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In the history of spies and spycrafts, there have been many unimaginable and impossible missions that spies undertook (in fact and fiction). Some even had to forge fake relationships and families to achieve their missions. But Spy X Family’s titular “family” is one of its kind. A misfit but endearing trio of an elite spy, an invincible assassin, and an adorably pesky little telepath, is not only the story’s highlight but also forms the foundation of a major international peace operation – Operation STRIX.
Based on the eponymous manga series written and illustrated by Tatsuya Endo, the Spy X Family anime series is written and directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi (Season 1) and Ichirō Ōkouchi and Takahiro Harada (Season 2). Set in a fictional world, inspired by the Cold War, Spy X Family is set in two neighboring countries, Westalis and Ostania, and the peace between them rests on the success of Operation STRIX. But this political exercise involves a lot more and depends on various parties involved in the game, directly or indirectly. With the second season of the series and its spin-off film set to arrive later this year, here’s everything you need to know about Operation STRIX and who’s involved.
What Does Operation STRIX Do?
Operation STRIX is a peace-keeping initiative by the nation of Westalis. After a long, devastating war, the two nations have just managed to establish some peace between them. But there are people, particularly a politician from Ostania called Donovan Desmond, who are working in the background to reignite the sparks and start another war. To thwart his destructive plans, Westalis employs a secret intelligence agent named Twilight, who is tasked with establishing contact with Donovan and tracking his political movements, using the information to save both nations. The operation entails keeping an eye on Desmond and his whereabouts which can only be done in close quarters. But there’s a catch with this target.
Desmond is an extremely reclusive man and the only time he is out in public is at a prestigious gathering at his son’s elite school, Eden Academy. So, the best (and the only) way Twilight can get to him is by posing as a fellow parent in his son’s school. And thus begins the long haul of Operation STRIX. The operation’s name is a reference to the eponymous owl in Greek and Roman mythology, “a bird of ill omen, the product of metamorphosis, that fed on human flesh and blood.” In Spy X Family’s case, that reference applies to Desmond and his evil agenda, which, if successful, will lead to a bloodbath. Now let’s take a look at the key players in this operation:
Who Is Twilight, aka Loid Forger?
A man on a mission, Twilight is an elite spy and undercover agent from the Westalis intelligence agency, WISE. An orphan of war between Westalis and Ostania, Twilight has seen the traumatic impacts of such destruction and aims to do whatever it takes to maintain peace between the two nations. He is everything that an ideal spy should be – a master of disguise with an incredible ability to read and understand human behavior, super sharp observation skills, and the ability to absorb a large amount of information and knowledge in very little time. He believes that being a great spy means creating a flawless cover. And what better cover than that of a perfect family man? He assumes the identity of Loid Forger, a therapist working at Berlint General Hospital in Ostania. He then adopts an orphan girl named Anya and works towards enrolling her at Eden Academy to get close to Desmond’s son, Damien, which would eventually lead to Desmond. To complete the picture of a happy, perfect family, Loid then sets out to find a mother for Anya. By a stroke of luck, he meets Yor and asks her to pretend to be Anya’s mother to make it easier for Anya to get admission.
Despite being a skilled spy, he has occasional lapses of common sense, especially when it comes to understanding Anya and Yor’s feelings. He also fears that if Anya and/or Yor are unhappy and leave the family, his mission might fail. As the pretend family continues to cohabit, Twilight realizes that for the operation to succeed, he must play his role impeccably, whatever it takes, and that means being a good and responsible father and husband. In the process, he also starts to get attached to his made-up family, especially to Anya. But, what Twilight/Loid doesn’t know is that both Anya and Yor have their own stories and reasons to be a part of the family.
Who Is Donovan Desmond?
Donovan Desmond is the end target of Twilight and Operation STRIX. All we know about him and his life is that he has two sons, Demetrius and Damien, both of whom are students at Eden Academy. On the work front, he is a business mogul with various enterprises that he operates directly and indirectly, which may or may not be connected to his political agenda. Desmond is also the leader of the National Unity Party and has been secretly mobilizing resources to start a war.
He is a recluse, as is revealed by Twilight’s handler, Sylvia, and mostly stays in the shadows on his operations. The only time he appears in public is during a special event at the school his sons attend. From various mentions of him throughout the series so far, we learn that Desmond is a practical, objective man, with very little emotion, who emphasizes achievements and targets, and seems neglectful towards his sons. Operation STRIX’s success largely rests on Desmond’s decision to befriend Loid. By the end of the first season, Twilight has managed to get his foot in the door by introducing himself to Desmond at the school as Anya’s father and ensuring that his target remembers his face and name.
What Is Anya’s Role in Operation STRIX?
Loid’s adopted daughter, Anya is the only person who knows everyone’s real identity because she can read minds. Although she has enough control over her telepathic abilities, it strains her when she tries to read a lot of people’s thoughts at the same time. She also loses her powers during the new moon. All we know about her background is that she is an orphan who was once the subject of human experiments and has been adopted several times, only to be sent back to the orphanage every time. So, naturally, when Loid adopts her, she does her best to hold onto her new family and lies about being six years old because that’s the minimum age for Eden Academy. She thinks she has the coolest family ever, with a spy father and an assassin mother, and that gives her a joy that she never felt earlier in her life.
An extremely adorable but pesky little girl, Anya loves spy-themed cartoons, particularly, Spy Wars, and sees the hero in her father. She also loves her plush chimera toy and peanuts, but hates studying, like most kids. But unlike other kids of her age, Anya is quick on her feet, witty, and shows extreme bravery from time to time, to the extent of saving someone’s life or thwarting a major terrorist threat, unbeknownst to anyone else. Despite knowing the truth, she loves Loid and Yor and tries her best to help with the operation because she understands that the success of the operation hinges a lot on her becoming an “imperial scholar” at Eden or getting close to Desmond through Damien. Unfortunately, all her plans of befriending Damien or rising the scholarly ladder seem to be failing so far.
Who Is Yor (And What’s Her Role in Operation STRIX)?
Nicknamed “Thorn Princess”, the 27-year-old Yor Briar (now Mrs. Forger) is a professional assassin with a day job as an employee at Berlint City Hall. When Loid approaches her to be Anya’s mother, she quickly accepts the offer because young unmarried women are suspected of being spies by the state. She also believes Loid’s story of being a widower with a daughter and that his late wife’s last wish was to send their child to Eden, but without a mother, Anya might not get enrolled. As an assassin, Yor is highly skilled, tough, and ferocious like a predator, with stilettoes (not the shoes) as her weapons of choice. But in her everyday life, she is loving, soft-spoken, and always ready to help people. She can also be an airhead sometimes, making it a complete contrast to her alias. She cares for Anya and Loid and tries to be a good wife and mother, but unfortunately, her skills fail around the household, especially with cooking. Her inability to be a good homemaker makes her insecure and she fears losing the family.
As far as Operation STRIX is concerned, Yor has no direct involvement, since she is completely unaware of Loid’s true identity or his mission. However, since she works discreetly for Ostania, it could make her a rival if Loid ever finds out. Also, if she assassinates any Westalis agent or individuals connected to STRIX, that could also threaten the operation for Loid.
Who Is Yuri Briar?
Yuri Briar is Yor’s younger brother who works at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but that’s a cover for his real job. He’s secretly a lieutenant with the State Security Service, the Secret Police of Ostania. His job is to keep an eye out for agents like Twilight and other spies from Westalis, among other rebels/terrorists who turn up on his radar. Whether it’s on the job or in personal life, Yuri is eccentric, violent, and aggressive, but he loves his sister to death and is extremely protective of her. So much so that he chose his profession mostly to keep his sister safe. In fact, his protectiveness often takes the shape of obsession.
When he learns about Yor’s new family, Yuri doesn’t take it well and develops hostility towards Loid and Anya. Although his sister is oblivious to his nature or his actual job, Anya and Loid are well aware. Loid strives to keep good terms with his “brother-in-law” so he can get more information on the inner workings of the Secret Police and also keep his operation going. Yuri might not be directly connected to Operation STRIX, but his involvement in the family and the government service surely poses a threat to Twilight, which will require the WISE agent to be doubly cautious.
Who Is Fiona Frost?
Codenamed “Nightfall”, Fiona is a WISE agent and Twilight’s espionage partner, posing as Loid’s co-worker at Berlint General Hospital. She was once mentored by Twilight and his training impressed her so much that she falls in love with him. She is sharp, cold, and calculated, which sometimes comes across as ruthless, and would do anything to fulfill her mission. Fiona harbors strong emotions towards Twilight and gets obsessed with the idea of replacing Yor as his “fake wife.” She believes that an absent-minded, incapable woman like Yor is unworthy of being a partner to someone like Twilight. At one point her emotions get the better of her, and she loses her composure, which then makes her leave town and head to the mountains. However, Anya, as expected, is well aware of her real identity and her true nature and is wary of what she might do to achieve her goals.
Who Is The Handler?
The Handler, real name Sylvia Sherwood, is Twilight’s main point of contact at WISE who oversees Operation STRIX. Like Twilight, she is also a master of disguise and an extremely capable spy. Codenamed “Fullmetal Lady”, she is infamous for her harsh training and overworking of her agents and had trained Twilight in his earlier days. On the personal front, Sylvia once had a family with a husband and a daughter but no one knows what exactly happened to them. Although she never works as a field agent (at least, not so far), her constant support and supervision are critical to the entire operation. While STRIX keeps running parallelly, she sends Twilight on other smaller missions that also work towards maintaining peace between Westalis and Ostania.
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