How does Anya know the ancient language in ‘Spy x Family?’

Warning: the following article contains spoilers for Spy x Family season 2, episode 4.

Spy x Family‘s second season got off to a very slow start, but it wasn’t too long before new, intriguing details were added to the mix. As the story unravels, some mysteries come to the surface, and Anya is at the center of one of them.

As we know, the Forgers are a secretive bunch, each hiding their true identities under the pretense of being a regular family. For Anya, this means keeping her mind-reading ability under wraps, as well as remaining silent about her past. Granted, we know that before making her way to the orphanage where Loid found her, Anya was one of many test subjects for an organization’s scientific experiments, but other than that, we have nothing. Despite her bright personality, the child is perhaps the most mysterious character in Spy x Family, but slowly, hints about her past start mounting.

Spy x Family season 2 hints at Anya’s backstory

In season 2, episode 4 of the anime we got an eyebrow-raising detail that sparked just as much curiosity in us as it did in Loid, and we’re not about to let it slip by. Apparently, despite having a terrible track record for anything school-related, Anya has a good understanding of the ancient language.

As Loid quickly noticed while going over her test scores, Anya only got a bad grade on her ancient language test due to spelling mistakes, which is enough to spark interest. The child was taught very little about it at school, so how does she have such a good grasp on it? Clearly, this must be related to Anya’s past in some way.

How did Anya learn the ancient language?

At the time of writing, the mystery of how Anya learned the ancient language has not yet been uncovered in the Spy x Family manga, however, there are solid theories that could explain this. The most obvious conclusion is that Anya’s knowledge is a result of her time as a test subject, as there is a chance that someone at the organization that conducted the experiments spoke the ancient language. Because Anya is a child, it would’ve been easy for her to pick up a second language simply by being exposed to it.

Another fan theory claims that the people at the mysterious organization taught Anya the language as part of her training to become a spy. As we know, the child’s mind-reading ability was the result of experiments, so it’s not too far-fetched to consider that those experiments may have been part of a larger goal. And what type of person would be better suited to be a spy than a telepath? If this theory proves true, Anya’s fascination with spy stories and Loid’s vocation will turn out to be great bits of foreshadowing.

That said, all speculation should be taken with a grain of salt, as we’ll have to wait for Tatsuya Endo to confirm or deny these theories. Perhaps season 3 of Spy x Family will throw some more hints about Anya’s past our way, though. It couldn’t hurt.