Spy x Family Volume Three focuses on the dynamics of the Forger family, as well as on Anya’s attempts at earning a Stella.

Spy x Family Volume Three
Written by: Tatsuya Endo
Publisher: Shueisha Inc.
English Publisher: VIZ Media
Release Date: December 1, 2020

Volume Three opens exactly where Volume Two left off, with Yor’s younger brother, Yuri, arriving for a visit. Let’s just say that it’s an… interesting meeting. Yuri has been hiding the fact that he’s with the State Security Service from Yor, and this fits right in with the theme of the secrets that the Forgers are hiding from each other. Loid picks up on this from things that Yuri says about a trip he supposedly took recently, and Loid has to worry about if Yor really knows about Yuri’s occupation or not.

We find out that Yuri is just as bad as Yor at holding his liquor, so this must be a Briar family trait. While he’s drunk, he insists that Loid and Yor prove that they’re in love by kissing. Well, Yor decides she can’t do this while sober, so she downs some wine. But Yuri, who has a sister complex about Yor, gets upset when it looks like Yor might actually kiss Loid. By the time Yuri leaves, he’s accidentally slapped across the room by Yor, and he still hates Loid.

This scene was perfect for truly showing the dynamics between Yor and Yuri, and it was done in a way that was amusing. One of my favorite sections is when Anya, who’s asleep when this is going on, is woken up by Yuri hitting the wall… and in her half-asleep mind, she thinks a bomb has gone off. But instead of panicking, Anya just falls back asleep. It’s an amusing little aside, and lets Anya have a minor scene in this section of the story.

But Loid is troubled after Yuri’s visit, and he finds a way to place a bugging device on Yor. He decides he needs to determine if Yor really is clueless about Yuri being part of the secret police. Without this knowledge, he feels he can’t totally trust her. Loid and Franky put on disguises and put Yor to the test. I was glad to see Endo tackle this subject, because it’s something that would have to come up eventually. It’s important for Loid to be able to trust Yor in order for Operation Strix to have any chance of success.

The final three chapters of Volume Three place the focus back on Anya and at her time at Eden Academy. The first chapter sees a rumor going around the first graders that the MVP of an upcoming dodgeball game will earn a Stella. Anya is determined to become the MVP to get the Stella, since she knows she needs to earn them to help Loid in his mission for world peace. Damian wants a Stella as well, because he feels his father won’t acknowledge him if he doesn’t become an imperial scholar.

However, there’s a very large boy on the other team named Bill, and he’s quickly eliminating a lot of people from Anya and Damian’s team. Anya and Damian are the last two standing, and since Anya can read Bill’s mind, she keeps dodging the various balls he throws at her. It was so amusing to see Bill being so shocked by this, especially after Anya dodges a throw that no one should be able to avoid. But Anya’s luck seems to run out after she trips, Damian does something surprising.

This story about the dodgeball game was among my favorite episodes from the first cour of the Spy x Family anime series. It turns out that the sequences of Yor training Anya before the game were anime exclusive, which is a little disappointing. The manga chapter works fine as it is, but the anime’s addition of these sequences helped to flesh out the time leading up to the dodgeball game. Even without those sequences, this chapter was still an amusing read.

After this, Loid is trying to figure out ways Anya can earn Stellas, since she’s obviously not a scholar. Unfortunately, it turns out that she doesn’t really have any outstanding abilities that would help her earn any. As a last resort, Loid decides to try doing community service work with Anya at a local hospital. But Anya keeps getting into trouble, and the nurse in charge kicks them out of the program.

While they’re at the hospital, Anya’s telepathy picks up on a boy drowning in the physical therapy pool. Anya tries to save him, but it’s ultimately Loid who saves the both of them. However, what Anya did is seen as a heroic act by Eden Academy, and she earns her first Stella.

In the final chapter of Volume Three, Becky asks Anya what she’ll get as a reward for earning the Stella. After coming up with some rather silly ideas, Becky says something that encourages Anya to ask for a dog. Right at the end of the volume, a hint is dropped about a potential new character for the series.

Volume Three includes another extra story, and this is one that hasn’t been animated for the anime series. However, I’d seen references and images from it online, so I knew this manga story existed. However, I wasn’t entirely prepared for just how amusing it ended up being.

We see Yor doing a mission as the Thorn Princess, but she’s shot in the butt before she can flee the scene. Since she can’t tell Loid about what happened, he misinterprets her mood and behavior. He decides to take her on a date, and this ends up with some very humorous misunderstandings. Maybe at some point this story could be animated for the anime, because I think it would work well in that medium.

I really enjoyed Volume Three of Spy x Family. There’s actually a good mixture of which characters are focused on. At this point in the series, this is the most focus Yor has had since her introduction back in Volume One. I sincerely appreciated seeing Yor getting the spotlight in the early chapters of this volume. We also return to Anya getting the spotlight in the final three chapters. I like Yor, but I also like Anya a lot, and it was hard not seeing Anya as much in the early part of Volume Three. At this point, I’m really looking forward to reading Volume Four, since we should start seeing more of the new character that’s hinted at right at the end of this volume.

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