Analyzing What Makes Twilight/Loid A Great Main Character
Agent Twilight aka Loid Forger. One of the world’s best spies and the father of the Forgers. If one would think about it, he has so many odds stacked against him as a main character. He’s the most serious character in the comedic series. An actual adult protagonist in a teen-focused shonen genre. And he isn’t righteous and he’s easily the least genuine among the Forgers consisting of the beloved Anya, Yor, and Bond. He easily would have viewed as an afterthought for people following the anime/manga but that didn’t turn out to be the case. Granted, he still faces criticism and disapproval for casuals watchers for his actions but overall, he surprisingly manages to make a name for himself as a beloved male main character and protagonists in modern anime and fans of the series are especially intrigued by him. That’s why in this post, I’ll be going over at least 10 reasons in what makes Loid work as a shonen protagonist, a great mc, and why us Spy X Family fans admire him for him.
His mystery and morally gray background adds layers to his character.
Often, the coolest part about an anime character is not what the fans know about them but what the fan don't know about them. Loid Forger manages to become compelling because there are tantalizing gaps in everything we know about him. It really feels like every time we learn an aspect of Twilight as a character, it makes us ask another question about his past or his decisions in the present.
Although it doesn’t bold for some viewers the morally gray aspects of Loid’s life also adds complexity to his character, as we get to see his introspection on the matter at hand. Seeing the darker side of this series and its characters such as Loid, is always appreciative since it makes him that much deeper as a character.
2. He’s not a conventional hero, which helps keeps us narratively grounded.
With Spy X Family frequently advertised to be a wholesome and comedic franchise, many people tend to get lost in it and forget how serious and grave the series can be at times and the severe stakes at hand. Loid being a Byronic Hero serves as a great reminder of this, hence why people can frequently get chills when he goes Twilight mode.
That’s not to say anti-heroes or Chaotically Good heroes don’t exist in this genre of anime but most of the well-known heroes of shonen are usually Lawfully Good or morally righteous citizens, only breaking the law if it goes against their moral or ethical code. Loid isn’t like those heroes despite his intentions. He’s always doing something that’s illegal or is generally considered an extreme method to complete his missions. Information stealing, identity theft, manipulation, selective misinformation, trespassing and infiltration, cloak and daggers, etc. While incredibly easy to disapprove of these methods but it serves as a sharp reminder of the main plot and how desperate times calls for desperate measures, as well as, what he’s shaped into.
3. He still has a few funny moments of his own.
With that being said, Loid isn’t exempt from the zany comedy of this franchise. While his comedic moments are rare, they do happen and is usually one of the main highlights of the episode/chapters. He even has his own quirk in tending to over analyzing the simple situations. Despite Loid being cool, serious spy with outfits and elite skills to match, he can also be frazzled by his foster daughter's silliness or the absurdity of his fake wife and we can't get enough of him because of that.
4. His interactions with his family and other people explores depths he wouldn’t be able to discover himself
Loid generally prefers to view everything from a logical viewpoint and this especially goes for the fake family he formed for his mission and his interactions with people such as Franky. But the more he interacts with them, the more we get to see sides of Loid that not even he would expect or take notice of, despite completing the mission is his main priority. Nearly botching his mission because of Anya’s crying, developing a sense of guilt over his suspicions and doubts revolving Yor, and even considering Bond as a true family member, despite the family being fake in the first place. This even extends to him ordering a round of drinks for Franky to comfort another dud attempt in getting a girl in his life.
Loid is a bit concerned this might compromise his mission, but he also can't help but think fondly of the moments he had with his family. For all the talk about having no emotions or developing any feelings or levels of attachment, all these moments highlights that Loid, despite his actions, has a hidden heart of gold. As a pretend family man, he shows emotional depth beyond his professional competence.
5. He’s realistically flawed and the narrative isn’t afraid to explore his vulnerabilities and weaknesses
Despite Loid’s competence and high ranking status as the best spy in the world, he’s still a very flawed and complicated character. His difficulty in connecting with Anya, Yor, Bond, and everyone else is the result of him being alone all his life and tends to have tunnel vision. And because he lived his life as a spy where danger lurks in several corners, he became restless into the point he developed trust issues. Even when he starts developing a form of attachment for some people, he feels that he’s not obligated due to his line of work. These moments of highlighting areas he’s severely behind in and even having low points really helps to make him a well-rounded character.
6. Loid’s motives as a spy shows that he’s emotionless, not heartless
With how cynical and dismissive he can be at times, especially with how he treated Anya in the first episode, it’s easy to write him off as a heartless and cruel person, with actions as a spy only adding fuel to the fire. That is until the same episode, it’s revealed that he was also a young war victim who was denied of any aid.
To ensure no one had to go through what he did, he became a spy to prevent all possibilities of wars, whether it be from terrorists, evil gangs, or nuclear weapons. As the series progresses, we get to see more of Loid’s amiable traits such as developing a form of attachment for his family to actually speaking for Damian about his dad’s behavior. He even shows concern and lectures Fiona about the way she pushes herself in the tennis tournament. This shows that Loid, while highly focused on his job and extremely distant, he does have a hidden empathetic side laying far deep within him.
7. He’s highly sympathetic and tragic
As the series continues, we get to learn more Loid that makes him a rather tragic and unfortunate protagonist. Apart from the aforementioned fact that he was an orphan, he also appears to lose some of his memories, such as not being able to remember his mother until Yor sang him a lullaby and even forgetting why he became a spy until Anya sparked his memory.
The story is building up that Loid isn’t always the cold-hearted person he is but rather the state of being lonely and an orphan forged him into the spy deprived of his humanity. This aspect of Loid’s character just makes us all the more want to root for the Forgers being an authentic family and him being part of it or at least get a happy ending, because it’s something that he’s been denied of for the longest time and is unaware that it’s something he needs.
8. He’s stoicism makes him an emotional wild card
It’s usually said that the journey is what makes the story and not its destination. Most of the audience believe that the Forgers being a real family is the clear cut conclusion, which would seem like the most typical narrative choice to expect but it’s never assured how we are going to get there and Loid’s limited emotional access plays a large factor in this.
While the other Forgers clearly love being part of the family and see each other as their own, Twilight seems to be the only one with thoughts of the family being separated once everything is said and done, so the fate of the family is ultimately determines on whether he wishes to make the family legit or not. And considering he is growing fond of them, it’s definitely not going to be an easy choice, especially with potential obstacles in the future. It’s clear that his character arc will be the most significant. Probably the longest too. And that what makes it investing.
2. He’s cool, highly intelligent, and high skilled spy
Loid is an experienced spy and one of the finest ones at that, which ensures that we are going to get so cool moments. Most protagonists would usually go on a journey to be the very best or the king of whatever. Loid? Well, he already is the best. We get to see how many skills he’s packing, from his flawless disguises for infiltration, to his high speed vehicles driving skills, or his way with a firearm in fast paced shooting action. In short, whenever he’s on a mission, we are guaranteed that we will be treated with awesome moments.
In a great change of pace, Loid’s greatest weapon is his vast intelligence, unlike most protagonists who are usually known for their fast growth rate in strength. This makes him unique in a sense where his intense moments aren’t limited to action scenes he partakes in. Moments such as him trying to maintain his cover, going stealth, and even the conversations he partakes in, particularly with his targets, can equally get as heated. We really get to see how Loid’s mind games work and his big brain moments highlights why there’s no one with a mind like his.
10. Becoming a family man isn’t his endgame, it’s actually one of his arcs.
In most shonen anime and manga, a typical ending for the protagonist would be that he got the girl, have a child or children later, and becomes a family man. It’s a typical way to depict a happy ending for the mc we have been following for several chapters/episodes. Though, sometimes if said series somehow gets a follow up, there’s usually nothing to explore with the character as a result.
In Twilight’s case, however, becoming a father and a husband isn’t the end of his journey but rather the beginning of his story. We actually see him going through the trails of being the family’s breadwinner and him actually struggling with his role is actually believable. Granted, this only happened because his mission requires it but as most of us were able to interpret by now, he’s far more emotionally invested than he realizes.
He may not be up for the role and abandoned all thoughts in having a life like this but Yor, Anya, and Bond certainly admire him for the dad and husband he’s slowly learning to be. And quite frankly, so are we.
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