Ephney Tsai Photo Credit: 81 Produce
2023 is gearing up to be a big year for SPY x FAMILY as Season 2 is slated to air in October and special movie Code: WHITE to premier in December. Ahead of these releases, Takuya Eguchi, voice actor for Loid Forger, made his way to Los Angeles this weekend for his first appearance at Anime Expo. Spending his time answering questions about himself, his character, and his onscreen family members, Yor and Anya, Eguchi entertained attendees at Crunchyroll’s SPY x FAMILY panel with humor and wit… an alcohol.
Relating to the quiet nature of his character, the voice actor shared that most of the show’s cast is just as reserved and calm, which resulted in nice and relaxing silence during recording sessions. He also found Loid’s struggles with understanding children relatable, believing his confused and overwhelmed nature makes him all the more human. These two traits are just about the only things that are similar between Eguchi and his character, with Eguchi being much more of jokester. Preparing a live reading for fans at the panel, Eguchi read lines from two scenes from the first episode of Season 1, getting into character within seconds. From his giggling self to the cool, calm, and collected Loid, he then suddenly switched back to being himself, laughing straight into the microphone with an enunciated “hehehe.”
On other members of the Forger family, Eguchi shared that, to him, Anya’s power is the strongest, although she is absolutely terrifying. If given the choice, he would without a doubt choose to have her telepathic powers over his own character’s spy abilities. “Though there may be some difficulties, I think it would make my life more enjoyable.” Aside from her telepathy, Anya is also very clearly the true boss of their family. “She’s the scariest character because you can forgive anything she does,” he started. “Yes, Yor is scary, but for Anya, don’t you think your best suit would just be ruined? That’s so scary. You want to be mad at her, but you just can’t!”
Aside from Anya, Eguchi also sincerely fears one more aspect of the Forger family — Yor’s culinary skills. If faced between a deadly and dangerous spy mission or a serving of his pretend wife’s cooking, he would choose the former, believing his chances of survival there would be higher. Putting aside his funny anecdotes on why he fears his pretend wife and daughter, the other main cast members left to discuss were his future-seeing dog, Bond, and loud and loyal best friend, Frankie. Surprisingly, Eguchi said that of the Forger family, he’d wish to be Bond. “I want to be that type of emotional healer.” Although Bond cowers away from physically protecting little Anya, he’s always there by her side, even if it means he’s standing slightly behind her. For Frankie, Eguchi wishes he had a real-life version of him to lean on. “In my personal life, I really like to drink, so to have a friend that I could call to ask to go to the bar if I’m feeling down or depressed like that… I want it.”
With that answer, Eguchi then kicked off a various rapid-fire alcohol-related responses. A spy code name for himself? Alcohol Sake. What he’s done so far in Los Angeles? Drink. What would he earn a Stella Star for if he was a student at Eden College? Crafting a new beer. What would he receive a Tonitrus Bolt for? Being hungover every day. What’s his favorite way to eat peanuts? Paired with whiskey. His light-hearted responses earned laughter and cheers from the crowd.
Eguchi wrapped up his time with some sincere words of gratitude, before the short and sweet panel came to an end. “I’m so very happy you all gathered here today, LA is the best! I’ve seen so much SPY x FAMILY cosplay here, and it makes me so happy, walking around the halls seeing Anya here and Anya there. You guys are amazing, and your energy is really inspiring for me. I’m going to take this energy, bring it back to Japan, and work even harder on the show. Thank you.”
