REVIEW: ‘Spy x Family,’ Episode 14 – “Disarm The Bomb”

Spy x Family is an action/comedy shonen anime produced by WIT Studio and CloverWorks. Having discovered a terrorist plot to blow up a political summit, Anya’s new canine friend has shown her that Loid is going to die at the terrorists’ hands. Anya can’t let that happen. But what can she do to stop this eventuality in Spy x Family Episode 14?

This week’s episode begins right where last week’s wrapped up, with Yor’s rescue of Anya. With the child safe, Yor reaches out to the police to let them know about the attack and what Anya has told her about the terrorists. But while Yor is on the phone, Anya rides off again, leaving Yor once more scared for her safety and in hot pursuit.

There are moments where Spy x Family Episode 14 had me a bit concerned with how it looked like it was going to handle its narrative. With Anya desperately trying to save Loid from a terrorist bomb, I feared that the show would have Anya come up with plans or take actions that would be far outside her ability to perform, given her age. While Anya handles the crisis better than she should, she never strays from the skill levels she has shown in previous episodes. The show goes to some great pains to allow the girl to have an impactful presence in the plot while still having every solution she comes to be, something it feels like a child would come up with.

While the bulk of the episode focuses on Anya’s search for Loid and the bomb she fears will kill him, Spy x Family Episode 14 spends a bit of time at the headquarters of WISE to peek in on the organization as they attempt to learn the full details of the plot. Compared to what this series has dealt with thus far, this sequence gets dark. As Loid’s boss, known only as Handler, approaches the now tied-up villains, gun in hand, she begins to describe many of the horrible eventualities that will come with the war these individuals are trying to trigger. They are the small, terrifying moments that history books don’t talk about but happen thousands of times during a conflict. It does a great job of calling out how little about war many who seek it know.

We also see Loid shine as he executes his various spy skills in this story. While Yor is the one most frequently shown to be the most physically threatening member of the family, we get a great reminder that being the world’s greatest spy requires Loid to be more than a match for most too.

As always, the animation keeps up with this story wonderfully. Anya’s reactions to the many obstacles the narrative places before her continue to be pure comedic gold, and the way the show delivers its dark moment in the integration room is handled just as skillfully. I have every confidence at this point; there is nothing the animators here can’t handle.

With Spy x Family Episode 14, this series continues to deliver hit after hit. It’s fun, emotional, and dark when it needs to be. I’m looking forward to seeing the conclusion of this initial arc next week.

Spy x Family Episode 14 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.