Spy x Family, Ofiicial Databook Eyes Only

スパイファミリー [SPY×FAMILY]

by Tatsuya Endo

連載もテレビアニメも絶好調の『SPY×FAMILY』に初のファンブックが登場！　・主要キャラクター、物語、世界観を新規情報とともに徹底解説！　・イベント用、グッズ用など希少なイラストを収録したカラーギャラリー！　・ロングインタビューや各種コメンタリー、未公開ラフ画公開など、遠藤達哉先生への大ボリューム取材企画！　・高山一実さん、西森博之先生との超豪華2大対談！　盟友・加藤和恵先生＆アミュー先生との鼎談も実現！　・第一線で活躍する作家陣・著名人16名からの寄稿集も収録！　極秘情報×お祝い企画を満載したファン必携の記念碑的一冊!!

Genres: Manga, Graphic Novels, Humor, Comics, Fiction, Comedy, Art

220 pages, Paperback

First published May 2, 2022

About the author

Tatsuya Endo (遠藤達哉 Endou Tatsuya) is a Japanese mangaka.

Reviews

[Arturia Pendragon📚 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una recopilación de la historia tanto del manga como del anime. Bocetos y entrevistas de las personas que colaboraron con la obra y lo que tuvieron que pasar para sacarlo adelante. 👍

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made my little SXF fangirl heart go SQUEE! I can never get enough and it was really interesting to see the inspiration and to get backstory on each chapter/episode and the characters. It was gratifying to have my theory about the covers proven to me, though I didn't notice everything, so I'm not brilliant, just slightly observant. (I would never make it as a spy, lol!)

This is a HUGE thumbs up if you are a fan of this series. It's enough behind the scenes to satisfy, but it isn't seeing how the sausage is made or the man behind the curtain. Highly recommended.

I do recommend, however, that you read it in real book form or on a larger eReader, as I read on the app on my phone and my poor lil ole' lady eyes had trouble and I ended up giving up on some of the tinier print. Though I DID order this for my store and I will be picking up my paper copy when I go to work, so I didn't mind skipping some text.

4, I really appreciate the glimpse into the world of SXF and I can't wait to read the next volume that I've been saving for a rainy day, stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and VIZ Media LLC for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

[Nadja · Rating 3 out of 5]

For fans of the series only. The guide gives an overview of the story and characters of the first 9 volumes. The interviews were fairly interesting. Most promising were Endo's comments on all the chapters.. fascinating how Franky was inspired by Mozzie from White Collar!

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

For fans of the comics a must have. So many little details... heaven :)

Just beware of spoilers if you're not far into the comic.

Cheers.

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of those books best flipped through to check out the pretty pictures. Actually reading all the words --bare-bone summaries, factoids, and trivia -- in their teeny-tiny font is a chore and a half.

There's no real insight into the characters and the story recaps are brief teases at best -- far from comprehensive reminders of all that has come before. And for some stupid reason, the author's commentary on each chapter is separate from the chapter descriptions, buried unhelpfully in the back of the book.

I was a little intrigued by the few references in Tatsuya Endo's interviews to some emotional issues he was having that caused him to retreat from the world and from manga before taking on Spy x Family as a form of "rehabilitation." Unfortunately, it is a topic that is not fully explored.

Another topic not given enough space to my taste: how many series Endo worked on as an assistant -- including Attack on Titan and Fire Punch -- before, during, and after getting his own books.


FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: Color Gallery 01 -- Introduction -- Characters x Story: Chapter 01 -- Characters x Story: Chapter 02 -- Characters x Story: Chapter 03 -- Guest Contributors: Spy x Families -- Color Gallery 02 -- Tatsuya Endo's Secret Files (Interviews and Development Sketches) -- Postscript

[za_pomniane · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a collection of color images and character tidbits, this is a good one. Certainly it made me feel smart to find that Damian really was based on Domyoji from Boys Over Flowers, but it's also fascinating to see where Endo's inspirations come from and the amount of research he does, and a lot of little story details do add to the enjoyment of the series, such as the fact that Sylvia adopted the German shepherd from Bond's introductory storyline. But the book also provides some insight into Endo himself, and the three interviews get progressively more informative as they paint a picture of a creator who started working on this series as "rehabilitation" and seems like a pretty anxious person in a very relatable way. If you're a fan of Spy x Family or Endo in general, it's worth it.

[Tigris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book for anyone who likes spy x family and wants to get some behind the scenes insight or for someone who is just looking to get a quick refresher of everything that has happened up to the making of this book. Personally, the first half of the book wasn't all too interesting because it's just a recap of what has happened, but it's literally an official guide so it's nothing I hold against the book. My favourite parts were getting Endo's commentary on the different elements of the story and the interviews between him and other manga artists. It was funny to see that sometimes things had a deeper meaning and sometimes things really didn't, and I was actually surprised how much they went into kind of blind as even big parts of the characters hadn't been ironed out yet (like Yor's, Anya's and Yuri's characters). It revealed a whole lot in the process, I don't know if I could ever keep up with the manga industry...

A solid book! My only real complaints were some typos and that the tiny font and layout could sometimes be a bit confusing.

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the new art in this!! Found recap stuff kinda mid tho

[Rosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the data book, it's full of interesting information and lovely art, but I wish they would have published this in a bigger format, maybe A4, because the font was so small that it was very difficult to read.

[Lauren Stoolfire · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the little details and the behind the scenes elements of this guide book.

[★ngeles · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5☆
Tenían que decirme la existencia de este libro antes de que saliera la película, estuve horas explicando la trama

[Zimmy W · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so fun! And deceptively dense with fun extras.

[Laurine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un bon guidebook pour les fans de la série. Certaines pages n’apportent pas de plus-value, notamment les résumés de chapitres qui, si on n’a pas lu l’œuvre, n’ont pas beaucoup de sens. D’autant plus que la police de caractères est vraiment illisible sur certaines pages, et le soin apporté aux finitions semble manquer. Je pense par exemple à d’immenses lézardes dans le texte, qui gâchent le confort de lecture.
Mais les illustrations supplémentaires, les ébauches de personnages, les interviews et les commentaires de l’auteur sont intéressants et mettent en lumière des détails qui ont pu passer inaperçus lors de la lecture du manga. J’ai particulièrement bien aimé ses explications concernant le choix des fauteuils selon les personnages, ainsi que les inspirations de l’auteur.

[Bookbringer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't know what I was expecting, but I really didn't enjoy this. Boring and unnecessary, consisting of summaries of all the missions so far, character and environmental descriptions, artwork and interviews.

If you are a die hard fan it might give a sense of completion to your collection, but the reading itself didn't add anything of value for me. Sadly.

[Kiera Ponting · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an official guidebook and companion to the 'SPY x FAMILY' manga series. It covers content up to the end of manga volume 9, so should not be read until after that volume if you want to avoid spoilers. This book includes interviews and commentary with author Tatsuya Endo, guest art from other manga artists, character profiles, location profiles, and original sketches.

This was a difficult book to rate as it is a guide book rather than traditional story-based book. It is not essential reading, but the commentary is interesting and adds extra interest for the first 61 chapters of the series. In particular I enjoyed reading Tatsuya Endo's comments on how he designed the main characters, especially the little things such as Bond's black feet came about to help him fit better into the black-and-white manga style.

There is plenty here if you're already a fan of the series, but I definitely recommend picking up a physical copy so you can fully enjoy the included artwork.

[꒦꒷♡fruitbat♡꒷꒦ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really fun little fanbook! It was so nice to delve into the mangaka's inspirations, sketches and ideas, and even hear a little about how tough the manga industry can be. The interviews we saw throughout the latter part of the book were really informative and interesting, too (I never even thought about the volume cover designs!). I truly hope Tatsuya Endo will continue enjoying creating manga for his own pleasure and happiness, despite the stressful atmosphere of the manga industry, because he deserves all the happiness in the world! As I saw in this book, he actually has quite the relatable mindset; it was eye-opening to read about his personal feelings toward his own creations/creative processes, which may help validate how a lot of creator's mindsets can be, I feel.
What a lovely fanbook!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A perfect book for fans of the Spy X Family franchise, this behind the scenes guide offers fresh artwork and interviews with the creator of the manga. I liked that this book has numerous character profiles and insights as to who the characters are and some information we don't learn from the manga. All the artwork was beautiful as usual, and so cute! I enjoyed reading the interviews and learning about the process of writing and drawing, as well as the inspirations behind different aspects of the manga.

Overall, this was very fun to read whilst I wait for the newest chapter of Spy X Family to release!

4/5 🌟

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 I would say!!!
A very good read if you like Spy×Family!

The numerous artworks displayed, whether they are by Tatsuya Endo or by other mangakas, are very cute.

I also REALLY enjoyed the parts that dived into the political lore. It's easy to forget how interesting and surprisingly complex it is, since the story is particularly funny. The theme of the cold war is treated with genuine care.

But what I found to be the most captivating parts of the guidebook were the interviews with the author, his editor, and his colleagues. I was very curious to learn more about the story from their perspectives. It was also fascinating to read about Tatsuya Endo's mindset and his struggles as an author and artist.

Since this guidebook covers volumes 1 to 9, I hope there will be other ones in the future!

[books-on-a-wire · Rating 4 out of 5]

My only grievance is that there is so much information included, they really made some fonts very tiny and I had to pull out my craft magnifier lol. I'm sure my eyes are getting old, but it was a bit ridiculous. But still very fun to get some new art, backstory, and bonus content.

[Ady Weasley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me gusto mucho el formato que tiene este Fanbook, la forma en que nos presentan la información es muy directa, no le da vuelta y es resumida. , no te saturan con información inescesaria .

Las imágenes a color también están muy lindas

[Danielle Heiert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not a big fan of these kinds of fan books, but I liked the extra colored art pages :)

[Mia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I looooove the coloured illustrations!

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Personally, I need to know everything there is to know about Spy x Family

[Mariam · Rating 4 out of 5]

*squeals* so fun

[Paula ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 ✨ stars

I love the extra content on mangas bc it gives you a Lon of info about characters and thing you don' notice while reading.

[tai · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, but this one is probably for more hardcore fans interested in minutiae about the characters and the world of Spy x Family.

[Mar · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3,5/5)

[zara ♡︎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

there’s a lot going on 😭

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

A new read to get more insight into the world of Spy Family. Was a great read to clarify any questions/problems that I had missed the first time around or were hard to understand completely. A little slow to get through but I am glad for reading it and I can’t wait for the next volume in the series to release!