Spy x Family – 07

「標的ターゲットの次男」 (Tāgetto no Jinan)
“The Target’s Second Son”

Twilight seriously needs to give Anya some space. While it was amusing to see all the farfetched ways in which to prod Anya into an apology, stalking her was going a bit too far. When it comes to relationships, pushing too much into can have the opposite effect. Twilight is good at becoming what people want, but in terms of relationships and how individuals work on an emotional level, he still has much to learn. Although he fills the stereotypical shoes of the smart character who knows so much, yet so little, he doesn’t get boring. I think because of his hilarious reactions and the absurd situations he gets himself into.

I got a kick out of Damian and Anya, playing out like your stereotypical rom-com. It’s obvious Damian is in the thralls of first love but is too young and oblivious to understand that. I look forward to Anya’s reactions to his thoughts once/if Damian realizes the nature of his feelings! I chuckled at Twilight’s reactions-he clearly hasn’t seen enough romcoms to know that his “Friendship Plan B” is working out far better than expected.

Twilight really lucked out in choosing Anya-her mind-reading abilities aside, her spunk makes her relationships with Damian and Becky work. If Anya was a docile girl, I doubt she would have caught Damian’s or Becky’s attention as much as she did. Becky adds an additional layer, acting as the friend-blocker between Damian and Anya. I’m not sure what her deal is-if she’s just the requisite loyal friend in every romcom or if there is some sort of ulterior motive in befriending Anya at the expense of her own popularity.

I love the growing dynamic between Yor and Loid. Yor’s understanding of children levels out Loid’s “get the job done” mentality. If it had just been Loid and Anya, he probably would have pushed her over the edge in desperation. Academics aside, I found it hilarious how all of the textbooks had “yoiko” (“good kid”) in their titles.

Going into this, Loid and Yor weren’t intending on making it anything other than a convenient front. Yet, the sheer difficulty of raising a child is nudging them into a closer working partnership. It makes their family begin to feel more authentic on some level. I wonder how tight those bonds can actually become with the major secrets they are keeping. The question is when they will start showing a deeper interest in each other and wonder what those secrets are.

I find it interesting that the first glimpse we get of Yor’s enigmatic brother is through her memories. Older siblings have a tendency to always think of younger siblings as the babies of the family (as the eldest sibling, I can attest to this). I think that makes it appropriate for them to introduce her brother to us as the child in her memories, the way she sees him.

Loid’s experiences remind me of the experiences I’ve observed of the parents around me. His wish for Anya to have a smooth school life is one many good parents wish for their own children (although Twilight’s reasons are more selfish, having to do with the mission rather than Anya’s wellbeing).

His realization that nothing worked out as planned with having a child is a relatable one I’m sure, in how children can quickly shatter any ideals about an idyllic family life. I know my parents could write a whole book about how life with kids never went as planned, but they always say they don’t regret a minute of it and we certainly made more memories from those “mishaps”. That end scene with Loid putting the sleepy Anya to bed was absolutely precious. Because children need a lot of tender care, you pour a lot of yourself into them and that changes you. I can already see it with Loid, where during moments of conversation with Yor about their family, his eyes widen in wonder and he looks more like a young man than a hardened spy.

I find Yor to be a more relatable, down to earth character than Twilight because of how she struggles with her own insecurities. As Mrs. Forger, she grapples with imposter syndrome, feeling that she isn’t allowed to have a say in parenting Anya because she’s not Anya’s birth mother, that she doesn’t really belong in the Forger family as an outsider. The dramatic irony adds layers to this. It is ironic she feels out of place as Anya’s adopted mother because Loid also is not Anya’s birth father, but of course she wouldn’t know that. The way she still calls Anya, Anya-san (Miss Anya) shows a distance between them and her apologies for speaking up about Anya to Loid also suggests her feeling of being an imposter in the Forger family circle. Which is ironic given how the whole Forger family is an imposter for the sake of a spy mission.

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