MANGA REVIEW | "Spy × Family" - Volume Six
Speedbumps can happen in just about every great story. But when they somehow come one after another, it’s hard to overlook their flaws. Such is the case with Volume Six of Spy × Family, which takes Twilight on a mission without his wife and daughter around. It’s a situation that showcases some of the weaker parts of Tatsuya Endo’s storytelling.
With Nightfall in the picture now, Yor finds her marriage and relationship with Twilight possibly threatened. With enough liquid courage, Yor finds the strength to ask her husband what’s going on. Meanwhile, with her grades not the best, Anya has to find a new way to help her father succeed in his mission to take down Desmond. Fortunately, her new friend Becky may have the right idea on how to get his son Damian’s attention.
But first, Twilight and Nightfall have a mission to go on, involving a painting that may have a secret code embedded on it. And to gain access to that painting, the two will have to disguise themselves and enter an underground tennis competition. While it sounds like a load of fun on paper, this three-chapter arc finds ways to drag out a so-so narrative. It has some good ideas, as well as some playful rivals for the court, but these matches feel like they’d be better in something like The Prince of Tennis than Spy × Family.
Having Nightfall be a rival for Twilight’s heart is perhaps the only good idea this narrative has to show. After the mission, Nightfall challenges Yor to a tennis match. What occurs is a showcase of just how strong and deadly Yor is, with even Nightfall taken aback by her strength. It also leads to a very funny chapter where Twilight has to find the right words to convince Yor of her great wife skills and her greater motherly instincts.
Once again, it’s Anya that comes in to bring the hilarity. Having her and Becky going out clothes shopping showcases the differences both kids have for fashion and taste. (It also gives Endo the chance to dress Anya up in outfits that even Lady Gaga would reject as being too flashy!) In the end, it demonstrates the importance of letting kids be kids, have fun, and allow them to have goofy trinkets…even if they wind up costing 300 smackers!!!
The first half of Spy × Family’s sixth volume is uninspired tomfoolery, but its second half redeems itself back to what makes this series so good. When the spotlight is on the entire family, this manga hits its stride well. However, it’s clear that when we focus on Twilight’s missions without Yor or Anya in tow, the series can drag in the worst possible way. Hopefully these moments will be rare in the future, as Spy × Family can’t afford too many failed missions in order to survive.
FINAL GRADE:
Promotional consideration provided by Chantelle Sturt of VIZ Media
