Spy x Family creator Tatsuya Endo has laid out new plans underway in celebration of the franchise’s fifth anniversary, included in a special message revealing that the series has become far more popular than he first anticipated.
"I started the series casually, thinking that as long as I could enjoy drawing it, that would be enough," Endo wrote in a heartfelt message thanking franchise fans and supporters. "I never dreamed that so many people would also come to enjoy it." The creator continued by outlining what the fifth-anniversary celebrations of the franchise will entail, which include autograph sessions both domestically and overseas, as well as commemorative merchandise. In addition, a new promotional video and key visual have been released to mark the occasion, both of which can be viewed below.
Spy x Family Releases New Official Key Visual and Promo Video for Fifth Anniversary
Spy x Family’s newly released fifth-anniversary key visual is drawn in Endo’s signature style, featuring the cast’s main characters front and center, with fan-favorite Anya Forger taking a middle spot alongside her adoptive parents, Loid/Agent Twilight and Yor, and her dog Bond. The artwork also shows many of the series’ well-known side characters, including (among others) the love-stricken Fiona Frost/Agent Nightfall, informant Franky Franklin, and two of Anya’s classmates, Damian Desmond and Becky Blackbell. The nearly two-minute anniversary promotional video likewise prominently features Anya as drawn in Spy x Family’s manga, her instantly recognizable voice and meme-worthy expressions the highlight of the reel. A new Spy x Family website is also set to be launched on April 1st, where fans will likely be able to learn more information about the upcoming festivities.
Endo’s message suggests that Spy x Family is far from over yet, even if he himself is not certain about where exactly the future of the story rests. "I don’t know how far we will go or whether we will be able to continue for too long," he said, "but I hope you will keep to warmly watch over the Forger family’s future." The ongoing manga, serialized in Shonen Jump+, is currently one of the best-selling of all time, with over 34 million copies in circulation as of December 2023. The likewise massively popular anime adaptation has aired for two seasons thus far, winning Best Comedy for Season 1, Cour 2 at the 2024 Crunchyroll Anime Awards. Anya also took home the award for "Must Protect At All Costs" Anime Character.
Aside from the ongoing manga, international fans of the franchise can look forward to the upcoming theatrical debut of Spy × Family Code: White, which was released in Japan in December 2023 and is set to screen in North America beginning on April 19, 2024. The film, featuring an original story, is described: "After receiving an order to be replaced in Operation Strix, Loid decides to help Anya win a cooking competition at Eden Academy by making the principal's favorite meal in order to prevent his replacement. The Forgers decide to travel to the meal's origin region, where they set off a chain of actions which could potentially put the world's peace at risk."
Spy x Family Season 1 and 2 are both available to stream on Crunchyroll and Hulu. The manga has been licensed in North America by Viz Media.
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