Hunter X Hunter set an impossibly high bar for anime dodgeball, but that was pretty good.
When you consider that Spy x Family exploded out of the box with its anime turbo boost without even playing its biggest card yet, its success is truly formidable. In terms of fandemonium, Damianya is king where the manga was concerned, make no mistake about it. The anime didn’t even debut it until Episode 7 – by which point it was already the monster hit of the year – and this week marks only Damian’s second appearance. As I noted last week this is a pretty versatile series in terms of tone, but never does it get the buzz elsewhere that it does in this mode.
Obviously this week’s SxF is a strikingly different series than it was in the Yuri two-parter – night and day, really. The reason it works in the school-themed episodes, IMO, is that it never takes the kids too seriously. Six year-olds (and whatever Anya is) in Spy x Family are goofy and absurd, just like six year-olds typically are. The funny thing, though, is that Damian is actually one of the deeper characters in the series in terms of having a genuine character arc. We’ve seen hints of it already (stuff like the first few moments of his appearance this week) but just the tip of the iceberg.
Because Anya is basically a mascot more than a character – with her it’s all about sight gags and cuteness – when she’s solo the act has a limited shelf-life. Pair her with Damian and his complicated feelings, though, and her character gets lifted quite a few notches. The pretext for their first real joint mission is dodgeball, that mythical terror of grade-school existence. Supposedly the MVP for the winning class in the dodgeball tournament will get a Stella (I’d prefer a Leffe, myself) – or so the rumors which reach Damian and Anya say.
Damian, despite his pair of loyal henchmen, is basically lonely. He’s desperate to get his father to notice him, which is a problem with his older brother the star student at Eden. Anya knows she needs stars to help her complete her mission for Loid. So the both of them are keen to nab that MVP and thus begin a fierce training regimen. For Anya that means Yor taking control, and putting her through military-style fitness regimes and assassin-style throwing practice. For Damian it’s oppo research and Shounen Jump-style trials, with the playground being elevated to the battleground in the manner of little boys’ imaginations since time immemorial.
Both these regimens are completely over the top and silly – of course they are, that’s where the fun is. The fly in the ointment is the ace in opponent Class 4’s roster, Billy Watkins (Yasumoto Hiroki). Billy is absurd even by SxF standards, and a great example of why anime can elevate manga material to new heights. The son of an army major, “Bazooka Bill” is enormous and ingenious, and having Yasumoto voice a 6 year-old (he voices Daddy too) is every bit as hilariously silly as it should be. Billy is the Mount Everest that stands between Damian and his goal.
Long story short, Billy is the ball and Class 3 are the pins. Team Damian’s antics are ludicrously ambitious (there’s even a bit of Zoldyck in there) and totally ineffective. About the only thing that throws Bill even a little is Anya reading his mind and dodging his attacks, but in the end it still falls on Damian to step up and save her once she face-plants mid-game. Which he does, of course, because in that tiny body is the spirit of a fierce tiger. A fierce, epically tsundere tiger. Damian’s sacrifice allows Anya the chance to unleash her killer move, “Star Catch Arrow“. And as I said about Aharen-san yesterday, sometimes the humor lies in delivering exactly what’s expected…
“Are you a good guy?” Of course he is – but there’s plenty of time for the answer to that question to show itself. For now it’s just a tempest in a teapot – even the Stella rumor was bogus – but the impact is in the spectacle. The anime upped that factor in a big way, with stuff like the Yasumoto casting and the general sense of grandiosity – and in doing so showed what a great director with a great budget can do to make an adaptation soar above the source material. Spy x Family will get plenty more chances to do just that, and Damianya will have plenty more howling gales to fill its sails.
Miyu Fan
June 12, 2022 at 6:02 pmI have to say, as a manga reader, I’m very surprised with the popularity boost of Damianya as a ship with the anime. I’m not sure about Japanese readers, but there was really no huge Damianya fandom before this because it’s just kids messing around with Damian being tsundere with his childish crush as comedy fodder. I don’t think the mangaka even take Damianya seriously, but the anime popularity might changed his mind now.
Guardian Enzo
June 12, 2022 at 7:09 pmIn Japan at least Damianya was big from the get-go, long before the anime was a glint in a production committee’s eye.
Marty
June 12, 2022 at 10:09 pmThis episode was a barrel of laughs through and through.
First off, I didn’t know M Bison’s son attended Eden college, and hearing such a deep voice say “Daddy” in such a childlike manner gave me the biggest laugh this episode.
It’s nice to see that Damian’s boys are more than just background henchmen, but they seem to be genuine friends. The boys’ “training” was not only funny because of how seriously they took their goofy antics, but it reminded me of my childhood days when my friends and I used to Kamehameha at each other in the playground.
I know Anya’s training was filled with anime references, but I couldn’t help but think of Rocky when she was running up the steps and threw her hands in the air with Philly-like Determination.
And Damian’s attempt at shielding Anya? He tried valiantly, but he saw what happens when u don’t have bungee gum to help out.
Guardian Enzo
June 12, 2022 at 10:21 pmI think the dodgeball itself was actually full of HxH references. Pretty much a direct homage.
Also, they broke the usual order and Wit handled this episode rather than CW. Not really surprising when you look at the content.
sonicsenryaku
June 13, 2022 at 12:12 amAre you privy to this production knowledge from the credits or from another source?
Guardian Enzo
June 13, 2022 at 8:16 amIt is in the credits but I didn’t notice til Kvin from Sakugabooru pointed it out.
sonicsenryaku
June 13, 2022 at 9:05 amAh, was just wondering if you also had the deets on the actual staff on each ep cuz that’s the info I’m most curious about
Da_j
June 13, 2022 at 7:51 amThe drawings on the wall calendar also looked like there were a reference to Dodge Danpei.
xADNAN
June 18, 2022 at 7:34 pmyeah that made me so happy 😀
Lims
June 13, 2022 at 7:01 pmI just love that they are pictured as the 6-years olds they are. And it is part of the comedy/charm of the story.
I am really invested in looking into the relationship between Damiyan and Anya and Loid and Yor – the author is picturing it very “realistically” – I am totally buying that those type of people with try this game of family (apart from the mind-reading ability of Anya) and that the second son of a family with reputation will feel pressured into being something he is most probably not.
So far I am enjoying it immensely – it is a comedy joking with some very serious topics (all the spy setting, the secret services and what they could do are hardly laughable if you take any historical connotations), but nonetheless this is fiction and it is very entertaining in the way it approaches those topics.
Yukie
June 14, 2022 at 1:46 pmI just realized that there’s only 12 eps, surprised this wasn’t two-cour
Guardian Enzo
June 14, 2022 at 2:18 pmIt is, it’s a split cour. Second batch in the fall.