Spy x Family Ch. 102 / Mission 102 appears to be the final part of the saga of Henry and Martha in their youth. A saga which we know from previous chapters ends in a bit of a tragedy for the both of them. Fortunately though, the present day is far kinder to them than the past could ever possibly hope to be.

Spy x Family Ch. 102 / Mission 102: Details

Spy x Family Mission 100 Special illustration.
Still applicable for this chapter!

Spy x Family Ch. 102 (officially known as Mission 102) is the latest chapter (as of writing these reviews) of the action spy comedy manga by Tatsuya Endo (Blade of the Moon Princess, TISTA). In fact, this chapter actually continues the story of the previous chapter and is Pt. 6 of this Love and War story arc. You can read my reviews of Pt. 1, Pt. 2, Pt. 3, Pt. 4, and Pt. 5 here.

Casey Loe returns as the translator for Spy x Family Ch. 102, with Rina Mapa 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.

When and Where to Read

Spy x Family Ch. 102 made its online debut on July 21, 2024. You can read this chapter entirely for free on Shonen Jump on Viz Media. Ch. 102 will remain free for two chapter releases after it. Upon the release of the third chapter after it, Ch. 102 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. 102 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 in Japan December 22, 2023; and will finally make its NA debut on April 19, 2024. 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. If you want to purchase tickets for that Spy x Family Code: White anime film though, then you can do so from its official website.

Spy x Family Ch. 102 / Mission 102: Plot Summary

Spy x Family Mission 102 cover page.
Now this has to be the biggest shock for all of them, but at least it’s a pleasant one.

Spy x Family Ch. 102 picks up where we last left off in the previous chapter, with Martha having just arrived back in Berlint, Ostania after a very long misadventure. In fact, she first arrives back at her parents’ place, where they have a shocked but joyful reunion. The next reunion she has is very long overdue, since it the one she finally has with Henry. Alas, any happiness from that reunion is shattered when Henry’s wife Lucia walks in on the scene. Mostly on Martha’s end, since it means that her dreams of a life together with Henry are forever shattered. In Martha’s own words: it marked the end of her adolescence.

All much to Becky’s shock in the present day, of course. Martha herself though has long gotten over it. Mostly because Lucia had been such a pleasant person to be around. Lucia even arranged for Martha to perform ballet onstage in a massive theater complex, and even gave her life purpose again. It might’ve even been what held her together when she went to war again for the second time, but that’s another story for later.

Right now, it’s still all about Martha as she visits Lucia’s grave, meeting up with Henry again in the process. That meeting ends with them agreeing to have tea together again, just like old times. Will this result in love blossoming between them in their old age? Well, we’ll just have to wait for a future chapter of Spy x Family to reveal that.

Spy x Family Ch. 102 / Mission 102: The Good

Spy x Family Mission 102 panel showing Henry and Martha happily chatting with each other.
Perhaps this is hope for a good thing between them in the future?

Honestly, there’s no question about it. It’s clearly the story of Spy x Family Ch. 102 that has me hooked, and has had me hooked since the beginning of the Love and War arc. Honestly, this is one of the best story arcs of this manga. All because of the intermix of war and tragedy. Really, this is one of the story arcs in which Tatsuya Endo shows off his storytelling abilities. It’s basically a dark war story on par with This War of Mine, but with a much happier ending. “Happier” being relative though. This is still very much a bittersweet ending to this arc.

Of course, there’s also Endo’s art complementing that amazing war story. Especially in the facial expressions. Endo normally does some very light-hearted and fun facial expressions. Thus, seeing something like the look of utter devastation on Martha’s face upon realizing that Henry is married is like getting a bite of very dark chocolate to go with the milk.

Spy x Family Ch. 102 / Mission 102: The Bad

Spy x Family Mission 102 panel showing showing a devastated Martha.
Very, very bad for Martha here.

Alas, Spy x Family Ch. 102 is not an action-heavy chapter. This is mostly a drama and angst chapter, with only a very small amount of fluff to take the edge off of that. If you want action, then you might want to check out Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Solo Leveling, Kaiju No. 8, and/or The Elusive Samurai. Those anime will have more than enough action to satisfy any action junkie.