Spy x Family is the Best Anime I’ve Seen in Years

Last Updated on December 5, 2025 by Dante

After going through a bit of a family crisis after the birth of my daughter in 2022, I was at a point in my life where I hadn’t watched anime consistently in at least three years.

Sure, I would catch up on the latest episodes on My Hero Academia from time to time, but I wasn’t watching anime as faithfully as I used to. This changed for the better when I was stuck in my hotel room with nothing to do in the winter of 2022.

Bored, I cracked open my laptop, clicked on Hulu, and tried to find some shows that would pass the time between the current night and a very busy morning that was waiting for me.

In a few seconds, I saw the series Spy x Family and read the series description. Initially, I expected the anime to be something like Golden Eye — and boy was I wrong.

All of that night and in the airport the following day, I binged what turned out to be one of the best anime titles I’ve ever seen. Though it’s been a few months since I finished the series, I have a lot of questions.

The most pressing?

Just what genre is this anime?

Is It an Action Anime?

Again, when I first saw Spy x Family, I thought Loid Forger would be James Bond’s doppelganger.

I was expecting:

• Plenty of car chases
• Explosions
• Assassinations
• Sinister villains with long, typical dialogues

As far as the action was concerned, I wasn’t disappointed. In Episode Five, Loid took out an entire troop of his fellow WISE agents with kid toys:

As great as Loid is, one of the most amazing parts of the entire series was when he “playfully” battled his wife, Yor. At that point, we saw a huge gap between their strength levels, even though Yor was as drunk as a skunk:

Any action anime fan, like myself, admires the great attention to detail of Yor’s assault. Knowing full well that Loid was skilled at dodging her kicks, she unleashed a torrent of deadly punches aimed to break his guard.

Once she destroyed Loid’s defense, she prepared a finished blow that would have sent Loid’s battered carcass into orbit, but she broke her darn heel and fell in the ultimate comic relief moment.

Did I mention that this was a filler episode?

The action scene above Loid and Yor’s fight wasn’t even in the manga — an amazing touch by Spy x Family‘s production team, indeed.

Loid and Yor have plenty of more intense moments, such as catching a purse snatcher in broad daylight:

And, Yor taking down a raging cow:

Mama Bear has a name, and it’s Yor.

Yeah, despite Loid being the protagonist, Yor is the strongest character in the series by far.

Is Spy x Family a Drama?

Spy x Family has plenty of action-packed moments. However, I think one of its most underrated qualities is the seriousness of the plot.

As Loid tries to keep up his farce of a family, sometimes viewers can get too swayed by Anya’s cuteness and Yor’s braindead antics of trying to be a competent housewife (no judgment here), forgetting that he’s actually involved in a very serious mission.

Loid, also known as Twilight, must get a lead on Donovan Desmond, the series antagonist who is believed to be behind a plot to engulf the world in warfare. If he fails, innumerable children will starve and die, as Loid’s boss Sylvia Sherwood puts it.

When interrogating a group of terrorists, the tone of the series dampens a bit and makes you really feel the pressure on Loid to stop the growing threat of war:

Spy x Family had a lot of tense moments like this. The one that broke my heart was Loid’s first meeting with Anya:

After being abandoned by every family who chose to adopt her, Loid watched as Anya desperately tried to make herself acceptable to him. Although I just mentioned that Loid has a very serious mission ahead of him, part of the plot is him realizing the difficulties of parenting head-on.

He begins to understand that Anya needs a lot of attention, love, and care. While he attempts to be the best father he can to fulfill his mission, he starts to develop a bond with her.

While Anya hates studying and plays too much for her own good, she decides to apply herself assiduously to make sure she gets into the school of his choice to advance Loid’s mission:

Another amazing development in the show was Loid’s burgeoning relationship with Yor.

Just check out what happened when a member of Anya’s school insulted her:

Side Note: In case, you really want to see that guy get his jaw broken, Headmaster Henry Henderson did us all a favor:

Dare I say it…

ELEGANCE!

No matter how much Loid tries to keep his composure for the sake of his mission, he faces a lot of inner turmoil and conflicts, such as his desire to be a family man when it’s impossible to do so in his life of work.

Drama, drama, drama.

What About a Rom-Com?

The relationship between Loid and Yor developed quicker than I thought it would, I’ll admit. While I suspected they would catch feelings for each other soon, I didn’t expect Loid to break his character the way he did.

Now, keep in mind, it seems like Yor was starting to develop feelings for Loid after he defended her at Camilla’s party. She even started to show her jealousy upon wrongfully guessing that Loid was dissatisfied with her and wanted a replacement.

Loid mostly showed indifference to Yor’s feelings, though who could blame him?

Understanding love is irrational, especially for a top-notch spy like him, so he doesn’t have the mental capacity to even fathom that Yor is jealous because he’s spending more time with Fiona, a protégé of his.

All of these feelings come to a climax when Loid finally realizes that Yor may be falling in love with him. In my favorite scene, Loid tries to assume the role of Twilight and manipulate Yor into a false sense of security.

In return, he gets the kick that was waiting for him in Episode Five:

After losing consciousness, Loid decides to cut the act and respond to Yor’s feelings authentically, helping her gain confidence in being by his side. Truly a touching moment.

Enough said.

Spy x Family is heading down the Rom-Con rabbit hole.

Is Anya the True Main Character?

Ordinarily, I wouldn’t say I found any female anime character to be “cute” in the past. I don’t think I ever cared about stuff like that.

But, after the birth of my daughter, I started to appreciate Anya’s character much more than I would have. While she’s not old enough, she gets into as much trouble as her already.

Though, speaking of Anya’s damning cuteness…

I don’t even have to put it into words.

Move over, Loid.

Your name isn’t in the title, so the main character’s role is still up for debate.

Don’t Forget About the Wonderful OST

As a musician, I’m always on high alert for quality music. I don’t care what genre it is. With that said, I want to point out that Spy x Family probably had one of the best ending themes I listened to.

And, that’s setting a high bar. Most anime EDs are amazing.

Listening to this and watching the heart-warming visuals is just…

Here are some more of my favorite tracks from Spy x Family:

Spy x Family is in a Class of Its Own

In saying all of this, I still don’t know what genre this anime does best. Whether it’s a serious episode or a filler, it’s hard to really take your attention away from Spy x Family for even a second.

If I touched on all of the cues I noticed, I could write a small book. But, I feel I’ve said all I needed to about why this anime is special. Take it from someone who grew up on classic Shonen anime titles like Naruto and Dragon Ball Z.

Spy x Family is one of a kind.

I guess you can say that I’m exploring more anime genres in the midst of my writing all of this, and I haven’t looked back. If you haven’t seen Spy x Family yet and want to, you can check it out on Hulu or Crunchyroll.

I hope you enjoy it just as much as I did.

Here’s looking forward to the next season!

---

Up Next…

---