“Spy x Family” Ch. 62.3: An Emotional Gut Punch For Loid [Review]

In Spy x Family Ch. 62.3, we see Loid briefly the happiest he has ever been in a long, long time. That, however, is just a setup for one of the biggest emotional gut-punches I’ve ever seen in any manga.

Spy x Family Ch. 62.3

As of this writing: Spy x Family Ch. 62.3 is the latest chapter (you can read reviews for Ch. 62.1 and Ch. 62.2 here) in the manga by Tatsuya Endo (TISTA, Gekka Bijin, Rengoku no Ashe). Shueisha originally published this chapter in Japan. You can thank Viz Media for bringing it to NA shores via Shonen Jump.

Spy x Family Ch. 62.3 was released on May 15, 2022. You can read this chapter for free on Viz Media as of this writing. The chapter will remain free for up to 3 new chapter releases after the release date, which in the case of Spy x Family, in particular, occurs roughly every other week or so. On that date, it goes behind the vault, and then you have to pay for a subscription to read it.

Spy x Family also has an anime adaptation now. You can watch the anime exclusively on Crunchyroll.

Warning: spoilers for Spy x Family Ch. 62.3 below. If you want to experience the emotional gut-punch for yourself, then stop here, and come back once you’re just as traumatized as Loid is.

Spy x Family Ch. 62.3: Plot Summary

Spy x Family Ch. 62.3 begins with a younger Loid taking a younger Franky as a prisoner of war. In doing so, Franky reveals that he was actually deserting the Ostanian Army due to the war not going well for them. He also reveals more about how Ostania itself sees the war. This includes revealing that the Ostanian side of the story states that the attack on Loid’s hometown was a false flag operation designed to justify Westalis attacking Ostania. We and Loid know this is false, but Franky’s side of the story reveals more about Ostania’s inner workings, which troubles Loid to no end. Franky’s revelation challenges his belief that the Ostanians aren’t monsters, and nearly causes him to shoot Franky. Only the intervention of Ostanian soldiers (who’d been pursuing Franky to kill him as a deserter), saves Franky.

The injury caused by that intervention though lands Loid a cushy job in the rear lines as a cook. It’s there that he meets up with his old childhood friends, who he (and us) believed died in the initial shelling of their warehouse clubroom. After a joyous reunion, his friend then departs on a mission but promise to return to hang out like old times. Unfortunately, they all die in the ensuing (and poorly planned) mission, leaving Loid with only their dog tags to remember them by. Now, there’s no one left who remembers Loid or his real name.

The End of the Beginning?

Westalis military intelligence noticed this, and that Loid enlisted under a false identity. An intelligence agent makes contact with him and recruits him into the agency. Obviously, Loid agrees. His new commanding officer (the female head of Westalis intelligence) prepares to “whip [him] into a first-rate intelligence officer through the harshest means necessary”. Before we can see what that “harshest means necessary” is though, Loid wakes up.

As it turns out, these past 3 chapters of Spy x Family are the result of a dream Loid is having as a result of fainting at hearing that Anya received a Tonitrus bolt. Anya comforts him about his “bad dream” (fortunately, Anya either didn’t read his dream or didn’t understand it), and Loid’s fake family returns to normal with dinner that night. For Loid, all is well once more.

Spy x Family Ch. 62.3: The Good

This 3-chapter arc is one of the best story arcs of Spy x Family, but Spy x Family Ch. 62.3 really takes the cake. I would never have expected this chapter to get deep into the philosophy and morality of war. Delivered and demonstrated by Franky, no less. This chapter reveals some pretty deep insights into a character who, up until now, has basically been the comic relief character. It’s a pretty great example of character development coinciding with plot development here.

Speaking of plot development though, the whole thing with Loid finding out his friends have been alive all this time, only to lose them immediately afterward was definitely an emotional gut-punch moment. It seems more reminiscent of Tatsuya Endo’s earlier manga series than it is of Spy x Family. However, this is perfectly fitting for Loid as a backstory. Earlier chapters have hinted at him having a dark backstory, and now we know it is very dark indeed.

This is why the fluffy ending was so critical to this arc. The end of the chapter featuring Loid returning to the waking world with to happy family and present-day isn’t just a welcome relief from the darkness, but it’s also symbolic of his growth. He started off as a man with no one to care for, and basically no one who cared about him (aside from Franky and technically Midnight). With Anya as his daughter, Yor as his wife, and Bond as the sapient family dog; Loid now has everything he secretly wished for. Even if he still insists to himself that his family is fake. It’s rather touching, really.

Speaking of touches though, that FN FAL Loid was using looks really accurately modeled. It’s pretty clear that Tatsuya Endo did his research here. It’s something only gun nerds would notice, but it’s a nice touch nonetheless.

Spy x Family Ch. 62.3: The Bad

I think my only complaint about Spy x Family Ch. 62.3 is that we never got to see more of how Loid became a spy. Even worse, we never saw how he became friends with Franky after Franky fled like that. I assume though that Tatsuya Endo will get around to depicting that one of these days, so it’s not that big a minus for me. Certainly not enough for me to budge from the 100% rating I’m giving it.

Source: Viz Media