Spy x Family season 2 Ep. 8 “The Symphony Upon the Ship” gives Yor Forger a chance to show us what she’s made of. From the looks of things, it looks like Yor has the body of a Terminator. Because how else do you explain her facing off against apparently an entire underworld’s worth of assassins, and winning? Although, not without taking a bit of damage in the process.

Spy x Family Season 2 Ep. 8 “The Symphony Upon the Ship”: Details

Spy x Family season 2 NA key visual.
Not depicted: all the artsy bloodsprays courtesy of Yor.

Spy x Family season 2 Ep. 8 “The Symphony Upon the Ship” is the eighth episode (you can read reviews for Ep. 1, Ep. 2, Ep. 3, Ep. 4, Ep. 5, Ep. 6, and Ep. 7 here) of the second and latest season of the anime series, and is the 33rd episode in the anime as a whole. Said anime is the anime adaptation of the manga of the same name by Tatsuya Endo (Blade of the Moon Princess). Wit Studio (Attack on Titan season 1-3, Ranking of Kings, The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 1) and CloverWorks (Horimiya, Wonder Egg Priority, My Dress-Up Darling) remain the animation studios behind this anime.

Isao Hayashi is the director of Spy x Family season 2 Ep. 8 “The Symphony Upon the Ship”, with Daishirō Tanimura as the writer and Isao Hayashi and Miyuki Kuroki doing the storyboard. Kazuhiro Furuhashi along with Takahiro Harada (starting with this season) are the directors of Spy x Family season 2. Ichirō Ōkouchi is the writer for season 2 of the anime this time, taking over from Furuhashi. (K)NoW_NAME is still the composer for the music you hear in the anime.

Speaking of music: : “Kura Kura” (クラクラ, lit. “Dizzy”) by Ado and director Masaaki Yuasa is the opening theme song. Meanwhile, the ending theme song is “Todome no Ichigeki” (トドメの一撃, lit. “Finishing Strike”) by Vaundy (feat. Cory Wong) and director Eugene Winter.

Voice Cast

Spy x Family season 2 Ep. 8 “The Symphony Upon the Ship” features the voices of Saori Hayami (Natalie Van Sistine in English dub) as Yor Forger/Thorn Princess, Atsumi Tanezaki (Megan Shipman and Bryn Apprill in English dub) as Anya Forger, and Takuya Eguchi (Alex Organ in English dub) as Loid Forger/Twilight. Other notable voices for this episode include Aya Endō as Olka Gretcher/Shaty Grey, and Kenyu Horiuchi as Matthew McMahon. On the villains’ side, this episode features the voices of Kazuyuki Okitsu as Snoops, and Kohsuke Toriumi as the unnamed glasses-wearing assassin leader.

When and Where to Watch

Spy x Family season 2 Ep. 8 “The Symphony Upon the Ship” made its streaming debut on November 25, 2023. You can watch this episode only on Crunchyroll for now. You can watch the previous season either on Crunchyroll as well, or on Hulu.

Spy x Family Season 2 Ep. 8 “The Symphony Upon the Ship”: Synopsis

There is nothing more misleading about this arc than the thumb of this PV trailer.

Normally, this would be the point in which I give you all a spoiler-filled plot summary of Spy x Family season 2 Ep. 8 “The Symphony Upon the Ship”. However, this is the spoiler-free version of my usual reviews. Thus, you will get the official synopsis from the episode’s page on Crunchyroll instead. You can read that below:

The deck is filled with passengers enjoying the fireworks show. Anya and Loid were also enjoying the fireworks. Meanwhile, Yor’s mission finally reaches its climax. She tries to help Olka and the others escape, but they are surrounded by assassins!

Spy x Family Season 2 Ep. 8 “The Symphony Upon the Ship”: The Good

Spy x Family Season 2 Ep. 8 "The Symphony Upon the Ship" Japanese visual.
Now that is a warrior you don’t want to mess with.

If you’ve watched this episode already, then you already know that the best part of Spy x Family season 2 Ep. 8 “The Symphony Upon the Ship” is the story. Specifically: Yor’s fight with a veritable army of assassins as she fights to defend Olka, her baby, and the guy who is theoretically her additional bodyguard. It’s basically the climax of the entire Cruise Ship Arc. It’s the moment all the previous episodes of the arc has been building to. Fortunately, Yor delivers on the goods. With a blend of stylish moves and hilarious action, Yor proves that she’s better than most AAA action film stars.

Even better, the animation of Spy x Family season 2 Ep. 8 “The Symphony Upon the Ship” completely complements the action. Wit Studio and CloverWorks have put their all into the animation of this episode. You can tell by the artistic renditions of blood spray as Yor carves apart assassins left and right. They even time the blood sprays perfectly to synchronize with the fireworks. This didn’t happen in the manga, but that’s what makes the anime so great. The manga physically can’t do this due to the nature of the medium, so this anime adaptation is the perfect place to explore that kind of artistic license. And frankly, it succeeds beyond our wildest dreams.

Spy x Family Season 2 Ep. 8 “The Symphony Upon the Ship”: The Bad

Spy x Family Season 2 Ep. 8 "The Symphony Upon the Ship" screenshot depicting Yor dual-wielding her signature spike weapons amidst assassins and fireworks.
You really don’t want to get on the bad side of Yor and her stabbity things.

If you have been watching this anime since Ep. 1, then Spy x Family season 2 Ep. 8 “The Symphony Upon the Ship” will be the most satisfying episode yet. If you watched this episode and you don’t like it? Well, I don’t know what to say. Perhaps this anime isn’t for you, but then again, why would you watch up to this point if you didn’t like it, you weirdo?

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