There’s only one episode left in this first half of Spy x Family and I simply need more. I’ve been diligently avoiding the manga and devoting myself to becoming an anime-only watcher of Spy x Family. However, based on my research, this anime is only at chapter 16 of the manga, with much left to unpack. Will we see Loid meet Donovan Desmond? Does Yor uncover Loid’s spy background and vice versa? Will Anya ever get a Stella Star?
At least one of those questions got answered today in this episode. This anime has also proved that you can mature your characters in such a short amount of time. Yes, Anya is the same mischievous kid we met in the beginning, but she has learned so much from Yor and Loid. This episode highlights what she’s learned and shows why Anya needs to be showered in all the Stella Stars we can find. I am biased because she is my new favorite anime girl, but I truly think that as Anya matures over time Loid will find it much easier to complete his mission. For now, she’s still got a lot more to learn.
ANYA’S BAD EDUCATION
Spy x Family 1×11 started out with what has become my favorite opening scene of the show. First, we see Loid and Anya sitting in the living room while Anya watches her weekly anime. Turn to Anya and she is sweating bullets. Loid was looking over her school exams, all covered in red marks and big bold Fs. They’re both stressed because if Anya doesn’t pick up her grades, she can’t earn Stella Stars, and will never become an Imperial Scholar. Loid needs Anya to become a Scholar so he can meet Donovan Desmond and Donovan is the key to stopping the potential war in Berlint.
Anya’s never been good at academics. She proved that she was smart when she first met Loid because she read his mind while doing the crossword. Although, her attempt at reading her classmate’s minds isn’t as successful. What I’ve always liked about Anya is that she’s always been a bit more adult than everyone thinks. Anya’s becoming more like her father and picked up a habit to plot things out. She’s learning more from Loid and Yor than she is from her classes and it’s how to make the best out of a bad situation. That seems to be the theme of this episode. Anya earns her Stella Star, in a nontraditional way.
PSYCHIC TO THE RESCUE
There’s more than one way to get a Stella Star. Anya could be great at sports or art… and she’s not good at those either. Loid knows that there are only special circumstances where Anya could earn a star, either by saving someone or by excelling at community service. While Loid could just have WISE have agents pretend to be in perilous situations, Loid wants to find Anya’s natural talents and help her excel. So, he takes her to the local hospital. Community service can’t be that hard, right? Just like when she prepped for Yor’s arrival, Anya isn’t helpful at all, so the hospital kicks the Forgers out before she can make any more mess.
What Loid doesn’t know is that Anya’s strength is reading minds and helping others. She assists him and Yor in unknown ways all the time. Anya helped them catch that purse snatcher in episode three. Her strength is understanding how others are feeling and acting on it. So when she hears a young boy drowning in the hospital’s rehab pool, she runs to save him. Although she doesn’t get him out herself, Loid and the young boy recognize that she did an act of selflessness and she wins her first Stella Star. This would not have been possible if she couldn’t hear the boy’s thoughts. I almost wonder if she told Loid about her powers and if he would use her for more of WISE’s missions. Anya hides her powers so she’s not ridiculed, but if she lets it out that she’s psychic it could be worse for her in the future. Unless she also wants to become a spy… I doubt she would say no to that.
“STARLIGHT ANYA”
Due to her heroic acts at the pool, Anya finally earns her first Stella Star. Only five episodes after she earned her first Tonitrus Bolt, Anya works quickly and becomes the first in her class to win a Stella Star. Her ego’s blown up and she wants Becky to call her “Starlight Anya.” To her, the Star is one step closer to world peace. She thinks Damian will want to hang out with her because she’s got acclaim. Well, at least that’s how it plays out in Anya’s mind because she’ll do anything for world peace. In reality, her classmates make up all sorts of rumors as to how Anya cheated her way to a Stella Star. Did she push the kid into the pool to pull him out? Did she bribe someone?
To my surprise, Damian came to her defense. He used the school’s reputation to threaten those who were making rumors about Anya. Of course, they wouldn’t slander a school that makes no mistakes about honoring students. Not only did Anya show a sense of maturity in this episode, but it seems to be rubbing off on Damian. He’s upset because she earned a star before him, but is still willing to come to Anya’s defense when others bring her down. If a kinship wasn’t brewing before, it definitely is now. With only one episode left in this half of Spy x Family, the show has proved that it can mature its characters in a very short amount of time.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
- Anya’s stressed look is what I look like when Spy x Family stresses me out.
- How does Eden keep track of what their students have been doing outside of school? How do they get proof?
- Anya is a psychic, and yet no one has questioned why the cones on her head don’t come off? Does no one want to know what they’re there for? (For those of you who haven’t seen the Saiki K anime, it’s most likely where she gets her powers from)
- The dog is almost here! Been so curious about him since he’s in all the art on Tiktok.
- OF COURSE, the dog has powers. Really, what other kind of dog would the Forgers have?
