Forum - View topicSpy × Family (TV + movie) (w/ index).
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smurky turkey
Posts: 1938 |
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Another chaos filled week with Yor coming to think once again if there is a reason for her to stay an assassin. I do wonder though, she started her career to provide a better life for her brother, but I assume that she does not get large amounts of money (we have not seen proof of that I think). Her brother is now an adult (physically speaking). I suppose there is keeping the evil guys in check and not wanting to get murdered by Garden after saying you want to quit.
Otherwise the ship has a lot of fun things to do including golfing, magic shows and fireworks. It also seems like the final conflict is starting soon and that there are a lot of assassins left. |
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zfunk
Posts: 250 |
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I find it odd that Handler put Twilight on this mission to pretty much do nothing. Makes me wonder if she knows about Yor double life or at least have some kind of working relationship with Matthew.
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2851 |
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S2 #7
After all the action last episode and the first part of this episode, it's almost surreal the assassins lost track of the targets after they found a different safe room to bolt into. Then again, without such a convenient plot device viewers wouldn't have the luxury of seeing what "regular" guests (Tasogare and Anya) would do on a luxury cruise ship. A classy way for Anya to help out Ibarahime without doing anything herself directly. Misdirection with the help of her mind-reading (the only way kids are able to) was much more effective than I expected. Ibarahime is handicapped in this mission knowing her pretend family is on board, and that is preying on her mind. Even her director is calling her out on the lack of attention she usually pays during missions. Although most of the motivations for starting the Garden jo have already stopped being relevant, one remains: Ibarahime has no truck with evildoers and is happy to kill them so that everyone she lives with has better lives. Just as her director treats the mission as an eternal war with soldiers fighting in the shadows rather than the battlefield. As for Tasogare, he's probably never had a vacation since he started the job. So he still treats this as a mission and has no idea (nor the mindset) of having fun the same way Anya (inadvertently) does during the second day of the cruise. Anya still infuriates him in her irrational mood swings, but at least now he's starting to understand that she's still a child and that no matter how pretend the family is Anya likes Yor (as far as he interprets it) and she'd be much happier if Yor was with them as a family unit on this cruise. He might still intervene to help Yor indirectly, but it would be quite a stretch for him to do so without each blowing their cover to the other. It looks like next week is the conclusion, but it only takes half the episode. Not sure how the remaining airtime will be filled with the franchise's usual eclectic selection of one-off storylines. |
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Edjwald
 Posts: 1136 |
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I really appreciate that Yor is getting some fleshing out in this arc. She usually comes across as kind of air-headed, but it's probably because she walled off her two worlds way back when she had to raise her brother by herself. Not that it has to be explained, because this isn't that kind of a show, but that would still explain how she's able to retain her odd innocence while being able to flick a switch and turn into a relentless killer at the drop of a body. It's interesting seeing how her worlds are merging and how it's making her do some delayed soul searching.
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smurky turkey
Posts: 1938 |
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Yup, that was the best episode of this season thus far. Lots of extreme (and rather bloody) action this week, yet due to some fun transitions and over the top reactions it never felt dark. We also had a bit of character growth for Yor, who is sticking in there despite having taken quite a few hits. The same can not be said for the director, he has peaced out. It seems like we are heading towards the conclusion and judging by the bomb in the preview, Anya's ominous words might become reality.
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2851 |
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S2 #8
This is a longer arc than I expected, last week's trailer actually threw me off because the animators threw another curveball which anime-only viewers wouldn't have expected. As expected, it's always the longer story arcs which showcase the franchise's strengths. Garden are composed of supernaturally strong fighters, with most of them having some kind of psychological defect to compensate for their ridiculous strength. Ibarahime and her director are no different, the former has absolutely no social mores while the latter is pathologically dedicated to cleaning up even in the middle of more pressing matters. This is probably the first time in the adaptation Ibarahime has actually come close to death and suffered non-trivial injuries as well, so a good time for the franchise to elaborate on what really makes her tick. Turns out she's not that different from her sis-con brother, only without the unhealthy possessive tendencies Yuri has. It does get her past that first hurdle, but with the director (temporarily?) out of commission she has to finish the job on her own and do it without drawing attention to the top deck now that the fireworks show is over. Since the episode is all about Ibarahime, Tasogare and Anya take a back seat for once. Next week's trailer indicates Anya still has a part to play to assist and she most likely can once the crowd disperses and her mind-reading picks up the assassins and Ibarahime's inner thoughts. How she can help without arousing Tasogare's suspicions is going to be one to watch. The post-credits standalone arc actually makes sense given the current state of affairs. It's a running joke now that Yuri is miraculously alive despite everything his sister did for him with the best intentions. Since durability runs through the family genes, the older sister will most likely get through next week and can spend the remaining time on the cruise ship trying to find a way to fool her pretend family regarding the injuries and cut hair. |
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Edjwald
Posts: 1136 |
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It was pretty intense seeing Yor unleash her inner beast once the people she was trying to protect were out of the way. And equally intense seeing someone who's Yor's match show up.
So does this world have supernatural elements? Or mutants or something? |
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Edjwald
Posts: 1136 |
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Today's episode felt like it would go well on a big screen, partly because of the extra love lavished on the music score and partly because of a lot of big open frames with large backgrounds.
And that "I'm sure Lloyd would forgive me!" thought seemed like a pretty powerful moment. |
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smurky turkey
Posts: 1938 |
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Yeah, it really was an episode that felt movie worthy. The entire family helped in making sure the assassins were defeated and the ship would not go up in flames. Rip to those two baddies that got eaten by the shark. Seems like next episode is the final episode of the arc and a calming down one.
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2851 |
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S2 #9
This week is effectively the climax of the cruise ship arc, because next week is the aftermath it's another split between the Forgers enjoying the island together and Anya going to school and bragging about her trip. Episodes like these are a reminder why the franchise was so highly rated in the first season, so getting these out at least once per quarter keeps the viewers happy. It's a shame the major arcs don't come as often as they do, but that's the secret to delivering a solid product AND keeping the animators behind it motivated enough to not complain publicly about any working conditions they have to suffer to produce the output. Granted, it's only a happy ending because Deus Ex Machina needs to intervene more than once in this episode for everything to tilt towards the Forgers in their various objectives. A brief count: 1. Anya, despite her hopeless physical attributes, actually succeeds in throwing the hairpin onto the deck. 2. Number one alone is a miracle, the next is for two hapless assassins to help the hairpin on its way to a more favourable location AND to alert Ibarahime to its location. 3. Anya listens in on the existence of multiple bombs on the ships, and then nudging Tasogare to his first real contribution in this arc. 4. Anya coincidentally bumping into the wounded assassin coordinator and learning about the clock bomb. 5. Tasogare finding the clock bomb in time and making the decision to throw it overboard right where the getaway life raft is. Although the explosion didn't kill them, the sharks or the elements certainly would with no one aware they were overboard. The rest is up to Ibarahime (with a little help from her Director) and Tasogare (with nudging from Anya). The former probably fought and bested the most difficult opponent of both adaptations this week (she fought Tasogare to a draw in the first season anime-original episode and that doesn't really count since she was dead drunk) while the latter had to disarm multiple bombs with time pressure and under disguise (less of a problem for him, if anything he probably feels better doing his job compared to his "vacation mission"). It's not just Ibarahime who's starting to forget they're still a pretend family. I don't know if Tasogare's final monologue is from source, but if it is he too is starting to think of the 3-person unit as a real family despite the circumstances that brought them all together. Although the three of them were effectively working separately for this arc, if it means their relationship gets closer despite not really working together that's going to be immense for future arcs. I'm curious how the three of them are going to enjoy the island without any of them revealing what they did, especially Ibarahime with her patched-up injuries. They'll figure it out somehow, since Tasogare can be dense when it comes to his family unit while Anya will do what she can to nudge everyone away from the subject. |
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smurky turkey
Posts: 1938 |
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That was a nice relaxing episode after all that intense danger and action. Enjoying the resort and getting settled in back home made for a great end to the vacation. It was also nice to see the reaction to said vacation from the different characters. In the case of Anya though, that is what you get in a class filled with children of the super rich.
As for the final two episodes, I assume we will be getting some more short stories. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2851 |
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S2 #10
Finally something in this season which actually emphasizes the "Family" in Spy x Family. The ship must have arrived on the island first thing in the morning and the Forgers literally did everything they could with the time allotted to them. Tasogare is typically less vigilant when he's with Ibarahime, so she can get away without having to invent a heavily detailed cover story. For everything else, they just had to do regular family activities. This was probably the best part of the vacation for Anya, after the unexpected stress of the last few episodes. Too bad she couldn't brag about it to her classmates though, since it's so vulgar compared to what the rest of her monied peers do when on vacation. Seeing Tasogare do the bridal carry for Ibarahime and hold Anya as well was comical, not just for the visuals but also for his mental reaction at getting stared at by just about every passerby while he slowly makes his way back to the ship. He didn't play much of a role in this arc since it was really about Ibarahime, but it was enough that he wouldn't want to see another cruise ship again for some time. As for his boss, it's somewhat worrying for Tasogare that the intelligence network he relies on never really figured out what happened on the ship. If there are limits to how far his network operates in Ostania, he'll have to be extra careful around Yuri and other security personnel as his cover isn't as deep as he would like. The aftermath of the cruise ship is also entertaining in its own way. Whether it's another bout of Anya funny faces, or the look on her face when she's told her family what happened at school and then mind-reads all of them for their true reactions, there's never a dull moment watching her just as Damien says. Now that the big focus of this season is over, what's going to fill the rest of the airtime? If they can squeeze in an episode which links to the next major story arc, that would be ideal instead of the usual fare of one-off side stories. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2851 |
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S2 #11
The short stories aren't as strong as the longer story arcs for entertainment value, so the animators go for the ones which maximise the comedy value to compensate. The first half is a long laugh fest as the number of crossed wires combined with Ibarahime's penchant for overreaction and lack of physical restraint make the arc comedy gold almost from start to finish. Anya has the same viewpoint as viewers, but Anya being Anya she looks out for her interests first and foremost and doesn't think too deeply beyond the benefits at face value. Tasogare doesn't quite understand what Becky is really driving at, but his usual work mode takes over and he's a little too blatant when in interrogation mode. The second one is a reminder that Tasogare has a subordinate who's as dense as he is but also insanely obsessed with him. Tobari has even less exposure this season thanks to Ibarahime's exploits, so there's a point to giving her some screen time so that casual viewers remember who she is. She's going to be in the last episode as well, so it looks like she won't be just comic relief the same way Yuri is. Interesting contrast when showcasing her exploits during the same time the Forgers are on the cruise ship. Just the last episode to wrap this season up. |
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smurky turkey
Posts: 1938 |
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Some more solid/funny side stories indeed. I like them if they are in balance with the longer main arcs. This season taught me that 4 or more episodes of them in a row tends to make me become less interested/engaged.
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Edjwald
Posts: 1136 |
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Yah, the first stretch of single story arcs did go one or two episodes too long at the beginning of the season IMHO. I wish they'd cut that weird Bondman story and the one where everyone was competing for a legendary pastry that boosted brain power or whatever. But as a break after a long arc, I thought today's episode was money.
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