Spy × Family (anime)



In a world with vague similarity to ours, the nations of Westalis and Ostania are pretty close to a truce. However, a politician known as Donovan Desmond represents a great risk to such truce. To stop him, a Westalian spy organization sends their best agent, a man known only as "Twilight", to get close to Desmond and probe for anything suspicious about the politician. Twilight, however, is definitely not prepared for what he do to get close to Desmond: marry and have a kid, because Desmond only makes public appearances for social gatherings at Eden Academy, the elite school his son Damian attends. The sheer concept terrifies him, a man that is naturally lonely and only seduced targets for as long they were useful.

Loid ends up picking up of all kinds of kid one who is secretly very unique: Anya is a girl with the ability to read minds. She tricks Loid in thinking she's older and smarter she actually is by reading his mind, and he ends up taking her home. Loid, however, is obviously very awful at parenting, and keeping the kid near spying tools end up attracting Loid's enemies to her when Anya ends up sending a taunting message to them without knowing how dangerous things are.

Loid manages to rescue Anya, but end up almost giving up on her, thinking putting her in danger is not worth it, and remembering of why he doesn't like when children cry: it remembers him of his past as a orphan on a war-torn country. Reading his mind, Anya however decides to stay, and Loid changes his mind.

He ends up mentoring Anya into passing the exams for the Eden Academy, that she does. The first step of the mission is now complete, but they still have a long way until Loid can get to his target.

Spy × Family is based on a manga of same name by Tatsuya Endo. Animated by Studio Wit and Cloverworks. Directed by Kazuriho Furuhashi, that also directed Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn.


 * Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance: Anya's horn-like hair decorations look like certain kind of antennas, that fits someone who can interpret cerebral waves of those nearby as verbal messages.
 * Bad Boss: Edgar, the villain of episode 1, guns down a mook for questioning his plan involving a toupee of a minister.
 * Bound and Gagged: Anya is bound and gagged by the villains of Episode 1 to serve as bargain in convincing Loid to steal a toupee of a minister.
 * Dark and Troubled Past: Loid grew up alone on the aftermath of war. As result, he is a bit socially stunted and has difficulty to relate with children because they remind him of his own past.
 * Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Loid convinces Edgar to walk away at episode 1 by threatening his daughter in a vague way, saying she will never live a normal life if Edgar keeps going after Loid.
 * Good Smoking, Evil Smoking: Edgar lights a cigar just seconds after he killed one of his own mooks.
 * The Greatest Story Never Told: Loid's superior invokes this trope while saying recognition matters little as long they're doing what is right for the country in episode 1.
 * Latex Perfection: Loid's masks are perfectly able to replicate someone's else face.
 * My God, What Have I Done?: Loid realizes in Episode 1 that using a kid to do a mission was incredibly irresponsible and put her into danger. This however, makes Anya not give up on being his daughter even after being given directions that would place her on a better orphanage.
 * No Communities Were Harmed: It's painfully obvious Westalia and Ostanis are stand-ins for West and East Germany, respectively. The latter's capital being named Berlint is screaming the fact in case you didn't get it yet.
 * No Social Skills: Loid is so incredibly unable to raise a child that makes you wonder what kind of childhood he has before the show ends up justifying the trope: he grew up as a lonely orphan on the ruins of a war.
 * Older Than She Looks: Anya pretends to be a six years old that looks four. Of course, considering her crappy upbringing, it's not implausible, but Loid's initial deduction is right on point, but she manages to trick him anyway.
 * Orphanage of Fear: Episode 1. Loid deliberately picks up a pretty crappy orphanage because a kid with complete lack of documentation will be easier for infiltration.
 * Post-Victory Collapse: Played for Laughs. Loid collapses after Anya passed an elite's school entrance exam at the end of Episode 1.
 * Wrong Genre Savvy:
 * Though certainly a spy comedy with sci-fi elements, this show is nowhere as goofy as the Bondman show Anya watches, and therefore she makes some very deadly mistakes, like sending taunting messages in plain text to people who she doesn't know.
 * Loid himself is an example. He seems to not even think of the idea of mind reading, despite the fact Anya reacts to what he is thinking in real time.