“Spy x Family Ch. 73”: Anya Vs. Sudden Death Round Part 5 [Review]

In Spy x Family Ch. 73, we see Anya’s sudden death round continue against those bus-hijacking terrorists. This time though, Anya isn’t the only one getting the spotlight. Yuri Briar also gets some of it. You know, because he’s a SSS agent with some surprisingly mad combat skills? Yeah, we keep forgetting that due to his hilariously disturbing siscon tendencies, don’t we?

Spy x Family Ch. 73: Details

Spy x Family Ch. 73 is part 5 (you can read reviews for part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4 here) of this Red Circus Bus Hijacking arc of the manga by Tatsuya Endo. Casey Loe once more 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+. Here in NA region, Viz Media who licensed this manga for publishing in English.

Spy x Family Ch. 73 premiered on December 25, 2022, just in time for Christmas. You can read it entirely for free on Shonen Jump at the Viz Media website. Remember that this chapter of the manga will remain free for only 2 chapter releases after Ch. 73. Upon the release of the third chapter, Ch. 73 will go into the Shonen Jump vault. After that, you can read it only with a paid subscription. Granted, said subscription is only $1.99 per month, so it’s not that big a hit to your wallet if you do get it. Still, if you’re short on funds, then you might want to read this chapter posthaste.

On a side note: Spy x Family now has an anime adaptation that premiered on April 9, 2022. It hasn’t reached this point in the manga yet, but it’s getting there. The second cours just recently concluded after debuting on October 1, 2022. You can watch both cours of the anime only on Crunchyroll.

Warning: spoilers for Spy x Family Ch. 73 below. If you want to find out about Anya’s latest sudden death round for yourself, then stop here, and come back once you’ve dealt with the Red Circus terrorists in your way.

Spy x Family Ch. 73: Plot Summary

Spy x Family Ch. 73 doesn’t quite pick up where we last left off in the last chapter. Instead, it begins with a flashback into the Red Circus leader’s (who goes by the name of Billy) past. His flashback shows us both his last day seeing his daughter alive, and his first sight of his daughter’s battered corpse in a morgue after the state had violently suppressed the protest she was attending. Frankly, after seeing that for ourselves, it’s no wonder he joined Red Circus. Of course, Anya saw this flashback via her telepathy, so even she knows that he has a reason for what he’s doing. Seriously, her face at that moment practically screams sympathy.

Meanwhile, though, secret agent Yuri has assembled an assault team near where Red Circus is holding the second Eden Academy bus. The assault force is ruthlessly effective, gunning down the terrorists with precise fire under the cover of a tear gas grenade. Every single terrorist goes down, with Yuri himself being the only casualty of the assault force due to a pistol bullet to his shoulder. This ends half of the bus hijacking incident. Unfortunately, there’s still the other half to go, and Anya is caught in it.

Anya to the Rescue?!

When the SSS inevitably announces to the remaining Red Circus hijackers that all their comrades on the other bus are dead, it just as inevitably destroys the Red Circus’ morale. Even as Billy’s resolve wavers though, it appears one of the senior Red Circus terrorists has a backup plan he explicitly did not inform Billy about. Said backup plan is apparently a bag full of explosives, which he plans to use to take out any force that tries to storm the bus. Oh, and everyone else on the bus with him, of course. This is even worse considering that the local Berlint police chief is forced to hand over the operation to the SSS, who then proceed to bring their own heavily armed and armored Guard Regiment to storm the bus.

Of course, Anya is aware of all this thanks to her telepathy. She knows very well that if the SSS storm the bus, then they’ll all go “kaboom.” Thus, Anya makes a desperate gambit by getting up from her seat and walking towards the Red Circus members. What does Anya plan to do to confront them? Does she even have a plan? If so, will it be as stupid as we expect it to be? Well, that’s what we’ll find out in the next chapter of Spy x Family.

Spy x Family Ch. 73: The Good

I keep saying that Spy x Family is at its best when it gets dark and dramatic. This chapter, just like this entire arc, is no exception. Tatsuya Endo is really good at coming up with these dark storylines. Which makes sense, since all of his earlier manga before Spy x Family were all dark and brooding. It’s just that in this manga, that dark broodiness is balanced out by light-hearted and oddball comedy.

As for characters, Yuri really shines in Spy x Family Ch. 73. He shows us that despite how silly he is around Yor, he is a trained secret police officer of the SSS. That precise and sudden violence he unleashes upon the Red Circus terrorists guarding the second bus is proof of that. However, Billy the Red Circus leader also gets some of the spotlight here, given how we see his past and the reason why he became a terrorist. It turns him into a sympathetic villain, based on what he mentioned in the previous chapter.

Lastly, the art of Spy x Family Ch. 73 is as good as ever. Again, the facial expressions are the best part of the artwork. Once more, Tatsuya Endo demonstrated his skill with facial expressions, with particular focus on Anya’s sympathetic face at reading Billy’s flashback and Yuri’s over-the-top pained expression from his gunshot wound.

Spy x Family Ch. 73: The Bad

Sorry, there’s nothing for me to criticize about this chapter, and this arc in general. Even taking my Spy x Family bias into account, this is one of the best arcs in the manga. On par with Loid’s Backstory arc and the Cruise Ship arc, really. I’m just sitting here eagerly awaiting the next chapter to enjoy.

Keep Reading:

The Top 10 Anime Of 2022