SPY×FAMILY Episode 5

They sure took A LOT of artistic liberties with this episode as almost half of it wasn’t in the manga. I know, I know, I’m one of those manga readers who can’t help but compare the two mediums. But it’s honestly really hard not to. Basically more than half of the episode didn’t really happen in the manga. So it kinda threw me off a bit since this episode was essentially filler. It was cute and heartwarming, don’t get me wrong, but I wasn’t sure how I felt about this one chapter encompassing an entire episode since it was just a small, but cute moment in the manga.

We start out the episode with some several things going wrong for the Forger family, which brings some rather foreboding feelings. Especially when they find out that Anya didn’t make the cut, which was hilariously contrasted by the spy agency believing that Loid’s plan had succeeded. But thankfully, Henderson came through for the family and was able to get Anya first on the waiting list. And while being first on the waiting list is great and everything, I do understand the anxiety that goes in waiting to see if anyone drops out. Signing up for college classes flashbacks and being waitlisted. Since it always feels like a gamble. Though it was hilariously silly that Henderson gave them points for “saving” that swine of a housemaster by killing a mosquito lol. Hey, if it works, it works.

I find it funny how invested Yor is in getting Anya into the school now. Especially since she seemed almost indifferent to the fact that this family could break up if Anya didn’t make it into Eden in the previous episode. At most she made it sound as if it’d only be a slight impediment to her work. In the manga (at least in the official English translation), she even says “it’s not like I care.” While yes she only agreed to be the mom in the family so that she could continue her assassin work with less suspicion, but I’m sure that she definitely cares more than she realizes. I mean, the first thing she thought of was to go after one of the parents of the kids who are currently enrolled just to ensure a spot for Anya. She seemed desperate about it too. While she may not be aware of it yet, she most likely has developed a soft spot for this life in this pretend family as well.

Thankfully, Loid and Yor didn’t have to go to desperate measures to ensure Anya gets in as the call they had been waiting for finally told them of Anya’s admission. And boy was this girl treated to one heck of a celebration. Of course she would want something grand and totally out of any normal family’s league and asked to basically roleplay an episode from her favorite TV show, Bondman. And just to satiate this kid’s want for excitement so she can go to school, Loid employs the help of his entire agency. Which is freaking hilarious how everyone seemed to believe that this was all part of a super important mission. Which, I guess isn’t untrue since they gotta keep Anya happy so that she goes to school.

When it was noted that the castle Loid rented out was part of an amusement park, I was starting to get a little suspicious. And sure enough, they made one heck of a spectacle out of what was only eight pages in the manga. Controversial opinion time with Shadow, but while it was cute and entertaining… I didn’t really feel the need for that scene to be expanded on. Especially since it did feel very fillerish. Though I did laugh really hard at that part where Yor was drunkenly fighting with Loid and then just fell asleep after falling down from a broken heel. The animation for that part had no right to be that fluid in that moment lol.

Once Loid successfully “rescued” Anya from the”bad guys,” the two went on to have a tender father-daughter moment with each other. And while I wish Yor had been a part of it, I can understand that Loid and Anya have a special bond since the family had started with those two. Which was very sweet since it does seem like Loid is allowing himself to be more genuine with Anya with each passing episode.

I feel like my iffyness towards this episode stems from also watching Kaguya-sama. Especially since Kaguya-sama pulled off a very silly premise and spun it in a way where it actually helped to progress character growth and bring elements from set up from earlier episodes. While this episode had a few important moments and all of it was done so that they could encourage Anya to go to school after making it in, I do prefer the briefness this moment was in the manga rather than it expanding for an entire episode. Maybe that’s just me or I just overall prefer this series in the manga. It was still a very fun and cute episode and I can understand why this chapter in the manga would be more standalone. Overall, I still prefer to how brief and simple but still adorable it was in the manga since I feel like it felt more meaningful that way.