Shadow’s Impressions:
I’ve been wondering when they’d make this series into an anime. Especially since the manga is extremely popular. Even I started reading it after hearing how much praise it got and boy was it a blast. Though I am a bit worried at how this anime will be handled. Especially coming off of watching the new season of Kaguya-sama, where the directing and animation added to the hilarity. I’m not sure the same can be said for this series. It was still good, but I feel like it didn’t hit me as hard as it did in the manga.
We are flung headfirst into a world of spies where we meet mr. Twilight, man of a hundred faces having just duped this one guy into giving him “secret information.” It’s honestly really interesting how he gets around with his job as he goes from one point to another, picking up information on what he needs to do next. And thus we get his next objective: Get married and have a child so he can infiltrate the school so he can get info on Donovan Desmond. Which is certainly a very different ball field that Twilight is used to since that means he’s not able to do this job on his own. Especially as a spy, having others to depend on can jeopardize his objective. Unfortunately due to the school’s extremely high restrictions, Twilight doesn’t have the choice to do this mission all on his own. Not to mention that the people he’ll be “working” with as a family would also have to be kept in the dark about his plan. Which could cause much more problems than just having his family be spies as well since they won’t be all about the objective like him. Which just screams chaos and mishaps waiting to happen.
Twilight or should I say Loid now is already a very interesting character. Right off the bat, he clearly is a very logically driven person who seems to have lost his ability to communicate on an emotional level with people. He can put up a facade of a charming individual, but he doesn’t seem to be able to connect with others very well. Especially with how he just upped and left his “girlfriend” without any care for her feelings. Extremely cut and dry. Not to mention he did it at a very inappropriate time where there were others around with a freaking proposal happening. And the fact he has to resort to books to figure out how children “work” shows a bit of disconnect he has with the world and others around him. It’s like, he knows how things works, but he’s never particularly genuine in regards to emotional situations. Though that probably has to do with his occupation as a spy. It probably prevents him from making any true and genuine bonds in fear of them getting killed. It’s sad in a way. Especially since this was most likely a job he took on for emotional reasons made him repress his emotions and allow him to care genuinely for individual people.
He definitely seems to view people in a collective sense rather than them as individuals. Everything is part of a mission. When he first adopts Anya, he doesn’t seem to have any problem with sending her back to the orphanage after his mission is done. He even has thoughts of sending her back if she doesn’t live up to his circumstances and even willing to let her get killed by the people who kidnapped her since she’s just one kid among many. Which is a very cruel outlook and I’m glad that he seems to have changed his perspective a little in this one episode. Despite their short time together, he seems to have grown a reluctant attachment to her most likely after hearing how she got passed from one family to another before being sent back to the orphanage. And we find out that Lloid also went through a traumatic experience that left him an orphan and just crying in the middle of a destroyed city. He has a good heart, but he slowly became jaded over the time and started viewing things as objectives. Being with Anya seems to be helping him start tapping into his emotional side more, allowing him to feel more like a person rather than just an operative. Especially with him lifting up Anya after she passed was probably the first time in a while where he felt anything close to genuine joy. The bond they are beginning to share with one another is adorable.
Anya is a delight. I’m a little sad that her funny moments didn’t hit as hard as they did in the manga, but I do hope that once our cast expands a little more, her humor can shine through. Because her expressions and reactions are comedy GOLD in the manga. Though I did still chuckle at her dialogue. Right away, we are informed that she is a telepath and is able to hear what everyone is thinking around her. Which already sets up for some hilarious reactions on her part. Especially with how her new dad is a secret agent. Sorry my dude, but there’s no hiding things from her no matter how hard you try.
We also get quite a bit about Anya as a character as well. Though we still don’t know everything, but we do find out that she most likely started out in a lab of some sort. Most likely the reason how she obtained her telepathic abilities. However, it’s sad that the scientists only treated her as a tool rather than a kid. Which is the reason why she hates studying so much since she was only forced to study and wasn’t allowed to be a kid. Which I can hardly blame her for being so resistant to studying since it probably brings up bad memories for her. However, what’s even more sad is how it seemed like no one really wanted her as she got passed from one family to another. I can’t even imagine how that must feel when you think you finally found a place to belong, only to be returned after a short amount of time. It’s no wonder why she was so adamant on staying with Lloid and why it set her off when he thought of returning her. This poor kid just wants a home to call her own.
Though it is still sad to think that she has to do well in everything she does in fear of being abandoned again. How Lloid treated her initially is like borderline abusive if not already. Though considering how he is, he doesn’t know what it means to be a father or even connect to others. But it seems like they’re headed in a better direction with him slowly understanding her. The contrast between Lloid’s cold and calculative approach to Anya’s emotional disposition is surely to come into conflict, but as we saw in this episode, they are slowly forging a bond with one another. Though girl really needs to learn to stay out of his spy things as she got his plans and her life jeopardized immediately.
With the second hurdle overcome with Anya passing the exam, the next objective: Find a wife.
I will never grow tired of Anya’s comment of “but mama doesn’t exist.”
Overall, this was a good start to the series. Though admitedly, I did find it a tad rushed with some awkward and quick transitions from scene to scene. Which is a concern. Though I feel like it had to do with how snappy the humor is in the manga but sadly didn’t quite translate as well in the anime. The animation is really good for the action scenes… but I don’t think they have the right animation to really make the hilarious moments hit as hard as they do in the manga. Like the funny moments are still funny, but didn’t quite reach cackling levels. To me, this series is first and foremost a comedy series with action being kind of a secondary feature. So I’m not sure how I feel about the animation style complimenting the action more than the comedy. Which is a shame to me because the comedy accompanied by the action is what really drives the series and not the other way around. I do hope that the comedy eventually does get translated better the further it goes because reading it in the manga is an absolute riot.
I’m still going to watch it and most likely will still cover it. I just hope that this series doesn’t become a grumpy coverage for me since I really do just want the best for this series.
Possibility of Watching: Guaranteed
Possibility of Blogging: High
