Japan Dethrones Spy x Family for 2025 — A Dark Horse Isekai Takes the Crown
Spy x Family has been a Netflix juggernaut, especially in Japan, but Season 3’s debut is struggling to match the charm and momentum of earlier seasons. Can the spy family recapture its spark as new episodes roll out?
Spy x Family has been a steady Netflix favorite since it hit anime form, especially in Japan. But Season 3 just ran into an unexpected speed bump: a cozy cooking isekai slid in front of it on Netflix Japan’s weekly Top 10. Yes, the show with grocery delivery magic outpaced the world’s most lovable fake family of spies.
So what just happened?
The isekai in question is Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill. It’s a cooking fantasy comedy from MAPPA that’s now in Season 2, and it climbed past Spy x Family in the latest Netflix Japan Top 10 Shows. That jump isn’t nothing; it signals a real momentum bump for Campfire Cooking while Spy x Family’s new season finds its footing.
Where Spy x Family Season 3 stands
Season 3 premiered October 4, 2025, and it’s rolling out weekly on Saturdays. The plan is 13 episodes total, with the finale landing in December 2025. Hype was sky-high going in, but a few weeks in, some fans started grumbling. The common complaints: the animation doesn’t look as crisp as earlier seasons, and the dialogue feels less sharp. You can see that chatter on the Spy x Family subreddit, and the ratings have dipped a bit, which likely helped Campfire Cooking leapfrog it on Netflix’s chart.
What Campfire Cooking actually is (and why it works)
It’s very much an underdog story. Mukouda, a regular guy, gets summoned to a fantasy world by accident. His one power? He can order food from modern Japan. Instead of playing hero, he peaces out of the kingdom to live a quiet life on the road, picks up a ridiculously strong Fenrir as a buddy, and wins over monsters and allies with his cooking. It’s gentle, funny, and extremely watchable in that low-stress way that sneaks up on you.
Why isekai keeps winning
Isekai (characters transported to another world) isn’t brand-new, but it hit mainstream heat in the early 2010s with Sword Art Online and hasn’t cooled. The big draw is world-building and fantasy variety: you get different magic systems, monsters, kingdoms, and cultures to sink into. Series like Re:Zero, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, Konosuba, Overlord, and The Rising of the Shield Hero show how flexible the format is. It sells across manga, light novels, and streaming because it balances adventure, humor, character growth, and pure escapism. Campfire Cooking taps that exact comfort-food lane, which makes its rise right now make sense.
- Netflix Japan’s latest weekly Top 10: Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill edged past Spy x Family.
- Spy x Family Season 3: premiered Oct 4, 2025; new episodes Saturdays; 13 total; finale due December 2025.
- Fan reaction: some viewers cite softer animation and less punchy dialogue this season; subreddit threads reflect the concern.
- Campfire Cooking: MAPPA’s cooking fantasy comedy; currently in Season 2 and trending up.
- Ratings snapshot: Campfire Cooking sits around 7.6 on IMDb and 7.64 on MyAnimeList; Spy x Family sits around 8.2 on IMDb and 8.44 on MyAnimeList.
- Both shows are available to watch on Netflix.
The bottom line
It’s a funny twist: a chill food-forward isekai just outpaced one of anime’s biggest crowd-pleasers on Netflix Japan. If Spy x Family ramps up in its back half, it could snap right back, but for now, the isekai comfort wave is having a moment. Got a favorite isekai series or movie? Drop it in the comments—curious what’s hitting for you right now.