Spy x Family became one of the most popular anime of 2022. Based on Tatsuya Endo’s manga of the same name, Spy x Family follows Agent Twilight as he is forced to create a family in order to get closer to his target. He winds up adopting a young girl and marrying a woman he barely knows. Little does he know, however, that his new daughter is a mind reader, and his wife is an assassin.
This dynamic family drew viewers in from the very start. Agent Twilight, who assumes the name Loid Forger, is faced with the most intimidating mission of all: being a father. His daughter, Anya, is obsessed with spies and aware of his true identity from the start, but doesn’t let Loid know. That leads Anya to make odd decisions to aid in her father’s mission, while also keeping her powers a secret. Does this girl have what it takes to live up to her father’s talents as a professional spy?
Anya's Spy Qualities in Spy x Family
Anya has a genuine passion for spy work that developed through her love of spy comics and cartoons. She often adopts what she learns through these to assist with Operation Strix and the missions that come along with it. For example, when she is faced with a bomb, she recollects how her favorite fictional spy diffuses them by cutting a different colored wire. However, when she looks closely at the bomb, she notices all the wires are the same color. She therefore draws a warning on the door for Loid so that he doesn’t accidentally trigger the bomb. While she may not be able to use all of what she learns through her cartoons in the real world, they give her the bravery to face these difficult situations.
An obvious skill that would benefit a possible future spy career is Anya’s mind-reading abilities. Without being able to read minds, Anya would never have been aware of Loid’s mission. She picks up on the necessities of her part in Operation Strix by reading his mind and shaping how she acts in order to meet the requirements. While Anya is aware of how important her talents are to the mission, she has also learned that it’s best to keep them a secret. Others having knowledge of her powers would drastically impact her relationship with them. She is able to change herself somewhat in order to live up to the expectations others have of her, making it easy to leave a good impression while also keeping what she knows to herself.
Anya Still Makes Plenty of Mistakes
While there are many benefits to Anya’s mind-reading abilities, there are also many issues that would impact a future spy career. Anya often reacts to the thoughts she hears from other people, which can make them wary of her. Her blunt reactions and responses to people’s thoughts can impact her relationship with others. Another issue that Anya has with her powers is the lack of controlling whose thoughts she listens to and when. Her powers don’t seem to have settings or an 'off switch,' causing her to get overwhelmed in large crowds and hear things she may not want to hear, such as Loid’s disapproval of her actions. Since Anya is still so young, many thoughts are confusing to her, especially those of her father.
To Loid’s dismay, Anya lacks a lot of skills that would make her beneficial to Operation Strix. It’s important for her to get close to the son of Loid’s target, which is why Anya is attending the prestigious Eden Academy. However, Anya struggles with academics to the point of getting single-digit scores on her tests. Along with this, Anya is genuinely awful at sports, which can be seen in her attempts at dodgeball and tennis. While she can be seen drawing quite often, her art is usually an unidentifiable mess. She also isn’t too skilled with music, meaning she initially fails at most activities in school. Anya tries her best but feels a certain disdain toward studying and academics. She’d much rather do what she enjoys, like watching her spy cartoons and playing with the family dog, Bond.
Is a Spy Career in Anya’s Future?
Anya is seen doing a lot of things that a spy might do throughout the series. She ends up finding a secret passage in Loid’s office and listens in on a conversation between other employees, creates puzzles and slips them in people's pockets so that they can decode them, and plenty more. However, most of these instances are for childish fun. She only stands up to do important work when it’s to assist Loid’s mission or to keep her family safe. For now, Anya is just fine playing pretend and doing things that most spy-fascinated kids do. What Anya seems to want most in life is security in her family and friendships. A future career as a spy may take that away from her, which wouldn’t be ideal for a young girl who lives to gain approval and love from her parents while also trying to live the life of a normal child.
Spy x Family’s Anya Forger has plenty of skills that a spy would greatly benefit from having. However, there’s plenty that gets in the way of Anya going down the same path as her father. While it’s enjoyable to see Anya’s childish antics in an attempt to help her father’s mission, there’s something wholesome about Anya’s bond with her family that fans can’t live without. Viewers have seen how Agent Twilight’s life as a spy has led to a lack of friendships and family members before Operation Strix, and they likely wouldn’t want to see Anya suffer the same fate.