All three of them do their best to act like a regular family, which often leads to hilarity as they struggle to balance their double lives. Although the overarching plot is Twilight's mission, what makes Spy X Family one of the best and heartwarming series in Shonen Jump now is how this unlikely trio slowly becomes a real family in their own right.
Spy x Family's Characters
The main hero of Spy x Family is the suave and smooth spy Twilight, who goes undercover as Loid Forger, a psychiatrist. As Twilight, Loid is coldly efficient when completing his missions, but his kindness shines when he's with Yor and Anya. As focused as he is on his mission, Loid often finds himself caught off guard by his new family. As a spy, Loid made the choice to dedicate himself to his job in the hopes of creating a world where no child would cry. This meant he'd abandoned any prospects of having a normal life, friends or family. So the ease with which he settles into the role of a father surprises even him.
Yor Briar, Loid's "wife" is a seemingly ditzy civil servant who has trouble fitting in. However, she's actually an accomplished and incredibly strong assassin called the "Thorn Princess." She became an assassin to support herself and her younger brother Yuri (who has his own secret) after their parents died when they were young, which explains how earnest she is in her role as Anya's adopted mother. The combination of Yor's cluelessness and her killer instinct is what makes her so much fun, and the most recent chapter promises that we'll see even more of her in the future.
One of the funniest characters in the series, four-year-old Anya is adopted by Loid after she impresses him with her intelligence. The plot twist? Anya isn't that bright -- the only reason she ever seems smart is that she can read minds, the result of mysterious experiments that were performed on her. Anya is a fan-favorite with her goofy expressions and her constant misunderstandings of what's happening around her because she's, after all, just a child. Anya later gets attached to an enormous and fluffy dog who she names Bond (after her favorite spy cartoons), who also happens to be able to see the future.
The catalyst for Operation Strix, Donovan Desmond, has so far remained elusive. We get a sense of how dangerous he is through how his son Damian both fears and loves him. With Anya's abysmal grades at the Academy precluding her from joining Desmond's elite academic circle, Loid instead resolves to have her get close to Damian. Unfortunately, the two kids don't get along at all, making even that an uphill battle.
Where To Read Spy x Family
Spy x Family's chapters are released biweekly and can be found on Viz's official website. The physical volumes can be bought on Amazon, Indigo, RightStuf and your local comic shop at varying prices. If you want to read it digitally, the series is available on platforms like the official Shonen Jump app, Shueisha's Manga Plus website-app, Google Play, iBooks, Kindle and Nook. Digital copies can also be found on Amazon, ComiXology and Indigo.
