Since its release in 2022, Spy x Family has become wildly popular among anime fans of all stripes. Even people that don’t normally watch anime usually enjoy this rare example of an exciting, wholesome, and high-quality comedy series. The twelve episodes of Spy x Family Season 2 were released in Fall 2023. To review this second season, we will examine five categories: Story, Audio, Visuals, Characters, and Personal Enjoyment.
See Also: Spy x Family Season 1 Review
Article contents
Story
Score: 7/10
Season 2 continues the same plot as the first season. Twilight and Yor each have their missions on opposite sides of the war, and neither of them know the other one’s true identity. Meanwhile, little mind-reader Anya knows the truth about both of them. But she needs to pretend she doesn’t so that her ability won’t be discovered. Comedy and chaos ensue as the family tries to survive. Some episodes feel almost anthological, but there are also cases of serial story arcs lasting for a few episodes (like the cruise arc).
The story category discusses such elements as plot structure, pacing, originality of story concept, storytelling style, and more. This category also includes the show’s humor and its ability to create the right emotional atmosphere for particular scenes. Content balance is another important part of “story”. If all the content feels the same, the balance is poor. However, if there’s a mix of content types (humor, cuteness, and action), the balance is good. So, how does Spy X Family Season 2 perform in this category?
In a broad sense, the story of this season felt less creative and more repetitive when compared to the first season. That’s why I think 7/10 is fitting this time. Also, the pacing and ordering of the episodes seemed very chaotic and directionless. But in terms of humor, emotional scene-setting, and content balance, season 2 did well. There’s a good mix of school episodes, serious spy missions, romantic moments, silly scenes, and even some action sequences. Not all of the humor hits home for me, but in general, it’s funny to see Anya’s reactions and the escapades she gets into.
Visuals
Score: 8/10
Just like its prequel, Spy x Family Season 2 was a joint project made by Wit and Cloverworks studios. Some people complained that the visuals were not as creative or high-quality in the second season, and I’m not sure if I agree. Maybe the animation was less imaginative, but to me, the quality still looks great. In addition, it’s not like people watch Spy x Family to see stunning visuals. We’re here for the comedy.
The character designs in this series are always amusing, cute, and/or attractive (for some of the adults). Yor is still stunningly beautiful in season 2, and Loid is still insanely hot. This hasn’t changed. There were a few minor character introduced, but the only one with a halfway interesting design was Yor’s boss, “Shopkeeper.” His weird face and beekeeper outfit were simultaneously funny and unsettling.
Speaking of funny visuals, Spy x Family is known for its hilarious face expressions – especially those of Anya. This also didn’t change from the first season to the second. They remained highly enjoyable. Importantly, I don’t think Anya’s absurd expressions were overused. They were used just the right amount to be most funny.
For me, the best part of the visuals in this season was the fireworks show on the cruise ship. This looked absolutely stunning – not just the fireworks and the boat, but also Yor as she battled for her life against so many enemies. It was all so epic and beautiful.
Final Note: The visuals for both the opening and ending songs were amazing too!
Audio
Score: 9/10
The opening song is “Kura Kura” by Ado. It’s an upbeat and somewhat jazzy-sounding song with deep, strong female vocals and an exciting chorus. It reminds me a bit of the style of Mob Choir, the group that always sings the intro songs for Mob Psycho 100. I think the opening song is excellent and fun, but not quite as perfect as the song in season 1 part 2 (“Souvenir” by Bump of Chicken).
The ending song for season 2 is “Todome no Ichigeki” by Vaundy featuring Cory Wong. I don’t know enough about music to say what style this is. But whatever it is, I enjoyed it. The male vocalist’s was especially pleasant on the ears. For some reason, it reminds me of a 2010s alt rock singer, even though I’m not sure if this counts as alt rock.
The OST was composed by (K)now Name: a group of talented Japanese musicians and that organized itself relatively recently. The OST for Spy x Family is full of fast-paced, jazzy musical pieces that sound like they’re from old spy movies. There’s also an assortment of other styles and they all sound good. YouTube may end up taking down this video, but here is one track that I liked a lot in season 2: “Princess Lorelei,” which is the name of the cruise ship.
The voice-acting was excellent in Spy x Family Season 2. Our beloved main cast didn’t change. That includes the extremely talented Atsumi Tanezaki as Anya, the angelic Saori Hayami as Yor, and the steaming hot Takuya Eguchi as Loid/Twilight. Two veteran VAs appeared in this season in supporting roles. They are Junichi Suwabe as Shopkeeper and Aya Endou as Olka Gretcher. All the other seiyuus did a great job, too.
Note: There is an amazingly beautiful insert song in episode 34. It was written and performed by (K)now Name and is called “Until the End.” Go listen right now!
Characters
Score: 8/10
Spy X Family isn’t the kind of anime that needs to have super profound characters. As a comedy anime with some drama elements, it just needs engaging and entertaining characters with some funny quirks. And Spy x Family definitely succeeds with this. For our main cast in this season, there was subtle character growth for all three, as they realize how much they are starting to care for their “fake family.” Even Loid is becoming more invested.
Yor had some serious moments this season as she decided to avoid killing except to protect others or defend herself. This is different from the mindless assassin work she used to carry out. Damien is becoming a better person the more he socializes and learns. It was enjoyable to see his progress. Bond’s little character arc in episode 37 was great. He is such a sweet and heroic doggo.
Again, the characters and their psychology are not exactly profound in this series. But the concepts for the characters are so enticing and the particular quirks of each one really helps bring them to life. This doesn’t mean I like every character, of course. Yuri is still annoying and a creep. Fiona isn’t that much better. Nevertheless, thanks to the wonderful main characters, this category still deserves a high score.
Personal Enjoyment
Score: 7/10
I definitely enjoyed this season a lot, but I want to start by mentioning the aspects that I distinctly did not enjoy. For starters, as I mentioned earlier, Yuri and Fiona both annoy me. Yuri in particular creeps me out. In addition, the humor occasionally misses me in this series. For example, I’m so damn sick of the “woman who can’t cook” trope. If it was ever funny to me before, it certainly isn’t now that it’s been beaten into the ground.
The last problem I’ll mention is Becky’s age-inappropriate obsession with Loid. It was really concerning to see a girl her age with sexual fantasies that are encouraged by the culture around her. It’s equally sad that she wraps her whole identity around romance and getting a husband. Girl, you’re seven. I strongly disliked the way this anime framed Becky’s issue as humorous.
With the negatives out of the way, let’s look at some elements I thoroughly enjoyed in this season. In general, I appreciated the music, voice-acting, and visuals. I especially loved the cruise arc and the scenes with the fireworks while Yor fights the enemies. Yor is so badass and hot. I love and admire her.
Similarly, I love Loid. He is a highly attractive character with an intriguing personality and an amazingly sharp mind. I’m very interested in seeing if he will become truly attached to this family or not. Last of all, I love Anya and her unfathomable cuteness and silliness. I find it refreshing that she has realistic academic struggles. Anime has a lot of “genius kid” types, but Anya is… well… not too bright. I hope to see her slowly improve.
Overall Score
Score: 7.8 / 10.0
The overall score is the average of the scores for the five categories we just reviewed. Most comedy anime doesn’t get up into the 8s realm according to my standards. However, Spy x Family season 1 did manage to score 8.2/10. Comparatively, season 2’s score is lower, but still quite high for a goofy, fun type of anime.
The public reception for Spy X Family Season 2 was definitely positive. It was commercially successful, too. The current score for this season on MAL is 8.07, which is obviously significantly higher than mine. As always, anime ratings are subjective. I don’t claim to be correct. Regardless, Spy X Family is a great comedy anime worth checking out!
~Thanks for reading~
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