Spy x Family Code: White

If you’ve paid attention to the anime scene in any capacity with the last few years, it’s likely you’ve heard of Tatsuya Endo’s Spy x Family, a highly successful manga and anime series about a spy who forms a false family for the sake of an important long-term mission without realizing that his adopted daughter is a telepath and that the woman he marries is an assassin. This success paved the way for not only a second season of the anime, but also a feature film, Code: White, which recently received a wide theatrical release in the US. As fans of Spy x Family, we leapt at the opportunity for more original content and saw a dubbed screening at the earliest opportunity. Needless to say, we had a blast, even with some small criticisms.

Loid Forger (Alex Organ), the alias for the highly skilled spy Twilight, is informed by his handler (Sylvia Sherwood) that WISE has seriously considered replacing him on Operation Strix and reassigning him, which he could prevent if he makes meaningful progress on his mission. After Loid leaves his meeting, he learns that Eden Academy, where his daughter Anya (Megan Shipman) attends, will hold a cooking event where the winner may get a Stella star, which will help his mission. The judge will be the school principal, whose favorite dessert, as Loid recalls, is a regional variant of Meremere found in Frigis. To both give Anya a leg up and help salvage Operation Strix, Loid suggests taking a family trip to Frigis so they can faithfully recreate the dish. Yor (Natalie Van Sistine), Loid’s wife, is worried that his suggestion is a sign of infidelity based on something her co-workers said, but is nonetheless excited. On the train ride, Anya gets bored and, by telepathically reading a precognitive vision of Bond (Tyler Walker), the family’s dog, finds a suitcase containing a chocolate truffle. Anya inadvertently eats the truffle, turning a normal family vacation into a fight for world peace.

It all starts when Anya (Megan Shipman) finds a key.

Although non-canon to its parent series, and not written by the original mangaka, Code: White still feels like a good Spy x Family story. It has the same humor and engaging writing that fans love and explores both the wholesome and action-packed aspects that give the series its unique identity. I also appreciate that while the film does have an original cast of villains, their involvement gets a tidy resolution and the overall story doesn’t contradict anything established in the manga or anime, instead respecting the source material and not deviating from Tatsuya Endo’s vision. Each of the Forgers feel in-character and also make a significant contribution to the plot and all of their subplots wrap up rather nicely by the end.

While Code: White has immediate appeal for pre-existing Spy x Family fans, I also appreciate that the film makes an attempt at making itself accessible for someone unfamiliar with the series. The narrator gives a basic explanation of who the Forgers are and explains the status quo when necessary for the benefit of the audience. Even when certain characters aren’t explained, you can still get a good feel of their relationships through their interactions alone. This approach not only helps refresh a fan’s memory, also helps Code: White operate more as a standalone feature that anyone could watch at any time.

The film gets you up to speed on the Forger family.
Pictured (L-R): Anya, Bond (Tyler Walker) and Yor (Natalie Van Sistine).

Wit Studio and CloverWorks’ prior experience with the anime shines through as well, providing a consistent style while taking advantage of the increased animation budget for the well-choreographed fight scenes and well-timed visual humor. Since we saw the film dubbed, I thought the returning voice actors did a great job and sounded more comfortable in their roles.

As much as I loved Code: White, however, I did walk away with a couple criticisms. Not enough that they diminish the film, but they still stood out. Two are more about pacing, as the film’s slower pacing in the first half results in one point where it drags and one later joke related to the “God of Poop” (it makes sense in context) goes on a bit long. The only other critique is that unlike Nightfall (Lindsay Seidel), who kickstarts Yor’s subplot and helps Twilight at certain points, and even Franky (Anthony Bowling), whose short presence has a payoff, Yuri Briar (Dallas Reid), Yor’s brother, feels superfluous. His presence doesn’t affect the film at all apart from reminding fans that he exists and has a sister complex. In fact, you could cut out all of his scenes and nothing about the story or plot would change. Although I’m not a fan of Yuri, I would hope that if he does appear in a potential second film, he could actually do something meaningful.

There’s no reason that any Spy x Family fan shouldn’t watch Code: White, as it has almost everything they could ask for. If you aren’t already a fan, but have some interest in Spy x Family, Code: White should give you a good idea of what the series is like before you dive in.