Spy x Family has made its way into anime fans’ hearts with its silly but sweet story involving interesting characters like spies, assassins, and secret organizations. In the center of all this secrecy is Anya, a little girl of 6 years who has the special ability to read minds.
Young and excited at the prospect of having a family of spies and assassins, Anya lives her daily life as a spy adventure, exactly like the anime she loves to watch.
There are also heavy topics like war and politics in the background of this comedy anime, which is mostly it’s focused on raising Anya and her daily shenanigans. Currently, the second season of Spy x Family has started airing on October 7 on Netflix and Crunchyroll.
So, in between episodes, if you crave something similar to watch, check out this list of 10 anime to watch if you like Spy x Family.
Detective Conan (1996)
A classic detective series, Detective Conan follows Shinichi Kudo, a 17-year-old detective who, by sinister means, turns into a 7-year-old boy. Kudo is a detective who has made his name in Tokyo, but one day, when following some shady people, he is found and fed some drugs, leaving him to die. But the drug does the opposite and shrinks his body. With the help of his professor Agasa, he hides his identity from everyone, including his childhood friend, Ran, or else those shady people might discover that he is still alive. This is very similar to Loud Forger and Yor’s attempts to keep their identity a secret.
Watch on: Crunchyroll
Seasons and Episodes: 31 seasons; 1100 episodes
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Sweetness & Lightning (2016)
A light-hearted anime, Sweetness & Lightning follows a father and daughter duo sharing love with the language of food. Kohei Inuzaka is a school teacher who is raising his daughter in a one-parent family after his wife’s unfortunate demise. Eating takeaways every day, Kohei realizes how unhealthy it is for his young daughter and decides to learn how to cook. The daily lives of this father-daughter duo are heartwarming and full of delicious food.
Watch on: Crunchyroll
Seasons and Episodes: 1 Season; 12 episodes
Genre: Cooking, Slice of Life
Kaguya-sama: Love is War (2019)
A romance comedy, Kaguya-sama anime is really a secret war of love. Waiting to see who will ‘lose’ first and confess to the other, Kaguya and Miyuki engage in a secret but sweet tussle of love. Like Spy x Family, the series involves secrets and slapstick comedy that makes one laugh out loud and cheer for the protagonists.
Watch on: Netflix
Seasons and Episodes: 3 Seasons; 37 episodes
Genre: Psychological, Romance, Comedy, Slice of Life
Bunny Drop (2011)
Daikichi Kawachi is in for a surprise when he discovers that he has an aunt who is only six years old. In actuality, Rin, the girl, is an illegitimate ward of his grandfather, and after his death, there’s no one to look after her. Just like in Spy x Family, Daikichi decides to adopt Rina, and their relationship blooms into one between a parent/caretaker and their child.
Watch on: Crunchyroll
Seasons and Episodes: 1 Season; 11 episodes
Genre: Comedy, Coming of Age, Slice of Life
The Way of the Househusband (2021)
Tatsu, a retired yakuza, leaves his previous life of crime and fighting behind and embraces the life of a househusband. His wife is unaware of his past career, and she herself is a career woman.
While Tatsu has a scary face, he is a gentle person who finds himself in awkward situations because of his face with people around him.
Watch on: Netflix
Seasons and Episodes: 2 Seasons; 15 episodes
Genre: Action, Comedy, Slice of Life
Demon Slayer (2019)
Tanjiro Kamado, a young boy, starts his journey of being a demon hunter after his family is a victim of a demon attack and killed. Like Loid Forger, who is also a product of war in his home country, Westalis and becomes a spy just to maintain peace and eliminate threats that threaten it. Tanjiro also feels strongly about protecting his family, and his mission is the elimination of demons so that no one else suffers what he did.
Watch on: Netflix, Crunchyroll
Seasons and Episodes: 3 Seasons; 55 episodes
Genre: Dark Fantasy, Adventure, Martial Arts
School Babysitter’s Club (2018)
A very heartwarming and light-hearted comedy series is School Babysitters. Two orphans take abode in a rich old lady’s house who takes them in after their parents’ death. In Spy x Family, Anya is an orphan, too, when Loid finds her at the orphanage and takes her in, giving her a home. In School Babysitters, two brothers, Kashima Ryuiichi (15) and Kashima Kotarou (3), make new friends in school and get over their grief together.
Watch on: Crunchyroll
Seasons and Episodes: 1 Season; 12 episodes
Genre: Comedy, Slice of Life
Lycoris Recoil (2022)
Lycoris is a term for undercover spies who are all female groups, hiding under the identity of high school students and working in a cafe. Their main job is to protect peace and their customers while maintaining the secrecy of their identity, just like Loid and Yor in Spy x Family.
Watch Crunchyroll
Seasons and Episodes:1 Season; 12 episodes
Genre: Action, Girls with Gun
The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting (2012)
Just like Loid in Spy x Family is troubled by the task of raising an unruly but smart Anya for his secret mission, in Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting, Tooru Kirishima is in the very same situation. Tasked with duty to look after his boss’s daughter, Tooru, a brutal yakuza finds himself at wits ends while dealing with a small girl. This anime is chaotic and hilarious and gives a glimpse into the world of yakuzas.
Watch on: Crunchyroll
Seasons and Episodes: 1 Season; 12 episodes
Genre: Comedy, Slice of Life, Yakuza
Hunter x Hunter (2011)
Centered around Hunters, a professional career of hunting criminals, looking for treasures and fantastical animals, Hunter x Hunter follows three boys on their journey to become one because of different reasons. In the trio, Killua Zoldyck is very similar to Loid, who is a spy but has the heart of a good person. They don’t want to harm anyone or kill in an attempt to complete a mission.
Watch on: Netflix
Seasons and Episodes: 6 Seasons; 148 episodes
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Martial Arts
