Spy x Family Ch. 96.1 is yet another short chapter. However, it also gives us another shopping trip Anya gets to go on. All in preparation for her then-upcoming ball, and complete with an appropriately Loid-breaking price tag to boot.

Spy x Family Ch. 96.1/Short Mission 12: Details

Spy x Family Mission 26: Follow Mama and Papa key visual.
Before the party, there has to be the dress shopping expedition.

Spy x Family Ch. 96.1 is the 12th short chapter (which is why it’s officially known as Short Mission 12) of the manga by Tatsuya Endo (Blade of the Moon Princess, TISTA). Alas, this chapter does not continue the story of the previous chapter. However, it does give us a look as to what went on just before the start of the ball in Ch. 95.

Casey Loe returns as the translator for Spy x Family Ch. 96.1, with Rina Mapa making a comeback 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.

When and Where to Read

Spy x Family Ch. 96.1 made its online debut on March 31, 2024. You can read this chapter entirely for free on Shonen Jump on Viz Media. Ch. 96.1 will remain free for two chapter releases after it. Upon the release of the third chapter after it, Ch. 96.1 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. 96.1 for free before you can’t anymore.

Anime Adaptation Details

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, and even more recently ended on December 23, 2023. There was even an anime film spinoff called Spy x Family Code: White that premiered on December 22, 2023, but only in Japan for now as of this writing. 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. 96.1/Short Mission 12: Plot Summary

Spy x Family anime screenshot showing Anya trying on dresses.
Basically this, but with ballroom gowns…for kids.

Since Spy x Family Ch. 96.1/Short Mission 12 is a short chapter, this summary will be just as short…hopefully. Short Mission 12 literally starts the story by stating that it takes place during Mission 95, when Anya agreed to go shopping with Becky for dresses. Thus, Becky and Anya do just that, with Becky’s bodyguard Martha going along for the protection and just to be the chaperone and voice of reason to Becky. And also provide some choice hints about her past with Henry Henderson, but she leaves that tidbit hanging for us just as much as she does for Becky.

Fortunately, the shopping trip goes off without a hitch. We even get to see Anya pick out the dress she wears to the school ball, and why. Apparently, she picked that black dress solely because it resembles Yor’s “murdering people” dress. That’s it. Let’s hope that Anya doesn’t grow up to be an assassin in the future.

Alas though, even that dress cost so much that it bring Loid to despair. It also makes Loid give Anya dancing lessons, which Anya is determined to go through. To the point where it even leaves Anya with shaking legs during school afterwards. Which Damian and his friends immediately pick up on and mock her for, which results in some Anya rage and her refusing to continue with the dance lessons. Children sure are fickle, aren’t they? Well, we’ll have to see in the future of Spy x Family just how much more fickle Tatsuya Endo can make Anya and her friends be.

Spy x Family Ch. 96.1/Short Mission 12: The Good

Spy x Family anime screenshot showing Becky cheering on Anya's dress tryouts.
Becky has the right idea here.

Despite its short length, the story of Spy x Family Ch. 96.1 is the story. It’s what fans (like me) live for. It basically fills in a big blank in Ch. 95 where a shopping trip-sized hole existed. It probably didn’t fit into the chapter proper, which is why Tatsuya Endo placed it in this Short Mission 12 short chapter.

Not only that, but even in this Short Mission, we get some nice bonuses along with the shopping trip. Becky’s bodyguard/butler/maid Martha being the prime example here. Her words really makes one curious if Tatsuya Endo is going to write some kind of chapter in the future exploring the backstories of both Martha and Henry Henderson? I certainly hope that will be the case, but without any official word from Endo-sensei about it, we’ll just have to wait for future chapters of Spy x Family to give us that…hopefully.

Spy x Family Ch. 96.1/Short Mission 12: The Bad

Spy x Family anime screenshot showing Anya and Becky trying on sunglasses, with Martha carrying the groceries in the background.
You have to feel sorry for Martha there in the background, but Sebastian would be proud of her.

The only thing I can complain about is the brevity of Spy x Family Ch. 96.1. However, that’s something to be expected. It is officially called “Short Mission 12”, after all. Alas, this is almost certainly a breaktime for Tatsuya Endo, so there’s no need to be so negative over it. Mangaka need time off too. So I’m just going to happily await the next chapter of Spy x Family, whenever Endo-sensei is ready to release that.

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