Spy X Family chapter 78: Hint of danger from the past as Anya and Bond get into a friendly competition

Spy X Family chapter 78 was published in Shueisha’s online magazine on April 3, 2023.

The chapter is centered on the Handler, as it brings back a dreaded organization from the past. The tension is deceptively undermined by the lighthearted tone of the chapter, which showcases Anya and Bond having fun.

In the previous chapter, the manga showed a day in Loid’s life as a psychiatrist as he attempted to cure a teacher from Anya’s school. As a carry forward, Spy X Family chapter 78 focuses on Sylvia Sherwood as she goes through her day-to-day life as a Spy.

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Spy X Family chapter 78 shows the sad life of a Spy while bringing back Project Apple

Spy X Family chapter 78 begins with Sylvia getting ready for her day. As a cover, she works at the Westalis Embassy in Ostania, but her true workplace is the underground levels where the office of WISE is situated.

Sylvia is presented as a sloppy and somewhat untidy individual, both as her cover persona and as her true self. While she commands unflinching respect from her colleagues and subordinates as the Handler, she is known to be tardy and is often reprimanded by her assistants.

On this particular day, Sylvia, after showing up to work nearly late and with pasta stuck on her clothes, leaves during lunch break in order to meet Twilight for a status report. She uses a disguise and takes her dog Aaron, who was the dog used by Keith Kepler as a bomb-dog during the Doggy Crisis arc, out for a walk. Her apartment is as messy as her character suggests.

Sylvia has a flashback of her husband and child and remarks that while she used to keep a clean house before, it is hard to do so when one is so lonely.

She meets Loid, who has brought Anya and Bond along. Sylvia passes on the news that some operatives from Project Apple, the discontinued Ostanian project which likely created Bond, have resurfaced.

As they exchange information, Anya and Bond greet Aaron. They organize a friendly competition between Bond and Aaron, which comes to a draw. This manages to bring the two canines closer, and Sylvia once again becomes enamored by Anya. On their way home, she promises Aaron that she will clean up the apartment.

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Final thoughts

It has been heavily implied throughout the series that Sylvia had lost her family back when she was a field agent in her pursuit of the greater good. She has reminded Twilight several times that Peace requires sacrifice, implicitly stating that she has made such sacrifices herself. Spy X Family chapter 78 simply reinforces that understanding, and clarifies that not only a daughter, but Sylvia must have also lost her husband.

Similarly, Sylvia is known to have a soft spot for Anya, who reminds her of her own daughter. She likely took Aaron in after seeing Anya’s devotion to Bond. Spy X Family chapter 78 paints the lonely and work-oriented life of a spy who has devoted all of her life to a greater cause and kept nothing for herself.

Just as the previous chapter showed the juxtaposition between the teacher’s real marriage and Loid’s Fake marriage, this chapter highlights how Loid’s pretend family life is a stark contrast to his mentor’s real one, and he can soon be expected to face the difficult choice between family and duty.

In that vein, Spy X Family chapter 78 brings back Project Apple, which is known to be Bond’s originator. It has also been insinuated that the same project experimented on Anya as well, given that her code name was “Test Subject 007” and Bond’s was “Test Subject 008.”

The resurfacing of the organization may finally make Loid and Yor aware of Anya’s true origin and compel them to fight for their daughter more than they already have.