Spy x Family’s Anya Forger is, by far, the series’ most popular character, and it appears as though she might owe part of her popularity to The Mandalorian’s breakout character, Grogu/Baby Yoda.
As reported by Anime News Network, Spy x Family held a panel at Anime NYC where an interesting Star Wars reference occurred. George Wada, who serves as the chief executive producer for the popular anime in addition to his role as the president of Wit Studio, joined to discuss the property’s finer details. He revealed that Wit Studio took charge in nearly all the scenes containing Anya, which, according to Atsumi Tanezaki, the voice of Anya and partner of the studio, is one of the reasons why Anya is so popular. However, Wada theorized that fans love her because she looks very similar to Grogu, otherwise known as Baby Yoda, the nickname affectionately given by fans.
Wit Studio is joint-producing the anime with Clover Works. Aside from animating every Anya-related scene, the studio has taken charge of episodes that focus on action, with Wada bringing up Episode 5 as an example, due to the studio’s vast experience. In that episode, Anya had her father wrapped around her finger when she requested that he cosplay as Bondman from her favorite TV show, Spy Wars, which culminated in Loid engaging in an epic rescue mission to save Princess Anya.
Star Wars’ Entry Into Anime
This isn’t the first time in which Star Wars and the anime genre had a crossover. Recently, Studio Ghibli collaborated with Lucasfilm, the studio responsible for creating and producing the Star Wars franchise, on a new Baby Yoda short called Star Wars Zen: Grogu and Dust Bunnies. In September 2021, the franchise created and released an animated anthology series called Star Wars: Visions, for which seven Japanese animation studios created short films set in the franchise’s universe. Additionally, a second season of the anime-embracing Star Wars series is confirmed to be in the works.
Anya and Grogu’s Similarities
A 50-year-old Force-sensitive infant member of Yoda’s species, Grogu is the deuteragonist of the 2019 series The Mandalorian. He communicates through cooing sounds and is curious about his surroundings. He oftentimes gets into mischief but always tries to help the people he cares about. Like Anya, Grogu also concealed his powers to survive and, like Anya’s relationship with Loid, he grew quite attached to the titular Mandalorian himself, Din Djarin. The bounty hunter would become Grogu’s unlikely father figure after saving the infant during a job in which he was tasked with delivering him to a client with sinister intent.
After years of enduring experiments at a research facility and transported from countless foster homes, Anya finally found a family who loves her. Although Loid Forger had his own ulterior motives when he adopted Anya, namely for the sake of his spy mission, they unexpectedly forge a strong bond. Indeed, the Tatsuya Endo-created series may be notable for its comedy and action, but it is its heartwarming theme about family that makes it so beloved.
Spy x Family is airing its second cour on Crunchyroll and Hulu.
Source: Anime News Network
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