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「受験対策をせよ」 (Juken Taisaku o Seyo)
“Prepare for the Interview”
At long last, the Forger family is complete with Yor moving into the family. I am a huge fan of the design-work for their apartment. The mid-century look has always been my kind of aesthetic and the art design with everything from the colors to the furniture give it the right kind of feel for that era. Anya’s reactions to Yor’s frightening statements are pure gold. Anya never fails to crack me up with the things she learns from TV, like interrupting the beautiful park scene with the line about people looking like trash. Children learn from TV and what they see their parents doing. In Anya’s case, this means learning how to lie, spy, kill, and say bizarre things.
The Forger family outing was another priceless moment. It reminded me of my own family outings growing up where high-brow outings to museums quickly turned whacky with my family’s low brow jokes and Yor-style eye for the gruesome. (I was always in Twilight’s shoes as the serious, sophisticated one.) Anya gleefully pointing out the nude portrait and Yor admiring a guillotine painting was a fabulous moment of Loid realizing he got more than he bargained for when he formed this family. He really does play the straight man amongst the oddball women in his family unit.
I’ve mentioned it before but will say it again-the irony is the core of this series. This series’ heart of gold is apparent-they are supposed to be a fake family, yet they feel so genuine. There’s no faking those looks between Loid and Yor, which Anya quickly picks up on. They somehow end up bringing out the best in each other, like Yor suggesting a walk to relieve Loid’s frustration and her quick action inspiring the family to work together to catch the thief.
They each have their unique role in the family. Loid is the straight man, keeping things seriously together and acting as the inconspicuous mastermind behind it all. Yor is the one who takes initiative-she popped the marriage question first and initiated the thief-hunt. Anya is the comedic relief (although Yor has her moments too, like confusing passing an exam with passing away). She helps keep the mission and the Forgers together with her telepathy and silly blunders.
As handy as Anya’s telepathy can be, it’s not all powerful with a pretty important limitation when it comes to crowds. Super-powers can be a hit or miss depending on the writing. I am more a fan of powers that have limitations on them that the character has to navigate- which is certainly the case with Anya. Sure, she can use telepathy to say or do what she thinks others want from her, but she’s pretty much helpless in a crowd with hundreds of thoughts whirling around or when she doesn’t understand those thoughts. We get to see her strength shine through when she braves the crowd’s voices to seek out the thief. She may not have the smarts of Twilight or the physical strength of Yor and Twilight, but Anya has her own strength of will.
I was feeling a bit of My Fair Lady with Loid playing a sort of Henry Higgins, training uncultured nobodies to blend into high society. So far, I’d say Twilight encounters enough faux pas (like the girls’ usage of silverware) to rival Higgins with Eliza Doolittle’s marble swallowing and “Come on, Dover” blunders. Except the stakes are higher for Loid-the whole of Operation Stryx is staked on getting into the Academy. I give him props for not totally losing it at Anya and Yor (although keeping one’s cool is a spy’s job). Loid is so used to working on his own and planning ahead for everything, it’s a steep learning curve, learning to rely on variables (Anya and Yor) in the equation for success.
As frustrated as Twilight becomes over the challenges of bringing his wife and child up to par with society’s upper crusts, their blunders are a boon. If anything, they can pass as a real family because they are a diamond in the rough. Somehow, I think if he had married a spy, the complete perfection with which they would have carried out the mission would seem cold and unnatural (and also boring). Real families make mistakes and make memories through the unexpected. The you know, normal family bonding times like jumping on a thief, beating them up, and making them eat the foulest meal (in Anya’s own words).
Preview
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A slower episode compared to first two, but it was chill
I also love the way they draw Anya’s eyes in some of her expressions, it’s so adorable
Yes! Anya is very expressive, which makes her reactions so interesting (and amusing) to watch.
Well, from now on, they won’t have to fit 60 pages in a 22min episode anymore.
It really start now.
I’m kinda perplexed at how Loid isn’t able to figure out that Yor is more than meets the eye, that she might be someone he should watch out for because she just so happens to be able to escape his immediate detection upon their first meeting or, more conspicuously, she just so happens to have learned “self-defense.” Maybe he really is losing his edge after all.
Don’t get me wrong now, it’s not like I find that a story telling problem because I figured that Spy x Family isn’t supposed to be taken so seriously, nor do we need to search for realism in a story clearly intended to be a comedy of sorts where one of the main characters can literally read minds. But Loid is supposed to be the inconspicuous mastermind behind the whole operation whose expertise is fake IDs and disguises, so you’d think he’d be able to see through some facades right away. Time will tell I guess, but for now the whole fake family situation filled with shenanigans is still pretty fun.
Also, it’s like this anime knew that jazz is my personal favorite music genre because the jazz in this show is such a pleasure to my ears.
I do think the amount of plot induced stupidity does keep this from totally amazing. Still cute and funny however. Yor and Loid not being curious about each other is the biggest one, esp Loid. Yor is a bit of a airhead, but master of disguise should have enough grasp of normal to know Yor is no where near it. Anya is a bit more difficult but the info is there for him also.
It’s not like Anya is maintaining the masquerade or something anyway. Well, it’s a fun ride anyway.
Twilight isn’t so concerned about Yor’s unusual characteristics is because this family is really just a front-it’s not like he’s trusting her with sensitive information or with his life (he even has a separate, locked room). She and Anya are just a part of his disguise and as such, don’t warrant much analysis other than “will they be a good enough of a disguise?”. Even if he does notice concerning things about Yor’s behavior, he’s probably confident in his ability to handle whatever happens. Plus, with the huge time crunch he’s in, he’s desperate enough to take anyone with a pulse to fill the role.
I’m not about to focus on whether Loid is concerned over Yor possibly jeopardizing his mission, because like I said, I’m not about to take this story that seriously. All I’m looking for is just a little more inner monologue from Loid about Yor to see what he truly thinks of her. After all, he is cracking a little in the emotional seams here and there, so what he thinks of Yor (and Anya by extention) after all is said and done with the mission (however long that may take) will be what makes or breaks his character for me.
Hmm, wonder if the old lady with ‘a large amount of money for her grandchild’ they helped is going to be what gets Anya in to the school, especially after her comments they were such a good family.
That is an interesting thought! We’ll have to wait and see next week!
Me (single): I’m surprised they kept that Anya line about the naked portrait in the anime without tweaking it.
My sister (married with two young daughters): I’m not. It’s 100% accurate.
I would agree that it is accurate. Speaking from my experience with younger siblings, kids always notice things like that and never fail to point it out.
Boobies!!!!