Mission: Yozakura Family

The new chapter hilariously reveals that Taiyo is The Dreaded even by Yozakura standards to the rest of the spy community. They figure that the reason Ryu has nothing on him is because Taiyo kills any and all witnesses and that he's hiding something really scary beneath his facade.

This is absurd to anyone who knows Taiyo, but most spies don't know him that well.

Edited by M84 on Oct 2nd 2023 at 4:30:09 PM

The idea that every spy must have some kind of deep, dark secret makes sense given... well... spies. But the fact that Taiyo really just a wholesome family man when he isn't punching terrorists and assassins in the face makes that split between his squeaky-clean image and what other spies believe him to be hilarious.

I guess being the straight man in a family of Super-Powered looneys results in everyone assuming YOU must be the greatest loony of them all.

Also, Taiyo, are you absolutely sure Ryu doesn't have any dirt on the twins? I mean, between Bad Alpha and the Alpha Mansion, I'd be worried.

Edited by Dracoblade on Oct 2nd 2023 at 11:45:20 AM

In fairness, Hifumi makes it clear that Taiyo and Mutsumi have no idea about Bad-Alpha. It's a side of himself that Alpha has never shown them or anyone else.

Meanwhile, Hifumi things Alexandryu in a Stripperific angel costume is super cool, to Alpha's disgust and horror.

Side note, it's good to see Taiyo back in the spotlight after his children had stolen the stage for the past 20-ish chapters.

Edited by reppuzan on Oct 2nd 2023 at 12:20:31 PM

New chapter is out. Something I can't help but notice about everything is how calm Taiyo is. Despite improvising, he's able to act like all of this was planned out and come up with the solution that the rest of the family isn't able to under duress. Pre-Time Skip, the story would milk comedy out of how Taiyo is woefully out of his depth, but his tone remains calm, almost completely conversational.

It's a neat way to show how much more experienced and mature he is now with five years and the business and now that he's father.

I actually felt a bit bad for Ryu here despite the shit he's done.

He feels so guilty about what happened to Katana's biological father that he sees himself as a "fake" father. The reason he's so hellbent on this marriage is because he thinks this will give Katana a real family again.

This chapter makes him distressingly similar to Kyoichiro.

Both of them are haunted by their failure to protect someone they saw as family. They then become violently protective of the family they have left while said failure causes them to ignore said family's wishes in the hopes of making them happy.

And just like Kyoichiro, Taiyo is going to have to talk some sense into Ryu.

Edited by reppuzan on Oct 16th 2023 at 4:41:05 AM

I caught up with this recently and I'm impressed with how good it is despite its So Okay, It's Average "it exists lol" reputation. The comedy took a bit to hit its stride but has, the action is solid, the art is solid with every other chapter pulling out a showstopper-good splash page, and the character dynamics and development are really easy to invest into. The Time Skip has also done a good job shaking things up in a way that makes it stand on its own when more cynical minds would just call it a cheap cash-grab of Spy X Family.

If I had to guess why the series still has its reputation it's because it's pure junk food, a classic-at-its-core battle shonen that doesn't really have much in the way of artistic flair the way other recent classics do and with a surprisingly conservative amount of cheesecake. It doesn't help that the whole "spy" "motif" is more In Name Only than Spy Kids (the Yozakuras are closer to a mafia family than the fucking Vongolas ) and the battle system is hilariously brainless (someinine is just A Wizard Did It magic bloodline bullshit in a series that spends way too long being self-conscious about it before just giving up, and it still has some Fridge Logic holes in it). In these senses it's probably most similar to Demon Slayer (a conventional series that executes its tropes very well), and that show's darker moodier "samurai vs. demons" aesthetic make it easier to take "seriously".

One thing I will commend this series for doing incredibly well is how it constantly shuffles its characters to create new scenarios, such as the current arc taking the long-established Alexandryu and elevating him up to Arc Villain due to his investment in this ad-hoc marriage. It's a good way of handling Serial Escalation without constantly having to whip up new characters (while also giving just about everyone Hidden Depths) and shows a kind of confidence in these characters and their relationships and histories that you don't really get to see.

I think the point where Mission: Yozakura Family falls flat most of all is setting up its Myth Arc. Because, frankly, the author tends to shove a new antagonist in our face and reveal that he's the Man Behind the Man every time the last one gets beaten. Remember the revived Yozakura family members being puppeteered by Tsubomi? Oh yeah, Kyoichiro kills them all in one chapter. Then Tsubomi's supplanted as the Big Bad by Asa, who was never, ever alluded to.

The series largely gets by on the strength and fun in its character dynamics and the comedy it can milk out of them. Taiyo's closeness with his new family is the series' selling point and you can see him opening up and becoming almost as weird as his in-laws as the series goes on.

Edited by reppuzan on Oct 23rd 2023 at 2:57:30 AM

x2 I really like this series... mostly as an slice-of-life comedy with superpowered people, and maybe just a bit as an action series. To me, the strenghts of this series lies in its cast, both the immediate main characters and the supporting ones, which lends themselves so the story can have comedic and dramatic moments (but mostly comedic).

As an example, in the last chapter I found a lot more memorable the joke about the "affair" that Taiyou had and the heartwarming speech about family, than the power-up Taiyou showed at the end. Again, this is probably a "me" thing, since I have similar feelings about SpyxFamily, since I care more for some funny Anya hijinks, than Loid being a cool spy (but I also like those moments).

Edited by Shadow-Whisperer on Oct 23rd 2023 at 4:58:04 AM

Oh yeah I talked about the reshuffling for the arcs but the big Big Bad stuff is definitely an exception there. Like it was fine when it was just Momo being this insane guy dicking around with the Yozakuras and Tanpopo but then you get everything with Tsubomi and Momo being Good All Along and everything with Asa and it's easy for your eyes to just roll. It's pure soapy melodrama and it can be kinda fun in its own cheesiness but it's definitely a lot.

(Also I'll admit I was totally expecting the series to just go full Monster of the Week with the Yozakuras hunting all the revived family heads so that getting completely derailed by Kyoichiro going "nah fuck it I'll kill 'em all myself" actually got me lol.)

And again it really doesn't help that the whole system with someinine and the Yozakura bloodline is total nonsense. A lot of current series have done well to craft how battle dynamics work and lean into them as ways to craft stakes (except Chainsaw Man which actively explains and restrains little for the sake of fear). MYF doesn't have that and instead leans into its character writing which is good on its own but can feel barebones compared to its peers.

Edited by Watchtower on Oct 23rd 2023 at 6:15:59 AM

The latest chapter revealed Asa's ultimate apparent goal for the Yozakura blood.

Straight up reviving the dead. He demonstrates this to Ryu by regenerating a live potato from a cooked piece of potato in his curry. He can't bring back a human being yet, but that's why he needs more research materials (namely the family).

It makes sense given his backstory as selling Tsubomi's growths as medicine.

Still, it's a very bland motivation to say the least. One of the story's biggest weakness in general is its deeply impersonal villains. They're clearly there as obstacles and not characters to be fleshed out in their own right. The story has always been centered around the comedic antics and action caused by the Yozakuras' superpowers and sensibilities, but Asa is pretty much the culmination of how boring most of the antagonists are.

The only recent antagonist to really break this mold was Momo, who is deeply personal to the Yozakura, violently unhinged, and generally full of personality that the other antagonists largely lacked. Even with that, the only other major antagonists to really have any interesting characteristics are Kuragao for his "Not So Different" Remark to Taiyo and Shirai's perspective on Taiyo's parents.

Edited by reppuzan on Nov 13th 2023 at 8:39:11 AM

Oddly enough, I think the fact that Asa is so dull in his mannerisms is what makes him so creepy. The guy genuinely doesn't seem to think what he's doing is all that weird or wrong. It's completely natural to him to harvest his own daughter and descendants for medical research.

He doesn't even try to act goofy or friendly. He's just so...clinical. He's treating this whole thing as a day in the office.

Edited by M84 on Nov 13th 2023 at 11:46:54 PM

And so, the twins have all the stamps. Now, Hifumi can enact her master plan — fulfill the prophecy she found on a slip of paper in some old guy's jacket!

Also, it's neat how we get both Spooky!Hifumi and Goofy!Hifumi in one chapter.

And said plan is quickly derailed since she didn't account for her and Alpha to be on separate teams.

Which is a very four-year-old thing to do. Planning has never been Hifumi's strong suit.

After all, she and Alpha had been an inseparable Sibling Team their whole lives. who would have ever thought that the operation would split them up?

Geez, Taiyo is going ham in bodyguarding Mutsumi. Casually parrying bullets and vaporizing half of an office building with Yae.

Also, Mission: Yozakura Frontlines is a go! It's interesting how the Yozakuras picked up on how inseparable Alpha and Hifumi are and are making moves to prevent them from becoming The Dividual.

Edited by reppuzan on Dec 17th 2023 at 4:05:15 AM

Okay, I get why Shion and Nanao are training Alpha, but why is Kengo there?

Chapter 209:

Hifumi and Kyoichiro's combo technique doesn't work at first because Hifumi still finds Kyoichiro too creepy. His attempt to emulate Alpha instead makes things even worse since it enrages her. They only pull it off when Kyoichiro agrees to Hifumi's suggestion to copy someone else.

Namely, her father Taiyo. This works, but the psychological damage Kyoichiro suffers having to emulate Taiyo makes it a hollow victory for him.

Ngl, after all of Kyoichiro's bullshit throughout the series, seeing the twins consistently making him a chew toy is cathartic.

Edited by M84 on Jan 9th 2024 at 4:32:42 AM

There was always elements of it throughout the series (i.e. Kyoichiro sampling Mutsumi's anti-ache cooking and being knocked out for a week), but Alpha and Hifumi have really cranked it up.

It goes hand-in-hand with Kyoichiro's awful first impression and Alpha and Hifumi not knowing him long enough to have any inherent respect for him.

Chapter 211:

So cat-eared girl was actually one of the few successful attempts by Asa and Mozu to create life from nothing more than Rei Yozakura's heart. Which in a way makes her a Yozakura too. Her mission was to retrieve said heart from Mozu's lab.

Naturally, Futaba goes berserk seeing her mother's heart in a jar and tries to attack cat-eared girl (named Nii) again. But Hifumi once again blocks Futaba since she still thinks that Nii is a good person despite being an enemy. She's not wrong about this either since Nii in the previous chapter and in this chapter refuses to actually go through with Asa's order to kill Hifumi and Alpha on sight.

Edited by M84 on Jan 30th 2024 at 4:27:32 AM

It's been a while since there's been serious Yozakura vs. Yozakura conflict. I do wonder where the author is trying to go with this aside from Hifumi displaying her independence and taking advice to trust her instincts.

Okay so, I read the first volume of the manga.

So far, kind of mixed on it, but leaning towards positive. The family itself is pretty fun (Futaba is already my favorite) and I like all the shit with Taiyo being thrown into this insane world and struggling to keep up...but it feels kinda like something is missing? Kyoichiro is a fucking creep too, reminds me WAY too much of Yuri from Spy x Family in a bad way. I'm actually surprised I'm already liking the relationship between Taiyo and Mutsumi though, it's kinda sweet. Might just need to give it a bit to see if it'll grow on me.

It good you are giving the series a try (I saw you mention it in the Spring thread). Yozakura Family is a series that doesn't quite find it's footing at the start, since it needs some time to properly present and define its characters.

This series is a combination of battle shounen and comedy (sometimes even slice of life comedy), and it does dedicate some time to both parts of the equation, it leans somewhat more towards the second half (but it certaintly has some cool action moments). Sidenote, comparing Mission Yozakura with some of the other mangas that are part of the "New Generation of the Shounen Jump", here is a scale of how much they lean into comedy and how much into action:

Comedy | Witch Watch - Mission Yozakura - Mashle - Undead Unluck | Action

Returning to topic, I quite enjoy this series, but in particular (I have heard others comment the opposite) I find that the Comedy/Slice of Life chapters to be the strongest ones, since the author does a very good job at creating comedic scenarios for the characters to express their personalities, leading to funny shenanigans. The dramatic and heartfelt moments are also good (Taiyo and Mutsumi's relationship is one of the best currently in the magazine), but it's the comedy that makes me excited to open a new chapter.

Finally, making a note on Kyoichiro, he is an acquiered taste, and the series makes it abundantly clear you are not suppossed to like or root for him (outside of action moments). I find him better than Juri, in that this series is more willing to bring Kyoichiro down and making him suffer for his actions (though it takes some time for this aspect of his character to become more evident).