Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’d like to check back in on the Forger family’s continuing theatrics, as we return to Spy x Family. Last episode saw Anya doing her best to prove herself in her first day at school, only to be assigned the black mark of a Tonitrus Bolt for her efforts. In your average school, Anya’s righteous smackdown of the despised Damian would gain her a slap on the wrist and a lofty position in the social pecking order; here, it brings her one step closer to dissolving this family altogether.
That episode also demonstrated that there’s no need to fear this show will lose its spark when the Loid family is separated. In fact, Anya’s attempts to manipulate her schoolmates was one of the show’s funniest sequences so far; whereas her family interactions have largely settled into routine punctuated by occasional shock at Loid’s secret thoughts, offering a whole class worth of new characters provided all sorts of opportunities to riff on both her psychic powers and generally goofy personality. With her parents now aware of the fault lines in her social group, I imagine she’ll return to school equipped with a fresh set of well-intentioned but self-defeating tactics, and make some implausible new mess of things. Let’s find out how!
Episode 7
“The Target’s Second Son.” We’re gonna befriend the shit out of you, Damian!
Oh wow. We at last get an overhead shot of Anya’s academy, and it is gorgeous. Rather than just featuring a single main building or even a set of matching ones, the campus expands as a sprawling series of buildings that seem to encompass architectural styles from across the centuries. This set of buildings feels “alive” in its intimate visual connection to a long history, its diverse aesthetic sensibilities attesting to an academy that has grown alongside its surrounding city. Also, the use of verticality and odd angular relations between different quarters make for an inherently inviting tableau, provoking a desire to explore this landscape’s odd alleys and stranger buildings. Likely the best background shot of the show so far
This exposition basically frames the Stella stars as chaos emeralds that Anya must collect to evolve into her caped form. Very good visual storytelling
Sleepy morning Yor is also extremely good
Anya apparently even wears her little devil horns to sleep, as she has them on under her goofy nightcap
“There’s no point in worrying about the past. Just make sure you don’t get into any more fights.” More and more, we’re seeing Loid’s professional and parental instincts merge as he offers advice and consolation to Anya
And of course, obsessing over the past is useless for a spy. What happened, happened; your only active concern is controlling what happens next
Oh my god, what is this new bonnet hat she’s wearing to school. This mangaka clearly understands that putting Anya in a variety of goofy hats is one of this story’s most powerful weapons
Becky arrives via her own personal driver
“Does that mean Anya will get to be a rich girl too?” “It’s not like I’m adopting you.” You can really see the difference in maturity that those two years make when Anya is interacting with her schoolmates. They’re all a bit more socially conscious, whereas Anya mostly just acts on her first instincts
Anya attempts to apologize to Damian, but Becky pulls her away. “But world peace!”
In class, Anya is already isolated due to her reputation for violence
Oh damn, we’re actually jumping to Damian as our perspective character! I’ll be a little miffed if we end up with more of Damian’s interiority than Yor’s, but it is true that Anya is often most entertaining when observed from an outside perspective, when we cannot see the mental logic undergirding her frequently inexplicable actions
Actually, getting more of Damian’s perspective sounds fascinating, as he’s the only member of this cast who actually has to engage with the surface politics of this world. All of the Forgers are essentially outsiders in their own way, whereas Damian is expected to rise through this country’s overt political apparatus, giving him a much different view of how this society works
“No one has ever denied me before. I’ve never been hit, even by my older brother.” Shit, he’s gonna end up with a crush on her, isn’t he
Predictably, Anya ends up falling asleep during her first period class. Pretending she was two years older was well and good for getting her out of the orphanage, but she’s going to have a hard time adjusting to the expectations put on children with two more years of development
“I’m on your side! I’ll protect you no matter what.” One of the unexpected positive consequences of her age has been Becky basically adopting her, instinctively realizing this tiny girl needs a guardian
The production is doing a good job of mirroring the manga’s use of variable line weight. Rather than dramatically distorting the characters’ basic forms, dramatic expressions in this story go in the opposite direction – they simplify the character forms as much as possible, reducing their generally multifaceted faces to pure wide-eyed orbs rimmed by thick lines, clear vehicles for one specific emotional intent
Loid’s brilliant plan for coaxing an apology out of Anya is to line every aspect of her environment with encouragement and secret messages. As if Anya weren’t paranoid enough already; Loid is going to do some serious damage to Anya’s psyche
Some nice inventive layouts leading up to Anya’s confrontation. This aerial shot for Becky staring at the source of the announcements helps create a sense of active conversation with the speaker system, while this panning shot that only captures the top of Anya’s head makes an inherent joke of the transition towards Damian
Yeah, a real focus on the physical dimensions of the room, making yet another joke of Anya purposefully stomping her way around to Damian’s side of the table
“Why do I find it so hard to speak when I’m in front of her? What is this awkward sensation I’m feeling in my chest!?” Yep, that punch really did it for him. When everyone in your life is a servant, the first person to challenge you is going to make a big impression
The mental taunting of Damian’s gremlins brings her to tears before she can even voice her apology, but that only makes the power of her apology all the greater! Take that, you hateful little imps
Really just excellent, fluid character acting all around this episode. Between this and the castle invasion, Studio WIT’s really been going above and beyond with their recent episodes (the show’s pretty much evenly split as a co-production, with WIT handling odd-numbered episodes and Cloverworks even ones)
Oh my god, Loid making this “welp, all’s well that ends well” oopsy me face upon witnessing this. Stop screwing with Anya’s education, Loid!
And another fantastic cut of movement as Damian defends his pride, swooping out while yammering about how he’ll never be swayed by a woman’s tears
Loid’s lack of genuine emotional intelligence once again trips him up, as he takes Damian’s rejection entirely at face value
“To divide by five, let’s rip all four limbs off a torso.” Please stop reading Yor’s mind, Anya
“She needs to study more if she wants to become an Imperial Scholar.” “Yes, but is that something she wants for herself?” Hell yeah, a poignant personal moment where Yor actually expresses herself as a collaborator in the family. And this question makes perfect sense for Yor, who has always felt trapped by her duties to the country. Of course she’d want to avoid that fate for Anya, and let her daughter become whoever she wants to be
“I shouldn’t butt into another family’s affairs.” And her intrusion ends on a slight note of tragedy, as she reveals that she still doesn’t really consider herself part of Loid and Anya’s family. There’s an internal level of subterfuge she’s not privy to; both Loid and Anya know this whole family is constructed, but Yor believes she’s the only outsider here
And now she’s reflecting on her childhood with her brother, and how her own admiration of his intellect likely inspired him to study further. Big steps for Yor!
Hearing Yor’s considerate opinion, Loid realizes he actually hasn’t been much of a father to Anya, mostly doing the bare minimum to keep the mission going. This is such a good role for Yor; she’s the only one who has any experience of a happy family life, and that can help her serve as the glue keeping this family together
And this time, when Yor again apologizes for butting in, Loid corrects her, and asks her to please help him as the Forger family’s mother whenever he makes another mistake
Loid briefly begins to compile this new data into his general spy framework, but when he sees that Anya has been continuing her studies for his sake, he is once again drawn towards genuine paternal love
And Done
Ahh, what a great episode! We at last got exactly the character development I was hoping for, as Yor made some crucial moves towards establishing her place within this family. Rather than the fear of isolation that unites Anya and Loid, Yor is actually able to offer a fragment of what they lack: memories of genuine, unmediated familial love, which she can apply forward as lessons for turning their deception into a genuine emotional bond. Yor was able to assert herself both as a fully realized person and as a key member of the Forger dynamic, while Anya’s adventures at school were elevated through this episode’s sumptuous animation and playful storyboarding. A major win for Spy x Family!
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