Spy x Familywas the show practicallyeveryone was hyped for this season, and now that fans are in the thick of things, a look at the team behind the magic is long overdue. This collaboration between Wit Studio (Attack on Titan) and CloverWorks (Promised Neverland) should have anyone not already watching very excited.
Tatsuya Endo’s original manga of the same name is ongoing and became a hit shortly after its release in 2019. It’s the story of a spy with alias Loid Forger starting a pretend family with a pretend wife named Yor who is secretly an assassin and a pretend daughter named Anya, who is secretly a psychic. The catch is that none of them know the others' secret. The pressure to get such a beloved series right in animation had to be steep and as many would argue, a studio name alone doesn’t mean much for quality. It’s all about the individual staff working on it. A good composer, a solid director, or even just a single key animator can make or break any given episode.
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Director: Kazuhiro Furuhashi
Furuhashi’s most recent acclaimed position was as the director ofDororo, a 2019 production by MAPPA and one of that year’s most acclaimed shows. The credit which jumps out the most would have to be theRurouni KenshinTV Anime from 1996 and its OVA sequels.
It’s clear to see that Furuhashi-san has a good track record for manga adaptations, notably such highly-regarded source material.Dororo, in particular, is a legendary workby the “Father of Manga” himself, Osamu Tezuka, andKenshin’s reputation is respected, even with controversy surrounding its creator.
Animation Direction
Since this is a collaboration between Wit and Clover, there are two listed animation directors. A quick look through their resumes makes it clear who hails from which studio.
Kyouji Asano (Wit Studio)
Asano has been busy this season, as not only as an AD (Animation Director) onSpy x Family, but also a key animator on Netflix’sBubblewhich also released this season. He’s been an animation director on such shows asGreat Pretender,Attack on Titan, and was even a character designer on Production I.G.‘sPsycho-Pass.
A glance through Sakugabooru.com, where a lot of valuable examples of animator’s work can be found, sadly yields very few cuts by Kyouji. In the last month, sakuga fans finally were able to credit him to a legendary fight fromHunter x Hunter (1999). Regardless, Asano’s AD resume is more than enough to give credence to Wit’s episodes ofSpy x Family.
Kazuaki Shimada (CloverWorks)
Shimada’s most notable AD credit comes from CloverWorks most popular series of the last few years,The Promised Neverland, where he also served as character designer. Even ifthe second season has been considered a letdown, it can’t be understated how much the visual direction of the series won over audiences’ hearts.
There have been claims as to how the episodes will be divided among Wit Studio and CloverWorks. Some claims stated that it would be split into even and uneven episodes. While it’s been more or less confirmed that the premiere episode was animated by Wit, claims as to the exact division of work are unconfirmed.
Music and Theme Songs
(K)NoW_NAME (Music)
(K)NoW_NAME is a music group that exclusively produces anime soundtracks for works such asGrimgar: Ashes and Illusionsand,more recently, MAPPA’s adaptation ofDorohedoro. Given their vocalists and the illustrations of said vocalists by artist “So-bin”, they give the impression of an idol group, but their specialty is anime OSTs.
Regardless of the genre, their sound skews towards rock with heavy guitar and drums. Some techno can be heard as well accompanying their more psychedelic soundtrack forDorohedoro, for instance.
A look through their discography doesn’t immediately give a sound one might associate withSpy x Family. However, Makoto Myazaki and Shuhei Mutsuki of (K)NoW_NAME have created a sound very in spirit with the spy genre, combining some of their rock sensibilities with orchestral accompaniment.
Opening/Ending
The opening track, “Mixed Nuts,” is performed by Official HIGE DANdism. They also performed the opening for last year’sTokyo Revengers. The ending track, “Comedy,” is performed by Gen Hoshino. The biggest surprise in researching the staff is to find that Hoshino hasn’t produced too many themes for anime. Frankly, given how delightful the ending is, that almost seems like a crime.
With two big studios sharing the load under one unified animation team,Spy x Familymay end up being a technical marvel in addition to a narrative delight. With six episodes having aired at the time of writing, it’s halfway to the finish, and it will be exciting to see if Furuhashi and co. can stick the landing.
Spy x Familyis available for streaming on Crunchyroll in North America.
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