The following contains spoilers for Spy x Family Episode 1, “Operation Strix,” now streaming on Crunchyroll.
The Spy x Family anime adaptation is one of the most anticipated of the spring 2022 season, and even with just one episode out, the Wit Studio/CloverWorks collaboration seems headed for greatness. The premiere delivered on its promise of a fun spy adventure, but with it came an unexpected lesson on gentle parenting.
Gentle parenting is a movement that has seen increased popularity across social media in recent times. It prescribes a more child-centered approach to parenting where kids are empowered, encouraging them to respond positively to their parent's attempts to foster a healthy relationship. Principles such as mutual respect for boundaries, empathy and understanding are celebrated by "gentle parents" and while results might be slowly recognized in real life, Spy x Family perfectly illustrates the visionary concept and its benefits.
Spy x Family follows Twilight, a world-renowned spy and unemotional master of disguise, as he attempts his most important mission yet: pretending to be an average family man in order to gain access to a reclusive political leader. This latest disguise wouldn't be complete without a child of his own. Enter 12-year-old telepath and the world's cutest spy assistant ever, Anya.
After a disturbingly easy adoption process, Twilight soon finds that raising a child might be one of those activities that were outside his expansive scope of expertise. Try as he might, he couldn't seem to understand Anya's perfectly normal sudden fits of confusion and excitement, so he turned to some parenting books to help improve their relationship.
The parenting manuals provided some stellar advice, reminding Twilight that the key to building a relationship with any child is trust. He learned that it would be better to try to understand Anya's point of view instead of scolding her. She often acts in a confusing manner because for all her "genius", she is still a child who struggles to put her feelings into words. Armed with this information, Twilight re-engaged Anya and approached their relationship anew.
Being a telepath, Anya readily responded to Twilight's renewed attempts. Since she could recognize his genuine desire to do right by her -- and the delicate position his career as her spy put him in -- she conducted herself with a sense of maturity no average six-year-old could.
In her position, anyone, especially a curious toddler, would be perfectly within their rights to ask more than a few questions. But since she understood the reasons behind Twilight's secretive manner, Anya was happy to go along with his half-baked explanations, even internally teasing him at points. Their relationship has only just begun but is sure to become even more wholesome as Spy x Family's story moves forward.