#sxf red circus

[cdlikesstories]

For Spy x Family characters' platonic relationships:

As far as we know, Anya has Frankie as best uncle,

and Handler as the nice auntie, who may or may not be Anya's bio mom(a theory for another day);

but we're not talking enough about mr. Henderson as an honorary grandpa enough, he's probably some of the only ones outside of WISE and few others who cares for the Forger family this much (even if it was mostly just him being a decent educator, and righting what he felt he had done wrong to someone he respects)

✨props to this elegant mister✨

[zenzenzence]

lionheart.

[drearyrie]

SXF C72 Spoilers

ok i'm curious how endo will address this especially since the issue between progressive movements vs. tyrannical state is something very rampant even until now.

main characters (loid, yor, & co.) have been relatively compliant w the gov't so far bc they were able to set a ground/life conditions tolerable for them. showing the other side of the coin is quite an interesting turn.

i just hope this isn't the usual trope where villains are merely to be obliterated by the heroes just bc their ways are questionable and no one budges on their genuine grievances upon their defeat.

[cuchufletapl]

While we're talking about the politics of Spy x Family as of chapter 72, the fact that the terrorist group hijacking Anya's bus used to be a peaceful equal rights movement before being radicalised as a result of extreme state violence, and the role that Eden Academy and all the parents that send their children there play in all of this — small reminder that this is not the first time we hear of Red Circus.

Garden sent Yor to kill them a while back (Extra Mission #2).

So.

Unless that was a slip-up by Endo and he didn't realise he'd already used that name before, what the fuck is up with that.

What is the Garden's game?

[giveamadeuschohisownmovie]

The “Spy x Family” manga is in a weird spot right now since while the main villain of the current arc is a terrorist, the side we’re supposed to be rooting for is the totalitarian state. Specifically because it’s the state police that’s trying to save the hostages. It’s like the polar opposite of “V for Vendetta”.

“Spy x Family accidentally promotes fascism” is my favorite hot take of the month lol.

[deonideatta]

Loving the introduction of starlight anya's sidekick lightning martha

[cheswirls]

i don't keep up w spy x family regularly so i end up reading ~10 chapters all at once which i think is a good thing bc if i had to wait week to week during some of these intense arcs i would go insane

[wonderwoman6199]

It’s times like this you really remember they’re six years old😂🤣

damianya sharing one braincell damn

damian i’m literally about to shit right now desmond and anya i really need to pee forger 😭💀

[hahahafangirl]

gotta put my thoughts down before i forget it but the thing that did it in for me is how spy x family is ultimately and uniquely a “children-focused” work, where the major stakes require that we pay attention to the lives and dynamics of young children so that — specifically — we have to genuinely engage with and invested in their inner lives, motivations, desires, thoughts, emotions, etc.

i think this is a very unique focus in the shounen sphere, where the audience and creators are centered about adolescent boys (the shounen genre, in its name) and thus have a very wide scope of focus that nonetheless has “aged” past “childhood”. usually media about children and childhood are sequestered in its own genre (children’s shows like doraemon, magical girl anime like precure series, etc.) aimed at a different target audience who are in the same demographic as the main characters in the shows. this is, obviously, not a bad thing. but i appreciate the “genre-breaking” focus that spy x family have because it inspires a sort of empathy to children, who are often not the most favorite group of people for the typical demographic of shounen readers, that is specifically vital in today’s climate. (can’t say much about japan itself, who historically has been dealing with declining birth rates, but oh i can speak for the american individualism— ironically where sxf is also very popular in) another thing about this is it’s drive home how intertwined the family life is, and should be. agent twilight and thorn princess’s plot-lines are clearly shounen-esque (a spy fighting for world peace, an assassin weeding out traitors) but they are nonetheless inextricable from the family- and anya-focused story, because by choice or circumstances they are anya’s parents. they’re a part of a larger societal fabric that embedded them in relationships to others — children being one of them. i think that’s pretty neat.

another thing, specially about the depiction of children in sxf: they are fictitious yet realistic enough to portray real children and inspire sympathy for them. a lot of asian home media in general have the problems of portraying young children as “problems”: annoying, loud, privileged, dumb, ungrateful, etc etc. these are such complaints about children that are unfortunately way too common and way too ungenerous and mean-spirited; none of these tropes are present, even in a media full of scions and heiress. complaints about them being brats (red circus bus hijacking arc) was rightfully framed as unsympathetic and unreasonable (they’re children! they can’t help where they were born into— it goes both ways.) i think the crux of this beautiful balance sxf struck in portraying nuanced, dynamics children is sympathy. they can be loud, they can be whiny, cry at the drop of a hat, has too much energy, gross, have bad grades, clingy, inconsistent, academically unmotivated, ran off randomly— and that’s fine, because we know why they do it, we are given space into their inner thoughts, something so rarely afforded to real life children at times. but they can be motivated, they want world peace, they want to have genuine friends, they want their friends to be happy, they have crushes, and most of all they love their parents and they love the people around them.

i think regardless of everything sxf is a work that understands that children are full of love and the majority of the things they do are out of love. i think that alone makes it incredible in the current socio-econo-political climate where sympathy is spared so little and humanity spreads so thin children barely gets what they deserve. i suppose that’s the sort of war we are entrenched in.

[sy-on-boy]

My 2 cents on the plot / thematic relevance of Ch 95

This is not about advancing Plot B or showing Anya's school life (which is still true but has been discussed), but rather the overall theme of education and war. There was an excellent post about how Eden is at the frontline of the cold war and it is subtly shown through the innocent lens of the first graders (I can't find it now, would link it if I could). And I think that perfectly applies to Ch 95.

Quick recap on some references about education/students/war throughout the series (that I remember at the moment):

Sylvia gravely condemning the Berlint University Student Terrorists during the Doggy Crisis arc (Ch 20) and saying "did you learn nothing about war at your university?"

Henderson talking about his experience as a history teacher (Ch 27.5, Short Mission 4) and quote: "Yes, well, I have always maintained that there is nothing to be learned from the memorization of time lines. From the grand efforts with which our forefathers crafted society to the foolish notions that sent them racing to war, to not study the human element at history's root is to not understand history at all"

Note that Damian's best subject has been established to be history, and his family (father) has been involved in war, at least Donovan was PM during most of the war (established by Melinda in Ch 91). Donovan is also a graduated Imperial Scholar (Ch 64).

The Red Circus group started out as a peaceful student demonstration "advocating for peace and quality" (Ch 72) and "speaking out to protect the weakest members of our society". And Billy Squire said, "We were a respectable movement that fought for our cause with respectable means. It was the state that turned violent against us. So I'm not taking criticism from a member of the establishment (referring to Henderson, an educator). I'm gonna see to it that they reap what they've sown." Billy's daughter Biddy was killed by the state at a protest.

Less of a point, but Becky is the daughter of the CEO of a major military manufacturer. Despite their very likely involvement in military conflicts because they sell arms, the Blackbell cohort has been depicted positively so far: Becky being a kind, wonderful friend to Anya, Becky's father doting on her, and Martha again being kind and dignified (and also being an ex-soldier and acquainted with Henderson).

Eden Academy is a major setting for SxF and the themes of politics, education, and war are embedded in it. The students involved in protests/groups are older (the university students, Billy's daughter), but the political implications remain even among the youngest of the students— the first graders.

Hence, Ch 95. When mere first graders are shown to fight to gain connections, which can be political as pointed out by Henderson: "In the world of politics, dances serve as major social events". But of course, they are kids, so they see it more playfully and innocently, especially Becky with her shipper lens on.

Of course, there is also the aspect of getting to know other people better out of interest (the boys asking Anya and Becky to dance because they were impressed after the bus hijacking). But as people have mentioned, nobody mentions this to Damian despite him being equally involved in saving the class (all three of them got a star). The girls aren't interested in Damian as a person, they're interested in him as an asset because of his family and their power.

And I can see the teachers trying to diffuse the tension and create camaraderie with their friendly competition. To me, this reads as the teachers fully realizing "the battlefield of political maneuvering", and they want to remind the kids to have fun, to show good sportsmanship, to unite the kids, to operate as a class and be friendly with one another, and overall make it more lighthearted. It's nice to see the classes work together and get excited / win as a unit, especially compared to the more "individual" bits of fighting for a dance partner later.

We get a bit of comparison between Bill and Damian, with Bill showing good sportsmanship while Damian scoffs at him. But Damian ends up becoming ultra competitive and telling his classmates to not screw it up.

Like the Dodgeball chapter, Damian is clumsily attempting to lead the class by doing good in his quiz, while getting stressed and yelling at his peers when they don't succeed like he did. So he's not really a good leader. Like how him being good at history does not necessarily mean he is good at being peaceful (Short Mission 4 ends with Henderson staring in exasperation at Damian + Anya bickering with each other). But obviously, he is merely a child, and he is naturally immature.

At first Loid is all for advancing Plan B and analysed Anya's suitors in a rational (reductionist?) way by ranking them in terms of gaining intelligence, but he remembers this is just a dance, Anya is a kid, and she should do whatever she wants. Loid (and the adults) are very aware of the political side of the gala, but ultimately they want the kids to have fun and not worry / worry less about politics.

Because they're kids! They'll grow up and learn more and be politically active later, but right now, they're just kids. Kids who don't know much about the world but are eager to make the world a better place.

In the end, we get a panel of Anya and Loid "teaming up" to win Damian's hand for Plan B / world peace. The Damian-Anya dynamic is cushioned with the silly crushy feelings, but underneath it, Operation Strix continues to be a core motivation.

I find it interesting that Endo chooses to focus on the first graders and their innocent view of the world / politics. It's embedded everywhere and especially in a prominent school like Eden, but the kids don't really realise it / realise the severity of it. Heirs and heiresses are educated at Eden and grow up to have incredible influence and the power to shape the world. Our protagonist's best friend comes from a family that manufactures arms. Henderson mentions the importance of learning history to avoid making the same mistakes (ie. war).

So Ch 95 is a cute prom chapter. But I think it also helps to show the themes underneath the fun, bubbly interactions.

[giveamadeuschohisownmovie]

Caught up with the most recent “Spy x Family” chapter. Gonna be honest, I’m glad the bus hijacking arc is done. It was pretty mediocre from a story perspective since it fell into the trap of “both sides are bad” that a lot of media falls into. Fascism is bad, but the people fighting fascism are also bad because they’re just crazy people who want to blow shit up. It’s overdone and feels like a copout since the writer can avoid actually discussing difficult topics by just pointing at the parties and saying, “Well, even if they had a point, you wouldn’t root for that guy because he wants to bomb people?”

It’s what HBomberGuy talked about in one of his videos, that writers will avoid actually talking about the ideologies/motives of sympathetic villains by having them do extremely crazy shit so that they’ll never be taken seriously. I’ll stop there because I’m getting flashbacks to season 1 of Legend of Korra, which I also hated.

And then there were other aspects of this arc that didn’t really land with me, such as sidelining Yor (again), Loid being absent, Yuri not really developing as a character, and the anticlimactic ending. Also, this was Spy x FAMILY, right? Because it feels more like Spy x Anya featuring Loid and sometimes Yor.

Literally the only part that I thought was genuinely great was the reveal that Damian’s mom has a dark side and that she might be the true villain of the series. It’s an expected twist, but I liked how it was revealed since only Anya knows the truth. Hopefully the next arc, which I assume will be about Dark Melinda, will be much better than the bus one.

[wonderwoman6199]

the red circus guys probably put the bomb on Anya because her parents aren’t in important positions of power thus making her most disposable child, but jokes on them her parents are the most dangerous out of all of them

[itsmaferart]

About Yuri:

Funny thing is that most of us fans are expecting this arc to be the 'Yuri's redemption' arc…. And so…. was something like this…. or so. —I end up as a cry baby after being shot for saving the chihuahua girl- Honestly It's hard to expect that this arc was going to represent such an abrupt change. In SxF the characters suffer from a slow and steady process, at least the Forger's are like that…. So, Yuri will take a while to show the best (or worst) of himself.

One interesting thing about Yuri's character, —at least to me- is that you don't necessarily have to like him, in fact, it can be enjoyable to watch him squirm in frustration and pain when he fails (sabotaging Twiyor) because most of the time he's a huge jerk.

I think Yuri's purpose is to explore how negative country influences can brainwash vulnerable young people even if their intentions are genuinely noble. In the end they fill their brains with a bunch of propagandist garbage in exchange for them working for the government and helping them stay in power. That is, a person's genuine feelings about protecting a family can be severely influenced by the social and political context.

Seen that way, Yuri IS a victim of the war, and he is a rather weak prey, who instead of being seen as someone directly hurt by the government, works for them and is congratulated for his labor…. So, Yuri is not portrayed as a tragic being, with whom you feel sorry despite his bad actions (Like Billy with Red Circus), but on the contrary, you want to give him a good kicking.

However, despite all the negative things Endo exposes about Yuri (which is too much) he shows that he still has a good side to rescue: the love he feels for Yor (as twisted as it is) is a genuine love and superior to any order of the SSS. Because Yuri doesn't care about his government he cares about his sister, his only family.

The biggest problem… perhaps… is that the way Yuri sees his relationships outside of Yor, is very much influenced by the Ostanian mentality of gaining power, to supposedly protect his country (his sister)… when all he is really protecting is the stay of one group of people in control of a country

Endo always punishes Yuri for his bad actions, always looking for us to see him with a weirdo that causes heartburn because he....is very broken. But he also takes care to show us that underneath that mountain of awkward weirdness there is a good person…. even if he doesn't show it very often and so far it's only towards Yor

Yuri's head is full of garbage… governmental garbage and very wrong ideas about protecting

If we recall, a major basis for Yuri is his childhood, as he claims to "hate himself for feeling useless", for being a burden to Yor —Because, Yor doesn't work for her, he works for him— That's why he became obsessed with being an outstanding student and holding a position to repay all the work she did for him.

So Yuri's goal was to become someone important who has a lot of power to obtain the supposed power to protect his sister, (or so he wants to believe). But in Ostania the only way to be powerful is through economic and political means. Yuri and Yor were poor and orphans, therefore, being a military policeman gives him enough political and social power (from the shadows).

The lie is that the power of the SSS is not to protect its sister, not to protect its inhabitants, not even to protect a group of children imprisoned by terrorists. The SSS only protects the political leaders and their stay in power at the expense of the innocent.

Ostania's policy is repressive, violent and cruel -Violence is power, violence controls, intimidates and eliminates whoever crosses your path.. Creating the idea of the evil world outside and inside its borders, everyone is trash and that if something bad happens to them it is because they surely deserve it. The government is supposed to be the good guy, because it protects, but it only protects itself.

His intentions are genuine but his methods are going in entirely the wrong direction. Yuri wants to do what is 'necessary' to create a safer world for his sister but the power he has and is wielding does not create a more peaceful world, but a more violent, hostile and resentful one.

But he has not yet understood the difference

.

The most interesting thing in Yuri's possible evolution is to find the difference between what he actually protects and the way he does it. He can't make the world safer for his sister if he can't even make the world safer for a child...And the SSS way is definitely not!!

So Yuri is a huge idiot Yes! …. but he still has the capacity to change for the better (or worse). Knowing that he felt a shred of empathy for the slanderer because he showed he cared about his family, and especially... He genuinely went to help save Anya (for Yor), his will for his niece is very weak, but at least I think it's a little seed change for the non-favorite uncle

[cheswirls]

o did they rly make the first ep of sxf s2 completely filler?

[wondrousmay]

My first impressions of 2023 Fall anime season:

- The first ep of My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer was pretty cute and wholesome! As long as it doesn’t turn weird, I like I’ll like this story.

- I really enjoyed the 4-episode premiere of Frieren! There’s something melancholic about starting a story at the end of a journey and I like that we’re following Frieren as she retraces her steps but with a new perspective and a new companion. I’m loving the relationship between Frieren and Fern. Excited to see where the story will go!

- The opening scene of the first episode of The Saint's Magic Power is Omnipotent II gave me the chills! What a way to hook the audience back into the story! The rest of the episode was cute though. It’s nice to see Sei, Albert and the gang again. I’m excited for this new season!

- The first episode of I'm Giving the Disgraced Noble Lady I Rescued a Crash Course in Naughtiness (Ikenaikyo) was so cute!!! It’s a fairly simple story so I can see this being my comfort anime for this season!

- The first episode of The Ancient Magus' Bride S2 Part 2 went by so fast! I’m so happy to return to this story. This part of the College arc is my favorite so I’m excited to see how the anime team will adapt it!

- I really liked the first episode of SHY! A classic hero story but with a shy and introverted girl as the main character? I’m in! I also liked the little twist that happened at the end of the ep! A lot of interesting potential for our hero! Looking forward to more of this story.

- Uma Musume S3 is off to a great start! I loved how each season is focused on different pairs and this time it’s Kitasan Black and Satono Diamond. Can’t wait to see what this season has in store for us!

- The first episode of IM@S Million Live was good! I enjoyed it a lot! I really like Shizuka so far. Mirai reminds me a lot of Kasumi (Bandori) too. I can’t wait to meet all the other characters!

- The first episode of I’m in Love with the Villainess was pretty funny! I loved how unhinged Rae is when it comes to Claire. I just hope the gag won’t be too overused. I’m curious to see where the story will go and how their relationship will develop!

- SPY x FAMILY S2: The long-awaited Bullet-in-Butt date has been animated and it was such a fun episode! I really enjoyed it! I’m so happy that SxF Saturdays are back!

MVPs of this episode goes to Hayamin and the guy who voiced the Red Circus survivor. Hayamin’s range for Yor is fantastic. The pained noises that Yor made really sold the pain that she was in! The Red Circus guy was also very funny! He was so committed haha!

[wonderwoman6199]

Oh thank god

Also

Beckyyyyy 🥺