This week's manga
Spy x Family
By Tatsuya Endo (Shueisha)
Though young readers of "Spy x Family" may fail to make the link, this week's manga is reminiscent of "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," a 2005 hit U.S. movie starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. The much-talked-about comedy manga, whose first volume hit shelves in July and the second came out in October, has been an instant hit.
Amid growing tensions between two fictitious countries in central Europe, Ostania to the east and Westalis in the west, a spy codenamed Tasogare is sent to Ostania to monitor ultrarightist leader Desmond.
Tasogare's mission is to form a family in Ostania and enroll a child at the prestigious school that Desmond's son attends so that he can get closer to the clandestine, right-wing leader, who rarely appears in public but attends school parties. Under the alias Loid, Tasogare adopts an orphan called Ania and marries Yor, apparently a quiet, unassuming civil servant. His adopted daughter, however, possesses supernatural powers and can read people's minds, and his wife, unbeknownst to him, is actually an assassin called Ibara-hime. Tasogare and Yor don't know each other's true identities, but Ania knows that her parents are not who they say they are. The story revolves around this formidable family of three, each harboring their own secrets. Tasogare's first mission was to get Ania into the elite school that Desmond's son attends.
"Mr. & Mrs. Smith" was a story of a husband and a wife who happened to be assassins for different organizations. The originality of this manga lies in Ania's innocent efforts to keep her family together at all costs, even though she sees through her parents' lies. Tasogare wanted a family solely for his mission, but through his life with Ania and Yor, he is reminded of why he became a spy in the first place -- to protect the lives of others.
Such hit TV shows as "Gibo to Musume no Blues" (Stepmother and daughter's blues) and "Nigeru wa Haji daga Yaku ni tatsu" (We married as a job) have found success based on a similar premise: a family that begins on fragile terms but becomes a unit with stronger ties than most real families.
In that sense, this story is like deja vu to an old manga fan like me, and makes me a little concerned -- unnecessarily perhaps -- that it will be difficult to maintain the surprising quality. Yet this manga offers a glimpse of what readers today want to read. There's no doubt that it will continue to be a manga to watch in 2020.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
