Spy x Family Ch. 88: The Cake Is (Not) A Lie [Review]

Spy x Family fans might recall that during the Bus Hijacking Arc, Damian promised to give Anya a cake as thanks for the support and help? Well, at the very least, Anya thought so (incorrectly) and continues to think so. However, the fact that she does think that has resulted in Damian now believing that he needs to fulfill that promise despite never making it in the first place. Now at Ch. 88 though, at long last after a roughly 6-week hiatus, it appears that Anya will have her long-awaited cake…or maybe not? That will depend on whether Damian can give it to her or not.

Spy x Family Ch. 88: Details

Spy x Family Ch. 88 is the latest chapter of the manga of the same name by Tatsuya Endo (Blade of the Moon Princess). It’s also a continuation of the Bus Hijacking Arc (you can read reviews for Pt. 1, Pt. 2, Pt. 3, Pt. 4, Pt. 5, Pt. 6, and the aftermath here), even though it doesn’t explicitly say it is. Casey Loe returns as the translator, with Rina Mapa also returning as the letterer. Shueisha originally published this manga in Japan under their Jump Comics+ imprint in the magazine Shōnen Jump+. Viz Media is the company publishing this manga in English in the NA region.

Spy x Family Ch. 88 made its debut on October 15, 2023. You can read it entirely for free on Shonen Jump on Viz Media. Ch. 88 will remain free for 2 chapter releases after it. Upon the release of the third chapter after it, Ch. 88 will go into the Shonen Jump vault. Once there, you will have to pay a subscription fee to read it and all previous chapters. Admittedly, the fee is only $2.99 per month, so it’s not that big a hit to your wallet. All the same, if you’re short on cash, then you might want to hurry up and read Ch. 88 for free before you can’t anymore.

As a side note: Spy x Family now has an anime adaptation that premiered on April 9, 2022. In fact, season 2 just recently premiered on October 7, 2023. You can watch all episodes on either Crunchyroll or Hulu. Note though that only Crunchyroll has any of the dubs. So if you like watching the English dub for some reason, then you have to watch the anime on Crunchyroll.

Spy x Family Ch. 88: Plot Summary

Spy x Family Ch. 88 begins with Damian holding a bag of cake. Such a simple thing, but wait, this isn’t just any cake. It’s some kind of super-expensive cake fit for royalty. Why did he acquire it? Well, back during the Bus Hijacking Arc, Anya lent a handkerchief to Damian after the Red Circus terrorists strapped a (thankfully fake) bomb collar to his neck. Thus, Damian now feels he owes a debt to Anya. Fortunately, Anya’s (mistaken) belief that Damian promised her cake as a reward gives him an easy way to repay that debt. Now all he has to do is give the cake to Anya.

Alas, Damian makes this simple task a lot harder than it needs to be. He doesn’t want anyone to actually see him give the cake to Anya due to fears of damaging his reputation as a “scion of the Desmond family”. Anya knows about the cake though due to her telepathy, and she doesn’t know why Damian is making it so difficult, but she wants that cake bad.

Thus, Anya conspires with Becky to get Damian alone. All so that Anya can get that cake, of course, although Becky’s soap opera fan brain interprets that gesture romantically. It actually takes Anya a few tries, but she finally manages to write a legible message to Damian to meet her in the courtyard during break. Sure, there’s blood splattered all over it due to Anya stabbing herself while writing it, but at least it doesn’t look like a drunken squirrel’s scribble. Now if only they could meet in private.

Attack of the Peanut Gallery?!

Alas, neither Damian nor Anya are getting that privacy. Becky, Emile, and Ewen have all decided to be their peanut gallery for various reasons, thus prompting Damian and Anya to make a break for it. They’re unable to escape their aggressively interested peanut gallery though, and so they end up fighting over it. Anya makes a last-ditch attempt to get Damian to give her cake via hugging, which sets Damian’s young heart aflame. The sudden disappearance of their peanut gallery also finally allows Damian to hand over the cakes to Anya…and then Henry Henderson shows up to ruin the fun, confiscating the cakes as contraband and for the kids apparently ignoring the warning bell to head to class.

Henderson though isn’t without a heart. He makes Damian and Anya stay after class to write out an apology report in his office, and then promptly invites them to tea after those reports are done. A teatime that includes the deliciously crunchy cakes Damian brought, and which they can now both enjoy. Alas, the fun is ruined when Anya’s telepathy reveals to her that Damian has a massive crush on her. Disgusted with the romance directed at her, Anya takes back her offer of friendship to Damian for the cakes. This, of course, prompts a massive argument between her and Damian.

Has Anya failed in her mission to make world peace by befriending Damian? Well, we’ll just find out later in Spy x Family when Tatsuya Endo gets back to this storyline.

Spy x Family Ch. 88: The Good

Obviously, the thing that makes Spy x Family Ch. 88 is the story. Specifically: Anya’s daily school life. I’m a huge fan of slice of life comedy fluff like this. Not only that, but it’s even plot-relevant to boot. It’s essentially a continuation of the aftermath of the Bus Hijacking Arc. When you see a major event be so significant in-story that it spawns additional stories that react to it, you know that there’s a very deeply thought out story here.

And of course, there’s Tatsuya Endo’s usual art quality here to further make Spy x Family Ch. 88 great. He continues to demonstrate his skill in facial expressions. The faces Damian and Anya make in response to his crush on her are just priceless. There’s a reason why this manga is amazing, and the art is part of it.

Oh, and the crunchy tea cakes. It’s always nice to see deliciously drawn food in manga. Spy x Family Ch. 88 just happens to be a pleasant surprise for me in that regard.

Spy x Family Ch. 88: The Bad

If you only like the action and drama of Spy x Family, then you’ll probably be bored to tears of Ch. 88. Then again, if you only liked those parts of it, why did you stick around for this long in the manga? Maybe, just maybe, you actually like the slice of life fluff too? It’s only a suggestion here. Feel free to think about that however long you like.