One of the most atypical Shonen Jump manga, Spy X Family features an eclectic family made up of a suave spy, a dangerous assassin and a four-year-old telepath. The action-comedy manga has had an enormous amount of success in the last year, with over eight million copies in circulation right now. Naturally, this success has led to rumors about a possible anime being produced, though nothing is confirmed yet.
Even though the manga is intended for the shonen demographic the storytelling and characters have plenty of appeal to those outside of it. A possible anime adaptation could have a similarly wide appeal for anime viewers. Just like The Promised Neverland, Spy X Family breaks the stereotypical image of what shonen should look like. Instead of battles and high-paced action sequences, we get a surprisingly heartwarming story about a spy who had to create a fake family in order to prevent a war from breaking out.
That's not to say it's all slice-0f-life fare, though. Spy X Family seamlessly transitions between humor, action and sweet, domestic moments between the three Forger members, meaning there's never a dull moment. It is a truly delightful read for everyone and would make for a delightful watch as an anime, too.
Spy X Family's Anime Potential
Spy X Family is already doing extremely well considering it's on a biweekly release schedule, but we've seen the amplified success that anime adaptations can bring to up and coming manga. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, for example, had its manga sales skyrocket after the release of the anime, gaining an enormous international fanbase. Spy X Family would lend itself well to an anime adaptation because of how many genres it straddles, not to mention how approachable it is with its unique premise.
Spy X Family is Incredibly Funny
When you have one of the most esteemed spies around tasked with one of his hardest missions anyone could undertake -- getting married and having a child in just seven days -- you can be sure that a lot of hilarity will ensue. From finding a child who can mind-read to said child, Anya, punching the son of her adopted father's (Loid) target on her first day of school, Spy X Family gets off to a fun start right off the bat. Much of its humor comes from Anya who, being only four-years-old, misunderstands a lot of things despite having the ability to read other people's minds. Her expressions and reactions to what she's reading -- especially in her parents' minds -- already make her a fan favorite.
Spy X Family isn't short of action sequences, though, especially given Loid and Yor's covert jobs, which often involve them beating up/killing people. But these tense and serious situations are almost always leveled with some funny or witty scene -- a balance that creator Tatsuya Endo does extremely well. There's nothing more broadly appealing than laughter.
Spy X Family Has Plenty Of Heart
Each character in Spy X Family is extremely well-thought-out and that makes them feel real. Regardless of their different motivations for becoming a family, there's a sincerity in how they interact with each other. Loid initially sought out a family because he needed them to complete his mission. But as time goes on and he spends more time with Yor and Anya, we see him settling naturally into the role of the father.
Yor also wasn't really looking for a husband -- it was only to stop her brother from nagging at her to find someone to marry -- but after meeting Anya and Loid, she decides to take care and protect them. Although Anya constantly mucks up situations because she misinterprets what she can read in people's minds, it's never done out of malice, it's always done out of love for her parents.
Despite all three of them knowing that their family is fake, we can tell how much they care about each other. They try to make their family regardless through hard work, and their clumsy but genuine attempts to do so make the series all the more wholesome. Although it had never been their intention, all three of them have found a family that they can belong to. Though shonen has a reputation for relying on action and violence to draw fans in, almost every popular Jump series is about family and friendships at their core. Spy X Family simply makes this idea more on-the-nose in its premise; embodying everything we already enjoy about shonen while appealing to those put off by the genre's formulaic nature.
While Spy X Family is still relatively new -- it only has five volumes currently out in English -- we'll hopefully see all of these characters and stories come to life in an animated series in the near future, and maybe even follow in The Promised Neverland's footsteps as an unconventional shonen anime hit.
