The anime adaptation of Spy x Family premiered this month and became an instant hit. Let’s take a look at the creative background behind the story.
Manga
The manga is written by Tatsuya Endo and is serialized by the Weekly Shōnen Jump. After the serialization of his action manga titled Gekkan Bijin ended in 2012, Endo created three one-shots titled: Rengoku no Ashe, Ishi ni Usubeni, Tetsu ni Hoshi, and I Spy.
The author didn’t really think about serializing anything for years until I Spy was released and was met with positive reception. He and his editor, Shihei Lin, had a serialization meeting with Shōnen Jump and Endo thought up a basic story with a spy motif literally a day before. According to Lin, Endo wanted to illustrate the manga with an emphasis on “reading ease” by utilizing simpler lines in his illustrations as well as creating a simpler story for the readers. Compared to his one-shot submissions, Endo decided to go with a comedy route and created Spy x Family.
Spy x Family became an instant hit with its readers. Lin believes that this is because of the “family dynamic”. At the end of 2010, Japan saw more films that depicted family with no blood-ties such as And, the Baton Was Passed and Shoplifters. Films with such themes grew in popularity and that is because in modern society, family bonds are weakening and many long for a close-knit family. The protagonists in the story are not bound by old views of family, in contrast with the teachers of Anya’s school. The family’s approach to the entrance examination in the story overlaps with the “healing,” “support,” and “companionship” that people yearn for in today’s society.
Despite its cinematic atmosphere, the series uses a novelistic approach in which the main characters’ monologues can be heard which has been a popular story-telling method in recent Shonen Jump manga.
Anime Production
Everything began when Toho consulted Wit Studio about a planning competition. Anime Producer Tetsuya Nakatake appeared at an event hosted by Wit Studio called the “Animation Studio Meeting” (or Anisuta for short) alongside Yuichi Fukushima from CloverWorks. They talked about wanting to work together on a film. The project was planned as a joint production by the two studios.
The joint production of the two companies allows the advantage of reducing the burden on the staff even for series that run for more than two cours. In addition to that, the animation quality would remain consistent throughout, allowing each respective studios to utilize all its resources for every episode.
The odd-numbered episodes are produced by WIT STUDIO and the even-numbered episodes by CloverWorks. In addition to animating and adding finishing touches, the art departments of both studios are in charge of background art for their assigned episodes. The editing studio MADBOX is in charge of the photography and 3DCG, but they work in concert with CloverWorks to create the cinematagrophy.
Spy x Family is set to run for two seasons.
Themes
Sources: Nikkei Entertainment May 2022 Issue, Real Sound, Comic News 6
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