Posted by  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
「名門校面接試験」 (Meimonkō Mensetsu Shiken)
“The Prestigious School’s Interview”
Twilight is starting to act more and more out of character (for Twilight at least), but more and more in character with Loid Forger, the family man. The line between Twilight, the top spy and Loid Forger, his family man persona is becoming more blurred. Twilight notices it too, like when he lost his cool during Professor Swan’s ruthless questioning and smashed the table. There were a lot of firsts for Twilight-not only is it the first time he lost his cool, it’s also the first time his mission didn’t appear to be a smashing success-he even surprisingly left before the interview ended.
I prefer to side with Yor that the headmaster Henderson might be able to pull some strings, since this obviously is not the end of the story. The question is-which is the real man-Twilight or Loid Forger? Loid Forger started out as Twilight’s persona, but it seems from flashbacks the past few episodes that his family life is making him remember that families, children, and their happiness are at the heart of his motivation for being a spy.
The thought just occurred to me-why couldn’t the spy organization have sent Loid to the school as a professor, either as a new hire or an impersonation of a current teacher? Sure, Desmond’s only social outings are with his special Eden Academy circle, but surely professors could be included in that. Regardless, I’m happy Twilight needed a family for his mission because their family life and seeing their individual inner reactions make this series highly entertaining. Like with Anya’s “I need to pick my nose” comment or using the spy anime as a basis for what hard work looks like.
Perhaps it’s just me and my Anglophile brain, but Eden Academy’s architecture seems reminiscent of the Tower of London and some of the campus’ other architecture reminds me a little of the architecture that I saw in Oxford. Anyway, Eden Academy is one very imposing place. They even bribed a kid to wallow in a mud trap LOL.
I find the teachers to be an interesting mix and can already see the personality conflicts that will come into play-namely between Mr. Elegance, Henderson, and Mr. Salty, Swan. I’d have to agree with Loid and Henderson that Swan went a little too far in projecting his own family problems onto other people. Especially since he pushed it to the point of making Anya cry (who, based on her orphanage history, has a whole host of bad family memories).
I find it interesting that as much as Twilight prepared for any possibility, bugged the room, and researched the professor’s backgrounds, Swan’s brutality elicited a knee-jerk reaction that he couldn’t prepare for. Ordinarily, I would say that spells the twilight of Twilight’s career if his emotions get in the way. But, in all honesty, I don’t think this is the kind of series that will deal with that, with part of the whole selling point coming from the silly and heartwarming family moments and the dramatic irony.
As expected, the Forger family comes prepared (to the point of not one, but two extra clothing changes), impressing even the master of elegance himself, Henderson. Once again, they show off their brilliant tag team work in quelling the animal stampede, with Loid’s swift rescue work, Yor’s offensive tactics, and Anya’s animal whispering. I had to laugh at Yor’s yoga excuse for knocking the huge cow out-that rivals Loid’s escaped patient excuse. I find it unusual that Anya can read not just human, but also animal minds, which could present some unique possibilities, like with calming the crazy cow. It’s hard to believe that the Forgers were just, well, forged, because they work so well with each other, even without knowing each other’s deepest secrets.
Preview
 |
 |
 |
That punch was so elegant.
Yes! Spy x Family certainly does everything with style, including the punches!
Definitely the funnest episode yet, resonating with all the themes and quirks it presented. This could very well be one of the greatest uses of comedy in all anime/manga with the Forgers’ characterizations and antics.
Although I just don’t buy that that stampede was really some unintended freak accident, because while this is a comedy, as Guardian Enzo said in his blog, it being based around a farce does mean it’s still steeped a little in reality. Someone released all those frenzied animals for some reason. If not the teachers for the sake of testing the applicants, when who, and why? It’s a mystery for now that I’ll have to watch out for.
With how intricately planned out and connected everything in the spy world is, it is natural to assume that the stampede was also planned out. However, I think the stampede was just an accident, played for laughs. There really wasn’t anything else in the episode (other than Twilight) that hinted towards the work of spies. It wouldn’t be the first time in anime when an accidental stampede was unleashed on school grounds for comedy-I believe it also happened once or twice in Revolutionary Girl Utena.
It doesn’t even necessarily have to be a spy who possibly did this. Since Eden Academy is an elite school, one of the students could be both cunning and mischievous enough to cause the stampede just for the sake of it and still get away with it without drawing any attention to himself/herself. I would find that more believable personally since it already has precedence in anime, like in Assassination Classroom for example, though this is nothing more than spitballing ATM.
We’ll have to see. I do acknowledge this to be a comedy, but since this is a world of cold war inspired espionage, maybe I’m having a struggle with believability so far. It doesn’t seem to be cartoonish enough for me to be able to achieve total suspension of disbelief.
“The thought just occurred to me-why couldn’t the spy organization have sent Loid to the school as a professor, either as a new hire or an impersonation of a current teacher?”
Considering how strict this school is, I assume they do very, very thorough background checks for their teachers. Planting a teacher in such a school (which is also in a foreign country) is probably harder and riskier than the current plan.
True, but this is also the same spy who infiltrated a terrorist group and also impersonated a leading politician-I wouldn’t put anything past him.
Maybe they were worried about him overworking and gave him a relaxing assignment with a gf?
It kinda hits a wierd level for me between funny an serious that only about 90% works. (It’s serious enough the inconsistencies stand out, but not comedic enough to explain them away) Still good however.
I agree with this assessment.
The story telling and production of Spy x Family is a bit like icing on a cake. The cake may be delicious but have a lot of holes or inconsistently baked patches. The icing is so rich and plentiful, that it partially covers or at least compensates for the iffy parts even if it can’t completely fill them in.
Wow, the flow of this episode hits different than the Manga. Compared to the Manga, the scene in the Anime where the teachers to Family interview happened to find out if Anya should attend the prestigious school had little weight. The Manga illustrated with more impact.
True-I also feel like in the manga, the interview scene seemed to have lasted longer. It seems the emphasis in the anime was more on the Forgers’ teamwork outside of the interview, with the mud kid and the animal stampede.
This episode was packed with emotions…Never thought this would be my fav show of the season
Yes, there were a lot of emotional highs and lows-especially for the Forgers. I am glad you are enjoying it-Spy x Family sure is a fun ride!
https://randomc.net/image/Spy%20x%20Family/Spy%20x%20Family%20-%2004%20-%20Large%2016.jpg
an KIZZ Fan Cow (Heavy Metal Band)
Wonder that nobody noticed it’s Eye Tattoos
It does sort of look like that, now that you mention it!