Do you know how Tatsuya Endo used to create some really dark fantasy manga before he created Spy x Family? Well, now he’s taking full advantage of that experience for Ch. 62.2, which feels like it’s right out of This War of Mine.

Spy x Family: Details

"Spy x Family" Ch. 62.2 screenshot depicting a young Loid gazing at the ruins of his town's square post-artillery bombardment.
I get this feeling that certain current events have had a bit of influence on this chapter.

The Spy x Family manga is the work of Tatsuya Endo (Shihou Yuugi, Gekka Bijin, Rengoku no Ashe), and Ch. 62.2 is no different. Shueisha published this action-comedy spy manga in Japan, while Viz Media published it in NA in English.

In fact, you can read Spy x Family Ch. 62.2 on Viz Media for free at the time of this writing, along with the 2 previous chapters before this. Considering the timing of the release of each chapter of Spy x Family, you have less than 6 weeks from the time of this writing before Ch. 62.2 is locked behind a paywall. After that, you have to pay for a Shonen Jump+ membership to read them, along with everything else in the vault.

If the Spy x Family manga interests you, then you might be interested in learning that it now has an anime adaptation. You can, in fact, watch it right now on Crunchyroll. It originally seemed like Crunchyroll were locking the anime behind a paywall. However, as of this writing, the first episode is available for free. I don’t know how long it will remain free though. If you want to check out what all the fuss is about, then now might be the best time to do so.

Warning: spoilers for Spy x Family Ch. 62.2 below. If you want to see Loid’s trauma conga line for yourself, stop here, and come back and the air raid sirens have sounded the all-clear.

Spy x Family Ch. 62.2: Plot Summary

"Spy x Family" Ch. 62.2 screenshot depicting young Loid staring in shock at the distant plume of smoke from an artillery shell hit.
The moment when Loid’s idyllic childhood ends in a bang. Literally.

Spy x Family Ch. 62.2 starts us off with young Loid staring at the pillar of smoke coming from the direction of his friend’s clubhouse, which was formerly an army storage depot. Even as he’s wondering what just happened though, he quickly finds out. An artillery shell from presumably the same battery lands in his town’s square right in front of him, throwing young Loid against the croquette shop behind him. He only survives thanks to his military combat helmet (that he’d been wearing for fun, no less), unlike the bystanders in front of him and the poor croquette shop woman. Even as Loid stares in shock at the chaos though, his mother makes it to him and flees with him. Without their father, no less.

Loid’s mother flees with him to another town to stay with her uncle. Loid, however, still hasn’t processed that his father is dead, and still believes that he will come home. He even plans on apologizing for lying to get that money to buy a toy gun. Now it’s pretty clear though that he will never get that chance. Unfortunately, it’s about to get a lot worse for young Loid.

Little Ones: The Loid Version

"Spy x Family" Ch. 62.2 screenshot depicting young Loid being a bit too close to an exploding artillery shell, and only not dying because of his military helmet.
Remember kids: helmets save lives, so always wear them.

The scene in Spy x Family Ch. 62.2 then cuts to young Loid in his new town fishing for a meal for his mother because rations were low. Unfortunately, that’s when Ostania decides to launch an air raid on the town. Young Loid gets swept up in a crowd who bustles him into an air-raid shelter in time. Unfortunately, his mother isn’t so lucky. Although Tatsuya Endo doesn’t depict the scene, the dialogue heavily implies that young Loid finds the body of his mother amidst the bombed-out ruins of their house.

The chapter then does a time skip to when Loid is now a young man fighting in a war against Ostania that has apparently lasted years. He joins his country’s army because he now has nothing left but rage against his nation’s invaders. According to him, he leaves behind “tens of thousands” of corpses over the course of his military service. Fortunately, though, he gets a light in the distance in the form of a young Franky at the very end of the chapter, who Loid almost accidentally shoots with his FN FAL. How does this even-scruffier-than-usual Franky help Loid find a light in the darkness? Well, we’ll just have to wait for the next chapter of Spy x Family to find out.

Spy x Family Ch. 62.2: Analysis

"Spy x Family" Ch. 62.2 screenshot depicting young Loid gazing in shock at the ruins of the croquette shop, presumably with the remains of the proprietress buried within.
RIP: croquette shop lady.

This frank and brutal depiction of war and its effects on young Loid and the people around him is what makes Spy x Family Ch. 62.2 so great. This depiction of modern war from a civilian’s point of view is disturbingly realistic. As I said before, it feels exactly like a scene right out of This War of Mine, complete with the tragedy and suffering. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if this latest arc is the result of Tatsuya Endo looking at Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and deciding to depict it in manga form.

The inclusion of Franky at the end though does honestly feel like the light at the end of a very dark tunnel for Loid. In the present day, Franky is a bit of a comic relief character. One who Loid seems to be fairly fond of. It’s nice that we both get to see how the duo met, and how it signals the start of something more light-hearted for Loid. Now, all we have to do is wait for the next chapter of Spy x Family from Tatsuya Endo to find out what that is.

Source: Viz Media