I Try To Stay Away From Negative Topics, But After Hearing Talk On Social Media Yesterday And Seeing

I try to stay away from negative topics, but after hearing talk on social media yesterday and seeing this post from @such-a-downer, I just had to give my two cents about the complaints regarding yesterday's chapter being "another short mission" and that Endo is somehow being "lazy" or whatever.

I honestly don't understand this mentality of criticizing manga-ka, or any artists really, because they aren't delivering by whatever standards you personally think are appropriate. To me, it just seems like entitlement because Endo has no obligation to cater to any specific fan's wants. This is his story to tell the way he wants, and his characters to develop at the pace he deems fit. This isn't a business contract where we're paying him to deliver content we want every two weeks without fail. If I'm consuming the fruits of someone's creative labor for free, I certainly feel no right to complain if sometimes their content isn't what I wanted or expected. I'm fine with that because 1) I know it's what they (the creator) wanted/needed at the time, and 2) even if a particular chapter wasn't my cup of tea, I know other fellow fans out there somewhere are enjoying the heck out of it, and that's cool!

We also have to remember that SxF is basically a one-man show. If Endo is busy or sick or whatever, it's not like he can have someone fill in for him to write and draw the series. That's what a hiatus is for, that's what making a short chapter instead of a longer one is for...that's how artists should be treated so they don't get burned out and stressed. Plus, art shouldn't be rushed. Any artist knows that there are times when you have trouble coming up with ideas and maybe need a little extra time to develop a more complex section of the story. To immediately jump to conclusions that he's lazy or doesn't know what he's doing is ridiculous. Maybe he didn't feel good for a few days, maybe he's been busy with other SxF events, maybe he just needed more time to get a particular future arc developed, or maybe he just has basic IRL obligations to take care of like we all do...you don't know what's going on in his life, so don't make assumptions.

Another thing to keep in mind is that it's literally impossible to please every fan. One of the comments I read for example, someone was ready to drop the series because we haven't seen much of Yor in "a while." All I could think of was "didn't she just have a pretty big role only four chapters ago when they went to the ski resort?" Plus she was the star of chapter 91, which was less than ten chapters ago. So according to this person's standards, four chapters without seeing a particular character is "too long"? What if it was only three chapters, would that be acceptable? It's not right to push our own personal standards of a series' pacing as the "correct" way: some people want to see more of character X while someone else wants to see more of subplot Y, so should both complain that the manga-ka isn't doing right whenever they focus on something else? I'm not saying you shouldn't make criticisms of a manga-ka's work, but the criticisms should come from within the narrative itself, not superficial things like chapters focusing on subplots/characters you don't want to see or not having enough "plot-advancing" content when it's not a plot-focused series.

People who have read SxF up to this point should know the general flow of the chapters: mostly slice-of-life episodic, with more plot-heavy, intense arcs once in a while, like the cruise arc and bus arc. It's an ensemble series that spends most of its chapters focused on at least one of the Forgers, but occasionally other characters here and there. That's how the series has been for years and will likely continue to be. So if you keep complaining because you only like the dramatic story arcs and not the "nothing happens" episodic chapters, then maybe the series just isn't for you. It's totally fine if that's the case, but don't act like Endo is doing something wrong because he's not providing the particular thing you want in his story.

To summarize, Endo has no obligation to cater to particular fans' standards, just as we have no obligation to keep reading his work if we don't like it. But being a fan to me means respecting the creator's pace and vision even if it's not always what I personally want. I can find something to enjoy in every chapter because I'm a fan of SxF, not a fan of one particular aspect of it. But I also will not complain every time my tastes aren't being catered to and will simply occupy myself with other things while I wait. What's the big hurry, after all? I'm in no rush for SxF to wrap up its plot and I'm glad Endo isn't rushing either.

And that's all I'm gonna say about this topic, lol. On a happier note, I'm going to finally see Code White on Thursday! 😁 More to come later~

Hey!! I love all your analysis posts, especially the Japanese dialogues analysis ones you have been doing!! They are really really interesting and provide such an insight to the characters which just does not translate to English. Just wanted to appreciate that and thank you for doing it !!!!

I was also wondering whether during the mind reveal scene of anya in the latest arc— does she refer to herself in first person or does she continue with the third person? Yk the main scene when she reveals to Damian that she can read minds

Thank you so much, I'm glad you like my analysis posts 😊

As for your question, nope, Anya still refers to herself in third person when she reveals her secret to Damian.

She says アーニャこころよめる (Anya kokoro yomeru) which means "Anya can read minds."

2024 Updates:

Wanted to reblog this because I made some big updates to the guide:

I added Code White to the story list. There are many places in the chronology where it could fit in as long as it's after the doggy crisis arc and not in the middle of another major arc. After thinking it over, I decided it fit best before the tennis arc (I placed it right before the "bring your child to work" chapter). My reasoning is that it makes more sense for Yor to have the doubts she displays in the movie before her talk with Loid on the park bench. There's also no indication in the movie that Fiona had ever visited the Forgers before, nor any indication during Fiona's first appearance that her interactions with Twilight during the movie couldn't have taken place prior. Though it is kind of clear that the movie wants its viewers to already know who Fiona is. So again, there's evidence for and against the movie taking place before Fiona's first visit. This is just my personal interpretation looking at it from a narrative perspective.

I added the 4.5 stories from the Family Portrait novel to the list (now that I finally read it). A couple of the stories indicate where they would fit in the chronology, for example, the Eden nature class story would take place after the Stella Lake trip, and the family painting story would take place after Loid and Yor's bar date. To make it simple, I placed all the novel stories a bit before the cruise arc (since that's also around when the novel was released in Japan). But like Code White, there are many places they could fit in.

I added the bonus/omake chapters from the manga volumes, WITH the exception of ones that break the 4th wall (as of now I think that's only the one from volume 10). The majority of them can fit into many places in the timeline, though in recent volumes it seems like Endo is tying them more to the plot, as both the volume 12 and volume 13 bonus chapters are linked to specific chapters in the main story.

I added the Operation Memories video game. Being a video game, its placement in the chronology is very debatable as long as it's some time after Bond and Fiona's introductions. The game does mention a few things from the main canon, but nothing beyond season 1 of the anime from what I recall. It does seem to create its own versions of specific canon events, for example, Anya trying to sneak into Loid and Yor's rooms. But I see these more as Anya's memories she's putting into the diary and not the game copying these scenes from the actual canon.

Spy x Family Story Guide

Today I completed work on my first SxF fan project! I created a guide in Google Sheets that lists every chapter/episode in chronological order, along with other information like volume number, release dates, etc.

I know all this information can be found on the fan wiki, but my goal was to make a condensed and easily accessible series guide that doesn't require clicking through lots of pages on a web site. Hopefully someone else besides me finds such a thing useful 😅 It wasn't as easy to put together as it seems when you consider the fact that the short/extra missions are sometimes released out of chronological order, plus the fact that the anime chronology is occasionally different from the manga. But I did the best I could so I hope you enjoy! Of course I'll be keeping the guide updated as more chapters and episodes are released.

**Click HERE to view the guide in Google Sheets**

Just a few things to note:

-The guide is best viewed on a desktop, laptop, or tablet (it can work on a mobile phone but the scrolling can get a bit wonky)

-There are two tabs on the Google Sheet, the main tab that has the guide, and an information tab. Make sure to check the information tab for explanations about each column

-If you find a typo or other error somewhere, please let me know! 😃

Just saw CODE: White!!! Also managed to get the exclusive goodies from AMC 💖

Even though I can't prove this, I'd like to think that I was the very first non-Japanese person to know everything that happens in the movie without having seen it myself, since I translated the novelization back in early January. But ironically, I'm also among the last people to see the movie, since it's only now coming to theaters in the US where I live, despite releasing in Japan back in December of 2023 and then in other Asian countries in February and March. But better late than never!

Despite reading the novelization and indulging in all the spoiler-filled promotional material, I wanted to hold off on sharing my personal thoughts about the movie until I see it for myself. So now that I have finally seen it, expect a detailed review in the next day or two! 😁

Also, for those of you who are seeing it now as well, make sure to check out the 8-page manga that Endo made specifically for the movie, which I translated here. It parodies events in the movie so best to read it after you've watched it!

Thoughts on Spy x Family: Family Portrait

I finally got around to reading the SxF light novel, Family Portrait...and I mean "finally" because it's literally been sitting in my shelf since it was first released in English back in December of last year! I was distracted by Code White and the SxF video game which came out around the same time, but even long after that, I was having trouble getting motivated to read it. For some reason, experiencing SxF in novel format instead of in anime/manga just didn't appeal to me, plus the fact that it's not written by Endo himself (these weird preferences of mine are also why I'm not into reading fanfics either). Don't get me wrong, in general I love reading stories in prose form too, but for a series like SxF that already has such an established visual identity, it doesn't feel as "authentic" to me if that makes any sense. But I did want to read it eventually, since it is an official part of SxF media and Endo did the illustrations and does acknowledge the book (he wrote a nice afterword at the end). So I finally sat down and read it in sections over the course of this week! I'll share my brief thoughts on each of the contained stories:

Novel Mission 1

Since this was the first story in the book, it took me a while to get used to experiencing the world of SxF in novel form. There were some things I felt would have been better conveyed in anime/manga, for example, one of the very first gags about Yor misinterpreting Anya's nature class as some sort of hardcore outdoor survival trip. As I was reading that part I was like "I get the joke, but it would have been funnier if I actually saw these images and the characters' expressions with Endo's comedic illustrations." It was also a bit jarring to hear the characters thoughts and feelings from third-person narration, but I got used to it. As for the story itself, it was Damianya focused, something I'm not particularly into, but I don't mind it either. I liked the rare, soft Damian moments, and the thing with the squirrel eating Anya's peanut trail was funny. I also liked the scene at the beginning where Loid and Yor feed Bond together while Anya watches.

Novel Mission 2

Oddly, this was my favorite of the stories! Of all the characters, I think the author nailed Yuri's unhinged thoughts the best - as I was reading, I couldn't help but hear every cringe thought in his voice, which is a good sign of how well the author gets the character! I actually chuckled at a few parts too, both from his insane Yor-obsessed and anti-Loid musings, as well as from his banter with Anya. The police interrogation scene was great and would be even better if it ever gets animated! I also found it interesting that this story has the first instance where we find out what Yuri thinks about Bond (that he's fat and useless - rude!) Also his first time hearing about Franky apparently...makes we wonder if Endo will make him feel the same way if these things ever come up in the manga.

Novel Mission 3

I liked this story a lot too! I think it worked the best in novel format out of all of them, probably because it was more focused on drama and emotions than comedy. It's ironic that the two official SxF stories that feature the deeper side of Franky's character - this one and the omake chapter from volume 13 - are both not even part of the main canon! Alessa would have definitely accepted Franky's job as an informant, but he felt that someone like her should only be surrounded by "beautiful things." The poor man really needs to see that inner beauty matters too, and he has that! I also think he should have swallowed his pride and told Loid the real reason why he wanted the disguise...not that it would have changed the outcome. Poor Franky.

Novel Mission 4

This was a cute Forger-focused story, but like the first one, I felt it had parts that would have been more effective in anime/manga form, for example, "hair monster" Yor and whatever hideous painting Felix ended up making! But despite that, it was still funny and cute. Though I do think the author went a tad overboard with Yor's flustered antics...they just kept going and going, lol. Also, like the movie, we have another scenario of Loid getting flung into the air by Yor but landing gracefully on his feet (though this instance was much tamer since she wasn't drunk and only pushed him instead of hit him). Again, maybe I would have appreciated the humor in this story better if I saw it in anime/manga with Endo's hilarious designs and expressions, but for what it was, it was enjoyable enough.

Short Novel

This extra short story would be perfect as a reintroduction story for a future anime season...maybe one day!

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Overall, the Family Portrait novel is a nice addition to the Spy x Family universe. Even though I feel the humor in the series is most effective in illustrated form, it's still nice to have more stories in the canon, especially ones that show new sides to the characters, like the Franky and Yuri stories. Like the movie, it's debatable if this novel should be considered true canon or not, but personally, I don't find anything in it that contradicts canon, at least not yet. So yeah, definitely check out the novel if you haven't already! 😁

Spy x Family workbook scans - part 2

The second SxF workbook is about programming, though it's just comprised of very simple logic problems. But regardless, the illustrations are once again extremely adorable ❤️

Family outing time! (in their outfits from the Berlint aquarium episode)

Chibi versions of the characters, including the only image of chibi Sylvia! (for you @kaibutsu-kid)

One of the scenarios in the book involves picking the right ingredients based on what Anya wants (meat and eggs) but also nothing fried, since Loid has a stomachache 😦

Yor is going to cook! The book doesn't explicitly say anything about her bad cooking, but Anya says "Mama, don't overdo it" as she and Bond look at her worriedly! (also, strangely, they have Yor refer to herself as "watakushi" even though the pronoun she always uses for herself is "watashi").

One of my favorite images from this book - mother/daughter grocery shopping 😊

Whatever Yor ended up cooking, at least she's happy about it!

Some cute Anya~

And cute Anya & Bond!

Such adorable Bond poses ❤️ I love his angry face!

Loid peeking in on Anya studying and her indignant expression 😅

The book acknowledges Yor's city hall job and her job as Thorn Princess, which is a nice detail!

Also Loid's job as a pshychiatrist.

Becky and Anya on their way to somewhere fun~

Lol, wherever Anya is going with Yor here, she doesn't look enthused 😅

This page is a cute scenario about Franky making a robot and giving it instructions in the proper order to open the wine bottle.

Yuri makes a brief appearance in this book too. Judging by the look on his face, he must be drinking something that Yor made for him and not Loid 😂

And lastly, Anya in a Bondman costume! Loid needs to get her that in canon.

Continue to Part 3 ->

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