Spy x Family: Anya’s “Horns” May Have a Heartbreaking Explanation

For the longest time, Anya’s horns have been considered a purely aesthetic detail meant to set her apart as one of the central characters of Spy x Family. That said, besides making her infinitely cuter, Anya’s horns may hide a heartbreaking backstory as the latest chapter of Spy x Family teases Anya’s peculiar hairdo is closely linked to her biological parents, specifically her mother.

Chapter 111 of Spy x Family gives fans their first glimpse of Anya’s biological mother, who, interestingly enough, seems to sport the same space-bun hairstyle as Anya. That said, while Anya’s space buns are typically rounder and covered by her adorable horn accessories, her mother, whose face is mostly obscured, seems to sport pointer, horn-like space buns much like Anya’s horns, with the chapter implying that Anya likely stuck to the now iconic hairdo as her last memory and connection to her mother.

[Related: Spy x Family Creator Apologizes for Latest Release (But the Readers Don’t Mind)]

Spy x Family Reveals Anya’s Horns Were Inspired By Her Mother

Judging by Anya’s stubbier appearance and her much shorter hair and bangs, the flashback in Chapter 111 seems to take place much before Anya was turned into a test subject. It is likely that Anya’s mother initially did up Anya’s hair to match hers, with Anya eventually learning to do her hair herself as she appears to sport the space bun hairstyle in the flashback in Spy x Family Chapter 1 while she was still at the research facility.

The latest chapter does not provide any notable hints as to what happened to Anya’s biological mother with the flashback itself revealed to be one of Anya’s dreams by the end. That said, both Anya and her mother appear to be wearing hospital gowns as evidenced by the series of ties in the back.

This implies that Anya and her mother both may have been test subjects in what is commonly assumed to be Project Apple or a similar experiment by the same organization. The flashback does see Anya’s mother wistfully claim it would be nice to be able to fly away like a butterfly, which usually represents a yearning for freedom, and this could hint at them being held captive in an experiment. On the other hand, it is also possible that Anya and her mother were simply sick, with her mother possibly being terminally ill and eventually passing away. While readers do not know for sure whether Anya’s mother is dead, her tears when asked about her biological mother during the admission interview at Eden might be proof enough.

It is heartbreaking to think that Anya’s quirky hairdo, which often gets made fun of by her peers, may be the last remaining connection she has to her mother, whose face is also quickly fading from her memory. Fans never see Loid or Yor do Anya’s hair for her, and the fact that she had the same hairdo as a test subject and when Loid met her at the orphanage points to Anya having learned to do it herself at a very young age. It is quite impressive that Tatsuya Endo was able to take even this small supposed stylistic choice and tie it to Anya’s origins and backstory so beautifully. If the latest chapter is any indication, the upcoming chapters of Spy x Family will likely dive deeper into Anya’s backstory and might just be the most heartbreaking one in the series.

Spy x Family is available from Manga Plus and Viz Media.