MANGA REVIEW | "Spy × Family" - Volume Seven
So wait, you’re telling me that the latest volume of Spy × Family isn’t all about Anya?
Joking aside, it’s easy to see why the daughter is the glue of both the mission and the family. Her mannerisms, thought processes, and even facial expressions are the highlights of the Tatsuya Endo-penned series. With that being said, the other characters of Spy × Family do have their moments, especially faux parents Twilight and Thorn Princess. But man, having to deal with Twilight’s target’s son for an entire chapter was, well, can reading manga be considered exhausting?
But first, Twilight gets his chance to chat with Donovan Desmond, his Operation Strix target. Their back-and-forth gives Twilight the chance to read Donovan and see the kind of trouble he could bring. At first, it’s hard to read Donovan by his masked smile, but finding a way to bring his son Damian into the conversation aids in letting some cracks come to the surface. It’s a moment that lets Twilight take a couple of pieces off of Donovan’s board, and brings him one step closer to completing the mission.
We could’ve had more good storytelling like this throughout this volume of Spy × Family. Alas, there had to be a chapter all about Damian and his friends. There’s nothing wrong at all with expanding on key players’ backgrounds, but there are right ways to do this. This particular chapter, where Damian and his two friends go on an impromptu trip to do some roughing up, is unfortunately boring as heck! Nothing here does Damian any service to make his character likable; in fact, it kind of does the opposite!
Thankfully, everyone’s favorite good boy Bond goes on a life-threatening mission of his own. With Yor looking to cook his food, the all-knowing canine witnesses his own death if he eats it. Naturally, he seeks out Twilight, who just so happens to be conducting a mission to take out the very lab that kept Bond prisoner long ago! Not only does the big fluff ball become quite the asset to Twilight’s mission, but he also gets a good tasty meal afterwards!
Anya takes the center stage a couple of times in this volume of Spy × Family. Rumors of a magic pastry that makes students smarter have her and her frien(emies)ds battle it out with a game of Old Maid. Her usage of her mind-reading skills results in some beautifully smug moments, as she feigns ignorance to get what she needs to better her grades. It leads to a great punchline towards the end, one that demonstrates why “magic” desserts don’t replace actual hard work and studying.
Her other shining moment involves winning tickets to a cruise, one that Yor just so happens to already be going on. However, the Thorn Princess isn’t going on the trip to relax; she has a new mission, one that’ll make her reflect on her current role as an assassin-for-hire. While we’re left on a cliffhanger on what might entail next time around, Spy × Family does leave us anticipating for what’s to come.
All-in-all, Volume Seven has plenty of fun for fans of the series to enjoy. However, Endo needs to do a better job with stories surrounding Damian Desmond, as his story was sadly underwhelming and a complete waste of time. There’s always room to improve, and this volume of Spy × Family shows that not everything about Twilight, Yor, and Anya’s story is pitch-perfect. Perhaps Endo himself should eat a magic pastry before expanding on the less-interesting characters…
FINAL GRADE:
Promotional consideration provided by Chantelle Sturt of VIZ Media