It’s no secret that when it comes to anime, spy fiction is popular. Just look at the success of programs like Spy Family X. The trend continues with Huluthe latest anime offering, Mission: Yozakura Family, is based on a long-running manga series of the same name. It follows a boy named Taiyo Asano (Reiji Kawashima), who lost his family after a devastating car accident. He finds comfort in his childhood friend, Mutsumi Yozakura (Kaede Hondo), who is always by his side. But it’s a major and strange change for him when he discovers that Mutsumi is living a double life: she comes from a family of spies and Taiyo is about to become part of it too.
MISSION: YOZAKURA FAMILY: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
Initial shot: We see the aftermath of a car accident, with a car overturned in a ravine and a hand poking out of the rubble, then a young red-haired man remembering his family at his apparent funeral. He laments about getting close to someone and then losing them again while a young blue-haired girl comforts him by telling him that he’s not going anywhere.
The essence: Taiyo Asano thinks his life is over when he sees his family die after a car accident. As the sole survivor, he becomes withdrawn and paranoid, wondering how he will ever reconnect with anyone on a meaningful level if he is simply going to disappear. His best friend, Mutsumi Yozakura, has been by his side his entire life and, as such, promises that he will never go anywhere.
Taiyo deals with crippling anxiety about going out with friends, even though others try to get him to go out with them all the time. Even after spending time with his classmates for a month, he can barely talk to them, despite wanting to, as he simply can’t connect with others anymore. He still finds comfort in spending time with Mutsumi, and the pair are often inseparable.
It is soon revealed that Taiyo’s teacher, Mr. Hirukawa, is none other than Mutsumi’s brother, Kyoichiro Yozakura (Katsuyuki Konishi), which explains his antagonistic nature towards Taiyo and Mutsumi’s casual behavior towards him. The rest of the Yozakura clan also shows up, and Taiyo discovers his sordid history. They’re a motley bunch, with the feline Kengo, a huge Frankstein-like character with a bucket for a head, and even someone in a trash can. It’s a secret that Mutsumi has kept for a decade, and he finally decided to confess it.
There’s only one problem: Kyoshiri has Taiyo in his sights, because he believes someone is planning to kill Mutsumi. Hilariously, the only way to protect Taiyo from this “Mutsumi-protecting monster” is for Taiyo and Mutsumi to get married. The Yozakura family has a rule: “No killing between family members.”
It’s the only way to prevent Taiyo from being completely destroyed. Is it the right idea? Maybe not, but it could be all Taiyo has. which explains his antagonistic nature towards Taiyo and Mutsumi’s casual behavior towards him.
What shows will it remind you of? Spy Family X is a close relative of this series in the sense that the main characters keep each other secret for a long time, pretending to be married and still not revealing their background as a spy and assassin. While the story beats are different, there are enough similarities that make sense to suggest that if you like Spy Family Xyou’ll probably enjoy this series too.
Our opinion: It’s easy to feel for Taiyo when this series begins, because anyone who has ever suffered a major loss probably knows what it’s like to cry and feel like nothing will ever be the same. Or they might wonder what’s the point of reaching out to someone else if one day they’ll have to go through the same thing again. But no one has ever had to marry into a spy family to prevent the most powerful member of the family from killing them.
The juxtaposition of the pain that hit Taiyo hard at losing her family with how foolish it is for her to now marry into a spy family headed by someone who hates how close she is to Mutsumi is ridiculous. But that’s exactly what makes this program work. It’s so silly that it makes sense, and if nothing else, this whole fight is a distraction from what’s been holding Taiyo back. And he’ll probably become a much, much stronger person because of it.
Sex and skin: None here.
Parting Shot: After Taiyo proves to be a fighter and more than capable of holding his own, the Yozakura family is glad that he did not die during the battle. But they agree that he needs to learn how to protect Mutsumi as her husband and “what that really means” as the two shake hands and ring their new family.
Sleeping star: Katsuyuki Konishi is responsible for Kyoichiro’s sing-song voice, which gives him a psychotic tone, especially because of how obsessed he is with his sister to the point of tying up and abusing students to keep them away from her. Konishi gives her a charming voice around students and a casually sinister tone when she’s being her strange, true self. He’s part of why he’s easily the best character in the first episode alone, and what makes this character worth following in the future.
Most pilot line: “This was the moment I learned two things. That you don’t realize what’s important to you until you lose it. And it is very easy to lose them.” Taiyo’s first line of the series makes it easy to see how devastated he is to lose his entire family in the blink of an eye, as any of us would be. He’s already vulnerable, so how far will he go to ensure he’s never alone again? And how can you achieve it? It sets the tone for the rest of the series.
Our call: TRANSMIT IT. Mission: Yozakura Family It’s a fun game that starts off bleak but soon turns into an exciting adventure that features all the right moves. It’s nice to see Taiyo understand that he’ll have to come out of his shell to take care of Mutsumi. Mutsumi is a great female lead and her brother is crazy. The rest of the family may be too, but they are a tremendously fun watch.
Brittany Vincent (@MolotovCupcake) has been covering video games and technology for over a decade for publications including G4, Popular Science, Playboy, Variety, IGN, GamesRadar, Polygon, Kotaku, Maxim, GameSpot and more. When he’s not writing or gaming, he collects consoles and retro technology..