The Winter 2023 Anime Preview Guide

Spy Classroom

Following a great war that engulfed numerous countries and came at a huge human cost, nations have forsworn overt warfare. Now battles are waged between spies, and the small Din Republic boasts an especially capable young man known as Klaus. When Klaus loses his mentor (and de facto father), he is given the man's failed mission and told to assemble his own elite spy team to infiltrate the neighboring country. Klaus agrees…but his idea of “elite” seems more like “incompetent” and the girls he picks for his mission don't look like they could spy on someone ten feet away from them, much less infiltrate an enemy nation.

Spy Classroom is based on Takemachi's light novel series and streams on HIDIVE on Thursdays.

James Beckett
Rating:

File this one under “A Show I Thought I Would Love, But Ended Up Only Kinda-Sorta Liking”. It's a shame, too, because on the surface, Spy Classroom has all of the pieces in play for a series I should totally be on board for: A totally stacked cast of talented actresses playing a variety of cute spy gals, some solid artistic direction and production values, and a cool post-WWI inspired setting. Unfortunately, most of the episode just doesn't come together in a very satisfying way, at least not until right at the very end.

I couldn't quite put my finger on what wasn't working for me about Spy Classroom's premiere for a good while, but then I realized that the problem was that the show just didn't feel like a spy story at all; it felt like some kind of idol-themed gacha game adaptation. With the home base of Heat Haze Palace, the mysterious male teacher in charge of the gaggle of marketable heroines, and the whole structure of sending the team out on “Impossible Missions”, I was genuinely shocked to find out that this isn't some kind of crossover with a free-to-play trading card game or something. The cast simply doesn't get anything to do to make them feel like spies, since outside of their code names, all we get are two or three lines of dialogue that establish their broad characteristics, and the show would be virtually unchanged if you swapped lines like “you will infiltrate Galgad and complete the Impossible Mission” with “you will perform the new routine at the Tokyo Arena and win thousands of new fans to sell merchandise to”.

This opening section isn't all bad; I laughed a lot when we learn that Klaus is a terminally incompetent teacher, and that he's the kind of weirdo who paints blood-red nightmare collages with titles like “Family”. I just wanted to have some fun with more, y'know, spy shenanigans and stuff. Thankfully, we get some of that in the final sequence, where our leading Lady Lily lures Klaus out onto a secluded boat and reveals that she's not quite as incompetent as she seems to be, which leads to a game of spy one-upmanship that is as entertaining as it is stupid, what with all of Klaus' ridiculous preplanning. It gives me hope that Spy Classroom might just have enough “Spy” in it to justify giving the show another shot to deliver the goods. It doesn't seem like it will be one of the season's hits, but it might prove to be an okay way to kill some time in between the real action.

Well, that was underwhelming. I'd heard good things about Spy Classroom in recent months and was rather hopeful about this premiere—as someone who's enjoyed both SPY x FAMILY and Princess Principal, a cold war-style spy show with a team of female spies seems like something that would be right up my alley. The problem is that this first episode is painfully paint-by-numbers.

This is far from the first show with a cast of problem students and an unorthodox teacher. Hell, it's not even the first where the students are tasked with defeating their teacher within a given time limit at a secret, secluded school. And, as these stories go, I'm sure that each of our washout spies has some secret talent that actually makes them ridiculously effective—hence why they were never fully drummed out of their respective academies.

I don't mind stories using the same framework (I mean, that's literally the entire isekai sub-genre) as long as there's a twist on the formula that sets them apart, but beyond the superficial trappings, I can't find anything different between Spy Classroom and say, Assassination Classroom. It also doesn't help that the characters aren't exactly likable. We only get to know two of them in any detail in the episode, Klaus and Lilly. The former is your typical egomaniac who is largely incapable of empathy because spycraft comes so naturally to him. This is played for humor but it doesn't make him any less obnoxious.

Then we have Lilly. The climax of the episode tries to make her look cool by having her turn the tables on Klaus and coldly reveal her hidden talent. But if you take a step back, it actually makes her look like even more of an idiot than the ditz she first appears to be. Her plan was to poison the master spy and, with the promise of an antidote, force him to get them all reassigned. But what exactly was supposed to stop him from going back on his word and executing her as a deserter at best and a traitor at worst—especially since he now knows her trump card?

Given her lack of planning and forethought, she is the worst person to be the team's leader and I am unsure what could possibly cause the girls to go along with her. Yet I'm sure, in the end, she'll win them all over. That is how these stories go, after all, and nothing in this first episode has made me expect anything otherwise. All in all, this episode is not incompetently made, but it's not anything special either.

This is one of those series where I read the first novel of the source material, thought that I would read more, and somehow never did. That's not an indication of how good the story is, but there is a mildly generic aspect to the characters here that feels like it takes a toll on the overall episode. It certainly doesn't help that this is one of those shows that tries to introduce far too many named characters in quick succession; strictly speaking, we only needed Klaus and Lily's names because they are the only two characters this episode truly focuses on. Is it important to know that there are more girls in Klaus' handpicked spy unit? Yes, but we could have assumed they were important simply by their presence in the episode; throwing in their names makes it all feel overwhelming.

Be that as it may, spies are certainly having their moment in anime. Spy Classroom is a little more serious than its genre brethren in that the post-war world the characters live in is clearly still deeply unsettled by past atrocities. The clothing styles and reference to a Great War make this feel like it is probably set in an alternate version of the 1930s, or what is known as the Between the Wars period. This feels important because of the technology that will be available to our budding young spies, as well as the general attitudes they can be expected to have. So far, we've seen the use of poison gases and lock picks, as well as the presence of guns; that tells us a little something about the constraints placed on the spycraft will be: it's got to come just as much from the girls' skills as from the tools they have to work with. I quite like that because it makes us feel much more like an old-fashioned spy caper than anything else; the musical nods to James Bond soundtracks help with this flavor.

Mostly this episode is a game of one-upmanship between Lily and Klaus. While there is a basic introduction feel to Lily's arrival at the base of the spy unit Lamplight (at least it's not Gaslight), the real meat of the episode is when Lily decides she's not just going to sit back and let herself or the other girls be killed by Klaus' astoundingly poor teaching skills. This tells us much more about her than you might think - she's determined, thinks things through, and acts on those thoughts. Clearly, Klaus is no slouch either, and there is a low-key humor to their high-stakes face-off on the rowboat. This feels like it will be worth keeping half an eye on, and if it manages to keep its cast easily distinguishable by more than their hair color and height, it could be enjoyable.

Something is missing here, but I can't quite put my finger on what that is.

Overall this is a solid, enjoyable premiere that does its job perfectly well. It looks good, with a gaggle of distinct and appealing character designs complemented by some great fashion choices and solid direction and animation. The characters are straightforward so far, and the larger cast of spy trainees hasn't gotten to shine yet. Still, Lily and her spy squad's eccentric teacher are enjoyable personalities who get up to some low-stakes but engaging spy shenanigans. The premise – a team of washouts and misfits bringing together their unique specialties to take on an impossible mission – is a great hook that promises a ton of fun action and subterfuge. I can't think of anything that I could reasonably say was bad or even below average in concept or delivery.

Yet as I sat there, watching the episode and taking notes, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off, some missing spark that was, through its absence, stopping the show from firing up its motor. Maybe it's the music that is decidedly reserved and doesn't do much to heighten drama or comedy across this premiere. Perhaps it's just how familiar Lily's personality and motivation are, leaving her feeling like a bit of a cipher who can't carry a whole episode when saddled with her comically stoic teacher. Maybe it's that this episode barely introduces the rest of the cast, meaning we don't have much sense of their group dynamics yet. Whatever it was, I couldn't deny that I was just kind of bored through a lot of this episode, even when I recognized some clever twist or ruse was playing out.

That's troublesome because I don't get the impression this series has much to offer if the spy missions and ensemble cast can't leave an impact. It's got a pretty standard approach to the action movie style of “spying” that's become increasingly popular in anime recently, but that means it's got plenty of competition and not a lot of unique identity. If all it's got to offer is competent plotting and visuals, why bother with this when you could watch those Princess Principal sequel movies? And I don't even like Princess Principal that much. Hopefully, things will pick up now that the introduction is wrapped up, and the rest of the cast can start getting focus, but until that happens, I can't say I'm too excited about this one.