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As we get older, we all find ourselves pulled in different directions. In an increasingly busy day, we have to work, sleep, eat, and look after ourselves. Trying to fit time for family and friends into that becomes more difficult every day, which is why so many shows tackle the issue. However, few do it with such comedic flair as Spy x Family. The anime and manga might be filled with spies, assassins, and psychics, but really, it is about that all-important work-life balance.

It might seem far-fetched, but when you watch Spy x Family through the lens of it being about two people trying to balance their obligations to work and family, it brings everything else into focus. Loid spends most of his time running around, handling the ever-increasing workload that WISE sends his way, making time to help Anya with her schoolwork only when he finds himself free from other obligations. Meanwhile, Yor has her job as a clerk at City Hall on top of her work as an assassin while also filling in as the primary caregiver to who she thinks is Loid’s daughter.

We’ve seen work-life balance struggles in films and TV for years. Even recent shows like Sakamoto Days are built on the contrast between our professional and home lives. These stories almost always end with the message that we should lean more heavily toward the “life” part of the equation rather than the “work,” which is generally true.

However, the fascinating thing about Spy x Family’s approach to this topic is that it shows two different approaches to this issue. Loid remains focused on his work above all else while Yor begins to value her role as a mother more than as an assassin. Particularly at the start, both Loid and Yor are only really invested in the Forger family because it furthers their work lives. Both see their family and Anya as a tool to further their professional careers but the contrast in how they change in this approach is the most interesting thing about the series so far.

Loid shows glimpses that he has grown to care for Anya. He goes out of his way to beat up her captures in Spy x Family Code: White. Even he is barely able to contain his rage when an admissions officer at Eden Academy upsets her. He willingly dresses like an idiot to make Anya's boat vacation the best possible. However, despite these moments, his job is always the most important thing in his world and everything else has to make room for that. Even in recent chapters of the manga, we see that he is always working, never resting even when he takes Anya to a school event for a bit of fun. Sure, he cares for Anya and Yor, but it always feels like his mind is elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Yor has moments of seriously considering giving up her life as an assassin to focus on her role as a mother to Anya. She repeatedly has conversations with herself where she dedicates herself to being the best mother to that little girl and eagerly inflicts unimaginable pain on anyone who would threaten her. Her desire to protect Anya comes from a genuine love for the girl rather than her professional role. Though she continues to believe that her work as an assassin allows her to do good in the world, Yor also sees the value in simply being a mother.

This comparison would normally be used to show the need for Loid to change, but it actually works well without that message. Loid is, so far at least, happy focusing on his career and that’s okay. There are those of us who, through either luck or hard work, have landed jobs we enjoy and want to pour more of our time into. Similarly, it is okay that Yor wants to make a change in her own work-life balance to favor her job as a mother. Both are valid approaches to the same problem of how to manage the numerous demands that life places on us.

For all the wacky hijinks that Spy x Family throws at us, it offers one of the most nuanced explorations of work-life balance that I’ve seen. There isn’t one right answer that will solve this problem for everyone. We all have to find the approach that works for us and our families. That is the only way to truly achieve balance in our lives.

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