Spy×Family 34

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis

Loid discovers the SSS and ship’s crew are worried about a discovered bomb. Anya reads this in her papa’s mind and gives him cover by asking to go to a kid’s play center. After Loid takes off, Anya ditches the play center to find Yor. Loid disguises himself as a member of the crew with bomb disposal experience, so he’s allowed to disarm the bomb.

Meanwhile, Anya detects the thoughts of one of the assassins and heads to the front, topside of the ship. There, she finds one of her mama’s “stabby things” and hurls it up to the deck where Yor is battling the swordsman. This causes a couple of other killers to have an accident, alerting Yor to the presence of the stiletto, where she uses it to kill her opponent. At the same time, the injured director shoots the lead assassin, forcing him to flee.

Attempting to return to the play center, Anya hears the thoughts of the lead assassin, who has discovered his informant on the ship has planted a bomb in an antique clock on the stairs to the atrium. Anya informs a crew member about a man wiping a booger on the clock. The crew member decides to check it out and sees the bomb. Loid comes and discovers there’s no time to disarm it, so he tosses it overboard.

Meanwhile, the injured director and Yor see Olka’s party safely off. The director warns Yor about getting sentimental. However, he rewards her by telling her to spend the following day with Loid and Anya. Elsewhere, Loid returns to the play center, where Anya is sleeping. He takes her back and laments discarding his family. But then he remembers, Anya is not is real family.

Thoughts/Review

I realize I pretty much say this for every episode lately, but with Spy×Family 34, we get another, highly enjoyable outing.

Modifications to the Source Material

Source manga chapters 54 and 55 went into the creation of Spy×Family 34. But, it appears there wasn’t quite enough material to fill the time, so some filler was added to the episode.

• The entire recap at the beginning of the episode wasn’t in the manga. I don’t object because it does allow new viewers to be able to jump in, or remind previous viewers of what came before.
• Anya playing ball in the play center wasn’t in the manga. In fact, Anya’s gone before the lady running the place has a moment to talk to Anya. But, the additional material in the anime not only fleshes things out, but it does make it a bit more natural, if a bit less comical.
• At the end of the episode, everything depicted showing morning on the ship for Anya, Loid, and in another cabin, Yor, is all anime original. Here too, there’s nothing wrong with it as it shows everyone getting ready for the day on the island. I thought it was a nice touch, especially for some in-episode filler.

As before, I do notice textual difference between the subtitles of the anime and the manga. Without access to the source Japanese, I cannot tell if Viz is just changing text in the manga, or if the anime adaptation is modifying text from the manga.

Concluding Yor’s Adventure

We got to see Yor kill her final opponent in Spy×Family 34. I liked how the director provided her cover despite his injury. Yor became focused on her opponent and didn’t notice the lead assassin about to shoot her. So while Yor is an amazing girl boss, she’s not infallible. And that’s what makes her all the more likable to me.

I also liked the symbolism of Olka and her child hugging the bloodied Yor after all was resolved. To me, their acceptance of her as a vicious killer with a good heart is how Loid would accept her. And Anya already accepts Yor for what she is, even more so considering how Anya managed to quietly help. I didn’t think about this when I read the manga, but watching the anime, Anya uses the same kind of move she did when attempting to throw the dodgeball. Yet this time, her throw of her mama’s “stabby things” (man, that cracks me up) was true.

Another thing I liked is the director’s roll in this. Beyond providing her cover, the director is also Yor’s cover job boss and Garden field boss. He recognized that Yor got sentimental over Olka and her child. As such, he gives his official warning to Yor about this. Yet at the same time, he’s not a jerk. The director gives Yor a day off to spend with her fake family because he knows she’d enjoy that. So it was pretty cool all the way around.

Loid’s Adventure

I suppose it was inevitable that Loid would get sucked into his own adventure in Spy×Family 34. Funny thing is, Loid has no clue about the bloody fight that just went down on the sun deck. Granted, Garden worked hard to keep it that way. But he did catch onto the whispers of the bombs and got involved there. Of course, I couldn’t help but think, “So where’d he get a mask and uniform so quickly?” 😂

Once all was said and done, I like how he too has come to regard Anya as part of his family. Like Yor, he has to correct himself. After all, his marriage to Yor and adoption of Anya is only for a spy mission. After which, he would leave them. But as time has gone on, he too has become sentimental. Anya has become like his real daughter. I look forward to seeing more of this line of the story.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

As I write, there are storms in the area, and the Starlink Internet keeps going out. So while the internet is still active, let me wrap up my review of Spy×Family 34. I loved the conclusion of this Yor-centric story, which not only has given her some character work, but also showcased her awesomeness. And the episode managed to work in Anya and Loid as well. Thus, I highly enjoyed watching this. Can’t wait for the next episode!