The TV anime "SPY×FAMILY" is based on the manga by Tatsuya Endo, which is currently being serialized on Shueisha's manga app "Shonen Jump+". Season 3, currently airing on TV Tokyo and other networks, is attracting attention for depicting the past of Twilight, the skilled spy who carries out his missions as Lloyd Forger , the father of the Forger family, in the "Lloyd Past Arc". We spoke to Takuya Eguchi, the voice actor who plays Lloyd and Twilight, about his thoughts on the "Lloyd Past Arc".
◇ Cherish the atmosphere you have created
"SPY×FAMILY" began serialization in "Shonen Jump+" in March 2019. The story follows a skilled spy who creates a temporary family for the sake of his mission and starts a new life. The spy father, psychic daughter, and assassin mother all live together, hiding their true identities from each other.
After Season 1 aired in 2022, Season 2 in 2023, and the Spy × Family Code: White, which was released in December of the same year, Eguchi felt that "the atmosphere of the family has been established, and after overcoming many things together, Season 3 has made that feeling of family even stronger." Although Season 3 will be the first TV series in about two years, he said, "We cherished the atmosphere we had created in Seasons 1 and 2 and approached the recording without any pressure."
"At first, I found it difficult because the tempo changed frequently between Twilight's monologues and Lloyd's lines, but through Season 2 I got the hang of how to switch, so I'm acting with the intention of just throwing everything I've created up until now into the role."
He says that one thing he keeps in mind while acting, and that has remained the same since Season 1, is "to never forget that for Lloyd, everyday life with Forger is also a mission."
"That's why I think it's interesting to see how this perfect person crumbles in his monologues through the words and actions of those around him, such as Anya. I think that this contrast is what makes Lloyd so appealing. The story is fundamentally serious, but I think it's great to see how he is tossed about by the small joys of everyday life."
Why did the boy become "Twilight"? Weakness and tears
"Lloyd's Past" was a much-talked-about episode in the original manga. When Eguchi read the manga, he felt that it was "the most important point, depicting his childhood and why he became a spy, as it is the part before he became a spy."
"In the first episode of Season 1, when he meets Anya, he says, 'I became a spy because I wanted to create a world where children (like myself) don't cry,' and this is where his past connects."
What did you feel while portraying your past self?
"After he's trained as a spy, Lloyd seems perfect, but before that he has emotional, weak and tearful sides. I think that scene in the past arc was probably the last time he cried. After that, once he became a spy, you don't see him cry except for jokes. I think those human emotions were shown more than usual."
Eguchi said that with the broadcast of "Lloyd's Past Arc," "Lloyd himself won't change, but viewers' impressions of him may change." It will be interesting to see how Lloyd's past will be portrayed in the anime.
