Spy x Family Code: White Review

The Forger family go on their first cinematic adventure in the spin-off film of the Spy x Family anime series.

The Forger family is an unusual one. Loid Forger (Takuya Eguchi) is a spy for State Security and his wife, Yor (Saori Hayami) is an assassin. The couple is unaware of the other’s true profession. However, their adoptive daughter, Anya (Atsumi Tanezaki) does know the truth because she’s secretly a telepath. When Loid learns that he could be reassigned the spy takes his fake family on his vacation to Frisa. This vacation becomes more dangerous when a mad colonel plots to start a war and end the balance of peace.

Spy x Family has been a popular anime series. It has been well received by the anime community and has won and been nominated for numerous awards. Our own Burkely Hermann gave the first and second seasons of the show glowing reviews. I haven’t seen the series so I went into the film blind.

Spy x Family Code: White set up its premise quickly and allowed newcomers to catch up. Many films based on anime shows must walk the line that they can please the fans whilst not alienating new audience members. Many films based on anime shows act as separate, standalone adventures, and Spy x Family Code: White followed suit. The film was able to offer something bigger than what the show can do.

I am a fan of spy stories so Spy x Family Code: White was right up my alley. The setup was similar to Mr. and Mrs. Smith where the central couple were unaware of each other’s profession, with a little bit of True Lies since the premise of that action-comedy was about a spy whose wife and daughter thought he was a software salesman. The opening of Spy x White Code: White was like True Lies since Loid was undercover at a fancy party and he had to charm a beautiful woman so he could access a safe in a restricted area.

Spy x Family Code: White did reference other spy properties. The most obvious reference was the name of the family dog, Bond. There were references to Mission: Impossible since Loid was a master of disguise and performed heists with elaborate wire setups. Other references were probably unintentional on the part of the filmmakers. There was a retro look to the world of Spy x Family which made the film feel similar to Tintin and Archer. Tintin showed the titular character going to various countries and some of them were directorships, and Frisa would have fitted the mould of one of those nations. It was a country under the foot of a jackbooted dictatorship. Archer was set in a world that was a mix of eras, combining the ‘60s, ‘80s, and 2000s, and Spy x Family matched that because the world and technology mixed the World War II planes, diesel trains from across Europe, and steampunk elements like an airship and a Gatling gun clad cyborg.

Even for a spy story, Spy x Family Code: White had a convoluted setup. It involved multiple strains happening in the film, involving a big scheme where Loid was trying to help Anya win a cooking competition so she could get a school prize and a chance to meet an important person. This required the characters to go to Frisa. Adding to the story was Anya stumbling upon two spies smuggling an important item into Frisa. There were also subplots like Yor fearing that Loid was having an affair, and one of Loid’s colleagues being infatuated with him. Luckily Spy x Family Code: White was a light film that had many jokes, like when Yor got herself some Dutch courage and one bizarre moment that was like Homer Simpson’s Flushing Meadows fantasy.

The second half of the film was more action-packed affairs. It had aerial dogfights, Loid using his powers of disguise to infiltrate an aircraft, showing his abilities of deduction, and Yor who got to show off how much of a badass she was. From an animation standpoint, it was easy to admire and it offered a lot of entertainment due to all the fighting and shooting.

Spy x Family Code: White acts as a good introduction to the franchise and acted as a fun and silly spy adventure in its own right.