Spy x Family members are seen during a cold battle between Ostania’s Ostania and Westalis. What does that mean for visitors, though? Based on Tatsuya Ende’s manga, the collection features an undercover agent who forms a family member for his critical goal: To investigate a threat to national stability. It is important to review the importance of the setting as the story progresses from season 1 to its Fall 2023 launch.
Spy x Family Members doesn’t actually take place in the real world like a slice–of–life series. However, it’s not a dreamy world like in an isekai manga title. Spy x Family is a cozy compromise between the real and fiction that allows Tatsuya to use his creative thinking freely. This is a standard technique in shonen manga as well.
Spy x Family as it is depicted in manga and anime is not based on expansive worldbuilding as One Piece is. However, the author did provide a compelling context to his cold battle setup. Ostania and Westalis, both rival countries, are at the center of the main battle. Both are located in the east, but also in the west. Ostania, though, is much more than just the “country to the east”. Ostania is clearly meant to be an alternative to real-world East Germany. Ostania is a nation that signed the Warsaw Deal. Westalis however is West Germany. While the real-world effects can be endless, Spy x Household’s shonen anime series simplifies it to the simple fact that these two countries are fighting in a cold war. One major trigger could lead to a complete war.
This information offers anime fans who are interested in history some intriguing suggestions as to what may be happening behind closed doors in Spy x Family members. And not just in terms of SSS which is a clear analog for the Stasi East German secret service. Ostania and Westalis might have been close allies in the past and shared certain areas as one country. But, history, which was full of battles, drew them apart. Spy x Family is a story with a lot to tell. This could be reflected in a tie-in novel that would allow history enthusiasts to read the details. However, the manga and anime are focused on the heart of the story, the adventures of the Counterfeiter family. The world-building is illustrated in the manga. A map shows Denmark, Westalis, Ostania, and Hugaria. Hugaria, a central European state that also belonged to Warsaw Pact, is undoubtedly this world’s Hungary. Spy x Family could continue expanding until another version of Europe is created, offering Loid a vast world to explore.
Three options are available to the fiction writer when it comes to setting up the world. One is to create an entire imaginary globe from scratch. This works well for both fantasy and science fiction. The other is either to use a real-world environment, which works well for a slice–of–life anime, or create a fictional planet based entirely on the real world. Spy x Household (and Fullmetal Sorcerer) use the third option, which combines the best aspects of both real-life and fictional worlds. Real life is used as a looser reference to make settings like Ostania and Westalis more real. It also makes it easier for the designer, as some of the world-building has been done.
Tatsuya’s Endo, for example, can set up a familiar story but still take creative license to make it fit her story’s needs. Customers can appreciate the information presented in the scenes, but they also have the ability to fill in the gaps using enlightened guesses and projections made with real-world referents. This makes storytelling more effective. The author doesn’t need to draw or write standard information. Visitors can view much more information through worldbuilding. Spy x Family’s setting feels enormous and richly outlined, despite a relatively small amount of world-building. It is not possible to do this for a completely fictional anime world, such as Berserk or Naruto. It is up to the author to do all of this world-building, which requires a lot of time and effort.