It’s no secret that, when it comes to anime, spy fiction is popular. Just look at the success of shows like Spy X Family. The trend continues with Hulu‘s latest anime offering, Mission: Yozakura Family, is based on a long-running manga series of the same name. It follows a boy named Taiyo Asano (Reiji Kawashima), who lost his family after a devastating car crash. He finds solace in his childhood friend Mutsumi Yozakura (Kaede Hondo), who’s always by his side. But its’s a major, bizarre change for him when he learns Mutsumi is living a bit of a double life: she’s from a family of spies, and Taiyo is about to become a part of it, too.
Opening Shot: We see the aftermath of a car accident, with an overturned car in a ravine and a hand peeking out of the wreckage, then a young man with red hair remembering his family at their apparent funeral. He laments on getting close to someone and then just losing them again as a young woman with blue hair comforts him, saying she won’t be going anywhere.
The Gist: Taiyo Asano thinks his life is over when he witnesses his family dying after a car crash. As the only survivor, he becomes withdrawn and paranoid, wondering how he’ll ever connect to anyone on a meaningful level ever again if they’re just going to go away. His best friend Mutsumi Yozakura has been by his side all his life, and as such she promises she’ll never go anywhere.
Taiyo deals with crippling anxiety over hanging out with friends, even though others try to get him to come out with them all the time. Even after spending time with his classmates for a month, he can barely speak to them, despite wanting to as he simply can no longer connect with others. He still finds solace in spending time with Mutsumi, and the pair are typically inseparable.
It’s soon revealed that Taiyo’s teacher Mr. Hirukawa is none other than Mutsumi’s brother, Kyoichiro Yozakura (Katsuyuki Konishi), which explains his antagonistic nature toward Taiyo and Mutsumi’s casual behavior toward him. The rest of the Yozakura clan appears, too – and Taiyo learns about their sordid history. They’re a motley crew, with the catlike Kengo, massive Frankstein-like character with a bucket for a head, and even someone in a trash can. It’s a secret Mutsumi has held for a decade, and she’s finally decided to come clean.
There’s just one problem: Kyoshiri has Taiyo in his sights, because he thinks someone is planning to murder Mutsumi. Hilariously, the only way to protect Taiyo from this “Mutsumi-protecting monster” is for Taiyo and Mutsumi to get married. The Yozakura family has one rule: “No killing among family.”
It’s the only way to keep Taiyo from being utterly destroyed. Is it right idea? Maybe not, but it might be all Taiyo has. which explains his antagonistic nature toward Taiyo and Mutsumi’s casual behavior toward him.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Spy X Family is a close relative to this series in that the main characters are keeping a long-term secret from each other, pretending to be married and still not disclosing their backgrounds as a spy and an assassin. While the story beats are different, there are enough similarities that make sense to suggest that if you enjoy Spy X Family, you’ll likely enjoy this series, too.
Our Take: It’s easy to feel for Taiyo as this series kicks off, because anyone who’s ever grieved over a significant loss likely knows how it is to mourn and feel as though nothing will ever be the same. Or they might wonder what the point of getting close to anyone else is if they’re going to have to go through the same thing again someday. But no one’s ever had to marry into a family of spies to keep the most powerful family member from killing them.
The juxtaposition of the grief that hit Taiyo hard from losing his family against how silly it is that he’s now marrying into a family of spies headed by someone who hates how close he is to Mutsumi is ludicrous. But that’s exactly what makes this show work. It’s so silly that it makes sense, and if nothing else, all of this fighting is a distraction from what’s been holding Taiyo down. And he’s likely going to become a much, much stronger person for it.
Sex and Skin: None here.
Parting Shot: After Taiyo proves himself a fighter and more than capable of handling his own, the Yozakura family rejoices that he didn’t pass during the battle. But they agree that he needs to learn how to protect Mutsumi as his husband and “what that really means” as the two press their hands and their new family rings together.
Sleeper Star: Katsuyuki Konishi is responsible for Kyoichiro’s singsong voice, which gives him a psychotic lilt, especially with how obsessed he is with his sister to the point of tying up and abusing students to keep them from her. Konishi gives him a disarming voice around students, and a casually sinister shade when he’s being his true, weird self. It’s part of why he’s easily the best character in the first episode alone, and what makes this character one to watch going forward.
Most Pilot-y Line: “This was the moment that I learned two things. That you don’t realize what’s important to you until it’s gone. And that they’re only too easy to lose.” Taiyo’s first line of the series is one that makes it easy to see how broken he is by losing his entire family in the blink of an eye, as any of us would be. He’s already vulnerable, so how far will he go to make sure he never has to be alone again? And how can he achieve that? It sets the tone for the rest of the series.
Our Call: STREAM IT. Mission: Yozakura Family is a fun romp that starts out bleak but soon turns into an exciting adventure that pulls out all the right moves. It’s nice to see Taiyo understanding he’ll have to come out of his shell to take care of Mutsumi. Mutsumi is a great female lead, and her brother is insane. The rest of the family may be too, but they’re a hell of a fun watch.
Brittany Vincent (@MolotovCupcake) has been covering video games and tech for over a decade for publications like G4, Popular Science, Playboy, Variety, IGN, GamesRadar, Polygon, Kotaku, Maxim, GameSpot, and more. When she’s not writing or gaming, she’s collecting retro consoles and tech.
