Spy x Family Ch. 97 / Mission 97: Henry x Martha Pt. 1 (review)

Spy x Family Ch. 97 (aka Mission 97) begins an arc I never thought we’d see for very long. All because this arc stars Henry Henderson and Martha Marriott, and how these two older lovebirds got that way in the first place. This is truly the childhood we’ve been waiting for for these characters.

Spy x Family Ch. 97 / Mission 97: details

Spy x Family Ch. 97 (officially known as Mission 97) is the latest chapter (as of this writing) of the action-spy comedy of Tatsuya Endo (Leaf of the Moon Princess, TISTA). Unfortunately, this chapter does not continue the story of the previous chapter, which makes sense since it was a short mission after all.

Casey Loe returns as translator for Spy x Family Ch. 97, with Rina Card back as a letter writer. Shueisha originally published this manga in Japan under their Spring strips+ print in the magazine Shonen Jump+. See Media is the company that publishes this manga in English in the NA region.

When and where to read

Spy x Family Ch. 97 made its online debut on April 28, 2024. You can read this chapter completely free on Shonen Jump on Viz Media. Ch. 97 will remain free for two chapter releases after that. Upon the release of the third chapter after, Ch. 97 goes to the Shonen Jump vault. Once there, you will have to pay a subscription fee to read the book and all previous chapters. Granted, the cost is only $2.99 ​​per month, so it’s not that big a hit on your wallet. Still, if you’re low on cash, you might want to hurry and Ch. 97 free before you can’t anymore.

Anime customization details

As a side note: Spy x Family now has an anime adaptation that premiered April 9, 2022. In fact, Season 2 recently premiered October 7, 2023, and even more recently ended on December 23, 2023. There was even an anime movie spin-off called Spy x Family Code: White which premiered in Japan December 22, 2023; and will finally make his NA debut April 19, 2024. You can watch all episodes on Crunchyroll or Hulu. However, keep in mind that only Crunchyroll has dubs. So if for some reason you enjoy watching the English dub, then you should check out the anime on Crunchyroll. If you want to buy tickets for that Spy x Family Code: White anime movie, then you can do this through the official website.

Spy x Family Ch. 97 / Mission 97: Plot Summary

Spy x Family Ch. It started with Henry Henderson talking to a housekeeper about his dance with Martha Marriott at the ball, which led to him reminiscing about his childhood. From those memories, it appears that he actually started his whole obsession with “elegance” after seeing Martha dance in their childhood. The utterance of that word turned him into the local weirdo, but established a tradition of private tea time with Martha throughout his childhood. And also a tradition where Martha uses ballet fu against children who try to bully Henry, but it doesn’t matter.

A tradition that ends when Henry decides to enter public education in response to the evils of the educational system of the time. Unfortunately, this means that Henry will have to leave after graduation to train as a teacher. A journey he undertakes…without ever realizing that Martha had fallen in love with him. So Martha is basically left alone with her feelings until she’s 19… and then Henry comes back as the new teacher. Perhaps this is an opportunity for their love to blossom again. Unfortunately, that all changed when war broke out. How are you doing, you might ask? Oh well, we’ll just have to wait for the next chapter/mission of Spy x Family Find out.

Spy x Family Ch. 97 / Mission 97: The Good

As always, it is the story of Spy x Family Ch. 97 / Mission 97 is the best part of it. Tatsuya Endo clearly knows what his readers want from his manga. I’m not sure if anyone clearly asked about Henry and Martha’s backstories, but it’s definitely up there in the top 10 of what we want from the manga’s story. Henry and Martha’s backstory was something that Endo-sensei kept hinting and hinting at in the previous chapters, along with their romance. This backstory not only confirms that romance, but goes into details we never expected for a while. It must have been time.

I can only imagine how the war hindered their romance. Martha’s physical abilities strongly indicate that she has a past as a soldier. Heck, maybe the trauma or even wounds of war prevented their romance. However, that’s something we’ll have to wait for Endo-sensei to confirm for us. Hopefully in the next chapter.

Spy x Family Ch. 97 / Mission 97: The Bad

Don’t like a romantic comedy? Don’t like ballet fu action? Not even elegant tea parties? Well, I’m sorry. I’m not sure how I can help you here. Maybe a manga in a completely different genre like The bride of the old magician, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaibaor Herb and Wolf maybe it’s more your speed.