Animehouse

An original story developed for the purpose of this very movie, Spy x Family CODE: White offers fans a step outside of the TV Anime’s typical continuity and into a world that feels much more… theatric, in comparison. It’s a funny point to make despite the very apparent and comedic theatrics of the TV series, but CODE: White points more towards the dramatic flair and inescapable allure of the big screen and its desire to wow viewers. Of course, I first experienced that back in April when it released in theatres, but having the series now on hand via Crunchyroll, I have the opportunity to really break apart Spy x Family CODE: White, and how it feels in comparison to TV series- as well as a few other nitpicks.

At a one-to-one level, most of CODE: White fits right in with the greater scope of the series. Though it delivers a tangible big bad guy to dethrone within the confines of the movie, the thread of a humorous and larger than life challenge that marries Anya’s wildest dreams with Twilight’s worst nightmares is a great substitute to the “never ending mission” formula of Endo’s manga. It’s truly the perfect substitution, and the manner of tying everything together through Anya’s love for sweets (only second to peanuts, of course) is a fun way to ensure the center of the work is on our little esper- though that doesn’t stop Twilight or Yor from stealing the show either.

More importantly though, Spy x Family CODE: White arrives at a great time for the contents of its narrative. More than anything it’s a reminder of the series’ roots, a shining beacon of where we began and where things stand currently. It’s easy to get lost in a lot of the episodic content and forget about the strong proclamations of the early days of Spy x Family, but CODE: White successfully steps in to remind viewers of the importance of family and the past of the characters in this world that hangs in the balance. In a sense, a movie is the perfect vehicle with which to provide that reminder. An open and shut experience that must exist separate (for the time being) to the main story of the series, it very much necessitates a much broader look at the messages and meanings of the work it aims to become a part of (as well as some great visual cues like foreground obstructions separating the family). While in some senses that can lead to a lot of generalization and simplicity in the front half that sets up Twilight’s big mission, the payoff is worth the slower movements of the movie’s earlier pieces.

While that covers most of the narrative praise for Spy x Family CODE: White there’s still more to come, but a reprieve to chat about the visual work in that initial section fits a little better here. Diving headfirst into it, it’s a little too… commercial for what it can try to do. It’s hardly bad, but as I’ll discuss later pales in comparison to the latter sections of the film. The top down layouts for many of the spy sequences is fun, but is quickly diluted with use elsewhere, and similarly the strong perspective work to accentuate Yor’s concerns suffers a similar fate. Add in a surprising amount of pans and a lot of more typically “movie” style layouts, and it can quickly lose steam. All the same it’s much better than lazy or flat layouts, but when the result could have been so much more? Well, it’s a little difficult to not bemoan the loss of style and appeal when you consider how much fun Twilight’s cold open could have been.

As for animation, it’s rather safe to say that the majority of it was saved for the action-packed breakdown later on with Spy x Family CODE: White. It sticks around at the minimum a comparable quality to the TV anime, but it also does still have its own moments of “movie quality”. Taking a general view on the earlier moments of the movie, it’s certainly a production where you can feel the squeeze and timeline on the staff, an effect that feels ever present with many anime series making a move to the big screen for that wider audience and better income. Character models can get a little spotty with some of the more ambitious angles and cuts, layouts end up feeling rather typical and repetitive, and while animation is never necessarily lacking, it similarly feels like there are plenty of missed opportunities in the first hour or so.

Thankfully, Spy x Family CODE: White decides to (literally) board a plane and soar to greater heights with its action-spy thriller supplanting the challenge of finding out how to make the best local dessert. While there’s plenty of suspension of disbelief abound with grunts and cronies throwing grenades and shooting guns on an airship, the distinct improvement in quality is more than enough to swallow those concerns whole. It’s a great example of how passion and energy can make or break a moment, as there’s really not much of a narrative difference between the two sections in terms of quality. It’s just that acting opposite something that is delivered with excitement, it ends up looking better.

Of course, it’s far more of a big question mark for purpose thanks to the ending, but as a tongue in cheek jab at Twilight himself it does well to reset the family, as well as Operation STRIX. More importantly, and as I mentioned before, the thriller’s section driving home the importance of family and a brighter future is really great to see. Though the TV anime doesn’t lack that sentiment, it lacks a certain strength in its delivery- which this movie nails thanks to the buildup prior to the airship sequence.

Passion itself is a difficult word to pin down. Energy is fairly easy to describe, but how would I explain the point of passion with Spy x Family CODE: White? The easiest example is creativity trumping all. Who would have thought that the most visually interesting moment in the movie would be about Anya meeting with the Buddha of poop? It’s a ridiculously excessive bit of imagination, but it’s a great example of where our little psychic’s humor thrives, and the perfect opportunity to explain passion. It’s hardly a requirement for the joke to be as good as it was, but it is, and that’s simply because of passion in that moment. Similarly, making a callback to the first Spy x Family opening’s colors and style with a knife fight for Twilight (bit of a tongue twister) is a really nice nod to see.

It’s still a rather vague definition, but these examples feel very suitable as ways to understand how passion lurks in the wings of such a commercial project. They hardly “make the movie” in any sense, and could very well have been left out in favor of going all-in on Yor’s fight sequence for example. Yor stares down the airship battle as its protagonist and engages a ridiculously cool antagonist for how little they get to show off, but if you asked me for my favorite moment I would say that the above feel more likely to pop into my mind. The work on Yor’s fight is incredibly outstanding for a few reasons I’ll chat about next, but it’s the sort of work that comes with the territory of a movie- the level of quality you expect to find. That doesn’t make it disappointing, but rather expected whereas the other two moments stand out more in comparison.

Speaking of stand out and Yor’s fight, the unsung heroes of the visuals for Spy x Family CODE: White have to be composition and CGI, in my opinion. While the latter is far from perfect, if given a restricted environment like the brief dogfight or Yor’s combat, the work really shines with its aggressive camera movement, creative angles, and rapid pacing. It really understands the strong points of the medium and in those moments puts in a great deal of effort to avoid stepping outside of those bounds- something I wish some of the other CG sections of the movie could have better adhered to.

Though, the CGI would hardly be what it is without strong composition and art. These two areas are certainly responsible for the most noticeable changes in the visuals of Spy x Family CODE: White and its “film” feeling. The density and quality are immediately noticeable in the environments (more so than the crowds, honestly), and with the marginally stronger composition ends up very well blended. Akane Fushihara doesn’t really flip their work on its head with this movie, but the term “level up” feels very fitting with some of the smaller moments and especially with how well they’re able to mask some of the CGI sections.

So when put all together, Spy x Family CODE: White doesn’t reinvent the wheel or take the series in a totally new direction. It’s a movie for one of the biggest contemporary manga of today, it would obviously be a little more reserved with its approach- and that’s to be expected. What wasn’t expected however, and stands out with this second watch, is how big a dream the staff behind this movie had. They couldn’t bring all of it to life because of production constraints and whatever other influences, but there’s quite a few hints of it in the latter half of the work.

At the end of the day all you can really say is that Spy x Family CODE: White is a fun movie. It hardly plays it safe, but it doesn’t quite jump outside of its box either. Families will like it, fans will like it, new viewers will like it. It has undeniable mass appeal which means mostly anyone could watch it. What turns that into should though is some of the fun and interest of the airship sequence. It’s perfectly fine to saunter over to check the movie out, but I would certainly recommend doing it at some point or another.