Spy x Family has its fair share of action and comedy, along with heartwarming moments of clarity and wisdom in the series. The production for Spy x Family Season 3 is officially underway, and fans are eagerly anticipating its release.
Although the special event’s announcement confirmed no release date for the next installment, fans are still hyped about the return of their beloved characters. At the heart of its success lies the lovable family trio – Loid, Yor, and Anya – whose antics have stolen the hearts of fans worldwide.
Although Spy x Family became an instant success and a global sensation, many fans aren’t aware of the mangaka’s major creative hurdles behind the scenes. Tatsuya Endo, the creator of Spy X Family, faced several creative challenges, including uncertainty over the title, but Hunter X Hunter helped solve this surprising issue for the mangaka.
How Hunter X Hunter Played a Key Role in Shaping the Success of Spy X Family
Spy x Family is an action-packed shonen adventure, but it’s also an adorable family comedy with tons of cute moments. It’s easy to overlook the action when such cute, wholesome characters interact.
In an interview with Spy X Family‘s editor, Shihei Lin, he shared the various challenges the team faced before the manga’s serialization. Surprisingly, Tatsuya Endo’s greatest challenge wasn’t his concerns about the story but rather his insecurity regarding the manga’s title. Shihei revealed:
I just slapped a placeholder name on it at the draft submission stage. Endo-sensei sent in this draft for a serialization without deciding on the title, so we just worked with the title “Spy Family” written in Japanese characters for the time being. I thought “Spy Family” written in Japanese was just fine, but Endo-sensei was worried it was a little too… straight-forward.
He further reveals that Endo-sensei was concerned the title sounded too straightforward, which he believed could hinder its success and appeal to the Western audience.
Despite exploring countless ideas, the mangaka ultimately settled on Spy Family as the original title, adding a twist inspired by Hunter X Hunter. He added:
I swear, he came up with over a hundred names and we went over all of them together. And at the end of it all, we just took the name we had and put it in English characters, with a cross between the words. We talked about how the title of HUNTER x HUNTER is super simple, and it how it has the same thing going on.
Yoshihiro Togashi’s Hunter × Hunter has been a huge critical and financial success, also ranking among the best-selling manga series of all time. Hunter x Hunter might be one of the few anime where multiple arcs can be labeled as best.
It has all the ingredients required for a great storytelling experience, including Togashi’s obsession with emphasizing the narrator’s words. Not to forget, HxH features several compelling characters such as Phantom Troupe, Gon, Killua, and his friends. Besides HxH, the mangaka is also renowned for another iconic title, YuYu Hakusho.
Hunter X Hunter influence on Jujutsu Kaisen
Jujutsu Kaisen has dominated both anime and manga for the past six years, cementing its status as an icon of modern anime culture. Amid the criticism of the controversial ending, JJK managed to captivate a vast audience worldwide due to its engaging narrative and compelling characters.
Not to forget, the mangaka has gained a notorious reputation among the fandom for its dark narrative. Gege Akutami has frequently acknowledged iconic manga artists like Eiichiro Oda, creator of One Piece, and Tite Kubo, creator of Bleach, as key inspirations before Jujutsu Kaisen rose to the top of the shonen manga world.
Yet, throughout Jujutsu Kaisen’s manga, it becomes clear that Gege Akutami was heavily influenced by an iconic manga artist who gets slightly overlooked. JJK manga readers can vouch that Gege’s heavy reliance on narrator text acts as a challenge for many newcomers, potentially spoiling their experience with the series.
However, they might be surprised to learn that Yoshihiro Togashi, creator of Hunter x Hunter, was highly renowned for this technique long before JJK.
Spy x Family is available to stream on Crunchyroll & Hulu.
