Spy x Family: Code White Review
For a series that’s only been around for five years, it’s impressive how fast Spy x Family has earned its spot in pop culture. Set in a fictional world locked in a Cold War of West and East, the hit anime and manga follow the Forgers, a seemingly ordinary family on the surface; they’re a cover. The Dad, Loid, is a western spy trying to stop a potential war. His fake wife, Yor, is an office worker by day and a deadly government assassin by night, and neither knows the truth. And the only one who does, their adopted daughter, the meme-worthy Anya, is a five-year-old who can read minds but barely understands what’s happening. Oh, and their dog can see the future.
You can see how easily anime can become so popular. Between Yor and Loid being top-tier waifu and husbando, respectively, and almost everything Anya does being a meme, the series is meant to make people laugh and know how to do it. And while I am only interested in it, I appreciate Spy x Family’s comedy enough to see its first foray in theaters, Code White. And after seeing it, I can confirm what one review I read said: you’ll either like only one half of the film or enjoy all of it. That is the beauty of the duality of Spy x Family.
One Part Comedy/Slice-of-Life
Despite being written as a single film, Spy x Family: Code White is
two shorter films fused into one. For the first half of the film, the Forgers go on a weekend trip north to learn how to make the favorite dessert of the person judging a cooking contest at Anya’s school, with the winner getting one of the Stella Stars needed to become an elite scholar. AKA, the most essential part of Lois’s mission to meet the man the West suspects might be planning…something. They really don’t know, hence why they’re doing this. And with the higher-ups looking to take him off the mission for not moving fast enough, Loid needs this win. Hilarity ensues as the Forgers struggle to get everything they need.
To make matters worse (I.E. funnier), due to a misunderstanding, Yor thinks that Loid might be cheating on her with another woman. This is in spite of the fact that both of them know their marriage isn’t real, and they’re only pretending to keep Anya in that school. But Yor is so socially awkward and prone to worrying about standing out that she gets gaslit by her gossipy co-workers into thinking that’s what happening. Again, they’re not really married!
This is what makes Spy x Family so funny, though. Even though they both know what they have is fake (for now. I ship them,) Loid and Yor do care about each other and they care about Anya. Loid can claim he’s doing this for the mission and Yor to protect her identity all they want, but everyone knows they care about their found family. And even though not all of them are aware of what’s going on, they’ll all go to great lengths to protect this.
That is the first half. The second half is where the action ramps up.
…One Part Spy Thriller
By sheer coincidence or rule of plot, a group of soldiers are in the area carrying a microfilm that could start a war between East and West. And Anya manages to accidentally eat the chocolate that it’s hidden in, making her a target. Now both her adoptive parents have to race to save her life and the world. And they have to do it without letting the other on about what’s happening.
In any other setting, trying to keep each other in the dark about the truth about everything would be played for drama. Instead, Code White plays it up for laughs, especially when it should defy common sense! At one point when Loid has to land the airship they’re on, he passes it off as something he learned as a student. And Anya gives her this deadpan look that screams “Really, papa?” It’s pretty funny. And there’s also a running joke about Anya having to avoid going to the bathroom to get rid of the microfilm. Because if she does, she’ll die. (She never even ate it, though.)
A Really Fun Film, and Great Way to Kill Time
All jokes aside, once the film does focus on the action, it does a good job at it. There’s a reason why Loid and Yor are so popular with fans beyond their looks, and it’s because when they get serious, they get stuff done. The entire second half of the film is one big action sequence that would make John Wick, James Bond, and Eggsy Unwin proud. It’s not as intense as some fights in the Shonen genre, but it’s still fun.
As far as going to see it in theaters, you can either take it or leave it. If you love Spy x Family for its action, espionage and comedy mix, go see it. If not, then you could afford to wait until it’s on one of the many streaming services out there. At the very least, it helped me to kill time on Friday night, and I’m happy with that.
