SPY×FAMILY Volume 11 Manga Review
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Ah, yes. Time for more SPY×FAMILY. This chapter certainly steps things up in terms of a VERY interesting story, but also provides an insanely funny moment that continues to crack me up.

* * * S P O I L E R S ! * * *

The Story, in Brief

Chief Medical Director Gerald G0rey is jealous of Loid’s popularity at the hospital. As such, Loid, Fiona, and Franky (in disguise) have to peacefully deal with this hindrance. Yuri pays a visit to the Forger home and gets into a cooking and cleaning competition with Loid.

Anya’s group as well as some from Wald Hall are on a field trip. Their bus is hijacked by a terrorist group called Red Circus. Anya’s telepathy allows her to know where they are going. She and Becky get Damian to distract their captors long enough for Anya to toss a small canister with a note and Becky’s ID out for the police. As a reward, the leader, Billy, places a bomb on Anya. However, once she reads his mind, she learns it is fake. Thus the other kids see her as brave, but also stupid.

Damian attempts to get the bomb on him instead, but he gets his own (fake) bomb. The police get the note and are able to stop the bus. The group put up blackout curtains to thwart snipers. Master Henderson comes to replace the chaperone, who was injured in the hijacking. The SSS successfully storm a second hijacked bus and use that to take over for Anya’s bus.

Anya learns that there is a real bomb on the bus. As such, she uses her telepathy to cause Billy to remember his own daughter, who was killed by the state for her political beliefs. To that end, he surrenders before the SSS can storm the bus. Yor races to the scene and Anya has a breakdown. Damian’s mother Melinda comes, but Anya reads conflicting emotions in her mind. Later at school, Anya and others are awarded a Stella Star for their actions.

Red Circus

I have to give Endo-sensei massive credit for some really interesting stories. The Red Circus arc in SPY×FAMILY Volume 11 is certainly up there, and gives Anya a chance to shine. What makes Anya work as a character is that she’s very much a young child. As such, we can relate to her actions. Obviously, her telepathy gives her and advantage and thus allows her to quickly adapt to fluid situations.

On one hand, I liked how there is some progress with Anya and Damian, thanks to this event. And yet Endo-sensei keeps hitting the reset button by having Damian decide that Anya has ulterior motives. He’s not wrong, as Anya feels it is her duty to get closer to Damian for her adoptive father’s mission. But at the same time, it just gets frustrating as every time he starts acknowledging her, the reset button has to be hit to maintain the status quo.

However, that’s just a very minor complaint. The Red Circus story was quite good. Thankfully, Endo-sensei remembered that one of Anya’s weaknesses is a telepathic overload in crowds. We haven’t seen that since early on. This worked well in the story as it balanced Anya’s unintentional comedy moments. And this chapter has one of the funniest moments in the enter manga. I laugh every time I see it, where Anya slaps the “bomb”, knowing it is fake. But she’s not trying to be funny. She actually thinks it will impress Damian that she’s not afraid.

Comedy aside, Anya does a lot of good in the story. She’s genuinely touched when Damian asks to have her “bomb” placed on him instead. Anya instigated the note to the police. Then Anya’s telepathy allowed her to say things that touched Billy. And when all was said and done, and Yor literally ran to the scene, Anya broke down in a realistic way. So all in all, a great story.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

Let me wrap up my review of SPY×FAMILY Volume 11 with some final thoughts.

• Nightfall (Fiona) disguising herself as a man is a lot of a stretch. But the first chapter story is fun, so I’ll let that slide.
• The jealous Yuri story is amusing, but at the same time, a bit wearying as well.
• I found it interesting that Martha and Henry know each other. Assuming (😅) the translator didn’t take liberties, the informal way they addressed each other suggests they’ve known each other a while and are friends.
• In the previous volume review, I mentioned that Melinda seemed a bit psycho. Anya got to read her mind after the students were freed. Wow. On one hand, she dotes on Damian. On the other, she loathes him. No wonder the poor boy is the way he is. And she does appear to be somewhat estranged from her husband.
• There was very little in terms of omake content. Not surprising, considering the intensity of the Red Circus arc.

In the end, SPY×FAMILY Volume 11 is a really great entry in the franchise. I’m really looking forward to the next volume.