Spy X Family Season 3 – 08
Let me start by saying that this two episode arc is better than average Spy X Family, no question. And indeed this season has been clearly better than the one before. As I’ve opined many times this show tends to be better when it’s about something, and when the kids are in center stage (though those don’t happen in conjunction all that often). So credit where it’s due – we’re two-thirds through S3 and it’s definitely a step up.
The problem is, with SxF it always seems to be a matter of giving with one hand, taking with the other. I certainly didn’t miss Loid and Yor here – things were just fine without them. And as awful as Yuri is at least he wasn’t around much – though his intervention was enough to derail things for a while. The larger issue is Endou-sensei’s tendency to try to deal with serious issues in simplistic ways. He always wants to have his cake and eat it too – have SpyFam addressing totalitarianism and state terror while having his often-lame humor and presenting pat resolutions where they don’t belong.
It is in essence a mixed bag, and the way this arc dealt with its plot was very much that. I give points for humanizing Billy and making it clear that Red Circus was a political organization before it became a terrorist one (prompted by brutal oppression by the state). But the fact that all of these prisoners are going to end up murdered in their cells by the Stasi within a day or two (or that Yuri is a member, for that matter)? Yeah, we’re not gonna talk about that part. It seems as if Endou understands that the state is the real evil here, but he can’t resist trying to humanize them and minimize their evil over and over.
I would have liked more interaction among the kids, and a resolution that leaned more heavily on their actions. But Anya had her moments (“Tungsten!” certainly stands out). I’m not sure whether this is just over now, or whether there will be some acknowledgement of these events (maybe that’s why Anya and Damian are getting a medal). I don’t have much hope that we’ll see these events placed in realistic historical context, but there’s certainly the opportunity to elevate this subplot in how it’s addressed next week.
Ranma ½ (2025) – 08
Another Happosai-free week, another fun episode of Ranma ½. I guess when you have as many nutso characters as a Rumiko comedy tends to have, there are going to be hits and misses. In her own words (from an interview with her close friend Adachi Mitsuru) Rumiko is a “cramming” mangaka. She tries to get as much content generally in as she can (which of course is rather the opposite of Adachi). H***i is definitely a huge miss, but on balance I’d say Kuonji Ukyo is a hit. She’s not my absolute favorite Ranma character but I find her more amusing than not.
Ukyo is one of those roles that had to be re-cast, as Tsuru Hiromi sadly passed away in 2017. But this is Ranma – even with a new seiyuu you know they’ll get a big name, and they certainly did in Nazuka Kaori. They even got Fumihiko Takichi to play her father. The deal with Ukyo is she’s the daughter of an okonomiyaki cart vendor and childhood friend of Ranma’s. As usual when something is royally screwed up it’s Genma’s fault, and when Ukyo arrives in town spatulas flying it’s because he screwed her family over. Of course he does his best to blame Ranma for it, but as far as I can tell he didn’t do anything wrong here at all.
Another fiancee is the last thing Ranma needs, of course. I think he had to be the last person to figure out Ukyo was a girl (it was pretty obvious), though he has his childhood memories clouding his sight. It’s kind of interesting to hear him call her “cute” – has he said that about any other girl so far? By appearances Ukyo appears to surrender when she finds out that Ranma and Akane are fiancees who don’t get along, but this is Ranma ½ – it’s safe to assume nothing is ever that simple.
The post Weekly Digest 11/23/25 – Spy X Family Season 3, Ranma ½ (2025) appeared first on Lost in Anime.
