The world of SPY×FAMILY might look somewhat familiar if you pay more attention to the details. And that is not really a surprise, since the setting of this great manga and anime series is, indeed, based on a dark period of Europan history. In this article, we are going to tell you everything you need to know about the setting of SPY×FAMILY. You’re going to find out where and when it takes place.
The plot of SPY×FAMILY takes place on a fictional version of Earth, focusing on the rival nations of Westalis and Ostania. These two countries are neighboring nations and are seemingly based on West and East Germany, with Ostania being based on the communist German Democratic Republic (East Germany) during the Berlin Cold War era. This is also when the story takes place.
The rest of this article is going to provide you with more details on the timeline and the world of SPY×FAMILY. The world of SPY×FAMILY is a truly intriguing take on alternative history and we are here to give you all the information and the explanations you might need. This article is going to provide you with all the necessary information in one place.
What time period is SPY×FAMILY set in?
The time period of SPY×FAMILY has not been specified. No year was ever given and the characters themselves never reference the actual calendar. Still, from what we have been able to gather, we can assume that SPY×FAMILY is set sometime during the early decades of the Cold War.
The political climate and the situation portrayed in the series all point to it being set in the Cold War, and from the aesthetics of the series, we assume it takes place sometime during the first two decades of the conflict. As for the topic, the espionage plot is also very adequate for a Cold War setting, which further strengthens our arguments.
Where does SPY×FAMILY take place?
Now that we’ve gone over the timeline, let us describe the world of SPY×FAMILY to you. The plot takes place on a fictional version of the planet Earth, with countries based on actual Cold War-era countries. The majority of the plot takes place in Ostania, but some other countries are also mentioned. We are going to tell you something about each of them.
Hungria
Hugaria is the setting of a cover story, often used by Ostanian Service agents, including Yuri Briar, to fabricate non-existent trips abroad. The capital of Hungary is Obda. The wine called Tokar that Yuri brings to the counterfeiters is from a store on Hedger Street, and there is a restaurant called Kalpatia. The landscape of Hugaria features the Inner City (Belváros) of Budapest with buildings such as the Inner City Parish Church. The exterior and name of the restaurant Kalpatia is based on actual restaurant Karpatia in Budapest
Westalis
Westalis is the country that borders Ostania to the west. Despite its important role, very little information is known about Westalis, apart from its advanced secret service WISE, which managed to evade counterintelligence from Ostania, the State Security Service (SSS), in order to prevent any means of a war between the two countries.
Ostania
The People’s Republic of Ostania is a large country bordering Westalis to the east. The capital of Ostania is Berlint. The Ostania government seems to be a strange mixture of totalitarianism and democracy. The naming scheme is synonymous with countries under communist rule (e.g. People’s Republic of China, not to be confused with the Republic of China, also known as Taiwan).
Ostania appears to be similar to the German Democratic Republic (aka East Germany) in its operation, as evidenced by the State Security Service (the SSS), whose uniforms are very similar to Ministry of State Security uniforms, Stasi. His journalistic follow-up work showed that the service operates more like the Stasi than the Schutzstaffel (better known by their initials SS) as some would have you believe given the acronym State Security Service – SSS.
The people of Ostania also hate Westalis for some unknown reason, although it’s probably from the government manipulations. The name Ostania comes from the world “Ost” in German, which means East. Ostania is, thus, heavily based on the communist German Democratic Republic (East Germany) in Cold War-era Berlin, which was the eastern part of divided Germany.
Ostania has been shown to have gone through various events in human history: From the late 1940s to the 1950s, America experienced The Second Red Scare, a time comparable to the Salem witch trials in the late 17th century, when everyone feared prosecution and accusations from their neighbor. Similar events are shown when Yor Forger’s associates urged them to be careful as they had heard of a woman who had been flagged and taken away by the SSS to be ‘suspicious’ as she lived alone and was single at just 30 years.
Berlint, the capital of Ostania, has an opera house and an art museum. Other famous locations within the city include 128 Park Avenue, the City Hall, the famous Mona & Monacca Boutique, the Eden Academy, Berlint Aqualand, a famous Post Office building, a cinema, and Kemono Park.
Is Ostania a real place?
As we have discovered, Ostania is based on real-life East Germany, both in the structural sense and in its etymology. But, in fact, it is not a real place. Such a country does not exist and, as far as we know, has never existed in the first place. It is heavily based on an actual historical country but is – itself – not a real place.
Is SPY×FAMILY about Germany?
SPY×FAMILY is heavily based on German history, but it also has a much larger aspect. It does tell the story of the post-WWII division of Germany, and it does show the tensions between West Germany and East Germany, as they happened. But it’s not really just a story about German history, as it combines a lot of other elements that were not part of German history per se, but fit within the larger Cold War-inspired narrative. This is is why the series has a much larger political and narrative context that has to be considered.
