After a month-long hiatus, Tatsuya Endo finally returns to Shonen Jump with the long-awaited Spy x Family Ch. 76! Even better, it continues with the aftermath of the Red Circus hijacking. With Anya reacting…more or less how you’d expect a roughly 5-year-old kid to react to nearly dying.
Spy x Family Ch. 76: Details
Spy x Family Ch. 76 is the latest chapter of the action-comedy spy manga by Tatsuya Endo, and is also technically a continuation of the aftermath of the Red Circus bus hijacking arc (you can read reviews of the arc, consisting of Ch. 69, Ch. 70, Ch. 71, Ch. 72, Ch. 73, and Ch. 74 here; with the aftermath chapter being Ch. 75). Casey Loe returns as the translator, but Rina Mapa is not returning as the letterer. Instead, John Bae is the new letterer for this manga now.
Shueisha originally published Spy x Family (including Ch. 76) in Japan under their Jump Comics+ imprint in the magazine Shōnen Jump+. Viz Media is publishing this manga in the NA region in their own online Shonen Jump magazine.
Spy x Family Ch. 76 premiered on March 5, 2023. You can read this chapter for free on Shonen Jump at Viz Media. This chapter of the manga will remain free for 2 chapter releases after this one. Upon the release of the 3rd chapter, Ch. 76 will go into the Shonen Jump vault. Once there, you will need a paid subscription to read it and all previous chapters.
As a side note: Spy x Family now has an anime adaptation. Cours 1 and 2 of Season 1 premiered on April 5, 2022 and ran until December 24, 2022. You can watch all currently available episodes of the anime on Crunchyroll or Hulu. In addition, season 2 and an anime film will premiere sometime in 2023, so look forward to that this year.
Warning: spoilers for Spy x Family Ch. 76 below. If you want to read about Anya’s reaction (or lack thereof) to a life-or-death situation, then stop here and come back once the school day ends at Eden Academy.
Spy x Family Ch. 76: Plot Summary
Spy x Family Ch. 76 more or less picks up from where we last left off in the previous chapter. After earning a Stella Star for her role in resolving the bus hijacking, Anya’s ego inflates to maximum expansion potential. Now calling herself “Starlight Anya”, she cheerfully insists that she doesn’t have to eat vegetables as a reward for the Stella star. The only thing clouding her cheer is actually the memory of Melinda’s…odd reaction to her son. Even Anya thinks having those conflicting thoughts about Damian is “weird” for her.
All of Anya’s worries fly away though when she arrives at Eden Academy. The other kids now see her as their hero, and Anya’s ego is now the size of a zeppelin. She insists that everyone now calls her “Double Starlight Anya”, and basks in the adulation of her peers. The only one who isn’t impressed with this is Damian, who gets jealous of all the attention he’s not getting. Thus, he embarks on a smear campaign against Anya, calling her a “peasant”. It backfires on him though, as it only makes the other kids admire Anya even more. The thus sudden abundance of admirers leads Anya to embark on her “Plan B”. Instead of getting Damian to invite her to his home. She would invite Damian to her home instead. It’s foolproof. Now if only she wasn’t such a fool herself.
Anya Hoist by Her Own Petard
Alas, Anya’s tales of exaggeration reach epic proportions, unbelievable by anyone save for her fellow kids. Becky tries to save her by giving some of the credit to Yor Forger, but Anya lashes out due to her jealousy of her mom and starts forgetting her goals. When Damian starts calling her names, Anya loses sight of her goals completely and starts calling him back.
Damian’s escalation of words results in Anya sobbing about wanting to “conquer the world” for some reason. Interestingly though, Anya’s tears result in Damian apologizing to her, to the shock of his 2 friends. When Damian made it about him being stronger than Anya because of his apologizing, another argument breaks out between them. The other kids have had enough this time, and they all go to class. All except for Anya and Damian, who continue to argue unaware of the ticking timer and thus are late to class “like good friends”. Has Anya’s Plan B failed before it could even begin? Well, maybe we’ll find out in the next chapter of Spy x Family.
Spy x Family Ch. 76: The Good
Frankly, the news that Spy x Family is back after a month-long hiatus should be good news in and of itself for all of us Forger family fans. But for the benefit of non-fans: the best part of Ch. 76 is the story. It’s good to see such a traumatic event like that bus hijacking receiving so many depictions of its aftermath. It also makes perfect sense for Anya and her fellow kids not to really be all that affected by it. They are, after all, only anywhere between 5-7 years old. It’s natural for kids that age not to register traumatic experiences. Or at least, they shrug it off rather quickly.
The next best thing is definitely the artwork of Spy x Family Ch. 76. As usual, Tatsuya Endo does a masterful job on facial expressions, particularly Anya’s. Who else can think to draw Anya sobbing while having the classic manga angry vein mark at the same time? Honestly, that facial expression alone goes right up there with Anya’s “Nyeh” face and her “Uggo” face.
Spy x Family Ch. 76: The Bad
As a fan of Spy x Family ever since the first chapter made its debut all the way back in March 25, 2019; I happily admit that I’m very heavily biased towards this manga. Even in Ch. 76 though, I can’t find anything to criticize. We all needed cool-down chapters after the seriousness of the bus hijacking arc. This is it.
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