As any long time anime fan knows, there’s something about a good romance that makes a show especially compelling. Some of the greatest comedies in anime use romance as a source of laughs and intrigue, and Spy x Family is no different.
Spy x Family is the show taking the anime world by storm this season. Many in the anime community just can’t get enough of it, and there’s a lot the show and its manga do well to earn this love from its fans. While the adorable Anya may have stolen the show, her pretend parents Loid and Yor play a big part in keeping the story entertaining. Particularly, the possible romance between them is a big point of intrigue for many fans. So let’s explore what it is about these two that makes their relationship so compelling.
The Secrecy
The premise of Spy x Family is a brilliant one for a comedy. Twilight(aka Loid Forger) is a masterclass spy, who accomplishes everything from espionage to blackmail with ruthless efficiency. His newest mission though tasks him with building a fake family in order to infiltrate a high class school through which he can reach an important government official. His new wife and daughter, however, come with secret lives of their own. Anya turns out to be a telepath who can read people’s minds, while Yor works secretly as an assassin. The show draws much comedy from the three of them keeping their secrets from each other, and Anya manipulating things with her unlimited access to her parent’s often dark thoughts.
While their secrecy-filled family life is functioning for now, all things must end. A setup like this promises an eventual moment where the three of them will have to reveal everything. For Yor and Loid particularly, their roles as pretend lovers will often put them in situations where they have to put on an act, but as the layers slowly fall away, it feels like they could develop genuine feelings for each other. Real relationships being born out of fake ones is a fairly popular romance trope. And if they do find out about each other’s secret lives, it would raise the juicy question as to whether or not their relationship could overcome that barrier and blossom into something real.
Their Personalities
While the premise of a couple living double lives is interesting, it wouldn’t be very good if they didn’t still have chemistry. The best lies contain portions of the truth, so to play their roles convincingly, Yor and Loid do express parts of their genuine personalities.
Yor especially, doesn’t have any reason to put on a different personality, allowing us to see her as she is; earnest, shy and caring. She’s actually quite bad at keeping her assassin skills a secret, especially when alcohol is involved. Loid meanwhile, is so used to being somebody else, that even he doesn’t fully remember who he is. But through his new family, we see portions of what could be his real self, finally getting a chance to poke through his many masks.
He expresses genuine concern for Anya, despite the temptation to be hard on her for his mission. When she starts to flounder at school, he of course wants her to try harder, but soon decides to take it easier on her. He’s constantly justifying his kindness by interpreting it as necessary for the mission, but the audience gets clues that his feelings are genuine. When one of Yor’s coworkers jealously accuses her of working as an escort, Loid responds with respect for her willingness to put the needs of her family over herself. While this is a great line to keep his cover intact, he also genuinely relates, as his entire job is putting the needs of others over himself and his own satisfaction.
Through these glimpses into their true selves, it is revealed that Yor and Loid actually have fairly compatible personalities. They’ve both sacrificed much of their lives to satisfy their superiors, and they both have genuine respect for each other. This leaves the possibility open that without the secrecy, they might actually make a good couple.
It Makes Anya Happy
Anya Forger has easily become Spy x Family’s mascot. She’s the one in all the viral clips and memes, and her earnest adorable nature helps give the show its wholesome edge. Like any cute character, the audience wants to see her happy, and they root for her in everything she does. It helps then, that Anya wants nothing more than for her pretend family to become a real one. She knows that her parents are lying to her and each other, but she likes them regardless, and wants to be with them forever. She even goes as far as to push them towards reconciling when they seem distant, or commenting when they seem to be accidentally flirting.
It would truly be a beautiful story if the three of them could have a future together as a family. Without the secrets, the missions and the apprehensions, it very much seems like they could build a peaceful, happy life together. Or, they could even combine their skills and become an effective force. The odds of things working out that well for them are certainly low, but it would be hard to find a Spy x Family fan that doesn’t want to see the Forgers stay together .