Spy X Family has gained a huge following since its anime series debuted in 2022. With the conclusion of its second season, fans may have to wait a while for more adventures with the Forger family. To hold us over, the team behind the series has released the series’ first film Spy X Family Code: White. Written as a standalone original story, the movie is here to help satisfy fans of the popular series. For audiences unfamiliar with Spy X Family, they can also enjoy the film as it helps bring them into this world without requiring prior knowledge of the story. It is a fun spin-off film filled with action, humor, and heart.
Spy X Family Code: White does offer a quick recap of the series at the start of the film to help fans old and new to catch up with what’s been happening with the Forgers. The series follows super spy Loid Forger who works with an organization under the name Twilight and is stationed in the country of Ostania. To hide his identity, he concocts a cover where he enters a marriage of convenience with a woman named Yor and adopts a little orphan girl named Anya. What he doesn’t know is that Yor is a hired assassin while Anya is a telepath. As these three form a faux family while hiding their identities from one another, the series puts them on a thrilling adventure filled with comedy and action.
The film carries over from the original narrative as Loid gets stuck in a predicament with his employers who feel unsatisfied with his current progress with Operation Strix. With his assignment at risk of being dropped, Loid gets desperate to help Anya win the cooking competition at her school to get his handlers to allow him to continue with his cover. To pull off this job, Loid decides to gather the ingredients necessary for Anya to please the judges and win the contest with an incredible dish. The Forgers end up going on a family vacation to another town to complete this task. However, the Forgers soon end up in the middle of a military coup after Anya accidentally eats a bonbon that contains a microfilm that is important to that operation.
Like the show, Spy X Family Code: White also has many comedic moments filled with crazy antics and wildly insane situations that pit our family into the heart of the story. It feels more like an extension of the series, pitting this found family in a situation where danger lurks on all fronts. Filled with amazing fight scenes, it proves just how formidable both Loid and Yor are at their professions. The film emphasizes just how Yor is in a fight and how her character grows after spending time with Loid and Anya. This movie puts Anya front and center with her adorable and silly expressions that will win viewers over. There’s a particular scene with Anya that blurs the line between reality and imagination when she is put in a delicate spot, which turns into one of the strangest and funniest scenes throughout the film.
The animation is also gorgeous to look at with its vibrant colors. The film carries the same style as the series, so it’s as if it’s still part of it. Some of the fight scenes may come off a little choppy at parts, but it doesn’t ruin the overall enjoyment of the film and its story. The character designs are also quite impressive with the detail given to each facial expression. It doesn’t feel underwhelming or overstuffed with the animation, which helps the audience follow along with our characters and this crazy journey that they partake in. The pacing runs smoothly without slowing down too much and hits that sweet spot with balancing comedy and action mixed with heart.
Much like other anime films, Spy X Family Code: White does suffer from being less connected with the series with hardly any stakes for our characters. It’s rather difficult to be invested in an original story not derived from the manga that doesn’t offer any consequences that affect our characters in future stories. Once the film becomes predictable, audiences will become less invested in the story knowing that nothing will change after the film ends. Even the villains come off as comedic and hardly much of a threat against our protagonists. Some of the jokes may also not land as well with audiences. Perhaps if this were part of the anime series as a small arc, maybe audiences would feel somewhat differently.
In the end, Spy X Family Code: White is a fun movie that the whole family will enjoy. Whether audiences are fans of the series or are newbies, they will find the spin-off movie wildly entertaining filled with action and comedy. The family dynamic is the theme that carries throughout the film being as heartwarming and emotional as the series it follows. Even though the film isn’t canon to the main series, audiences will still love spending time with these characters. With crazy fight scenes and hilarious encounters with the Forgers at the center of it all, Spy X Family Code: White is a great first film for this spectacular series.
Spy X Family Code: White is now playing in the US in theaters nationwide.
