Spy x Family when first announced back in 2021 was a wholesome fandom in the manga community.
Manga fans were already aware of its:
- Wholesome vibes.
- Cute moments in the manga.
- Overall story.
- Facial expressions.
And a lot of the things Spy x Family fans have come to like since the anime dropped in April 2022 (spring season).
As usual with anime and anime adaptations, for one reason or another there’s manufactured controversy that has nothing to do with anything.
That controversy is usually:
- Nonsensical.
- Out of context.
- Hyperbolic.
Or nothing but scapegoating and in many cases, anime haters projecting their feelings onto anime.
This and even the NEW anime fandom for Spy x Family have added to the show’s toxic fandom in just over a month since releasing.
What went wrong?
It all started with this ONE image of Spy x Family. Or I should say screenshot….
A TikTok user went VIRAL for claiming Anya is being “sexualized” by her dad in the first episode of Spy x Family. And understandably but foolishly, the internet exploded and gave it too much attention.
It got to the point where it was impossible to ignore this story anymore, especially with clickbaiters foaming at the mouth of this controversy since it naturally attracts attention and views.
Then the 2nd and 3rd episode came long and there was another mini viral moment of a Tiktok user claiming the anime promotes child trafficking.
This again sparked outrage, arguments, and more from people defending the anime with common sense vs those who are trying to slander and play mental gymnastics for attention.
Unsurprising to anyone all of this leaked over into Twitter’s pipeline, and since Twitter and Tiktok are neighbors it only made the problem worse.
Next comes racism in the Spy x Family community
Anya Forger was drawn as a black girl by an artist on Twitter…. NOT to change the narrative like Japanese fetishizers will argue, but to simply make fanart out of Anya because she’s a character everyone likes.
As an artist you redraw things all the time to either challenge yourself, try something different, represent something, or because it’s fun.
The racism spiraled out of control and all the Japan worshippers (not regular anime fans) came out in droves to run their mouths in Twitter.
Daily Dose of Anime, a page run by Anime Senpai made this worse by CLICKBAITING with this image. They conveniently worded it as if the artist is the problem when in actual fact it was a portion of fans being racist bastards.
This is what eventually lead to J-List calling out clickbaiters in the anime community like Anime Senpai, Daily Dose of Anime, Hero Hei, and even more in their article.
Chibi reviews and other supporters add to the fandom’s toxicity
In a now privated video by Chibi Reviews who said “some people create an entire personality out of hating on certain anime shows”, he was in fact only talking about one person who disagreed with Spy x Family’s popularity.
He made an entire video about this one person who doesn’t feel like the anime is as good as it is. That person being @ColdCriti and he commented on the anime without being a hater, or being negative.
Still, the community took it personally and dog piled the guy.
Related: Is Spy x Family Overrated GARBAGE Or A Genuine Masterpiece?
The toxic fandom has only gotten worse during May 2022
There’s a big difference between:
- Criticizing an anime or character.
- Disagreeing with people.
- Sharing your opinions.
- Speaking your mind.
And:
- Being racist because you’re comfortable behind a computer.
- Being an absolute weirdo and creep.
- Behaving in a way that’s toxic just because you don’t agree with something.
- And hating on something for no apparent reason.
When looking through the screenshots the latter is exactly what you can see. Some of the things people are saying about Spy x Family on Twitter are downright pedo or close to it.
It’s these nasty minority of fans who make the entire anime community look the way it does to some outsiders.
Fans who are outright racist, visceral, or insecure about their favorite anime being criticized are no better either. And superficial bullshit status, followers, or subscriber count doesn’t change that.
There’s bad on all sides of the fandom in all sorts of ways. And the Spy x Family fandom is now officially one of the most toxic fandoms in the anime industry.
Blame Tiktok, blame Twitter, blame outrage manufacturers, or blame your emotions for reacting to it.
Whatever you blame it is what it is and a lot of people are now avoiding it all together.
