Anya Forger’s Telepathic Abilities, Explained

Key Takeaways

• Anya possesses telepathic abilities due to past experimentation, leading to her struggle with controlling her powers.
• Anya’s telepathy allows her to read minds, help with family missions, and provide emotional support to loved ones.
• While Anya occasionally uses her powers for personal gain, she also uses them to understand and assist others in a helpful and harmless manner. (118 characters)

In Spy x Family, many might initially get a look at Anya and assume she is just like any other kid. They’re innocent and often don’t know how the world works around them, but Anya is not like the rest of her classmates. Instead, she possesses the ability to telepathically read the minds of those around her.

With this power comes great responsibility, and Anya isn’t always the best at controlling her powers or using them for good in Spy x Family. She often utilizes her telepathy to complete work in school, or to manipulate others. However, there are occasions where she uses them to aid others, like her family.

How Did Anya Get Her Telepathic Powers?

Instead of coming from a typical family, Anya Forger was originally used in human experimentation. Originally known as “Test Subject 007”, she was part of an experiment that was kept under wraps, and tested on young children to attempt to give them special powers. It is unknown what organization was behind this experimentation, but any fan can easily assume that the test was highly illegal and kept out of the public eye for a reason.

I think our family is completely normal. — Anya Forger

Though it is unsure how exactly she got out of the facility, during her time there, she developed the ability to telepathically read the minds of those around her. This initially caused her a lot of turmoil, however, as she was thrown into the foster system and couldn’t seem to keep a family. She often felt strange and out of place, as many of the families she would go to wouldn’t understand her abilities, so she often hid her powers from them. Despite running away a multitude of times, she finally discovers a family where she fits in perfectly with Loid and Yor Forger. Though they never tell her explicitly their chosen occupations, since she can read their minds, she knows exactly what they do as a spy and an assassin, and she feels right at home.

How Anya’s Telepathy Works

So, how exactly does Anya’s telepathy work? There are many ways that she can use her ability, often to read the minds of those around her in real-time, but this sometimes comes with additional issues. There is usually only a certain distance from which she can hear people’s thoughts, but she will also be drowned out by background noise if she is in a crowd. She also will lose her powers significantly if there is a full moon, and cannot access any memories or control a person’s mind.

Papa is a huge liar, but he’s a cool liar! — Anya Forger

Another large issue with Anya’s telepathy is that she often doesn’t understand what she’s hearing, which leads to comedic relief frequently. As a young child, around 6 years old, listening to the thoughts of older adults usually doesn’t make much sense to her, and often leads to misinterpretation. For example, in season 1, episode 2, “Secure a Wife”, Loid thinks in his mind about how he is going to complete his mission while sitting in the park with Anya. After hearing this, she says out loud, “Papa is so cool!”, which confuses Loid greatly, since he’s never told her of his occupation, and she’s never stated her abilities.

Does She Use It For Good, or For Personal Gain?

Although Anya is very young, that doesn’t stop her from occasionally using her abilities for her own personal gain. Though, often when she does this, it’s usually for harmless reasons, often to help her complete an exam or get a reward from Loid or Yor. She especially uses her telepathic powers to get to know Damian Desmond and build a relationship with him, which is exactly what Loid needs to complete Operation Strix. She eventually even learns that Damian has a crush on her, and uses this to enhance their friendship and respond to him in the best way possible.

The right time to use your strength is, for example, when helping your friend out of trouble. — Anya Forger

While she uses her powers to manipulate others occasionally, fans will also notice that Anya uses them to better understand others’ emotions and apologize when she’s done something wrong. In relation to Damian, she uses her telepathy to apologize when she’s upset Damian after punching him early on in the anime. It is also apparent that she cares deeply for Becky as a friend, and uses her telepathy to better understand her and give her advice when she needs it. Needless to say, although she sometimes uses her powers for selfish reasons, it is often done in a harmless way and her intentions are usually for the best.

How She Contributes To The Forger Family

Outside of Anya’s direct relationships with her family and friends, she also uses her powers to contribute greatly to the Forger family. This includes Loid’s many missions, as well as Yor’s. Though her parents aren’t aware of it, there have been a few times when she has helped to save others or aid Loid on his missions. This includes reading the mind of a terrorist who has prepared a bomb. When she reads the mind of a bomb dog who can predict the future, she is able to discover the plans to bomb a government official. Using her powers, she then uncovers the time that the bomb is set to go off, and informs the authorities to help them diffuse it.

Anya likes her mother who’s strong and cool! There, there. — Anya Forger

Along with helping out on missions, Anya often assists her mother, Yor, in her confidence and role in the family. She uses her telepathy to help Yor realize that she is doing great as a mother, and even praises her skills, such as when she cooks for the family. Though Anya’s powers are something that she can easily use to aid herself frequently, there are many times when she helps those around her by saving lives and giving her friends and family the support they deserve.

Spy x Family is now available to stream on Crunchyroll and Hulu.