It takes more than DNA to make a family. See how this is purely evident in the excellent manga, Spy x Family Vol 1.

“Everyone has a secret self they don’t show to other people. Not to friends...not to lovers...not even to family. They hide who they are and what they want behind lies and painted smiles. And this the world maintains its thin veneer of peace.”

Twilight is a spy. The best spy in the nation of Westalis. His current mission, Operation Strix, requires him, or rather his alter-ego, to take on a wife and a child to infiltrate a children’s school as a parent. He finds the child, Anya, in a poorly run orphanage. She is super-intelligent. Unbeknownst to Twilight, she is also a telepath, who can read minds—including his. Anya easily passes the school’s entrance exam. But school requires her “mother” to be present at interview for admission. Twilight must find a wife asap. He runs into an unmarried female who asks him to pretend to be her boyfriend. She is Yor, an assassin—but only Anya seems to know Yor’s history. Being a telepath is really cool!

A spy, an assassin, and a telepath walk into a manga... I liked this cute tale and can’t wait to read the next volume. If you like interesting family stories, you should read Spy x Family Vol 1. 4 stars!

Thanks to Viz Media and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Sometimes a family is a spy and an assassin getting fake married to fly under the radar of compulsory heteronormativity with their tiny telepathic adopted daughter. By which I mean "<em>Spy x Family</em> is absolutely bananas, but I'm here for it."

Twilight, a master of disguise, needs to procure a family to infiltrate a school for Spy Reasons, which are explained, but honestly are just a vaguely plausible excuse for the fake family thing. (It's more sensible than the Despicable Me franchise's vaguely plausible excuse for the fake family thing, so if you coped with that, you should be fine here.) To that end, he adopts Anya from a shady orphanage, not realising that she has telepathy and an obsession with spy dramas, and asks Yor to be his fake wife, not realising that she's actually an assassin looking for a cover. As you might be able to guess, it's <em>incredibly silly</em> in ways that work for me. Twilight and Yors frantically trying to hide the truth about themselves (while Anya is there squeeing about how cool her new parents are) is fun! The proposal scene was ridiculous and dramatic and I absolutely adored it. The school interview – complete with traps, slapstick, and quick costume changes – makes even less sense, but I still enjoyed it. And as is tradition for fake relationships, there are points where Twilight has to choose between his new family and his mission (a bullying interviewer, judgemental coworkers, armies of different spies, Anya's burning desire to play with his spy gear...) which are predictable but delicious. A lot of the humour comes from none of them quite understanding how people work and their excellent deflections, which didn't set off my embarrassment squick! I'm impressed.

I want to point out that even though I'm spending most of this review going "Oh, it's silly and slapstick and there's a lot of humour here!" the world setting is actually pretty grim. Yor's reasoning for getting fake married is that it's <em>actively suspicious</em> that she's not married at 27, and there's a chance that she'll be informed on to the government! The school they're trying to infiltrate <em>insists</em> that every family have two parents, with no excuses or exceptions allowed! Anya is a former lab subject! Like, it's not treated as a big deal in the text yet, because it's the vaguely plausible excuse for the fake family shenanigans, but the setting reads like a dystopia – or at least an extrapolation of attitudes that are still around now, anyway. My guess from the art is that this is going to come up more later, because at the point where one of your chapter covers is literally a happy family built on skeletons, you kinda have to.

But so far I really liked it! It was fun, and whether it goes down traditional fake dating routes or not, I'm here for what happens next.

[Caution warnings: authoritarian governments, bullying, child neglect, Everyone Is An Orphan]

Spy x Family is the first volume in what promises to be a fun new manga series. Twilight is a debonair spy who needs to infiltrate an elite school to gain access to a political leader for an important mission. But he needs to gain a wife and child to do so, all within a week. At first, he hopes that just a child will do so he adopts Anya, a darling little girl who turns out to be a telepath, from a sketchy orphanage. He then later needs to convince a woman to masquerade as his wife, and whoops, Yor turns out to be an assassin. There is the requisite comedy of errors as these three people need to convince others they are a family, and of course, they begin to bond despite their best of intentions not to. The art is crisp and attractive, with a nice balance of action sequences and smaller poignant moments. I believe this will be a popular series, as readers will be delighted with Anya and rooting for Twilight and Yor to find a way to truly become a family together with her.

I really enjoyed this action-packed comedy manga. "Twilight" who also goes under the alias "Loid Forger" has devoted his life to his career of being a spy, where getting married and having children is just not in the cards for him. Until one day, things take an interesting turn for Forger. In order to prevent a war orchestrated by an Ostanian political leader named Donovan Desmond, he has to ironically enough get married and have a kid.

And so, his mission to find and form his own little "fake family" begins. With a telepathic daughter named Anya, an orphan who has bounced around foster homes and an assassin wife named Yor, the three of them together make for an interesting trio.

The relationship between Twilight and Anya is just so sweet. Anya manages to chip away at Twilight's hard exterior showing us that there just might be something deeper beneath his whole spy persona. Once Yor comes into the picture, it really makes the whole concept of a "fake family" feel nonexistent. Everything feels complete. From first glance, it wouldn't seem as if the three of them would be able to mesh together but once they find themselves in some hijinks and tight situations, we really get to see how well they work together. I just adored their family dynamic. So fun, kickass and hilarious.

Thumbs up to great pacing and a great start to a series, this is definitely one I'll continue on with and one I'm certain many people will find themselves enjoying as well.

Thank you to Netgalley and VIZ Media for providing me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

(Disclaimer: this is my first advance copy review for NetGalley! Thanks a bunch to VIZ Media and NetGalley for the copy! Look forward to more reviews in the future!)


If you've been searching for a new series to read, look no further than Spy x Family, one of the new rising stars in Weekly Shonen Jump!

Meet the Forger family. On the surface, they're a normal household of three, living their ordinary lives day by day. But behind the curtain lies a story that's not-so-normal. One involving international espionage, assassination plots and impending war!

There's a reason this series is blowing up - it's got all the ingredients to cook up something special. Spy x Family is an impeccable blend of blockbuster action, lighthearted comedy, and wholesome slice-of-life. It's got something to like for any avid manga reader. Tatsuya Endo's art is sleek and stylish, especially so in his character designs. Each person pops out of the page with distinct features and readable personalities. From this first volume alone, you'll fall in love with our main trio. Lloyd Forger (aka Agent Twilight) perfectly fits the suave aura that any classic spy needs. Yor Briar is sugar, spice and everything nice, but don't let her airheaded demeanor fool you - if you're her target, you'll be dead before you hit the ground. And then there's the star of the show - our little esper, Anya. Her hilarious reaction faces alone are enough to warrant a read!

A spy, an assassin and a psychic...a seemingly impervious team. But soon enough they'll learn that a functioning family has its own set of unique challenges. Despite all of the spectacle that comes with their line of work, my favorite parts of Spy x Family come from the Forgers' attempt at being a real family. They've come together due to particular circumstances, but their makeshift ménage looks more and more genuine with each chapter. There's no better feeling than watching these characters develop true emotions and attachments to one another.

Spy x Family Vol.1 will be released at the beginning of June - there's no better time than now to hop aboard the next best series Weekly Shonen Jump has to offer!

Spy x Family, Vol. 1 by Tatsuya Endo is a manga currently scheduled for release on June 2 2020. Master spy Twilight is the best at what he does when it comes to going undercover on dangerous missions in the name of a better world. But when he receives the ultimate impossible assignment—get married and have a kid—he may finally be in over his head! Not one to depend on others, Twilight has his work cut out for him procuring both a wife and a child for his mission to infiltrate an elite private school. What he doesn’t know is that the wife he’s chosen is an assassin and the child he’s adopted is a telepath!

Spy x Family is a fun and entertaining read. I liked seeing the lone wolf spy trying to make his next mission a success, even when it means bring a child and wife into the fold. He keeps his goal under his hat, but when the little girl you adopt is a telepath that does not do much good. Watching him struggle with what do with a child is very entertaining, and when his attempt at gaining a wife only ramps up the humor and complications. The characters each have their own issues, on top of their secrets, and it was an interesting and entertaining read. My only complaint is one I have with many manga that I enjoy, the story had just reach a point of everything coming together and high interest and I really need to know where the story goes from here.

This is just so utterly adorable! A spy gets assigned to get info on a very hard to pin down man, who only shows himself in public for kids school events, so the spy, Twilight, needs to get a wife and kid ASAP so he can enroll the kid in school and thus have a way to get close to his target. The child he picks up (from a super sketch orphanage) is Anya, who is secretly a runaway from an experimental facility that gave her the ability to read minds. Then he happens upon a wife in the form of a mild mannered public servant who also just happens to be a kick-ass assassin. Funny moments ensue, with a lot of heart and some adorable side characters (my favorite is the headmaster who wants everyone to be ELEGAAAAAANT! LOL).

A spy, an assassin, and a telepath walk into a bar...and became a family...and got kicked out because the telepath was a minor. This is a series with so much potential and personality - a wholesome family comedy featuring espionage and secrets while the peace of a nation is on the line. The aforementioned trio keeps their identities and abilities a secret from each other yet always finds ways to be cunning, charming, and covert. What makes this title especially notable is the spy - Twilight (alias Robert Loid) - realizing the value of family; raising a child with a loving wife, only to be confronted that the mission must eventually end. I am looking forward to more antics with this family as well as the internal conflict that Loid must inevitably face.

This was FANTASTIC and has done something awesome for shonen manga. It was funny, fast-paced, and action packed. The artwork also complemented the storytelling perfectly. I can't wait to see how this story continues to develop and what other antics the Forger family find themselves in.

This is hilarious! Not a big manga fan, but this was so fun. The characters are ridiculous and yet they form a surprisingly sweet and remarkably functional family. Can't wait to read more of their adventures.

A fake family you'll want to stay together!

Twilight is the best spy there is but when he's tasked with creating a family for his next mission, things get ridiculously complicated. Fate brings Anya into Twilights/Loids life and the story starts rolling. Anya is a likable character who's mistakes and ditzy antics bring light to the story and the classic shojo vibe. Yor is later introduced and spices up the comedic duo with seriousness and odd behaviors.

Volume one is very light hearted and fun! Twilight/Loid is very analytical but grounded by Anya's whimsical ways. The story has a nice flow with a very clear plot. The simplicity of the story gives a lot of room for light-hearted antics to come! There is a light touch of violence but always with a comedic spin. An easy read for middle grade and any shojo lovers. I'm looking forward to volume 2!

I first checked out Spy x Family when it made its English debut on MangaPlus, but didn't follow it since I didn't like the presentation and translation available there. I'm more than happy to say that Viz's version has me sold! The replaced sound effects look great and, while the dialogue lettering leaves some to be desired, the overall presentation has seen a drastic improvement over M+'s version, and the translation is very successful in delivering the wit and humor of the series! Between the fun and cute characters, the fun story being told, and the comedic charm of the series, Viz has put together a great English release of this manga that I'd say is definitely worth a read!

This was such a fun manga to read! The characters are genuine and real and the story moves along quickly. As someone who doesn’t read much manga, this was a good one.

I LOVED this SO MUCH. I love the "found family" trope and seeing how three strangers with differing goals all come together to help one another, though to be fair, it is in their own best interests to do so. But while they all started with selfish goals in mind, they are all starting to care for one another and the selfish is slowly starting to change.

I LOVE IT!!! It's a bit violent and I don't quite understand the world they are in, the politics of it and so forth, but I'm just going along for the ride and watching the characters interact and start to care for one another. Not sure how old Anya is, but she is so precious! I absolutely love her! It will be interesting to see how Yor takes to being lied to... I hope she is the forgiving type...

I can't wait to read the rest of them, YAY SERIES!! 5, this perked me right up, stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and VIZ Media for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

Story

Spy x Family is a manga from Tatsuya Endo (Gekka Bijin, Rengoku no Ashe, Tista) that brings slice-of-life, action, comedy, and a splash of sci-fi into an entertaining manga series. The series follows a spy simply known as Twilight. He is asked to investigate a government official who is looking to bring two nations to war. Being a man of a thousand faces who has cast his personal emotions aside, Twilight must become Loid Forger, a married man with a child, in order to complete this mission!

Twilight starts by visiting an orphanage and securing a 6-year-old girl named Anya who just happens to have an ability to read people’s thoughts. Thanks to that ability, Anya is much smarter than your average child and she becomes the perfect choice for Twilight. The only thing is, Twilight has no idea she is telepathic!

Part of the mission involves Anya getting admitted to Eden Academy, a school for the elite of the elite. After barely passing the written exam, they ask to meet both parents of the child, no exceptions. This means that Twilight needs a wife. He conveniently runs into Yor, an assassin who is desperate need of a temporary boyfriend in order to prove that she is not single at her age to her family. After forming a pact that Twilight will be her pretend boyfriend in exchange for Yor pretending to be Anya’s mother for the admission interview, we have ourselves a nice little family who know nothing about one another’s true identities… except for Anya since she’s telepathic but she’s keeping her secret all to herself as well!

The result is a serious, yet, hilarious comedy with a great story and amazing characters!

Characters

First off, we have Twilight. Twilight has been on hundred of spy missions, each one he has carried out with extreme professionalism. Infiltrating the government in order to stop a terrible war is nothing to someone like him, yet, when he becomes attached to Yor and Anya, things take a different perspective to him. He is no longer just thinking about the mission at hand and there are even cracks in his armor where he realizes that he’s not acting like the spy he normally is. While he seemed hardened and a man who cares nothing more for his job at first, he shows a lot of human qualities all while being self-aware that he is doing so. It makes for a great main character however, the real star of the show here is Anya.

Anya is just absolutely adorable and amazing at the same time. She can read anyone’s minds but she still possesses the mentality of a 6-year-old kid. While she is very aware of the world around her, she still likes to eat yummy things and play daddy’s spy radio which alerts enemies to his location, thus putting his mission in complete and total jeopardy! She also enjoys playing tag with complete strangers and playing with her new pretend mommy’s poisoned knives! Like I said, just cute little things any 6-year-old girl would like to go! Seriously, though… some of her reactions to Twilight and Yor’s thoughts are priceless… especially the scene where Yor wants to hold her hand! Anya really commands your attention whenever she’s on the page and is probably the best part about this series so far!

Yor, on the other hand, has a dual personality. In her “normal mode,” she’s kind of a clumsy, absent-minded woman who should have had a boyfriend by now but is hopelessly single. In her “other mode,” she is a highly-trained and deadly assassin who is obviously just putting on an act as to not draw suspicion to her actual trade. She becomes a bit more “normalized” when she agrees to be Anya’s pretend mother but there are instances where her assassin skills come out. It’s okay though because she learned all of them in yoga class… she swears by it!

Final Thoughts

This manga was a delightful surprise! The volume starts off in a serious tone, luring you in a false sense of security. It makes you believe that you’re going to be following the life of a masterful spy, witness his death-defying adventures, and see those adventures on a volume-by-volume basis. Then you get a bit of a jarring experience when you meet Anya and realize she’s telepathic. At that point, you realize that the manga isn’t as serious as it let itself on to be. Then, things take an even more comical tone when Yor enters the picture.

The recipe works very well here and the result is nothing more than pure entertainment. The characters are well fleshed out, have great personalities, and play off of each other so well. The cohesion between the three of them is among some of the best I’ve read in a manga series and I’ve read a lot of manga in my time thus far. My only complaint with the first volume of Spy x Family is that it had to eventually end at some point. I was truly enjoying every page and I feel that this is a series you should definitely check out!

As HouseMaster Henry Henderson of Eden Academy says… This is true elegance!

Spy X Family is a Japanese Manga about 3 unlikely figures - a spy, a contract killer, and a mind reader -  who come together to form a pretend family. Each one is unaware of the others’ history, all while using the arrangement as a convenient means to pursue their own goals. 

For the cast of characters, we have:

Twilight - A world-renowned spy, capable of pulling off any task from infiltrating terrorist organizations to diffusing nuclear bombs. Completely no experience in the family department. 
Yoru - Slightly ditzy, quiet, and aloof. An unassuming city hall worker by day, she transforms into a ruthless killer by night.
Anya: A cute 6(?) year old kid who can read minds. She knows her family can be strange at times, but she adores spy movies so all the better for her. Bring her a bag of peanuts and she’ll love you forever.

The story is a lighthearted and humorous take on traditional espionage tales, and tests the characters in a completely unfamiliar setting. It’s hilarious to see each character unwittingly reveal a bit of their true nature in front of the other, then come up with a ridiculous explanation in an attempt to protect their identity. And without fail, the other person always accepts their ludicrous answer. 

I'd recommend this if you are looking for a fun, casual, weekend read. I believe that the series is already published online, but you can catch the first physical volume when it releases in June!

Twilight’s given up his normal life, he’s a spy. love and family are not in the picture till he gets an order to get married and have a kid is 7 days for a mission. He goes to an adoption house and adopts the smartest girl there. Little does he know she has special abilities, she can read his mind. When he starts thinking about trading her in she gets emotional and things start to get fun. Things get even more fun when he has to find a mother for her. She finds one she’s interested in, and either of them know she can read their minds.
Oh this book was so much fun. I laughed through so much of it. I loved all the characters and the illustrations were excellent. I can’t wait for the next book.
I received a copy from the publisher for an honest review

This was so refreshing. The art style works with the setting of the novel. It starts off a bit slow for the first couple of pages but it quickly picks up.

This is a fun start to what promises to be a good series. Everyone in this "family" has a secret, and it will be interesting to see if the can learn yo be a real family and still accomplish their goals as spy and assasian.

I really enjoyed this! I plan to follow the series and read future volumes. It took a minute to get settled into the premise, but once the fun started with the relationship between Lloid and Anya, I was in.