Spy x Family, Season 1 Eps 1-12 (ie Part 1 on Blu Ray, subtitled)
What a joy this show is! Loved it. On paper, the plot sounds ridiculously contrived - and yet it works perfectly.
Gorgeous animation, and many episodes that had me laughing out loud. The dodgeball episode was a particular highlight, as well a the scene in an early episode where, to avoid spoilers, I'll just say "a grenade is used in an unusual way".
I love the attention to detail in the world building of this show. You're never fully sure of the decade it's based in, or even whether it's a true analogue to a real world decade. The architecture is early 1900s, the fashion is 1930s, but then colour TV and telephones are from much later. Either way, there's clearly been a lot of care and thought put into it. It's all completely believable.
Obviously no prizes for guessing what cold-war country it was actually based off of, especially when the capital city of Ostania is Berlint. It's a little bit on-the-nose for a reference, but it doesn't detract from anything.
The opening theme is already among my top anime themes of all time. I will never skip it.
As for the end theme, I've been a fan of Hoshino Gen for a while now, ever since seeing him in the J-Drama
We Got Married As A Job / The Full-Time Wife Escapist, which featured
his brilliant song Koi - so at first I was delighted to hear him singing the end theme for Spy x Family. Thinking about it more though, I don't know whether SxF's subdued ending song is the best fit for a fairly high-paced and colorful show. I like the song independently of this anime - but I'm certain there's a more suitable choice for this particular show.
Greatly looking forward to seeing the movie next week!