Spy x Family Episode 5

The Waitlist

Spy x Family Episode 5 was my least favorite episode of the series so far. My issue with this episode comes in two parts. First, the episode set up a good premise. Then, it proceeded to do something else that didn’t matter instead.

At the start of the episode, the Forgers find out that Anya didn’t pass the exams and make it into Eden College. But, before they leave campus, Mr. Henderson informs them that Anya is first on the waitlist. This means that if anyone drops out of the school, Anya will immediately get in.

After hearing this, Yor then imagines assassinating one of the other parents of a student who got in. If she did this, the assassinated man’s child wouldn’t get into the school. In case you forgot, all students of Eden College need both parents.

It was obvious that Yor wasn’t actually going to assassinate another parent to help Anya. But, what I liked about this was that it set up a path leading to Anya’s acceptance. All Loid and Yor had to do was get another child to drop out somehow. And how they went about doing that could have been entertaining.

Consider how over-the-top their planning was for walking into the interviews. It would have been pretty funny to see them pull off some elaborate plan to spill something on someone else. And then since that person wouldn’t have a change of clothes, they’d get kicked out of the school.

What sucks is that we didn’t get anything like that. Instead, the Forgers went home and waited for a phone call about someone dropping out. I can see how Loid’s mundane phone call before the reveal could have been funny. But the execution wasn’t there.

Anya’s Acceptance

Loid’s toned-down celebration of the acceptance phone call seems fine for manga. With good paneling, that could have been a funny scene. But, as I said, the execution wasn’t all there for it to work in the anime.

With that said, the celebration was still cute. And when I say the celebration was cute, of course, I mean Anya and Yor were cute. But, something I’ve noticed is that Yor hasn’t felt much like a main character so far. Loid and Anya are always in the spotlight. Yor is pretty much a supporting character right now.

During the celebration, Yor begins drinking. It doesn’t take very long for her to get drunk. And then for the rest of the episode, she exists in the background drunk until the fight at the end. Why not give us more cute, drunk Yor content instead of hiding her?

Why is it that we got more Franky content than Yor content in this episode? Does anyone actually want Franky content? I know I don’t. And if you want to see him more than you want to see Yor, you’re beyond saving.

Starting with the next episode, we’re also going to be getting content of Anya at school. While that’s definitely going to be good content, it also leaves less time for Yor. Maybe my expectations for this series are a bit off the mark. The series isn’t called Spy x Assassin x Family. Yor doesn’t have to be a main character.

Anyway, during the celebration of Anya’s acceptance, she makes a request of Loid. Franky says Loid will buy her anything she wants. But, instead, Anya chooses to have an experience rather than a physical item. She wants to play out a scene from her favorite show.

Loidman the Spy

I’m going to guess that the whole Loidman part of the episode was the favorite of most viewers. But, I wasn’t all that interested in it. This feels a bit weird to say about a comedy anime, but it was filler.

Did this part of the episode have good action? Yes. Did it have good animation? Yes. But it didn’t further the plot at all. And I wouldn’t say it added to any of the characters either. It was a filler event that didn’t serve much of a purpose. I don’t even think it was funny.

Look, the best part of the entire Loidman saga was drunk Yor falling after breaking the heel off her shoe. And when that’s the best part, that’s how you know it wasn’t that good as a whole. Loid taking Anya’s quiz and having a pretend shootout with the other agents did nothing for me.

One thing that could make this part of the episode better in hindsight is if Loidman returns in the future. I don’t know in what context that would happen. It would have to actually relate to the plot in some way, though.

Like, if Anya is in need of help while at school, Loidman might come to her rescue. Loid wouldn’t be able to show up because that would go against Eden College’s rules for sure. But, if it’s Loidman, then Loid’s identity could stay hidden from the housemasters.

Another possibility is that Loidman reappears when Yor is going to find out Loid’s a spy. Yor doesn’t seem like the brightest person around. So if Loid puts on a simple mask, she might actually get tricked. Or, she may think he was only pretending to be a spy and isn’t actually one.

Conclusion

What do you think of Spy x Family Episode 5? Did you dislike it as much as I did? Which episode would you say was the worst so far? And do you think there needs to be more Yor content? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server to discuss anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and Key Mochi~ for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika and Senpai tiers. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 6 is available now.