Spy x Family Code: White 2024 Movie Review Trailer

Spy x Family Code: White elegantly combines his fun family spy adventures with a high-stakes cooking competition to prepare a flawed recipe.

There are so many directions a SPY FAMILY x could go. The ongoing anime has a deeply versatile story structure that allows you to enjoy various missions so the series always feels fresh. Consequently, it's truly surprising to see Code: White function as a covert cooking anime film.

Director: Kazuhiro Furuhashi

Writers: Ichirô Ôkouchi, Tatsuya Endo

Stars: Takuya Eguchi, Atsumi Tanezaki, Saori Hayami

It's the kind of story audiences would expect to see in Food Wars! or the Toriko feature film, but not SPY x FAMILY. It's also an ambitious approach for the first SPY x FAMILY film that hedges its bets and is overly cautious about upsetting the status quo. Code: White is still rich in classic SPY x FAMILY elements, even if it amounts to an empty meal.

Loid Forger has already thwarted international incidents, prevented assassinations, and made precision trades. SPY x FAMILY has repeatedly proven that he is an expert spy who can make the most skilled agents look foolish. 

Code: White channels Loid's talents to help Anya win, of all places, an Eden Academy cooking contest. Their pursuit of culinary excellence sends the Forgers around the world in search of hard-to-reach ingredients, and it's not long before they're cooking up much more than just a winning recipe.

Sometimes anime films take radical genre turns to better flex the narrative muscles of the production, like a sports film or how One Piece Film: Red is ostensibly a musical concert film. However, a cooking story is quite strange and at the same time strangely appropriate for a series like SPY x FAMILY. This may frustrate long-time fans a bit because it's such a frivolous and expendable story, even if it's still a classic SPY x FAMILY story.

Code: White begins with a flashy introduction of spies at a lavish event that seems straight out of a James Bond or Mission: Impossible movie. There is such exciting action from the first frames of the film. The only thing missing is Loid shooting directly at the camera through the perspective of a gun barrel or a lit fuse starting to burn as Yor beats up an international agent. This kinetic pacing quickly dissipates in favor of a more character-driven story that occasionally allows chaos to bubble to the surface. Code: White makes sure each member of the Forger family has a chance to shine independently, as well as giving everyone a chance to excel together as a team.

Loid leads the charge in Code: White, but Anya, Yor, and even Bond have separate exhibits. Anya remains always adorable in everything she does and remains a precocious character who must be protected at all costs. Her extreme facial expressions, although repetitive and what SPY x FAMILY relies on, always deliver. She is an endlessly entertaining personality. One of the film's silliest scenes hinges on her ability to control her bowels, which also leads to the film's most visually impressive and dynamic moment. Code: White switches to a completely disparate animation style. It's absurd, but in the best possible way.

Some of Code: White's best segments also belong to Yor, as she defends herself and those she loves (although the subplot where she worries about Loid's possible infidelity is terribly underdone). There's one fight sequence in particular that's impeccably staged and really pushes Wit Studio to its limits. He basically fights a cyborg. For a moment, Code: White channels the adrenaline intensity of an Attack on Titan or Vinland Saga battle. It's the most impressive scene in Code White, even if it's not sweet and sentimental like most of the film. Let's hope future SPY x FAMILY movies aren't afraid to go further in this department and embrace a more mature story.

SPY x FAMILY Code: White is a satisfying entry point and standalone basic story for newcomers to the series. There's even a succinct narration during the film's prologue that ensures new viewers understand exactly who these characters are and their relationship to each other. This background context is quite benign and not unlike a preface that would kick off a new season. However, it also doesn't seem necessary considering the perfect introduction that begins Code: White.

Too much is shown here and SPY x FAMILY Code: White could go out of his way at several points. None of this ever ruins the fun.

Watch Spy x Family Code: White 2024 Movie Trailer