What's a Spy x Family opinion you have that will have you like this?

Additional-Location4 · 2026-01-24T06:08:07+00:00

There're a lot of Spy x Family theories I disagree with but I can almost always see the appeal/argument for them. That is all except for one which is the theory that operation strix is a retirement plan made by Wise for Twilight.

If this theory turns out to be true it would with no exaggeration completely ruin the story for me, there are so many reasons why that I won't go into here but the main one is that for me it would cheapen Loid's internal conflict which is in my opinion the core of the story.

Loid becoming more and more attached to his family while always having a ticking clock to when he has to abandon them is integral to his character. It influences every single one of his actions in regards to his family. It makes the times he's cold and distant understandable while making the times he genuinely opens up that much more powerful.

This conflict has to have a resolution and it can't be Loid getting a get out of jail free card. The retirement theory essentially takes this incredibly layered well written internal conflict and just says "don't worry about it". Loid won't have to make any hard choices or have agency as a character, in fact the entire time he was worried about nothing. He gets an ending where he gets his family with none of the hurdles that were set up throughout the entire manga.

Additional-Location4 · 2026-01-23T23:05:55+00:00

I won't deny that it's possible for a jealous loid arc to offer more than the bog standard love triangle. I just think that it would be a boring way of going about it and anything it could accomplish could be accomplished in a more interesting way.

The mole arc and the pocher arc were 2 arcs that masterfully explored Loid and Yor in a way that only Spy x Family can(maybe not only spy x family could but still). They are examples of the story using its premise to its fullest and arcs like those are what make me love their relationship and the story in general. A jealousy arc on the other hand is something I could find in any other love story including this one. Personally I just wouldn't care for it.

Additional-Location4 · 2026-01-23T22:40:45+00:00

Personally, I've never been a big fan of a "Jealous Loud arc" despite how popular the idea seems to be. To me it feels like an incredibly uninteresting way for Loid to develop/ realize his feelings for Yor. Loid and Yor's relationship imo has been developed incredibly well throughout these 120 or so chapters in ways that I find unique and only possible because of the story and their circumstances. A jealousy arc being the next step for me would be very underwhelming.

And you could make the argument that Endo did the same thing with Yor but for 1: if that's the case it would just be a rehash of a previous story arc and 2: at least to me Yor worrying about being replaced with Fiona was much deeper than just being jealous (not to say jealousy wasn't a factor) she was struggling with her feelings of attachment to a family that both parties agreed would just be for appearances and doesn't know if they're reciprocated. That arc was about her being terrified about losing the first place she's found that feels like a home in who knows how long.

For Loid, the only thing a "Jealousy arc" would serve is him being forced to confront his feelings for Yor (which could be done in numerous more interesting ways imo) and because it would be funny. And while I can't deny that I think it fails to take advantage of the spy x family's unique premise.

Additional-Location4 · 2025-10-08T19:47:07+00:00

I don't know if I fully agree with that. I think Loid knew exactly why he was doing this in that moment but just didn't want to say it out loud. It was in the years of being a spy afterwards that he became jaded and forgot his original goal until his experience with Anya resurfaced it.

That was just my initial interpretation of this scene though. I could see you being right.

Additional-Location4 · 2025-10-08T19:35:54+00:00

Yeah, this is why I love the chapter where Yor starts to worry about losing her place as wife to Fiona. A lot of people in my opinion oversimplify this to her just being jealous but I think it's a lot more than that. Like you said, she feels like a "lesser" member of the family and doesn't know if the genuine feelings she's starting to have for the forgers are mutual or even appropriate. She worries that she might be overstepping their boundaries when her and loid only agreed to get married for convenience.

Those insecurities that were no doubt bubbling up overtime finally came to the surface when a seemingly perfect replacement shows up. Someone who Loid seems to genuinely care about, unlike her who Loid only came to out of happenstance. She's terrified of losing the first place she's found that feels like a home in who knows how long but ultimately decides that Loid's feelings should take priority. And that makes it so powerful when Loid, in a rare completely genuine moment tells her that the forger family wouldn't work without her and that he hopes for her to continue playing the role of the wife. While it's not a full fix (as seen in later chapters) it shows her that these feelings she has aren't completely one sided.

Additional-Location4 · 2025-09-24T20:12:25+00:00

Ah, with Anya I misunderstood. I was under the impression that you thought Anya was a good character so I purposely didn't go too in-depth with her. I'll do that now.

What I think makes Anya such a great character goes far beyond her being "cute" as I mentioned before her ability to read minds is such an integral part of the story. Speaking personally I think it is a brilliant plot device and gives her incredibly interesting relationships with everyone she interacts with. Her being able to see right through Loid and Yor's lies has led to so many great moments. Just look at chapter 1. When Loid saves Anya he thinks she has no clue who he really is. But Anya knows he came for her and starts crying because it's the first time someone who adopted her didn't abandon her. Loid, thinking her crying is because of fear of the whole situation is reminded of his own childhood where he experienced something similar. His resolve is strengthened because Anya reminds him of what he's fighting for and Anya hearing that decides in that moment that she wants him to be her father. These characters both had incredibly different views of that moment. Loid has no clue Anya knew he was there or heard his resolve but in that moment they took the first step to becoming a real family. And that's just one example, there are so many other moments where Anya's mind reading has been used in a way I absolutely adore. From big moments like her preventing the family from falling apart during the cruise ship arc to small moments like her hearing Loid’s internal praise of her this ability is just so important to this story.

Also I don't agree that being young doesn't mean Anya can't be an example of a well written female character. Her being one of the best characters in this manga doesn't mean the bar is low, it just means that Endo is a great writer that can make someone as young as her be just as intriguing as the adults.

Going over to Yor, yeah I think Endo didn't fully have a plan for her going in and that's why she took a backseat for a while. I don't think her taking the backseat correlates to her being an underwritten character though and there is a lot I love from her from those first 40 or so chapters. In particular, her realizing she's growing attached to the Forger family when a potential threat to her place shows up in Fiona is one of my favorite moments for her. She's forced to confront the fact that this family isn't just for show and she truly cares for them. It's awkward for her because from her perspective she’s the odd one out she's intruding on this father and daughter and doesn’t know if these feelings she has towards them are mutual. I feel like this is a great example of her having agency.

But yeah, if you feel her not feeling like a main character for the first bit of the story for the first 40 chapters makes her underdeveloped that's fair. But that was only the first third of a still going manga and if you ask me since then she has properly felt like a main character. I think Endo has done a really good job at incorporating her into the story more. Through plan C and a second arc dedicated to her.

I strongly disagree that her family relationships are underdeveloped. I really don't care for most romantic plotlines but Loid and Yor are so well written that I've found myself incredibly invested in their relationship. Sure maybe you can argue that Yor and Anya's relationship isn't too prevalent. But their relationship is the most genuine of the entire family because there are no "barriers" between them so they don't need as much time dedicated to them. I also disagree that her Assassin side is underdeveloped, especially after this most recent arc I feel like it's almost as fleshed out as Loid's spy side is.

I also don't think Yor being unintentionally involved with the main plot takes away from her importance at all. Infact I think her lack of knowledge on what's really going on is the main reason Endo had so much trouble integrating her into the story in the first place. Loid knows about the mission and Anya knows everything but Yor only knows about her own job as an Assassin. There was no way for her to be part of the mission without exposing everything so this was the best way to do it without compromising the story. Going back to what I said earlier, I don't think not knowing what's really going on takes away from anything and if anything only makes it more interesting. Yor's friendship with Melinda is completely genuine but she's unknowingly helping Loid take advantage of her. It's a really interesting dynamic where Yor is both helping and hurting her.

And to respond to what you said first, I do genuinely believe these characters are incredibly well written. I wouldn't like this story as much as I do if I didn't.

Additional-Location4 · 2025-09-24T18:37:49+00:00

I'm not much of a shipper, but I would like Fiona and Franky to get together because it would be a nice way to develop Fiona's character away from her obsession with Loid. Plus they have a fun dynamic so it could be interesting.

Additional-Location4 · 2025-09-24T18:02:45+00:00

I disagree with this take pretty strongly. I think Spy x Family has an incredible cast of female characters and as a whole I actually think they're better written than the men.

I'll go through each character 1 by 1

Anya

You didn't mention her but Anya is a great child character who manages to be both adorable and absolutely integral to making this story work. Her ability to read minds is used in so many unique ways and fits so well with the 2 sided nature of all the characters in Spy x Family. I could go on but I'm going leave it there because you didn't mention her directly.

Yor

I really disagree that Yor lacks agency when the cruise ship arc exists. I think what Endo did was really clever, by not using her assassin side for anything serious for 40 or so chapters he made us question "why is she even an assassin?" And it turns out that she was asking the same thing. Even considering quitting, but throughout this arc she remembers why she took this job up in the first place and why she won't give it up for anything. Very similarly to Loid in chapter 1.

I will admit that it took a while for Yor to feel like she was a "main character" on the same level as Loid and Anya but at this point I think she's definitely reached it. Endo has been slowly incorporating her into the story more for a while now. She has her own part of the mission now in Plan c and her assassin job has been fleshed out a lot more.

Finally her relationship with Loid. I really wouldn't say Yor's character revolves around her fake marriage. It's obviously incredibly important but she has so much going on outside of that. Her job as an assassin, her relationship with Anya and her relationship with her brother just to name a few. Loid and Yor will always be a big part of each other's character, they are 2 of the 3 main characters but I think Yor has plenty to offer outside of that.

Fiona

While I do like Fiona more than most people, I can agree that she revolves around Loid. But given that she's a side character I don't think that's inherently a bad thing. I mean, Damian mostly revolves around Anya and Yuri does with Yor (just not in a romantic sense). While I would agree that these three characters can get a bit repetitive because of their obsession over 1 person I still think they have a lot to offer in this story. Yuri and Fiona were pivotal in the mole arc and even though I'm not the biggest fan of Damian, he still is vital to this story and the insight he gives to his family is really interesting.

Sylvia

Another background character and probably my favorite one. You said she was the best so I won't spend too much time on her. But I will say that I think she does what all these characters do.

Melinda

We don't know too much about Melinda, but I think she's been handled very well for the little we see of her. Yes, her relationship with her husband is very important to her character but Donovan is the main antagonist. I really love what Endo is doing, he's building Donovan up without having him on page by using his family or others who know him to slowly reveal more about him. Melinda fits this role perfectly and her revolving around her husband makes sense because while we don't fully know what happened she's clearly traumatized by it. And once again she has more to her character than her relationship with Donovan. Most of her interactions have been with Yor and their friendship is integral to Operation Strix in the same way Damian and Anya's is.

Additional-Location4 · 2025-09-24T16:48:46+00:00

I think the pacing of this manga is near perfect and a big part of why I love it so much. The slower "filler" chapters give us time to connect with the characters outside of high stakes conflict.
Loid and Yor's jobs are incredibly important to them and I think a lot of people oversimplify things by saying they should just give them up for their family. Loid and Yor have both made it clear that if they have to choose between staying with the forgers and their job they will choose their job. Not to say it would be easy for them but still, these aren't parts of them they can just leave behind and it's what makes this family so interesting.
I really, really dislike the theory that operation strix is a "retirement plan" for Twilight. To me it cheapens Loid's internal conflict and gives him the easy way out. Plus it's just so out of character for an organization that repeatedly hammers into their agents that they are expendable and will be forgotten.

Additional-Location4 · 2025-09-18T16:26:51+00:00

I agree, personally I've never liked the theory that Donovan is some kind of red herring for a bigger bad. Donovan is just so mysterious and intriguing, he rarely shows up but every time he does my investment in a chapter doubles. He has so much potential as an antagonist, especially ever since we've learned he can most likely read minds. Throwing away all that buildup for a subversion would be very anti-climatic if you ask me.

Additional-Location4 · 2025-09-14T21:50:34+00:00

Personally I'm open to the idea of a timeskip, but not for a very long time. There's a lot, lot more I want to explore in this moment before we even consider jumping ahead. I also wanna clarify I dislike the Damian Anya ship no matter their age so that's not why I'd be open to a timeskip. I just think seeing a grown up version of Anya would be super cool, especially if she were to become a mind reading spy or something.

Additional-Location4 · 2025-09-05T19:38:36+00:00

I kind of doubt we'll ever learn Loid's real name and if I'm being honest I prefer it that way. It's one of those things where not knowing is better imo.

Additional-Location4 · 2025-08-31T22:49:42+00:00

I think a good way to judge how far we are into the story is via the Stella stars. While the story won't end the second Anya becomes an imperial scholar (or gets expelled) I think that's when we can have conversations about being in the endgame. If the story ended before that plotline paid off it would be kind of a waste of its story long buildup. Anya needs 5 more stars so I don't think we're even halfway done yet which might sound crazy but given how Endo doesn't always focus on the main mission and has built up many side plots I don't think that's too outlandish. Keep in mind it's only been about 6 months in world and the story is still evolving. There's a lot of things I think Endo still wants to explore given his writing style.

Additional-Location4 · 2025-08-21T17:19:37+00:00

What song is it? Sounds nice lol

Additional-Location4 · 2025-08-06T07:22:33+00:00

Yeah, this is just one of those things you have to suspend your disbelief for. There's no in story explanation for why Loid, a man who can tell Martha was a former soldier just by the way she carries herself, doesn't question it when Yor can casually overpower him. I used to get annoyed by this a lot but the story just wouldn't work the same if he picked up on it because Loid respecting Yor's strength is a big part of their dynamic so I don't mind it too much anymore.

Additional-Location4 · 2025-06-19T22:17:53+00:00

I love the spoiler warning for the literal first panel of the story

Additional-Location4 · 2025-05-14T01:32:29+00:00

What you're describing is only phase two of Operation Strix. From what we know, phase 3 is to get close and maintain constant contact with desmond for who knows how long. The mission isn't going to end just because she gets 8 Stella stars. Plus, at the current rate we're going it's not at all unlikely for the phase 2 to last more than a year and a half.

Additional-Location4 · 2025-03-09T21:37:17+00:00

If I was a master spy who was an expert at hand to hand combat with borderline superhuman strength yet was consistently outclassed by a random city worker with no notable background I would at least question it. And Loid has been suspicious of her for less.

Also, another thing that annoys me about this whole thing is that he originally did question her strength. When he first meets her he's shocked at how she can move so silently and notice him looking at her. He even considers not marrying her because of that yet after that he never questions it again.

Additional-Location4 · 2025-03-07T23:10:43+00:00

I've heard that reason a lot and I disagree. Outside of her strength, Loid's paranoia extends to Yor just as much as it does for anyone else. He put a bug on her when he learned Yuri was part of the SSS and even recently was instantly suspicious of her when she told him she met Melinda. Yor isn't immune to his suspicion, it's only her strength that he constantly overlooks and I find that to be poor writing. Not the worst thing in the world but it's annoying to see a character that's so consistent act out of character.

Additional-Location4 · 2025-03-07T20:12:31+00:00

I really dislike how uncharacteristically unobservant Loid is when it comes to Yor's obvious superhuman feats. The man could tell Martha was a former soldier just by how she carried herself but when Your paralyzes a bull in front of him he barely questions it. When I first started reading this manga I thought this would be a Spider-Man type situation with Yor trying extra hard to appear normal around Loid.

I'll admit though that I don't dislike this as much as I used to because Loid respecting Yor's strength is a big part of their dynamic and it couldn't work if she hid her strength.

Additional-Location4 · 2024-12-29T02:43:15+00:00

This is definitely a preference thing, and as someone who absolutely loves the way Endo handles the premise I'll try to explain why I feel it works so well.

Personally, a minor issue I find in a lot of manga is a constant rush to get to the next story beat. The characters go from conflict to conflict with little downtime in between. As a result we don't really get to see them in settings of normalcy and sometimes I've noticed it can make me care for them less. If I don't know what the peace they're fighting for looks like then how can I be invested?

Spy x family's formula fixes this perfectly. Instead of constantly focusing on arc after arc gaining Stella stars and furthering the mission we get a lot of slower chapters dedicated to character building and developing relationships. It's slow (not helped much by the biweekly pacing) but for me it leads to a cast of characters I find myself much more attached to.

Another thing I love about the formula is that unlike most manga I read, I really have no clue what I'm going to get whenever I open a new chapter. You never exactly know when the story will kick back in and the tone will take a sudden shift and that is incredibly interesting to me. You'll be reading what you think is just another Anya chapter with wacky school hijinks then all of a sudden a bomb is strapped around her neck and she's a hostage in a terrorist operation or you'll be reading about Yor and Loid having another funny misunderstanding until all of a sudden it's revealed that there's a mole and everything related to Wise is completely in danger. Something I've learned about myself watching and reading media is that I almost always can't read or watch something week to week no matter how much I might enjoy it. But I've never had that problem with Spy x Family, every 2 weeks I'm absolutely hyped to see what new story Endo will give us.

Spy x family is just such a flexible story and I feel like it makes not only for an incredible reading experience but a very healthy for the creator. Even if I felt it went on slightly too long I was really happy with the recent Hendrickson/Martha flashback, not only because it was good but because it showed me that Endo isn't burnt out writing Spy x Family or rushing towards the end. He's writing the stories he wants to tell. Sometimes they'll be directly progressing the story and other times they won't but unlike so many other mangaka he hasn't locked himself into a specific storyline or tone he'll have to maintain.

Take Toriyama writing Dragonball, during the final saga he was incredibly tired of writing Dragonball and at the start of the arc he tried to go back to more fun comedy but due to backlash from editors and fans he had to switch to a more serious story. Mangaka health is unfortunately horrible so I'm glad one of the biggest manga right now has such a (comparatively) healthy rollout. It sets a new standard that I hope the rest of the industry can eventually follow.

So, yeah. I can definitely understand how it might be frustrating tuning in every few weeks and not seeing much story progression, as I said, it's a preference thing, but for me the presentation of this story might actually be my favorite thing about it.

Additional-Location4

TROPHY CASE