Spy X Family Workbook Scans - Part 2

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 ->

<- Return to Part 1

Spy x Family workbook scans - part 3

Here's the last batch of scans from the SxF workbook series (at least until they make more!) This one is about learning how to draw and color.

I especially liked the below two illustrations~ Anya helping Mama shop and cook ❤️

The book artists did a fantastic job with Anya's expressions!

Anya dressed as Loid, Yor, and Becky 😂

The next four pages is an activity where you either have to paste stickers or color objects for Anya and Bond's many outfits (I put the stickers on but didn't bother to color anything, lol). I love little confused Loid off to the side 😅

My favorites are mermaid Anya/lobster Bond, and their pirate and devil outfits 😁 I also love Anya's だいまんぞく(completely satisfied) expression in the lower right of the last page.

Anya and Becky shopping! (some of the illustration is white for you to color in). Anya's says, "Anya wants to drink cocoa and eat peanuts" and Becky replies, "You're such a child, as usual." 😅

And last but not least, one final cute family image! (the plate is empty because you're supposed to draw whatever you want to be their meal). I wonder what Loid's "WINE" wine tastes like 😆

If more of these books are ever made, I'll definitely try to get copies and make more scans!

<- Return to Part 2

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!

Japanese Linguistic Observations in Spy x Family - part 4

Part 4 - Furigana and double meanings

I discussed in Part 2 how Japanese is comprised of three different alphabets: hiragana and katakana (together referred to as "kana") which represent pronunciation, and kanji which represent meaning. With there being over 2,000 kanji in common use, as well as various ways to pronounce any one kanji character depending on the word it's in, children learn kanji gradually throughout their school years. So manga and books aimed at a younger audience will typically have kanji "translations." These are comprised of small kana called furigana which are printed to the right of the kanji to show how to pronounce it. In the below panel for example, the one word that has a kanji is the 嬉 in 嬉しい. The furigana shows that 嬉 is pronounced うれ ("ure") to make the adjective "ureshii" (happy).

Sometimes manga authors will use furigana+kanji in creative ways to convey different meanings to words that specifically suit their story/characters. This alternate way of translating kanji is called 当て字 (ateji). One way of using ateji is to help introduce fictional terminology. In SxF for example, Ostania and Westalis are made-up words, but Endo assigns them their own kanji: 東国 for Ostania and 西国 for Westalis. The second kanji for both of them is 国 which means "country," and the first kanji for Ostania is 東 which means "east" while 西 for Westalis means "west." However, to differentiate them from the actual words these kanji represent ("toukoku" and "saikoku," which mean "eastern country" and "western country" respectively), Endo writes out their pronunciations in katakana next to the kanji. You can see this in the panels below.

Even though they're not real words, by assigning them kanji that represent what they are – "east country" and "west country" – even without any context, Japanese readers get more information about these terms than English readers do thanks to the use of kanji and furigana.

Another way manga authors can use ateji to suit their needs is by telling readers to pronounce otherwise normal Japanese words in the "language" they want. For example, the word used for "codename" in SxF is 暗号名, which is a real word that is pronounced "angoumei." However, when we look at the furigana that Endo assigns to it, he specifically tells us to pronounce it like the English word "codename" (コードネーム).

Since SxF is a series that takes place in a fictional version of Europe, Endo must have found it more fitting to use English for specific keywords like this.

While the above examples are fairly common throughout all manga, especially those that have a lot of fictional terminology, Endo also gets creative with using ateji to form double meanings that lend insight into the characters' thoughts/feelings. And we get one of the best examples of this in the very first chapter:

This is the scene where Twilight's saying that he became a spy to create a world where children don't have to cry. The word for children, 子ども, should be pronounced "kodomo," however, the furigana is telling us to pronounce it as じぶん (jibun), which means "self." By creating this double meaning of Twilight saying he'll make a world where children and/or he himself doesn't have to cry, points out in a subtle yet poignant way just how much Twilight's trauma as a child shaped his determination to make sure other children don't have to suffer the same fate. It's a brilliant way of showing a deeper side of the character that he wouldn't outwardly show.

A similar example occurs in chapter 49 during the cruise arc, in the scene where Yor is guarding the room at night, thinking about how she was dragging her feet during the Barnaby fight. Her last thought during that scene is wondering what she's fighting for, however, even though the word used is いばら姫 (ibarahime), which means "Thorn Princess," the furigana tells us to pronounce it as わたし, which is the "I"/"me" pronoun that Yor uses.

The ambiguity of reading the word as "I" or as "Thorn Princess" emphasizes how she's struggling with her Thorn Princess identity at that time. It can almost have a different meaning when reading it one way or the other. For example, reading it as わたしは何のため ("For what reason am I [doing this]…) or as いばら姫は何のため ("For what reason is Thorn Princess [doing this]…) gives the impression that she's trying to distance herself from "Thorn Princess"…that she's unconsciously seeing herself and "Thorn Princess" as different people.

Another example that's not as deep but still interesting is from chapter 87, where Sylvia visits Fiona in the hospital and tells her not to push herself so hard, even for his sake, with "his" referring to Twilight. The kanji used is 黄昏 (tasogare) which means "Twilight," but the furigana translation is あいつ (aitsu) which means "that guy/that person."

This is a clever way to use kanji/furigana to indicate that Sylvia is indeed aware of Fiona's feelings for Twilight by having her not refer to him by name, but also informing the reader that she definitely knows who she's talking about.

I also find it interesting that all three of these examples are spoken from a character we're viewing from behind. I think it's just a coincidence, but still interesting 😅

I'll wrap up with one more example from chapter 58, where Loid notes that his understanding of Bond is lacking, just like Anya. Once again, the word for children, 子ども (kodomo) is used (Loid likes making double meanings with that word, doesn't he?) but the furigana translates it to アーニャ(Anya).

I interpret this as him saying he needs to understand children better, but he specifically means Anya (even though he doesn't want to admit his particular yearning to understand her).

If you're wondering how the anime handles these ateji, it seems to vary. In the anime version of the chapter 1 example, Loid says the correct kanji translation "kodomo," but in the chapter 49 example, Yor says the furigana translation "watashi."

The anime seems to use the reading that would make the most sense if spoken out loud by the character.

I haven't read enough manga in Japanese to say that this use of furigana+kanji to create double meanings is a common thing, but even if it is, I'm sure Endo has his own unique style of doing it. I know there's more examples in SxF that I missed, and unfortunately I don't have the time to look through every chapter to find them. But if you happen to come across any others, feel free to let me know 😃 I may amend this post or create another one if more interesting examples pop up.

Continue to Part 5 ->

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Seems like Endo is busy, probably with 5th anniversary events, so we have another short mission today! But first we got this lovely new illustration of Anya with cherry blossoms~❤️

As for the chapter itself, it was cute. Since Bond doesn't talk, whatever he's thinking/feeling isn't always apparent, so chapters that focus solely on him are good to have now and then. Seems like the usual: he's still taking Loid's delegation of him as a guard dog seriously (perhaps too much so)...

...and he still thinks Yor would freak out if he makes a mess (still based on that miscommunication with Anya from chapter 40). However, I also thought it was cute that he wanted to do what Yor said about having a nice meal after "work" (keeping the postman away). Shows that he doesn't only see her as scary 😅

In the Japanese version, Penguinman's dialogue is written totally in katakana, which makes it even more creepy!

But as is typical of Endo, despite the cute, funny mood of this chapter, he manages to slip in a subtle moment of drama - in this case, we get a glimpse into the horrors of the lab that Bond came from.

Having scenes like this in otherwise light, comedic chapters really serves to flesh out the SxF world and its characters, even a simple, mute character like Bond. When we know the trauma that the characters have been through, it makes the wholesome moments that they experience feel all the more rewarding.

And just like the other Forgers, despite what he suffered through, Bond still wants to do good for others, even if it just means licking the wound of a rival.

Is it mentioned on the SxF Workbooks who the artist is? I'm super curious because I absolutely ADORE their art style, it's so darn adorable! 🥹

Here's the staff for the first book, but they're mostly the same for all three books. It looks like the person credited for the illustrations is named "Pekio" (must be a penname), the cover design is by Hideaki Shimada and Eri Arakawa, and the body design is by Daiju Asami and Hikaru Tateno. I'm guessing they all had some contributions to the art, put probably "Pekio" did the actual illustrating.

(for those who don't know the books this post is referring to, click here)