Hello everyone and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today, I’m tossing and turning in the whirlwind of the apartment search process, which is understandably fraying my nerves. So I’m craving some animated comfort food, and luckily, the second season of Spy x Family has arrived just in time to wrap us all in a communal blanket of family cheer. . The first season of Spy x Family was consistently funny, often surprisingly thrilling, and always filled with love for its bumbling protagonists. Tatsuya Endo has proven himself as an innovative sculptor in both spy films and family films, and the combined talents of Cloverworks and Wit Studio have resulted in a generous and durable anime adaptation belgium. With last season ending with the fateful first encounter between Loid and his target Donovan Desmond, I’m eager to see both the continuation of Operation Strix and the further cohesion of the Forgers into something like a functional family. Let’s get started!
Episode 26
We open with a sales pitch for anyone currently tuning in somehow, which serves as a reminder of just how strong this show’s base appeal is. Great ideas on their own don’t have much value but they are a solid place to start!
And then there’s this new OP, courtesy of the master Masaaki Yuasa himself. After founding Science Saru and making a series of television and film productions, Yuasa has now left the studio in the hands of the extraordinarily capable Eunyong Choi, and is once again starting to work independently
I can imagine how smaller freelance projects might appeal to Yuasa – he’s an indomitable fan of loose, expressive animation and overall visual design, and simply There isn’t much room to pursue such interests within the risk-averse confines of a series. You need an anthology project like Space Dandy or a smaller canvas like an OP or a music video to really explore what animation can do today, which is why we also see directors Irresistible creative actors like Rie Matsumoto also abandoned television animation
From the start, these goofy walking cycles are reminiscent of Yuasa’s playful contortions and fun children’s animated creations. This is a really interesting combination – Yuasa’s plays with perspective and body curvature are often accompanied by free-form designs like those in Kaiba, but here they are applied to the art Spy x Family’s tightly consistent characters create strange contrasts in form and content
Oh man, and I love these unlined splashes of Yor and Loid in battle. Just the uniquely colored blasts of Loid’s pistol momentarily highlighting his figure is a fun, dynamic way to convey his abilities
Meanwhile, the next scene of Anya and Bond rushing across text bubbles also evokes the same frantic, busy digital interface as Eizouken OP. That OP was directed by Abel Góngora, who will soon direct the Scott Pilgrim anime, which seems like a perfect progression of his talents
There are even some impressive mechanical animations for these cars and planes! God, this is an absurdly generous OP
We open with the sounds of a series of blows in almost complete darkness, the lack of immediately obvious context requiring the audience’s full attention. The less engaged the audience is, the more the audience will focus on whatever is available – whether it’s visual composition or sound design, smart artists will carefully use minimalism to engage. the audience’s attention to what’s important
We soon see that this violent scene is Yor completing her latest mission, with the previous scene simplified to convey one of Yor’s missions as her target realizes it
It is clear that her goal is to be a member of the “Red Circus”. Yor has always been the least defined central variable of Spy x Family, both in terms of her characterization and the nature of her work. Part of this is probably designed to soften her identity as an assassin to keep her sympathetic, but I really hope we get a better understanding of her perspective and history in this season
The Red Circus is “a foreign-sponsored extremist group that commits indiscriminate acts of terrorism.” This could be a way to technically close Yor’s circle, working for “the same side” as Desmond while still remaining sympathetic – she quells violent extremism, but not against general government
The animators had to be very careful about Anya’s actions as she hurriedly changed the TV channel. One of the consistent flourishes of this show’s animation is the attention to the way young children manipulate their bodies, the way they move haphazardly and without full control, often seeming like they’re I rushed forward without understanding where I was going.
Bondman’s new mission is target tracking, which will presumably inform Anya’s self-assigned mission
Yor returned home with an impressively sour expression after being shot at. butt in her final assassination attempt
“I’m sure if I get a good night’s sleep, tomorrow morning will be better.” Sure enough, I went to sleep to finish off my puncture wound
“Yor is in a bad mood! Is it because I asked her to go shopping? A show starring espers about spy theater would naturally address one of the universal truths about human nature: our tendency to perceive other people’s emotions as reflections. response to our own actions, but most of what people feel is not really about us. p>
Yor’s face was extremely pleasant when she realized that you can’t sleep through a bullet wound
To “apologize,” Loid decides to go on a date with Yor, which of course she understands is a necessary aspect of a successful pretend marriage.
Honestly appreciate how this injury has let Yor down in her game. She seemed most at ease when she was frightened; the mask slips and we see her very human worries
“This is a very important mission to ensure we remain a happy family.” Ah, it’s good to be back on this ridiculous show
More excellent faces as Yor ponders the terrifying prospect of having to sit his injured bottom down
In fact, Yor really should be covered in knife and bullet scars from her job as an assassin. I suppose that would make it less realistic that Loid didn’t discover her secret, but his forgetfulness was taken for granted and I suspect Yor fans in the audience The station will complain
Franky agreed to Anya’s request to tag along with her parents. He truly embodies the perfect passionate uncle, always willing to accompany Anya on her adventures
Oh my god, I love their outfits. Franky dresses like a grumpy plumber, and Anya has the classic noir heroine disguise look – edgy shades, scarves, oversized coats, the whole outfit. I appreciate how her hair tips still poke out of the scarf
And of course she has the right shades for all her field agents, from Bond to Penguin
Loid, of course, discovered them immediately
The joke grew about Yor refusing to sit down first at a movie, then at a jazz club, then while boating. A solid combination of comic book rule number three with a silly visual punchline
“What exactly does Yor like!?” Really hoping this will pay off with an activity they can actually enjoy together; Up until now, their relationship has largely depended on their shared feelings for Anya, so it would be nice to find new ways for them to enjoy each other’s company
What follows is a nice joke about the intentionally restrained animation, as Yor slowly descends to her seat at the dinner table. Limited framing and jerky cuts have always been an interesting way to convey overtly awkward movement
One of the waiters recognizes Yor as the Thorn Princess. It seems this season is adopting a new visual cue to Anya’s abilities, with little sparks surrounding her whenever she receives a telepathic transmission. I suppose that makes it easier to monitor Anya’s understanding of a situation rather than just assuming she’s constantly hearing all nearby thoughts
The waiter tries to kill Yor by serving her a whole glass of pufferfish poison. Hah, an obvious ploy
Of course, Yor has built up an immunity to the poison, so it really just relieves her pain in the butt
“Is she in a better mood? Is it because of the drinks?” Oh come on Loid, even I know Yor likes a good drink at this point
“I’m sorry, Catherine. Please forgive me for being such a fool.” I’ve always been a fan of these types of jokes, where someone introduces the name of a character that’s never been mentioned before and is never mentioned in a pompous way. It’s a joke that plays on our inherent assumptions about dramatic focus and coherence, and it’s no surprise that I love jokes that tease our understanding of story structure.
What follows is a running gag about what this medium does best, as our would-be assassin stumbles across a hallway while letting out a series of delightful groans. Fun animation is always its own reward
Anya personally delivered the finishing blow with a real bomb and a terrifying speech. She may have blended in too well into this whole spy life thing
And we conclude with an equally lovely new ED, with soft curves, variable line widths and generally minimalist lines that deliver some expressive and fluid character sprites unique
p>
And done
Ah, it’s nice to be back with these monster forgers. Starting this day is the perfect opportunity to reset the overall family dynamic, as well as bring about a natural balance between espionage and family drama. Even if the exact circumstances are less than ideal, it’s fun to see both Loid and Yor being pushed out of their comfort zones and trying to validate each other’s feelings despite their generally underdeveloped communication skills . Excellent comedic timing, lots of fun animated scenes and a top-notch OP-ED combo to boot – Spy x Family is as generous a production as ever and I can’t wait to see what happens next according to.
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