Hello folks, and welcome the heck back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am beyond eager to charge back into Spy x Family, wherein the Forger’s Family Cruise is ratcheting up its tension and violent provocations by the second. When last we left off, Yor was on the verge of fighting the appropriately titled Sickle-and-Chain Barnaby, an assassin who apparently cares a great deal about appearances and very little about disguises. With this ostentatiously murderous assailant stalking the halls, how will Yor hide her assignment from her husband in the next room!?
I have no idea, but I’m quite certain the solution will be marvelous in its ingenious stupidity. That’s most of what I’m looking for here: ideas so stupid they loop back around to brilliant, something this cruise ship arc has so far offered in abundance. Drawing the family together for a group adventure always adds a welcome dash of spice to Spy x Family’s theatrics, and if protecting these informants prompts Yor to reflect on her relationship with her own alleged family, so much the better. Let’s see what madness awaits in a fresh Spy x Family!
Episode 32
“Who Is This Mission For?” Alright, looks like we will in fact be diving back into Yor’s reasons for continuing her assassinations. Good to hear; not only has Yor generally been the least-characterized of our leads, she’s also the one with the least connective tissue between the two sides of her life. Assassination has so far been characterized mostly as a lingering connection to Yuri, so I imagine we’ll now be seeing a way to connect her work to her desire to protect her family – and if so, I’m curious to see if she’ll be challenging her handler regarding the precise nature of her duties, and perhaps seeking out more work that’s similar to this current mission
Ooh, some excellent action choreography right from the start, as Yor contends with this annoyingly well-defended opponent
The sickle and chain is a classic weapon style, but this guy’s of course updated it – rather than just a heavy metal ball or blade at the end of his chain, he’s got this preposterous spiky ball-with-blades-in combination. Clearly the most efficient and subtle of assassination weapons
Comedic timing on-point as ever; here, Anya’s sudden appearance is actually made all the more comical through the sound design, which places her “ahhh, sugoi” at a lower volume way in the background, all the better to emphasize the disconnect between her attitude and Yor’s frantic calculations
More delightful action choreography as Yor dodges and spins away from the bladed chain. I like that her movements here don’t default to “badass dodging” – she’s not performing for an audience, and so we get goofy sequences like her doing a split in midair to avoid the swing
Lots of excellent smears too, very effective for conveying the speed with which Yor spins her needles
“I messed up, and now there are tons of people watching us. Maybe I’ll just mow her down along with everyone else here.” Dude, I know it’s a shady business, but I can’t imagine this lack of professionalism leads to repeat clients
Ooh man, such good drawings for Yor’s final approach! Love this shaded “demon form” as she dives in, as well as the sense of weight and momentum captured through these camera transitions. This match cut with Yor’s needle and the chain is particularly deft – the camera jumps about ninety degrees as Yor passes it, but we still feel a sense of continuity because the needle remains in the same position within the frame for both cuts
The modulation of speed is also important – bodies move with either manic speed or deliberate slowness, echoing Yor’s precise control over the battle’s pace. This also echoes the chain’s movement, either swinging freely or bound tightly in place
And then Loid emerges in a… sailor suit/swimsuit/water floaty/hermit crab hat/waterproof clogs ensemble. Incredible work, Twilight
Meanwhile, our Enigmatic Gale-voiced assassin has infiltrated the targets’ old quarters and pinpointed their perfume. Why are VIPs always so bad at staying alive
As ever, special attention is correctly paid to animating Anya’s goofy little walk cycles, here all the more uncertain due to her past-bedtime fatigue. Actually laughed out loud at the harsh, hollow-sounding noise they use for her bonking into a table. Cruel joke, foley crew
Olka asks her company guardian Zeb why he took the risky job of sticking with her, which prompts him to tell a story of how the mafia family’s black markets actually kept him alive after the war. Seems like an easy opening for Yor to reflect on her own reasons for risking her life – what is she trying to protect, to venerate, or to build? Nostalgia alone can’t be her reason for fighting
The contrast between his generally cowardly demeanor and conviction to protect Olka seems purposeful – he’s a living example, demonstrating how much fighting for something you believe in makes you stronger. And if Yor were fighting for what she believed in, given her existing abilities, she’d be unstoppable
“So killing and getting killed is just normal for you guys?” Zeb continues to serve as a natural irritant, challenging Yor’s unconsidered assumptions with his curiosity regarding her bizarre lifestyle
Yor’s handler responds by speaking to the inevitability of conflict, and departs with “Forger, if you don’t concentrate on the mission, we’re all going to die.” He essentially embodies the harsh, utterly focused ideal that Loid once aspired to – a pure instrument of the cause, with no emotional attachments distracting from his purpose. Yor hasn’t consciously grappled with her shifting values and behavior as a Forger, but she’s nonetheless undergoing the same transformation as Loid, and it’s dulling her edge
His words prompt her to at last consider this evolution – how her body now feels heavier because she has something to lose, because serious injuries to her would likely mean the end of her new home
“What am I doing this for?” How is she supposed to return to being a pure assassin, now that the reason she did this in the first place has grown beyond a need for protection? Isn’t she just undercutting the new happiness she’s found as a Forger? Very happy to finally be digging into Yor’s ongoing motivation like this
Meanwhile, Frankie’s lamenting his new duties as official dog walker, only to realize that walking a dog is the ultimate romantic icebreaker
Hah, and that’s it for Frankie! Guess they just slotted in a 4koma epilogue between the A and B parts, apparently the staff just can’t get enough of Frankie
Oh my god. Anya’s rude, incomprehensible demands regarding Loid’s behavior have essentially broken him, setting him adrift in a sea of uncertainty regarding all of his abilities. Please have a nice day with your dad Anya, you’re giving him an existential crisis here
Well, at least it’s a beautiful day. Some very nice painted clouds as the dawn breaks
Excellent transition to the source of all his grievances, the currently snoring Anya
“I don’t know why, but adults love golf. My plan is to sneak away while Papa is concentrating on golf.” Loid would surely approve of Anya’s keen strategizing if only he weren’t also the victim of it
Unfortunately, it turns out minigolf is actually really fun, and thus another morning is soon wasted
“Why are you glaring at me!? You were clearly having fun!” Ahaha Loid I am so sorry. You are trying so hard and doing so well, and Anya is just impossible. Well, I guess that’s parenting for you
And as crowds gather for the fireworks, the final act of Yor’s mission commences!
And Done
Ah, delightful stuff. We got basically a five course meal of Spy x Family specialties this time, with an energetically executed fight scene, plenty of excellent Anya-related nonsense, and even a dash of that Yor introspection I was hoping for. It is immensely satisfying to be moving beyond her characterization as essentially being too airheaded to really consider her situation, and at last be questioning whether the Thorn Princess and Yor Forger are compatible identities, or even both desirable at this point in her life. Like poor Loid, Yor is coming to find more satisfaction in the messy ambiguity and heady victories of being there for her own child, which will presumably evolve into a new sense of purpose in her Thorn Princess missions. But before that, I’m guessing we’ve got some savory fights on the horizon!
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