SPY x FAMILY

[neflight86]

A more inflammatory take than usual, Mfauli.

I like what I've seen, unlike my fears, it's not episodic in nature, but a forthgoing story. While Anya's German voice actor sounds way too old (is that so in the Japanese version, too?), she's funny, less because of the facial expressions and more so because of her telepathic abilities. I chuckle every time she thinks "papa is a bad liar" or "papa is such a liar", lol.

Glad you found a dub that fits your preference better. It seems the Japanese VA industry has vaulted ahead of its western contemporaries (or maybe has already been there), as it really pulls in some star power over there. English dubs are getting better, but slowly, use many of the same actors, and still have the regular stinker here and there.

However, one thing I feared became true: The very realistic violence completely goes against the otherwise lighthearted nature of the show. In episode 1, that gangster boss casually shoots an underling in the head - to which Anya makes a funny grimace and think "that is a bad guy". :/ A child just saw someone get murdered, she should be terrified, crying, and not make funny remarks.

The violence isn't realistic. Nobody found the child being afraid of the villain funny (it was framed as fear), and as has been mentioned, she has been desensitized somewhat by her abusive upbringing in the lab and elsewhere in the orphan circuit.

Yor. Her entire character is bad, because when it comes down to it, she's a murderer. And don't give me "she only kills bad guys", the episode itself said that she's part of countless "dubious" missions, so it's unlikely to be this clear cut. And maybe it's me getting older, but I don't mass murder "cute".

It's shown, not glorified. Just a stylish exposition/introduction of the character, not an endorsement of killings. "This is who Yor is and where she comes from. She has some mental issues". Take it like the story telling you that and you might find more enjoyment. Her character design is cute, though...

Portraying deadly violence like this might work with braindead Americans, but for me it didn't work. I hope her circumstances are either explained better in the following episodes, or that she stops taking jobs that aren't "for the good".

Is that necessary? To pre-emptively dismiss an entire audience for having maybe different sensibilities than your own undermines your argument. It comes off as virtue signaling, and no good discussion is had from that.

I'm sure her backstory/work will come up again, and guess what? It's probably going to feed into some jokes that involve people dying; I hope they don't put you off too much.

That's it for now, hope the general quality stays as high.

So far it appears to have, even the filler is fun.

But it feels like she's schizophrenic, when she enters Killing mode she's more like a machine. It also feels like she enjoys killing. If she's not schizophrenic, killing is her nature now and she probably would never stop until she dies.
Imagine a 90 years old Yor still an assassin to the core...

Good observation; I forgot that she acts like there is a 'switch' to killing mode. I don't know if she enjoys the act of killing or if her fulfilment is more akin to satisfaction in a job well done, like when you finish a cleaning job that was overdue you feel a load off your shoulders or the like?

[MFauli]

A more inflammatory take than usual, Mfauli.

HOW?!

Glad you found a dub that fits your preference better. It seems the Japanese VA industry has vaulted ahead of its western contemporaries (or maybe has already been there), as it really pulls in some star power over there. English dubs are getting better, but slowly, use many of the same actors, and still have the regular stinker here and there.

Why did you word that entire paragraph so passive-aggressively? You make it sound like I generally prefer German dub over Japanese dub, which isn't true. I also never said the German dub is better than the Japanese dub, just that I found the dub to be good per se.

The violence isn't realistic. Nobody found the child being afraid of the villain funny (it was framed as fear), and as has been mentioned, she has been desensitized somewhat by her abusive upbringing in the lab and elsewhere in the orphan circuit.

I don't know many anime with more realistic violence, you're wrong. And it was absolutely framed as funny when Anja made a funny face and said in her cute, infantile voice "that is a bad guy!". If you had only said "she's desensitized due to her past", that would have been kinda okay to argue, but you first argued it wasn't framed as funny and that's plainly untrue. It's what made me write what I wrote, I wouldn't have written it otherwise.

[quote]It's shown, not glorified. Just a stylish exposition/introduction of the character, not an endorsement of killings. "This is who Yor is and where she comes from. She has some mental issues". Take it like the story telling you that and you might find more enjoyment. Her character design is cute, though...

"It's not glorified. Just stylish." - LOL, you get to pick one.

Is that necessary? To pre-emptively dismiss an entire audience for having maybe different sensibilities than your own undermines your argument. It comes off as virtue signaling, and no good discussion is had from that.

I'm sure her backstory/work will come up again, and guess what? It's probably going to feed into some jokes that involve people dying; I hope they don't put you off too much.

"Virtue signaling"? Are we on Twitter?! So that "braindead Americans" triggered you so much? Ok, dude. But I'll tell you something: If my sensibilities don't find murder funny, but American's sensibilities do, then yes, I think my sensibilities are superior aka more normal, more rational. Ofc, I mentioned it long before your posting, that I acknowledge that many people find murder funny, hence why it happens in a myriad of movies and games. So not sure why you brought it up once more. I won't change your sensibilities, but you also definitely won't change mine. And unless we get some satisfying information about her that changes things, I will continue to dislike Yor as a murderous, criminal, evil character. That she cares about her family and is cute towards Lloyd and Anja doesn't balance out with the heinous crimes she committed. To give you my hope for the series: Ideally, Yor would realize that she's been nothing short of a villain, has a mental breakdown about the evil stuff she committed, and when Lloyd finds out, he realizes that while he loves her, he cannot excuse her acts in front of other people, so he decides to run away and and find a new life elsewhere together, with her swearing that she never again will kill anyone. That would be a way to turn her into a character that I can respect. We'll see what happens.

[DarthEnderX]

But I'll tell you something: If my sensibilities don't find murder funny, but American's sensibilities do, then yes, I think my sensibilities are superior aka more normal, more rational.

I think it's more the implication that you're framing it as "an American thing", implying that it's somehow not a German thing. As if America is the only country that makes cool action movies about assassins and killers and whatnot. Like, one of the "coolest" assassin movies of all time is The Professional, and that movie is French. And then pretending like nobody in German likes any of that stuff either.


Not to mention of course the hypocrisy of someone from Germany making blanket statements about other countries' moralities...

[MFauli]

Not to mention of course the hypocrisy of someone from Germany making blanket statements about other countries' moralities...

A hypocrisy that only exists if you're a conservative asshole who, in the year 2022, equates Germans to nazis. Fuck off, thank you.

[DarthEnderX]

A hypocrisy that only exists if you're a conservative asshole who, in the year 2022, equates Germans to nazis. Fuck off, thank you.

Ohh, I'm sorry. Does your whole country being generalized BOTHER you? Don't be such an SJW, maaaan!


Also, you know I've read your Attack On Titan posts, right? If you're any indication, that shit ain't all in the past.

[MFauli]

Ohh, I'm sorry. Does your whole country being generalized BOTHER you? Don't be such an SJW, maaaan!


Also, you know I've read your Attack On Titan posts, right? If you're any indication, that shit ain't all in the past.

A heartfelt Fuck you.

[DarthEnderX]

A heartfelt Fuck you.

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[Ryllharu]

Are people actually defending assassinations being a moral thing? I think they are just saying that Mfauli is overacting over a very common trope.

We're definitely not moralizing assassination.

The equivalence is no different from a vegan hating a slaughterhouse, or celebrities and their relationship with paparazzi. The vegan or the celebrity finds the existence of the profession morally repellent, but it is just a job to the person doing it.

As stated before, the joke is how horribly skewed and occasionally alarming Yor's value sets are, like admiring and fiddling with knives while blushing.

"Virtue signaling"? Are we on Twitter?! So that "braindead Americans" triggered you so much? Ok, dude. But I'll tell you something: If my sensibilities don't find murder funny, but American's sensibilities do, then yes, I think my sensibilities are superior aka more normal, more rational. Ofc, I mentioned it long before your posting, that I acknowledge that many people find murder funny, hence why it happens in a myriad of movies and games. So not sure why you brought it up once more. I won't change your sensibilities, but you also definitely won't change mine.

Your fan-fiction aside (a staple of any anime season!), I don't intend to change your mind, only keep you watching the series.

As for the moral superiority of German media in comparison to American media...trust me, we watch your films too. They're no less hyperviolent at times, and maybe the only difference is whether or not we glorify it (which our media obviously don't always do). But the allure of depicting violence on screen is shared by both.
I very distinctly remember the difference between Das Experiment (2001) and our shitty 2010 American remake. Keep in mind, the real-world events that inspired both took place in an American University, and are more closely portrayed in the remake. The hyperviolent version of the events is the German version.

[MFauli]

Your fan-fiction aside (a staple of any anime season!), I don't intend to change your mind, only keep you watching the series.

As for the moral superiority of German media in comparison to American media...trust me, we watch your films too. They're no less hyperviolent at times, and maybe the only difference is whether or not we glorify it (which our media obviously don't always do). But the allure of depicting violence on screen is shared by both.
I very distinctly remember the difference between Das Experiment (2001) and our shitty 2010 American remake. Keep in mind, the real-world events that inspired both took place in an American University, and are more closely portrayed in the remake. The hyperviolent version of the events is the German version.

First of all, I don't understand why you insinuate that I call German movies superior here. In my original posting, I only criticized American movies.

But since you chose Das Experiment as an example, that's pretty perfect to illustrate the difference in "most" German and American movies: The violence in Das Experiment is very gruesome, not shying away from showing extreme violence. But you won't find a single artsy camera angle or slomo in that movie. No background music that adds "atmosphere". German movies for the most part depict violence realistically, and that's something I like. Meanwhile, look at American movies. Two movies I really hate for their UNNECESSARY violence are the Kingsman-movies. 99% of the time, they're fantastic James Bond-like adventure movies. But then there's the over-the-top gruesome violence and it ruins it all for me. The first movie opens with a man being literally sliced in half vertically by an assassin's leg blade. The second movie is even more extreme and has a man being thrown into a groundmeat machine, then made burger patty from it and be eaten by someone else. If Kingsman were some horror/slasher movie, I wouldn't say a thing. But this is, as a I said, some nice, fun spy movie - except for these 2-3 scenes. And apparently people find that fun. It's not.

When violence is the theme of a movie, I can enjoy that. I love the two Deadpool-movies. But when there's a stark contrast between the general atmosphere and story of a movie and the violence it features, that's where I feel morally challenged. And not in a good way. Sometimes being challenged by a movie is a good thing. Be it because it asks you to be very attentive, or because of an uncomfortable topic ("The Hunt" with Mads Mikkelsen, omg). But in other cases, and that's where Spy X Family sits at after 2 episodes for me, the violence just doesn't fit with the rest of the movie/show.

I don't know if I can explain this better than the above, but to give some examples of what I mean: Imagine you're watching "Back to the Future", but in this version there's a 5 minute-rape scene where Biff rapes Lorraine. Imagine E.T., but in this version there's one scene where E.T. secretly kills and eats a human. Imagine Indiana Jones, but in this version he murders a group of innocent citizens to reach his goal. That's how casual, realistic violence combined with cute comedy makes me feel.

I don't intend to make you agree with me, but I hope you understand where I'm coming from.