Spy x Family – 05

「合否の行方」 (Gōhi no Yukue)
“Will They Pass or Fail”

Springtime for Anya! Unsurprisingly, she passed by the skin of her teeth, much to the relief of the Forgers. My feelings about this episode are mixed. On one hand, it was over the top ridiculous but on the other hand, quite sweet. I’ll start with the bad first (my motto is, save the best for last!). Setting up the whole Bondman (or Loidman) rescue play for Anya was ridiculous. The concept is cute and typical for a young child. But Loid going along with it, requisitioning the people and goods for it, and the spy agency okaying everything on the spot-now that’s unbelievable.

I knew that Twilight didn’t know much about interacting with kids (cue his embarrassment at playing along with Anya). But not only does he not know how to interact with them, he apparently has no clue that you can and depending on the case, should, put your foot down and say no to a child-this being one of the cases. As her parent, even if she didn’t want to go to school, Loid would have the authority to make her go. In fact, given the variable moods of children, the storm of not getting what she wanted would quickly pass away and she would go on to something else. Knowing Anya, she would forget the whole plan out of a fear that she might be sent back to the orphanage if she pushed the point. In the long run, this would not have jeopardized the mission. With Twilight being a top spy, I would have expected him to keep a level head and find a less costly way out of Anya’s demands.

As for the spy agency-I’m astonished they just approved his large-scale request for manpower and aircraft ASAP, without any forms or inquiries. Sure, Twilight is the top spy in the organization, but you’d think they’d want to know why he was asking for so many agents on such short notice. Did the thought never cross Twilight’s (or Franky’s for that matter, but more on him later) mind that if agents got injured during this child’s play, that would essentially remove them for a time from other important missions?

Then there’s Yor. For an assassin, I would have thought she would be more on her guard-i.e. lay off the wine. She’s still a surprisingly good fighter even when drunk, but she falls asleep in the middle of the fight. It’s a good thing Loid wasn’t a serious enemy. For me, I am torn between the highly entertaining quality of the outrageously absurd situations and exasperation at how the exaggeration is dialed up past 100.

Which brings me to the root of this whole Anya’s playtime problem-Franky. I strongly suspect that Franky had this planned out ahead of time-why else would he be waiting outside the Forger apartment, wine at the ready, and equipped with all the information on the castle. Not to mention that he appeared to be having as much fun as Anya, getting into the role more than any of the other adults. I’m not sure if his amusement is making Twilight’s life difficult, having fun play-acting, or a bit of both. It was pretty shitty of him to goad Anya into making a request that would obviously put Loid in an awkward position. She’s not his kid, so he shouldn’t purposefully do something that will put the parents out-it’s common courtesy. Frankly, Franky is getting off light with just a punch from Loid.

I can see Franky starting to fill the shoes of the fun uncle. I think (or at least hope) that these antics, as uncomfortable as they are for Twilight, are a kindness on the part of Franky. He understands the short end of the stick Anya has gotten in terms of what’s expected of her and perhaps is trying to give her some fun that she would never have asked for on her own. It may be that Franky understands the mind of children far more than Twilight.

My complaints aside, there were some sweet moments. Anya’s excitement at acting out her favorite show with papa reminded me of when I was her age and insisted that my dad (and any other relatives at hand) take part in my movie-based plays. The mind-reading and spy angle aside, I see a lot of myself in Anya at that age and I think part of the appeal of the series for me is how some of the sweet, quiet moments with Anya and Loid remind me of my own dad in a way.

This was probably the first time that Anya got something that she wanted. Anya is always trying to be what she thinks other people want her to be or do what she thinks others want her to do, in order to be accepted into a permanent family. Especially after her previous experiences with being rejected by former families, I can’t imagine the kind of stress and pressure that places on such a young child. I’m glad that she gets a chance to be the center of attention in a good way and to have the normal childhood experience (though on an abnormal level) of imaginative play. Next up, we have another normal childhood experience (though on an abnormal level of elite) of going to school. I am interested to see how they bring to life the whole cast of characters on that end!

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