The Fall 2023 Manga Guide

Spy x Family – Eyes Only

What's It About? 

The intimate secrets of the Forger family are revealed in this ultimate behind-the-scenes guide! This is a must-have for fans and collectors alike, packed with character details, never-before-seen illustrations, in-depth interviews with creator Tatsuya Endō, and much more.

SPY x FAMILY – Eyes Only has a story and art by Tatsuya Endō. English translation by Casey Loe. Published by Viz Media (October 3, 2023).

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Is It Worth Reading?

Rebecca Silverman

Rating:

Part artbook, part insight, SPY x FAMILY – Eyes Only is a whole lot of fun. Or at least, parts of it are: the two-color art galleries are delightful (and contain my new favorite picture of Yor), and the character information adds some depth to the already well-crafted world. Plus, there's some very nice confirmation for readers' suspicions: yes, Endo did use the 1960s-70s as the inspiration for the setting, and yes, Damian Desmond is Tsukasa Domyoji from Yōko Kamio's Boys Over Flowers. And if you thought Franky was reminiscent of Mozzie from the TV show White Collar? Yes, you were right about that, too.

The book's real meat, however, is in the three interviews at the back. These get progressively more informative as they go on, with the first, wherein Endo gets to gab with Hiroyuki Nishimori, creator of one of his favorite manga series, Kyo Kara Ore Wa, is the fluffiest. At the same time, the third with just Endo and his editor speaking to an interviewer digs deep into his work and process. The middle interview is a roundtable discussion with Amu (Kono Oto Tomare!) and Kazue Katō (Blue Exorcist), and it truly does cover the middle ground between the other two discussions, with the three creators sharing memories of helping each other out and a few slightly more uncomfortable revelations from Endo. What comes across most clearly in all three of these is that he seems anxious; frankly, he's very relatable. Endo notes that he doesn't like receiving compliments because they make him uncomfortable, he doesn't like to go back and read his old work, and a few other very human things that hit home. In a literary sense, Loid's anxieties suddenly look like they have an (unintentional) root, but in a real-world understanding, we see how much creating manga can take out of a person. Several times, SPY x FAMILY is referred to as Endo's “rehabilitation,” and that's a loaded word in and of itself.

In terms of adding to our understanding of the story, there are some delicious details shared, such as the fact that Sylvia adopted the German Shepherd from the storyline that introduced Bond (I was worried about him, so that makes me feel better!) or that Yuri is twenty years old, which may have been said. Still, I somehow thought he was a little older. We also get a sense of how much research Endo does and the frustrations therein, such as the need for references for men's midcentury clothing. As someone who has looked at a lot of midcentury catalogs, that really could be a problem; Sears would have reams of women's outfits and maybe two pages for men and boys. Overall, this is a nice supplement for the series and provides some solid insight into Tatsuya Endō himself – or at least his process – and is worth picking up.

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MrAJCosplay

Rating:

SPY x FAMILY – Eyes Only is not a conventional manga. It's not a spin-off series or a lighthearted addition to the ongoing story in the SPY x FAMILY franchise. Eyes Only is a behind-the-scenes guide by the creator, and it's filled to the brim with a variety of different things that SPY x FAMILY fans are sure to love. There are sketches of various backgrounds and of every character that has ever appeared in the series. There are little excerpts where the author will answer some questions or go into detail about elements of the world, like the ongoing war between the East and West.

But what sells this book is its presentation because, keeping in line with the espionage theme, the whole thing is presented like a dossier report. The file breakdowns and folder layouts showed that the creators of this went above and beyond to capture a specific aesthetic. It helps elevate the material to a higher standard than other fan collections. SPY x FAMILY has quickly become one of the more popular anime to air in the past two years. If you are on top of the hype train and are also a major fan, then there's nothing wrong with picking this up to get a few more peaks behind the curtain of the world our favorite eccentric family inhabits.