The PROBLEM WITH SPY × FAMILY

[@joonlee7884]

The best christmas gift is knowing nate is still alive

[@BestGuyEver]

For now! 🤠

[@aqualucasYT]

When Yor murdered like 12 people in cold blood the comfy UwU vibes were through the roof Dunno what ur on about BGE

[@DaLittleBull]

Tatsuya Endo has come out to say that the original idea he had for this story has been altered so much by editorial even pre release that it has almost nothing related to it anymore. He doesn't dislike this fact, but instead actually appreciates it for what it is since the altered series is a success (something most if not all of his previous works weren't) and has given back his confidence in his own writing. However, this fact becomes kinda clear in Yor's character exactly, she has a lot of by-the-book traits that allows her to be VERY marketable and (while it worked) it's evident that it's not Endo's intent for the character initially. This also relflects in the series' tone, I have the impression he was shooting for a darker and more action focused series that ended up changing into what it is right now. I recommend reading one of his one-shots called "Rengoku no Ashe" if you're wondering how I came to this conclusion.

[@williamhenning4700]

Thanks for this. I loved the story and broader setting of Spy x Family ( funnily enough, the darker aspects ) but I’m not a huge fan of the tone in general. It’s good to know that the original author had originally planned for a more serious less commercialized story and I wonder how many anime and manga that ends up happening to now.

[@cosmicgelatin9434]

Wow I've loved Rengokuu no Ashe for years but have no interest in Spy x family, had no idea they were by the same mangaka.

[@Adventurewizard44]

​@@cosmicgelatin9434I am surprised as well. That's my favorite one-shot ever

[@mray4784]

@@williamhenning4700 I prefer the family tone. We have enough edgy serious mangas already.

[@Syy]

I see yor argument Guy, but - _counterargument:_ she's voiced by Saori Hayami and is therefore a 10/10 flawless character.

[@evanever]

If only there were a 10-part video series on anime she starred in.

[@MysticSquare]

I can't wait until the reveal that Anya has really been the sun god this whole time disguised as a child.

[@RealClassixX]

Why remind me of such agony? What have I done to deserve this?

[@terraventusaqua123]

You stole that reference from Oshi no Ko, didn’t you?…

[@BaldurOverlord]

And she'll utter two words: domain expansion

[@real9270]

chapter 1

[@t.b.cont.]

When Anya is taken to level 10 she ascends as the god of fear and hunger

[@QuantumPineapple]

"I couldn't agree more that overanalyzing the morality of children's media is an embarrassing thing to spend your time on" -Nate Bestman who has a weekly podcast where he complains about Nika for 3 hours at a time

[@williamhenning4700]

He’s a chad moralist that knows this current world too well to come right out and say it.

[@ajstudios9210]

Why is he complaining about me for 3 hours.

[@devilord3271]

I was always under the impression that Yor was just incompetent at everything besides killing, like her coworkers seem to no like her that much and shes not very socially competent, she may have just found that she was really only good at killing so she kept doing it to make money

[@lavender4658]

Now that u mention it, I do think they make a reference to this in one the earlier episodes of the anime. It sounds like its the only thing shes been doing for a really long time, and she doesn't really know how to do anything else. She's also been doing this job for a long ass time, and doesn't have a reason to stop. It's not mentioned whether or not her assasin job helps her pay the bills along side her city hall job, or if that job just gives her extra spending money. Either way, Yor does have a pretty shallow reason for doing what she does, and if they do wanna continue giving her more arcs, there either has to be a reason revealed as to how/why she originally started killing, (idk how they're gonna do that this far into the story, but her backstory hasn't really been covered in the manga so yea). Or we learn more about Garden, or her focus is scaled back a bit.

[@cosmefulanito5052]

She's good enough at her desk job to not get fired. So...

[@ChristmasCrustacean1]

"I haven't seen Loid kill anyone" bruh, first episode he throws a grenade and bodyparts go flying.

[@Soguwe]

It's just murder. Not like she's doing any real crimes, like violating the privacy of correspondence

[@lostzephyr2191]

Aside from every other issue mentioned in the video, another issue with Yor's assassin status and killings is the fact that Anya can read her thoughts, so Anya should be hearing her think about killing people. Looking forward to the Attack on Titan vid.

[@GeraltofRivia22]

Lloyd kills people too.

[@terraventusaqua123]

Agreed. Originally, I was willing to assume that Anya could hear thoughts, but then Bond was introduced and established that Anya can also get visuals from others’ thoughts which really does throw a wrench into things.

[@zeemod1556]

Anya does canonically hear Yor's thoughts. We literally see her physically react to being terrified about what Yor is thinking about.

[@williamhenning4700]

@@zeemod1556While I’m not a fan of Yor, this is true.

[@daytonjob5519]

We do

[@sharzinlalebazri5673]

I think something that could have helped with the tone was making Yor's "assassinations" less like a hack and slash protagonist and more like a ninja. Sneak in, poison the food, sneak out. But then we wouldn't get any fight scenes and there wouldn't be an explanation for Yor's inhuman strength.

[@DetectiveCy]

Man, I'm really glad to see a new vid from ya! I somewhat disagree with this vid, as for one, all of the people Yor kills in the Cruise arc are also assassins who are willing to kill a baby and his mother, which is a line that not even Yor, an assassin herself, is willing to cross. In the Cruise arc, Yor is tasked by her organization, Garden, with doing something she never had to do, which would be protecting former mafia members (the mother and her kid) from getting killed by these assassins hired by the mafia. Throughout the arc, she kills these assassins and protects the two and this fake husband guy while having this internal struggle about what she's even doing all of this for, as she took the assassin job to raise her younger brother, Yuri, but now Yuri is an adult, and Yor works as a civil servant as well, so technically, she doesn't need to continue this job, but she's been doing this job since she was like, 12. It's practically all she knows, and while she can be rather dense, she knows she's not doing the most noble job out there. Frankly, the only people we've seen her kill are terrorists, gangs, criminals, and other assassins that threaten the country. Though, I kinda get the point of it being somewhat conflicting with the tone, especially since Loid is doing a more obviously noble job, and Anya being able to read thoughts does make Yor's thoughts a potential concern (she has thought about her insane strength and how she kills people). I do also find it super odd how Anya is basically the only one outside of Yor's organization who knows how ridiculously strong Yor actually is, you'd think Loid would've caught on by now lmao I do agree that because of Yor's job, it makes it much more difficult to have an arc that focuses on her alongside Loid and Anya, who get much more screen time than Yor does. I do agree that Yor is much more underutilized than those two because of her job, and that is an actual issue. It did take too long for us to get an arc that actually focused on Yor, and when we finally did get that, it was mostly spent away from her family due to the nature of her job. Spy x Family does have this issue of balancing Yor's arc with the others, that much I 100% agree with.

[@haryesidur]

Hey man, I watched the whole video and while I agree with what you're saying from a show production stand point, I do want to address the tone argument. I genuinely believe that editors or someone got involved and asked for everything to be fluffed and extended so we get more slice of life than any real progression in relationships and advancement of the core plot, so that this manga can go on for a fairly long time. The manga's had a bit more development from here and I feel like the Yor ship arc happened earlier in it's development and more importantly, the arc with the university students trying to use a bomb to kill people for the sake of starting a war was far more dark and covered the sadness of war in a more serious manner. The show seems to be pushing more that everyone is damaged by the war or wars. Yor wouldn't be this way if assassination wasn't so much more common and accepted in this area and time. We're heading into an arc in the not distant future that will go into Loid's history, specifically when he was a soldier and it really fills out what the manga's stance on the war is and it's role in the current day story. It's meant to be a stain, a flaw that the older people all have corrupting even the best of interests and the youth are trying to deal with while not understanding enough about it. There's this disconnect that Anya gets to bridge because she can see their flashbacks. It's a contrast telling us to be more afraid of war and giving us hope that a comfy life can exist so we should protect it. Yor's emotional blindness and being such a vicious monster while largely being gentle and not really someone you'd think would be that way otherwise is mostly meant to remind us what's actually going on. This isn't a good time and place. However, I do agree, with so much fluff in the middle it makes the show feel like it's comfy and slice of life which makes the darker elements feel like they don't fit. I blame Anya's sellability as a figure and Yor's thirst trap demand.

[@veronicageorge3825]

Something I wondered while reading the manga is if the targets Yor kills are actual bad guys or if Garden just claims that because these targets get in the way of their agenda.

[@psydrone8]

Yor is mostly characterized as a force of nature so it makes sense that she seems inhuman, but that give problems creating serious storylines, and the shows try to begs you to not think about it with all the gags. But it also brings another major theme that is done well by every character: compartmentalization, every character does it in the story and Yor is the ultimate example of that.

[@BestGuyEver]

Yeah I totally agree the story wants you to not think about it that deeply, but I also don't think it's surprising some people naturally will and they will want a bit of moral justification to this kinda stuff.

[@Castlecrashing]

It is an excellent point that Secret Police Yuri is somehow less villainous than main character Yor. It would make way more sense if the The Garden was coercing her continued employment for being such a great assassin, and the organization wasn't willing to lose such a valuable asset. It at least makes her look like a way better person.

[@mordorderly1473]

Yuri and Yor have the same job from different sides of the law. The Garden kills traitors and criminals, Yuri incarcerates (and tortures and executes) the same. Yor at least has been shown not to abuse her position.

[@CssHDmonster]

i think her being a assassin could have worked if they did it more like the ninja style assassination, make her a poisoning, tricking assassin not just a ninja gaiden assassin who just is mega-agile while wearing a bladed weapon, murdering everybody

[@DKNguyen3.1415]

Requires too much brainpower.

[@Alberecht]

It was a funny bit, but morality is more critical in children’s media than anywhere else. That is an entirely valid point.

[@GeraltofRivia22]

Yeah, you'd think more people would understand that maybe we SHOULD be concerned about the morality being pushed in children's media.

[@williamhenning4700]

@@GeraltofRivia22I mean, shouldn’t children be able to learn valuable lessons that will help them become better people while also being able to enjoy something? I’m not saying they should be required to, but I can’t see why it would be a bad thing if it doesn’t take away from anything else.

[@Tibi93]

I think the whole show would work better if Yuri and Yor characters where combined and she would be part of the Secret Police instead.

[@metallicsnake.]

reigning morality justified evil actions, and so we should oppose ourselves to that morality.

[@hitempguy]

BGE doesn't upload forever, first video in a while is solid BGE about a topic I never even considered. Well done

[@jamesdeadpool703]

I complained about the exact same problem on the MAL forums literally yesterday. I do appreciate I have a mental connection with Nate and the same approach to analysing media.

[@JayceCH.]

And you were laughed at rightfully.

[@laststrike4411]

@@JayceCH. Bro, why are you so pressed?

[@LetsChat]

Yor *is* the end game villian (or at least the key minion with an innocent heart). That's the whole point/set up for the story. They've got the protag and antag becoming a loving family without realizing they're on completely different ends of the justice spectrum. The conflict you sense is... what's the right word... intended?

[@BestGuyEver]

Can't love Yor as a comfy family mom too much while shes out being a villain. If it eventually bears fruit great, but it's still a problem now. 🤷‍♂️ That's what I think anyway. I see your point tho.

[@needy3535]

@@BestGuyEver LOID IS A VILLAIN TOO LMAO ITS LITERALLY PERSPECTIVE

[@Runexn]

​@@needy3535sure but like BGE stated, Lloyd believes he's right. Like he's doing what he needs to for his country. Yor don't got that

[@Zant5976]

@@needy3535 My guy did you watch the video

[@needy3535]

@@Runexn she does believe what she is doing is right though?? and just because you believe in something doesn't make it right, like her nazi brother bro, just because he believes in fascism doesn't mean he is a good or moral person lmao

[@Taislinmaosdela]

It is even worse, because the justification you offered for her not being able to stop being an assassin because it's the premise of the show is not even valid. If she stops being an assassin the audience wouldn't lose teir shit, she still is Yor, with the same personality and skills. She can be unwillingly put in similar situations, and they can actually show her struggling to not kill people. It 100% does not need to be an endgame thing.

[@GoodLosertjo]

For me Yor as a character does not work as she doesn't have that much relevance to the main mission outside of being a wife. Loid and Anya episodes work well because they are somewhat furthering the narrative of the main mission which is related to the school, whether its Anya trying to come up with hair brained scheme to get closer to Desmond or Loid doing a mission that benefits operation strix. Because of this they have to co-operate and even at times develop their relationship while coming up with clever ways where they don't catch each other out. Yor role as an assassin and her role in the story is so divorced (pun intended) that she has to have these one-off adventures in where she can't really interact with the family and that feels like it betrays the concept of the show i.e. spy x family. Like despite her being one of the titular characters she has about as much relevance as Fiona and her brother heck Franky has more to do in the narrative then she does.

[@whm_w8833]

But isn’t it interesting that she part of a group that’s against Lois’s spy org?

[@GeraltofRivia22]

@@whm_w8833 it would be much more interesting if she had Yuri's job.

[@whm_w8833]

@@GeraltofRivia22 hmm, perhaps. I kinda worry that would change her behavior as she has to be paranoid 24/7 as a SSS compared to being an assassin. But, I concede that would be interesting too. I wondered if she could get promoted to that position.

[@GoodLosertjo]

@@whm_w8833 No its not because she's hasn't (afaik) had a mission where it crosses over with Loid and or Anya's mission. I don't even think its stated that Yor org is on the other side to Loid just that she is a part of some assassin group. Either way my core problem is that Yor's purpose at least with the main mission is just to be a wife whereas both Loid and Anya both have surface level roles to then perform their "real" roles. Yor on the other hand was successful as an assassin without being "married" so there's no real reason for her to be involved with Loid and Anya. It's initially explained she wanted the front of being married to avoid colleagues thinking she's a prostitute but again that has nothing to do with the main overarching plot. Like you could in some retrospect remove Yor as a character and nothing really changes. Additionally I also think this limits her jokes, pretty much every Yor joke is just people reacting to her strength as she fails to judge how much is needed or uses it threateningly. That is every single Yor joke the closest different joke is she's an alcoholic but guess what this in service of, that's right another joke about how she cant control her strength. Side note, I don't think giving her Yuri's job would change much cause again she'd still just be a wife. For her to work she needs to in some way be playing the role of mother while concurrently doing her "real" job like both Loid and Anya stuff like Anya punching Damien as that is influenced by Yor, maybe there could be a mission where Yor would need to sedate a kid rather than kill and thus has to rely on Anya who fails cause she's not a fighter. tl;dr Yor needs to have active role in the story cause from what I'm seeing she's uninvolved af. P.S. To further show how much Yor is so far removed from the main plot her very own arc on the boat further develops the relationship between Anya and Loid. Not her and Anya or her and Loid. LOID AND ANYA. Literally Yor who?

[@whm_w8833]

@@GoodLosertjo Yor’s assassin group works with the state (the same state that has Yuri on SSS) and Loid and his spy org is from neighboring nation. No Yor has a fake family to avoid being suspected of being a spy from another nation.

[@whm_w8833]

In your defense, even Yor thinks like that too during the recent arc. She only continue the job to make her nation a safer place for Anya from outside influence. But Yor being a villain to Anya and Loid is actually pretty cool concept. And having Loid as a spy-husband to deal with villain-fake wife - I want to see it!

[@sackofpeas2470]

Big disagree, her brutality has been on display since the beginning of the manga. She's also been shown to naturally care very much fpr her loved ones, as can be seen by the lengths she went for her brother and her growing affection/love for Loid and Anya. This is in conflict with the initial reason she did this, as it was a cover to reduce prying eyes in her already very surveillance heavy country. I think this take also shows a little lack of understanding with how people can function in jobs like this. Ive got friends who are/were special forces and know that they've killed people. Yet, when they are back home they are pretty much the same goofy guys and loving fathers for those that have kids. One who retired a few years back has started working as a PMC and has been all over the place doing different details. For Yor, she got into wetwork at a young age out of desperation for her brother. Spending years as an assassin making a living and honing those skills doesnt really open the door for other types of gigs, especially in a nation rife with internal power struggles ripe for her line of work. It makes it tragic in some regards, but also plays to the strengths of the show. Loid, while not as brutal as Yor, still is doing what his country sees as the better option to avoid conflict, but also to be sure to tip the balance in his nation's favor. Equal footing is what leads to potential surprise attacks, but if one country has a clear advantage that discourages the other from taking too many aggressive stances. Loid isn't clean either in this regard and has been shown to completely destroy relations as the mission trumps any attachments he may form with contacts/cover in the field. Do you not think that there are people dying off screen or being tossed into Ostanian gulags/prisons whenever Loid steals some valuable information or hampers some Ostanian facility? Even if we don't see the consequences of Loids actions, they are still there. With Yor, she is fairly neutral in the conflict, but at the same time she sees attacks to the status quo as a problem, as those shake ups will inevitably lead to problems for her brother and her family. It's why this show/manga is so great. The interweaving of personal motivations, external motivations, duty, family, desires, and comedic bits are masterfully done.

[@federicocasali1565]

Besides it's repeated multiple times that Loid would kill if the mission would demand it, he wouldn't enjoy but it there wasn't another way he'd do it and probably did in the past.

[@aristoddle8932]

Dude to be real, seeing this upload this brought a legitimate tear to my eye. Don’t know where you went for all that time, but this is incredible, and I’m so pumped to (hopefully) have you back putting out these kinds of videos again. Hope you’re healthy, and keep killin it please 🎉🎉🎉

[@BestGuyEver]

Glad to please dog, sorry for the long waits. Got some stuff cooking (this vid was just a side project) so hopefully kinography soon. 👍

[@aristoddle8932]

Excited to see what you've been cooking dude! I'm sure there are more people out there than you know who will be absolutely pumped to make a habit of catching your videos again. And you got this man -- you've been killing it for nearly a decade@@BestGuyEver

[@BestGuyEver]

@@aristoddle8932 Very kind of you to say dog, here's hoping!

[@spooderous]

Based guy ever.

[@casidelbowen2675]

It'd actually make way more sense if Yor was Secret Police and Yuri was an assassin. It would even make for a good dramatic arc down the line. Too bad.

[@NotSoGoodDark]

dude, as long as the character doing it is visually attractive no one really cares. People think Yor is a MILF(which she isn't) and that alone automatically gives her a pass for all the fucked up things and plot inconsistencies. And this doesn't exist in this anime alone. You'll see that this is the treatment every sexy yet psychotic fictional character.

[@TheKrigeron]

It bugged me in season 1 that thye copped out on the assassin thing and Yor was just "strong mom". This video actually convinced me to watch it since they finally adress it.

[@JoshuaHenelyThornhill]

Now that’s one hell of a Christmas gift babyyyyy !!!! Bestie Boy coming back !!!

[@R0NYFL0NY]

Merry Christmas BGE, love you bud.

[@makkusuunfilwin1852]

As a wise man once said, "Unless you're a rapper, or a pro-wrestling villain, it's generally considered a tad bit uncouth to be going around killing everyone in sight. That's kinda something a bad guy would do." Or something along those lines.

[@ChaosSwissroIl]

It's ok, Yor is just using knocking, just like Knocking Master Jiro from Toriko.

[@daniel9869]

Always great to see more BGE content, have a merry christmas and a happy new year!

[@aemon5497]

Thank you Best Santa Ever, that's exactly what i wanted for Christmas! Merry Christmas Nate, hope you and your family (except ben) are doing great

[@J0hn5mi7h42]

Hilariously based, and the best Christmas present I could hope for. Have a good one, Nathenial Bestman

[@nessleepk]

I’m sorry Nate but Yor mistaken Anya should’ve known better than to criticize my waifu

[@SkyTowerKurogane]

I forgot you existed Nate. I wish you would upload more often.

[@REDDAWNproject]

Yor's gimmick is about losing the assasin tag and finding more purpose in the family. She's trying to find value in life. This becomes more enphasized in the manga as time goes on. Its a big reason why the boat is kinda the "last job".

[@barrygormley3986]

You got one thing seriously wrong here: Yor is a government employed assassin and not someone who just kills for money. Her belief that she’s serving her country and protecting innocent people has been consistent thread with her character, and not something that was introduced for the sake of one arc. It just doesn’t get brought up as often as Loid’s motivation because (for reasons you’ve covered) the mangaka usually prefers not to dwell on her work and instead puts her in situations where she can protect Anya or else just be cute. Furthermore, I think you missed an important point regarding the differences between Loid and Yor’s moral codes, and how this mirrors the ideological conflict between their respective governments. Contrary to what you seem to imply: Ostenia and Westalis are not depicted as equally imperfect, with the former clearly representing a more totalitarian philosophy that automatically makes them evil from the standpoint of a liberal democracy. Where one stands with respect to these ideologies is not important here. But what is important is understanding how Yor is used as a contrast with Loid, thus highlighting the differences between their governments. Since the government of Ostenia doesn’t value individualism or freedom, it makes sense that their operatives would employ more brutal methods. Since Westalis represents the ideological foundations of the west, it makes sense that its operatives would be an idealised representation of those principles.

[@BestGuyEver]

Don't think I disagree with most of that, resonable observations, but I would say that the key scene for me was on the boat when Yor re-evaluates her reasons for doing her job as an assassin and the reasons she comes up with are, for me, just terrible. I was waiting for a good justification to drop here and it never came. Doing it for the sake of the country isnt even mentioned, but I agree with you that I wish it was, it would make more sense. She truly feels like she does not know why she is doing it, she's just on autopilot. It makes all the slaughtering she just did feel more pointless, although yes in this case it's nice that she's protecting a mother and child (not that that's her usual job). Based on the comments others have left it sounds like Yor does little to none mass-killings on any missions like this in arc that have come out since, which I can't say surprises me. My issue is all about the tone and they may have decided as well these kind of scenes are out of step with what they wanna go for. If it was consistently darker in general, I wouldn't complain about it.

[@federicocasali1565]

@@BestGuyEver Doesn't she actually say that's one of the reasons? "I needed the money? I wanted to defend my Country? Sure but more than that I wanted to guarantee a peaceful life for my brother - and now my family" like clearly a warped mindset but considering that she's doing this since she was 12 it makes sense, in the beginning of the show her colleagues called weird and robotic, she's never learned to live like a civilian, and in later episodes she says she was much more apathetic in the past, her found family has started to get her more used to a normal way of life and to her emotions, I'm anime only so I don't know how it progresses, I agree that it's not really the best reasoning but she's a grown child soldier so i'll cut her some slack

[@emsharingan8639]

Literally saw some spy family clips after I dropped the show after the first season and recalled thinking about yor just being an objectively evil person that has no right to redemption or to be a part in anya's life. Great minds think alike, Merry Nikamas Nate!

[@AuspexAO]

Great video. I keep waiting for Yor to have the "kill this little girl" or "kill this mother and father" mission that wakes her up from her stupor. It was always my belief that we would see a reveal that Yor is also an "experimental child" like Anya. Her parents are dead and we don't really know why. I wondered if maybe she was a war orphan who was given super strength and hypnotized into being a murder machine with another personality that is sweet and protective. I guess what I'm saying is that I kept REALLY hoping Yor was a victim and not a murderer by her own choice. The names tend to say it all in anime. Yor means 'night" and Yuri means "lily". By embracing a life of darkness, she hoped to create a carefree brother who did not have to suffer. Instead, ironically, that purity became twisted and led to Yuri becoming intolerant and judgmental. The idea that Yor cannot spare Anya the same type of darkening by doing murders behind her back is already built into the show because of the Yuri parallel. The audience already knows that you cannot water a flower in blood.

[@SamTheGumMan117]

Wow, what a video to come back with, and Merry Nikamas/Christmas BGE plus everyone else. Also, I love the manga a lot, but the anime has been a catJAM for the most part, while most people's problems are the slower sol episodes, not to mention when the ep is centered around a side character lol

[@williamhenning4700]

The one thing both the SoL fans and the action fans can agree on is side character episodes STINK!!!

[@jiv3o275]

@@williamhenning4700 Depends on the side character. As a SoL and action fan, the chapter (and corresponding episode) of Damien and his buds' hiking/fishing trip was one of my favorite chapters of the manga.

[@sidyT9]

I kinda thought I must have missed something or misunderstood what she said when Yor had her monologue about why she will keep being an assassin but apperantly I wasn't the only one who didn't see a good reason why she would continue.

[@needy3535]

she doesnt have a choice bro. Her family would also be in danger. fuckin duh

[@sidyT9]

@@needy3535 How? Who would be coming for her family?

[@Matthew_Murray]

@@sidyT9Do you think Garden a secret underworld organization just lets people leave?

[@sidyT9]

@@Matthew_Murray well they didn't explicitly say that they would come after her if she left, they were kind of implying they want her to fuck off anyway if she gets too concerned with her family and can't do the job right anymore and lastly since Yor thought about maybe leaving the job, surely that must be an option that's on the table.

[@stovespiegel]

@@Matthew_Murray If this were the case, it would be stated by the narrative. This is a series for 8 year olds. It's not that deep to leave the motivation of one of the main characters down to subtext.

[@XXMrHAtAndClogsxx]

I read the manga and dropped it at the Assassination Cruise Ship Arch. It did not sit right with me. I tried to tell myself I was being a pussy, but nonetheless still never picked it back up. Glad to see I am not the only one who had this issue. Again, If the tone was more absurdist then it would be fine, but it was like the author wanted to write some dark drama in the middle of his cute family story and it was way too jarring. There was an attempt at making her have some justification to protect an innocent and regret that she was an assassin, but the rule of cool triumphed and made her come off looking a bit like a gleeful psychopath by the end.

[@JayceCH.]

Nothing about her facial nor mental expressions in that episode gave of the feeling of her enjoying the killing Twitterian.

[@federicocasali1565]

@@JayceCH. yeah she's never laughing like some crazy battle maniac, she's not goku doing it for the thrill

[@waldoc2829]

I think the better middleground here is that, because of how much of this show is specifically about preventing war, preventing conflict, and keeping the darker elements of society just beneath the surface, it would make sense for Yor to take a more active and selective approach to her killing, going after war mongers specifically. That's kinda the vibe I got from her organization in the first place, with her teacher figure talking about the importance of "pruning" people.

[@4Clubs]

100% with you on this one. I had the same reaction to Princess Principal, the mix of cute girls doing horribly bloody jobs is off-putting to me. Have a merry Christmas, Nate. God bless you and your family, brother.

[@PKDeviluke25]

The best Christmas gift we all needed, looking forward to future videos.

[@hxyuni]

Banger video. Although I personally disagree, I feel that her background gives a needed edge to the story from time to time. I feel the same way whenever they mention the "dark" spy stuff. I see them on the same level but I could see how you could disagree. Either way watch Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 and repent for your sins.

[@ccsd13]

Merry Nikamas Nate, hope its a good one for you man!

[@bojackbojackbojack]

The problem with "Spy x Family" is I forget it exists until I don't, and then I watch the latest episodes and I smile and I laugh, but then afterwards I ask myself "In what way did the overall war/spy-plot advance from these past few episodes? Because I didn't really see too much of that".

[@GrandChiefSmackaho]

Well, to be fair, cold wars do tend to drag on for years with little progress. The Namek of wars, if you will.

[@bojackbojackbojack]

@@GrandChiefSmackaho - Very well-thought-out point. I agree. Also, the show is just fun.

[@corflonultra8022]

ITS A NIKAMAS MIRACLE!!!!!!

[@NeonIn3D]

Imagine this as Yor Arc: Yor was an assasin since childhood to support her family, but the work traumatized and desensitized ther which would be a better reason why she kept doing it after Yuri got independent. But then, she meets Loid and Anya, who make see the bright side of life again. She starts to question her assassin job, and then the Cruice Arc happens and Yor decides to still be in the business as a body guard for escaping families who is still willing to kill.

[@thebigbrzezinski]

Never seen Burn Notice, I take it. The whole shtick is that, having gotten a taste of normal family life, they _all_ want it more than their previous lives. The fact that they're trying to pursue it using woefully unsuitable tools from their previous lives is what creates the fish-out-of-water humor. They're basically moonlighters from other genres. Yes, Yor is a villain archetype. If she wasn't, it would allow for the tantalizing and distracting possibility that Thorn Princess could professionally reconcile with Twilight. The bloody nature of her job instead means there's no possibility of this. They HAVE to keep each other in the dark, or they'll lose everything. For Yor, that means an inescapable life defined by, and eventually ending in, blood. Her stakes are higher than anyone else's. They crank up the ambient tension and make the releases sooo very satisfying. Look at it this way. Yor expresses the sensation of unreality that real happiness and security have for people not used to it. Now that she has it, _God have mercy on the soul of anyone who threatens it._

[@ThePreciseClimber]

I think Assassination Classroom made it work by turning the hit into a mission to save the world. And also by there only being a single target that's basically unkillable anyway.

[@pa130]

Did you manage to miss the entire point of the arc? The reason Yor is still an assassin despite not needing to take care of Yuri is because thatse all she knows. She hasnt had a reason to stop. Shes just now coming to the realization that she cares more about her alabi family than the assassin job she needs the alabi for. What your complaining about is her character arc which has just started.

[@Shahars71]

Ehh I disagree about Yor's character. We usually see her assassinate criminals, gang leaders, terrorists or other assassins, so nobody "truly" innocent, and the government isn't tyrannical enough to have her kill anyone who just disagrees with them (they have the secret police for that :/). I think that Yor herself believes that what she's doing is a good thing, and that by proxy of being a trained assassin, she's protecting innocent lives like the woman and child that she guarded during the cruise arc. If we're comparing the villainous qualities of Yor and Yuri's occupations, the secret police exists for specific political reasons. The people fear getting accused of being spies for some silly, made up reasons that are over-enforced by the secret police, this also serves as Yor's motivation to become Loid's pretend wife, which is pretty fucked up when you think about it. Garden is seen more as a necessity to keep the peace rather than a way for the government to violently enact its goals (again, they have the secret police for that). Generally, the tone of this show kinda has a 50/50 split, because sometimes it's a super wholesome family show, and other times it's a political drama about the cold war and how it and the previous war affected everyone in society. The same plotline could have Anya picking out a dog, while at the same time preventing a political assassination plot. The backside of the plot is full of people scarred and damaged by war, being forced to do things just to protect the people they love, and ultimately the peace for their country. Also, Yor might be a little dense, but seriously bringing that up as a flaw in her motivation is sorta missing the point, because you're taking something meant for comedy too seriously. She can be a bit naive, and I think it will be used against towards the endgame when Garden assigns her an innocent, defenseless target which would call into question her job and motivation and might be the onus that makes her quit assassinating (because I do think both Yor and Loid will quit to be a normal family at the end of the show).

[@jimbotron8552]

commenting for algorithim because I support my baby no matter what

[@drej4485]

Guys, whats the movie at 16:00? Edit: Oh it in the "credits" link, make sense

[@BestGuyEver]

Glad people actually use that occasionally. I put a good amount of effort into them so people can look this stuff up. 😹

[@GeraltofRivia22]

I agree. Always found Yor's profession to seriously detract from the vibe of the show. The main issue I have is that not only does she kill the target, but also just bodyguards doing their job. You could much more easily justify it if she only killed targets who were a threat to the country, but the fact that she just kills random henchmen and bodyguards seriously undercuts that.

[@LilypadOW]

we are so back baby, bestest man stonks are rising

[@Lin_Eileen]

Great to see you back posting videos again Nate☺

[@Zap_Arts]

I’ve only seen season 1 and I remember my only real issue with the show being that Yor wasn’t as engaging as a character as Lloyd(liod) and Anya. Sad to know that they don’t fix this in the newer season.

[@IndyAdvant]

Best channel to surprise me in my feed :)

[@bernieburton6520]

Yor is awesome. She just doesn't have much to do with the spy plot. Her main purpose in the story is to be a badass and a mom to Anya. The story doesn't show Yor assassinating much because it's not relevant to the actual plot. Which is the actual spy stuff. At least not until later when she becomes friends with Damian's mother. At which point she's more involved with the actual spy plot except that she's unaware of the spy plot going on.

[@aNerdNamedJames]

Ye, fairly well-structured argument. Only angle I was surprised never got addressed was the truism about juxtaposition being a core component of comedy.

[@HawerTipeZero]

I guess endo knows this already cuz Yor hasnt been shown killing anyone since that arc

[@TheElectricUnderground]

This show looks wild! Also mommy is a political assassin, good times

[@wholesomebone701]

Merry Christmas everyone!

[@S1apShoes]

Chrimbus has come at last!

[@BestGuyEver]

Hell yeah dog, good to see ya. 😎✌🎄

[@S1apShoes]

@@BestGuyEver You're definitely onto something here with the inconsistency of tone in some anime. Golden Kamui has this to a lesser existent than Spy x Family, but it's so off-putting to have some light hearted comradery between our main trio, making some funny faces at poop jokes, and then not even 5 minutes later our main guy is skewering a dude with bayonet so he can skin him and complete the map, or covering himself with another dude's guts so he can play dead.

[@arsontest9056]

Glad to have you back Bestie!

[@FDE4L]

First talking pirates now this Christmas miracle

[@MrSonicDoctor]

100% agree. It's why I'm on the fence with the series. Like Yor's bloody killing sprees almost feel like they're fetishising the murders. And sometimes they feel so out of nowhere. I like the family's chemistry but damn Yor's scenes can be too much tonally. I had this discussion with my friend and I had this thought of what if she was like in charge of the clean-up crew/manager for the many assassins she works with. You can still have her kick ass and be funny. Like maybe an assassin is trying to hand in their assignment and it's just a head and she now has to hide it from Anya. Or a scenario where she has to delegate a fight in her department and decides to go out to dinner with them and her family thus hijinks happen.

[@JayceCH.]

"Fetishising murder." Bro I bet you watch shounen battle manga which does this all the time.

[@huss1836]

I enjoy rant videos!

[@whimsycottt]

I had the biggest issue with Yor, so I thank you for finally verbalizing how I felt. I also just didn't care much for her gags because it felt like cheap, unfunny humor of "girl strong scary" being reskinned again and again. You could remove Yor from the story and it'd still feel like a great, functional story. Yor feels like she's just here to fill a quota of hot mom figure.

[@EXCLMaker]

I've accepted that Spy x Family, at the end of the day, is an episodic gag manga and isn't likely to ever try having a deeper narrative where they explore complex moral dilemmas. I'm doubtful we'll ever get much in the way of proper motivation for Yor being an assassin and it'll just continue to be played mostly for shits and giggles. Until maybe the very end, the characters are probably going to remain mostly unchanged without a whole lot in the way of major development.

[@BestGuyEver]

Realistically itll proly hold the status quo until the series starts to do bad sales wise and they decide to move toward an actual ending, at which point they can do all the stuff like progress Loid x Yor, Yor leaving Garden maybe, and of course everyone finding out each others secrets and doing a final conflict. Hopefully it gives them enough runway to do so well, but ain't always the case for serialized manga. 🤷‍♂️

[@Noremedy634]

I think Sakamoto Days is a good way to balance the comfy vibes of a manga, along side gruesome assassinations

[@TheyCallMeVincenzo]

I'm about to get Karen-mad with the title of this video. I'm ready.

[@terraventusaqua123]

13:15 Oh shit! That’s Eren Jaeger!…

[@dbslayer7]

Yor is the villain, of course! Killing all those poor people who just want to kill an innocent woman and BABY!

[@JoeNeutrino]

It's BGE! And he's doing stuff!

[@brickowls7886]

BestGuyEver?? Best UPLOAD ever!!

[@Notorious_Grey]

I wish Yor was perhaps a thief, or maybe works in the agency with her brother. An assassin is just too extreme. I don't trust that Loid doesn't know she's an assassin. He's too perfect, why wouldn't he?

[@ThePreciseClimber]

The good ol' "plot-induced stupidity" trope.

[@poroshinleonid]

Assassins are not free market free merchants. Yor either works for the intelligence agency or for some big criminal organization like a cartel. There's literally no way out of such structures, if you get involved enough with them (and her job is one hell of an involvement), you trap yourself for the rest of your life (or until the organization falls apart). Did the anime properly emphasize this? No. Is it obvious to an adult? I think yes.

[@gilmarsousa5943]

So what shes a killer. Assassination in anime is like chocolate chips in the cookie, u don't wanna a cookie without the chips bro.

[@SaberWolf94]

To me that contrast adds to the greatness of the show. I know that we put media in genres to simplify things but who said that Spy x Family is supposed to be just a comfy comedy show? To me that's just something to keep the show entertaining as it keeps going, but the end plot is supposed to be something more serious. At the end of the day we're talking about a war and people on both sides doing their best for their country. Part of its greatness is in fact that it tackles so many genres at once. Action, comedy, kid show vibes but also gore and a little romance. Sometimes when you do a job you get caught up in it and keep doing it even if you don't have a reason to anymore so I don't agree with some of your points on that topic. Her being an asassin can lead to so much more than what you mentioned. To me I think of who's going to discover who's identity first and what will they think. Are they going to be conflicted when that happens and their intimacy has grown? There's just so much good stuff to look forward to and her being an asassin and keep being violent is part of that. If they toned down or got rid of the violence and gore with her it wouldn't be the same when they'd eventually reach that end point.

[@superkayou7199]

its worth noting that Yor is closely based on a character from a Murakami novel (1Q84) who assassinated evil men, especially men who sexually abused young women. With this aspect of the character motivation missing from Yor it kind of leads to the problems you raise.

[@electronicraisin5956]

anime about psychopaths acting cutesy is almost always instant drop for me

[@ItsTheManOnAMission]

Thank you santa for this blessed video!

[@Xteria89]

YES NATE, YES WATCH!

[@Notorious_Grey]

Missed you bro!

[@joontzu88]

In hindsight, it would've been way better to recreate the identical situation like in the "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" movie, except both aren't hitmen in secret from each other, BUT both of them would just be spies. You could create way more interesting stories for Yor, and at the same time tone down the cold blooded killing & psycho vibes. Also, you could recreate the end fight, where they'd have to "try 'n kill" each other after finding out the truth, because of their employers demand, but in the end they would team up as a true couple (without any secrets), w/ the help of their daughter and doggy, againts their own companies.

[@Huskasin]

Nah bro, hyper gore murder fest Yor slaps. Really drives home the Spy in Spy X Family 😊

[@mrbanks456]

They should've gone further with it. Just make her an evil, psychotic assasin who slowly over the course of the series becomes a better person like Killua.

[@D_3_]

Nate back at it again with the L takes, good to see you uploading again.

[@BestGuyEver]

I aim for consistency! 🤠

[@makito106]

Nice Christmas video 😊 🎉🎉

[@HippieCzar]

The king is back