Spy x Family Episode 1

Loid “Twilight” Forger

Simply based on the synopsis of Spy x Family, I probably wouldn’t have picked this series up. But, since everyone seemed to have high expectations for it based on the manga, I’ve opted to add it to my weekly review schedule for the spring 2022 season.

The first episode of the series is a very strong start. If not for the first episode of Magia Record Final Season, I would have called this the best first episode of the season. It’s probably overrated on MyAnimeList currently, though.

At the start of the episode, we’re introduced to a spy who goes by the code name Twilight. He doesn’t have an identity of his own, as he’s given a new one for each mission he goes on. For his current mission, the name he was given is Loid Forger.

Loid’s tasked with finding a woman to marry, having a child with her, and having that child attend the same school as his target’s son so that he can get close to the target. And he has a week to accomplish all of this.

Obviously, that’s not going to be very easy (or possible) to accomplish. So instead, Loid opts to skip finding a wife and having a child of his own. He goes to the shadiest orphanage he can find and adopts a child to pass off as his own.

And then we get the classic “being a spy came naturally to Loid, but having a child is going to be the most difficult mission he’s ever been assigned.” Typically, this is where the cheesiness would begin. But, so far, it’s actually been very good and I have high hopes for the series.

Anya Forger

Anya is the girl Loid “adopts” from the orphanage. I don’t think he actually filled out any paperwork for her, so to say he adopted her is a bit of a stretch. It may be more accurate to say that Loid acquired Anya.

Anya’s age is unknown, but Loid guessed that she was either 4 or 5. However, Anya claims to be 6 — which is almost certainly a lie. You see, Loid needed a child that was about 6, and Anya knows that because she has a very special ability: Telepathy.

Apparently, Anya was experimented on when she was younger. These experiments granted her telepathic powers, allowing her to read the minds of those around her. So far, there has been no indication that she can transmit her own thoughts to others. Though, I wouldn’t be too surprised if she gains that ability later on.

Anya’s telepathy is kind of what makes the series what it is. If Anya was a normal girl, it wouldn’t be nearly as entertaining. But because she can read minds, that means she knows Loid is a spy and she knows all of his “spy thoughts.”

On top of that, Anya is a huge fan of TV spies. It’s for that reason that she wanted to be adopted by Loid in the first place. In her mind, being adopted by him would mean that she gets to go on all sorts of spy missions and play with cool spy gadgets.

At this point, I’m already going to predict that Anya is going to be the best character of the series. Loid is good, and I’m sure his eventual wife will be too. But Anya is cute and seems to be the source of most of the comedy in Spy x Family.

Hostage Rescue

Despite the fact that Anya has telepathic powers, she’s not exactly the smartest girl around. In her defense, she’s like 5 years old. 5-year-olds are pretty dumb. But, you’d think that maybe she’d be a bit more careful about revealing her adoptive father’s identity as a spy since she’s so interested in spies.

Of course, almost immediately, Anya sends out an unencrypted message identifying her father as Twilight and leading his enemies to their apartment. This results in Anya being kidnapped and taken hostage in an attempt to lure Twilight into a trap.

If you read my review of Princess Connect! Re:Dive Season 2 from yesterday, you’ll know that I complained about the series combining a lot of genres. So, am I now going to complain about Spy x Family combining comedy, slice of life, and action? No.

Action and comedy can work very well together when done correctly. And based on this first episode, I’d say that Spy x Family is going to do it correctly. The action and comedy of this episode didn’t get in the way of each other. They also didn’t feel completely disconnected, either.

I think a problem a lot of other anime run into when combining action and comedy is that they try to do both at the exact same time. They’ll throw some comedy (which generally isn’t funny) into the middle of an action sequence. Just look at Fire Force‘s use of Tamaki as an example of when this goes wrong.

One Punch Man, specifically the first season, is a great example of how to blend action and comedy well. The action and comedy lead into and compliment each other but don’t get in the way. So far, Spy x Family has achieved the same thing.

Conclusion

What do you think of Spy x Family Episode 1? Was this an anime you were highly anticipating? Has the first episode lived up to the hype? And, so far, do you prefer Loid or Anya? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of Episode 2 is available now.