Since its manga debut in 2019 and subsequent anime debut in 2022, SPY x FAMILY (written and illustrated by Tatsuya Endo) has become a global phenomenon. Half espionage drama and half silly hijinks, the series focuses on a fake family composed of a spy, an assassin, and a telepath, navigating their secret lives during a Cold War-esque conflict. Fake father and spy Loid has no idea that his new fake wife Yor is a deadly assassin, while their newly adopted daughter Anya knows everything due to her telepathic abilities, though she keeps those a secret from everyone. Loid needs his family in order to get close to his target and prevent a catastrophic war, but whose secret will be revealed first? The family deserves a break, and what better way to do so than take a standard anime movie vacation?
SPY x FAMILY CODE: White finds the Forger family on a weekend trip to a chilly mountain town in search of a special dessert to impress Anya’s headmaster at her prestigious boarding school. Of course, things up north are not as innocent as they seem. Anya accidentally eats a delicious chocolate candy that just so happens to contain microfilm detailing state secrets which a brash military officer is desperate to get back by any means necessary. Loid and Yor must secretly use their special skills to rescue their daughter from an intimidating airship circling the town, fighting the officer and his powerful subordinates to prevent an international incident. Of course, this being SPY x FAMILY, there are plenty of quiet and hilarious moments of Forger family antics before the action really heats up.
Anime films with original stories are a great way to spend time with characters we love. There are high stakes, sure, but since this isn’t adapted from the manga, the status quo is not going to be radically altered. And with only about 100 chapters in five years of the manga’s publication, the anime is going to have to start getting creative to match the fandom’s ravenous need for more SPY x FAMILY episodes. With CODE: White, we get a contained story with big thrills, really fluid fight animation, and a Homer Simpson Flushing Meadows homage I never could have expected. The focus is really on Loid, Yor, and Anya, with only brief check-ins on the supporting cast. That’s a relief as someone who cannot stand the character of Yor’s clingy brother, but I did miss having Anya’s classmates around. The family dog Bond is along for the ride, but is sidelined early and is mostly around to look cute. Loid and Yor have some moments of ship-baiting, but as always these end in physical humor and other ways to avoid the subject of making this fake family a real one.
Eventually, for the sake of drama, things are going to have to start changing for the Forger family. Will Anya’s telepathic abilities come to light before Loid can save the world? Will Yor be contracted to kill her own fake husband? Those questions will be answered eventually, but for now, the Forger family can enjoy a tasty looking fruit tart and explore a winter carnival at their leisure. Every non-auteur anime film is for the fans, and those looking for cuteness will be totally satisfied.
SPY x FAMILY CODE: White
2024
Dir. Takashi Katagiri
110 min
Opens Friday, 4/19 in theaters everywhere (though the Hassle recommends Apple Cinemas or your local independently-owned multiplex)
