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Yor Forger (Japanese: ヨル・フォージャー, Hepburn: Yoru Fōjā), née Briar (ブライア, Buraia) and nicknamed Thorn Princess (いばら姫, Ibara Hime), is a character from Tatsuya Endo‘s manga Spy × Family. Yor is in fact a professional assassin who also works for the city hall ever as a result of being only person raising her brother Yuri in his childhood. Yor seeks a marriage with Loid Forger a marriage of cover, because single adult women draw suspicion and attention in the paranoid Ostania. Neither Loid nor Yor are aware of each other’s true identities, nor that their adoptive child Anya‘s powers allow her to know their true professions.

Yor was one of the last characters Endo created for the series as a result of needing a balance figure to balance Yor and Anya. While Endo seeks to balance the comedy sides the three protagonists have with their fake identities, he found it challenging writing her brutal profession as a result of the young demography. The character is voiced by Saori Hayami in Japanese, and Natalie Van Sistine in English.

Critical response to Yor’s character has been positive for her dynamic with the family though some critics were concerned by her lack of screentime and portrayal as a housewife. Nevertheless, Yor’s popularity led to a crossover with the fighting game Street Fighter 6.

Creation

Manga author Tatsuya Endo originally did not plan to use Yor in the series as he only came up with the idea of Loid Forger and his adoptive daughter Anya. He eventually decided to come up with the idea of Yor as a mother figure. The core of the cast was three people hiding their true identities from one another. This trait was in particular inspired by the anime series Code Geass as its main cast also have a tendency to hide their true personas. Yor’s personality was conceived so that he would mention violent commentaries on a polite fashion. Despite being an assassin, Endo researched clothing to make her beautiful. Due problems with his previous work Gekka Bijin, Endo wanted to try simpler costumes on Yor. In early sketches, Yor’s design was not found beautiful so he revised it.[1]

Yor was originally but for the second chapter Endo already changed her profession as worker for the city hall. Her true profession of being a hired killer brought Endo difficulties due to the graphic content that would result. While Yor’s brother Yuri did not appear in the first two chapters, he has a phone call in the second call to help his sister get married. However, due to Endo’s assistant’s desire the handling of Yuri changed. Like Loid, Yor is often drawn in a darker fashion to show the character’s true persona.[2] He conceived the series as a on theme of a “fake family”, and try a different type of spy that work fiction that tends employ. He had no experience with spy families so he decided that the manga should focus instead on Loid’s families and the lies each have.[3]

Casting

Saori Hayami voices Yor in Japanese

The character is voiced by Saori Hayami in Japanese. Hayami said she was invested in doing the role but often gets her emotion swayed. When reading the script of the series, Hayami was immersed into the story as it had a proper balance of drama and comedy. This was mostly due to the large amount of characters the series has to the point she found it difficult to stop reading the manga. As a result found genius the character of Yor and saw her in a completely different light.[4] She was indeed offered an audition. She found the character of Yor very cute, and that is when she hoped to be chosen for the role. She believes Yor is a character worth playing because she requires a certain amount of work, mainly in balancing Yor’s two sides.[5]

In the English dub of the series, Yor is voiced by Natalie Van Sistine in English. Before working in the series, Sistine got roles for Crunchyroll series but always small shows. When offered the position of Yor, Sisitine decided to read the manga’s first volume and got mentally attached to the role during the audition. Upon applying for the role, the director behind the English dub was surprised by the quality of her work and hired her. Sistine said that Yor felt like an actress like she immerses as a civilian who also is anxiety-ridden. She was amazed by her assassin persona which she related to due to her change of personality.[6] Yor is also played by Fuka Yuduki, Mirei Sasaki, Sora Kazuki and Maaya Kiho.

Role in Spy × Family

A 27-year-old professional assassin nicknamed “Thorn Princess”, who has a day job as an employee at Berlint City Hall. She agrees to a fake marriage without knowing Loid’s true background, as unmarried young women are suspected of being spies.[ch. 2] She believes Loid’s lie that Anya is Loid’s biological daughter from a previous marriage and accepts the roles of Anya’s step mother.[ch. 2–3] In her everyday life, Yor is soft, caring, formally spoken and considerate to others but sometimes hindered by her airhead and absent-minded natures.[ch. 3, 24, 46, 65, 79] Because of this, as well as her lack of communication and social skills, she has difficulties adjusting to the norm and thus is a frequent target of her coworker’s bullying.[ch. 2, 14, 29, 79] Despite all that, she always strives to be a good wife and mother for the Forgers, later developing romantic feelings for Loid.[ch. 9, 14, 35, 65, 87] Yor lost her parents early. She raised her younger brother Yuri by herself, and became an assassin for the assassin group Garden at a young age to earn a living for the both of them.[ch. 2, 12, 44, Short 6, 53] Neither she nor her brother are aware of each other’s true jobs.[ch. 11–14]

Recently, she met Melinda Desmond, Loid’s target’s wife, and was invited to join her circle of friends, “The Lady Patriot Society”.[ch. 65–66] Yor is extremely powerful and tough, as being she can kick away a speeding car, dice a tennis ball with a racket, survive bullet wounds, and withstand lethal poisons.[ch. Extra 2, 22, 34, 65] She is an expert in using knives and similar sharp weapons, as well as bare hand close-quarter combat. Her weapons of choice are needle-like stilettos; they are long, have no guard, and have a ring pommel, resembling a kunai.[ch. 2, 4, 51–54][7] Yor is not good with basic household chores, particularly cooking; her homemade meals are bad to the point of being poisonous.[ch. 5, 14, 24, 40] Despite being seemingly immune to poison and her own cooking, she gets drunk easily with a small amount of alcohol.[ch. 6, 13, 35]

Reception

Antonio Mireles of The Fandom Post described the family setup in Spy × Family of Loid as the straight man, Yor the “dumb character” and Anya the adorable child “that readers fall in love with”, as the perfect recipe for a comedy. However, he felt the humor that comes from Yor being the dumb character was underutilized.[8] Den of Geek finds the Forgers’ secrets as another reason for the series’ popularity while also highlighting how despite Loid being a competent spy, his mission of becoming a good father is also hilarious.[9] Morgana Santilli of The Beat enjoyed the chemistry between the arranged family as he notes Anya makes the trio stand out.[10] In “I failed at cooking again: Representation of womanhood and motherhood in the action-comedy anime SPYxFAMILY”, Yor’s role as a housewife was noted to be comical in the sense that her desire to be a good chef backfires and instead produces meals that negatively affect Loid and Anya when consuming it; while Yor’s role alligns with societal norms, she is given multiple flaws during the narrative.[11] In “Forging a Family: Subverting the Heteronormative Family Structure and Navigating Identities in the Anime Spy X Family”, S. Mukhererjee claims family Loid creates “subverts the heteronormative family structure that is based on blood kinship and creates space for alternative family dynamic”. The family creates several dynamics when the cast interact with other characters, resulting in appealing situations.[12]

Though Yor’s and Loid’s marriage is arranged for their convenience, ComicBook.com noted a major change in the narrative in 2025 when Yor realizes she has developed romantic feelings for her husband, making a major step forward to how the series was handling the cast since 2019 in the debut chapter, contrasting her new love with her dark profession she keeps secret.[13] The evolution of this relationship was also praised by Screen Rant for providing multiple types of relationship in the manga across the years besides the family act something the writers noted the fans support.[14][15] At the 7th Crunchyroll Anime Awards, Yor was nominated for “Best Supporting Character“. Natalie Van Sistine was nominated in the “Best Voice Artist Performance (English)” category for her performance as Yor.[16] At the 10th edition, Ghada Omar has been nominated in “Best Voice Artist Performance (Arabic)” for her character’s portrayal.[17]

On July 2, 2023, it was announced that the movie was going to have a collaboration project with Street Fighter 6. An illustration drawn by Capcom‘s illustrator and designer Chisato Mita was revealed along with the announcement.[18][19] On December 4, 2023, Capcom social media released the animated short video of Yor Forger and Street Fighter 6's character Chun-Li dueling on Suval’hal Arena stage. The animation was made by Wit Studio, with Shunsuke Aoki doing key animation and Kyōji Asano working on storyboard and character design.[20][21][22][23][24] On January 9, 2024, Capcom revealed and released the in-game collab items, which are avatar costumes based on Yor’s Thorn Princess outfit.[25]

References

Spy × Family manga

Entire series

Individual volumes

  • Vol. 1 (ch. 1–5): SPY×FAMILY 1 (in Japanese). July 4, 2019. ISBN 978-4-08-882011-8. and SPY×FAMILY 1 (in English). June 2, 2020. ISBN 978-1-9747-1546-6.
  • Vol. 2 (ch. 6–Extra 1): SPY×FAMILY 2 (in Japanese). October 4, 2019. ISBN 978-4-08-882120-7. and SPY×FAMILY 2 (in English). September 1, 2020. ISBN 978-1-9747-1724-8.
  • Vol. 3 (ch. 12–Extra 2): SPY×FAMILY 3 (in Japanese). January 4, 2020. ISBN 978-4-08-882183-2. and SPY×FAMILY 3 (in English). December 1, 2020. ISBN 978-1-9747-1816-0.
  • Vol. 4 (ch. 18–Short 2): SPY×FAMILY 4 (in Japanese). May 13, 2020. ISBN 978-4-08-882229-7. and SPY×FAMILY 4 (in English). March 2, 2021. ISBN 978-1-9747-2103-0.
  • Vol. 5 (ch. 24–Short 3): SPY×FAMILY 5 (in Japanese). September 4, 2020. ISBN 978-4-08-882463-5. and SPY×FAMILY 5 (in English). June 1, 2021. ISBN 978-1-9747-2294-5.
  • Vol. 6 (ch. 31–Short 4): SPY×FAMILY 6 (in Japanese). December 28, 2020. ISBN 978-4-08-882545-8. and SPY×FAMILY 6 (in English). October 5, 2021. ISBN 978-1-9747-2513-7.
  • Vol. 7 (ch. 38–Short 5): SPY×FAMILY 7 (in Japanese). June 4, 2021. ISBN 978-4-08-882669-1. and SPY×FAMILY 7 (in English). April 5, 2022. ISBN 978-1-9747-2848-0.
  • Vol. 8 (ch. 45–Short 6): SPY×FAMILY 8 (in Japanese). November 4, 2021. ISBN 978-4-08-882843-5. and SPY×FAMILY 8 (in English). September 20, 2022. ISBN 978-1-9747-3427-6.
  • Vol. 9 (ch. 54–61): SPY×FAMILY 9 (in Japanese). April 4, 2022. ISBN 978-4-08-883076-6. and SPY×FAMILY 9 (in English). March 21, 2023. ISBN 978-1-9747-3628-7.
  • Vol. 10 (ch. 62–Short 8): SPY×FAMILY 10 (in Japanese). October 4, 2022. ISBN 978-4-08-883127-5. and SPY×FAMILY 10 (in English). October 17, 2023. ISBN 978-1-9747-4067-3.
  • Vol. 11 (ch. 67–75): SPY×FAMILY 11 (in Japanese). April 4, 2023. ISBN 978-4-08-883313-2. and SPY×FAMILY 11 (in English). March 19, 2024. ISBN 978-1-9747-4329-2.
  • Vol. 12 (ch. 76–Short 10): SPY×FAMILY 12 (in Japanese). October 4, 2023. ISBN 978-4-08-883675-1. and SPY×FAMILY 12 (in English). August 6, 2024. ISBN 978-1-9747-4705-4.
  • Vol. 13 (ch. 85–Short 11): SPY×FAMILY 13 (in Japanese). March 4, 2024. ISBN 978-4-08-883839-7. and SPY×FAMILY 13 (in English). January 14, 2025. ISBN 978-1-9747-5198-3.
  • Vol. 14 (ch. 93–Short 13): SPY×FAMILY 14 (in Japanese). September 4, 2024. ISBN 978-4-08-884154-0. and SPY×FAMILY 14 (in English). August 5, 2025. ISBN 978-1-9747-5600-1.
  • Vol. 15 (ch. 100–Short 14): SPY×FAMILY 15 (in Japanese). March 4, 2025. ISBN 978-4-08-884337-7. and SPY×FAMILY 15 (in English). December 2, 2025. ISBN 978-1-9747-5917-0.
  • Vol. 16 (ch. 109–Short 16): SPY×FAMILY 16 (in Japanese). October 3, 2025. ISBN 978-4-08-884527-2.
  • Ch. 119–Research Mission: Chapters not collected in tankōbon/volume in Japanese on Shōnen Jump+ platforms and in English on Manga Plus and Viz platforms

Other sources

  1. ^ “SPY x FAMILY Tatsuya Endo”. Kikan S. No. 69. April 2020. pp. 50–53, 56–57.
  2. ^ SPY x FAMILY Official Fanbook: EYES ONLY Tatsuya Endo: Extended Interview
  3. ^ “Tatsuya Endo’s Lack of Interest in Spy Stories Turned Gave ‘Spy x Family’ a Surprising Advantage”. Fandom Wire. Retrieved April 1, 2026.
  4. ^ ““I occasionally get in trouble”: Saori Hayami on Her Problematic Methods of Voice Acting that Made Her Love Spy x Family”. Fandom Wire. Retrieved April 2, 2026.
  5. ^ “Interview de Saori Hayami, voix de Yor Forger dans SPY x FAMILY”. Manga News. Retrieved April 2, 2026.
  6. ^ “INTERVIEW: Yor Forger VA Natalie Van Sistine Talks SPY x FAMILY and How Anime Engineering Works”. Otaku USA. Retrieved April 2, 2026.
  7. ^ Endo, Tasuya (2 May 2022). SPY×FAMILY Kōshiki Fan Bukku EYES ONLY SPY×FAMILY 公式ファンブック EYES ONLY [SPY x FAMILY Official Fanbook: EYES ONLY] (in Japanese). Tokyo, Japan: Shueisha. p. 43. ISBN 978-4-08-883118-3.
  8. ^ Mireles, Antonio (August 23, 2019). “Spy X Family Chapters #01 – 11 Manga Review”. The Fandom Post. Archived from the original on February 6, 2020. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  9. ^ “Why You Should Watch Spy x Family”. Den of Geek. Archived from the original on May 5, 2022. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  10. ^ Santilli, Morgana (June 1, 2020). “REVIEW: SPY X FAMILY blends espionage and family comedy together in a perfect marriage”. The Beat. Archived from the original on November 12, 2021. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  11. ^ Tan, Z. Y. S. (2025). “I Failed at Cooking Again: Representation of Womanhood and Motherhood in the Action-comedy Anime SPYxFAMILY”. Sociolinguistics Symposium.
  12. ^ Mukherjee, S. (2025). “Forging a Family: Subverting the Heteronormative Family Structure and Navigating Identities in the Anime Spy X Family”. Creative Saplings, 4(9). pp. 29–36. doi:10.56062/gtrs.2025.4.09.1020.
  13. ^ “Spy x Family Finally Shares a Massive Love Confession 7 Years in the Making”. ComicBook.com. Retrieved March 31, 2026.
  14. ^ “Dark Anime Series Are Blowing Up, And That’s Why Spy x Family Is My Favorite Show”. Screen Rant. Retrieved March 31, 2026.
  15. ^ “Spy x Family Already Gave The Fans (And Anya) What They Want”. Screen Rant. Retrieved March 31, 2026.
  16. ^ Eisenbeis, Richard (4 March 2023). “All the Winners of the 7th Annual Crunchyroll Anime Awards”. Anime News Network. Archived from the original on March 4, 2023. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  17. ^ Mateo, Alex (2 April 2026). “Crunchyroll Anime Awards Reveals 2026 Nominees”. Anime News Network. Archived from the original on April 2, 2026. Retrieved 2 April 2026.
  18. ^ Spy × Family Anime [@spyfamily_anime] (2 July 2023). “Sutorīto Faitā 6 Supesharu Korabo Kettei” ストリートファイター6 スペシャルコラボ決定 [Street Fighter 6 Special Collaboration Announced] (Tweet) (in Japanese). Tokyo, Japan. Retrieved 15 July 2023 – via Twitter.
  19. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (2 July 2023). “Spy x Family Gets Collaboration Project with Street Fighter 6 Game”. Anime News Network. Archived from the original on July 15, 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  20. ^ Street Fighter Japan [@StreetFighterJA] (4 December 2023). “Gēmu-nai Korabo Tenkai ni Sakidachi, Yoru-san to Chun-rī ga Tatakau Shīn o Kaita Supesharu Korabo Anime ga Honjitsu Kōkai!” ゲーム内コラボ展開に先立ち ヨルさんと春麗が戦うシーンを描いたスペシャルコラボアニメが本日公開！ [Prior to the in-game collaboration, we released a special collaboration animation featuring Yor-san and Chun-Li’s battle today!] (Tweet) (in Japanese). Tokyo, Japan. Retrieved 7 December 2023 – via X (formerly Twitter).
  21. ^ Street Fighter Official Channel, Capcom (4 December 2023). Street Fighter 6 – Spy×Family Code: White Special Collaboration Anime. YouTube (promotion video). Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  22. ^ Kyōji Asano [@asanovic7] (4 December 2023). “Yume no Yōna Korabo!” 夢の様なコラボ！ [A dreamlike collaboration!] (Tweet) (in Japanese). Retrieved 7 December 2023 – via X (formerly Twitter).
  23. ^ Kazuki Yamanaka [@tasuk_gory] (4 December 2023). “Kōkai sa Remashita!!” 公開されました！！ [It’s released to the public now!!] (Tweet) (in Japanese). Retrieved 7 December 2023 – via X (formerly Twitter).
  24. ^ Shunsuke Aoki [@miketukami3] (4 December 2023). “Sentō Shīn no Genga Egaka Sete Itadakimashita” 戦闘シーンの原画描かせて頂きました [I drew the key animation for the battle scenes] (Tweet) (in Japanese). Retrieved 7 December 2023 – via X (formerly Twitter).
  25. ^ Cayanan, Joanna (9 January 2024). “1st Great Game Collab of 2024 Has Started with Street Fighter 6 & Spy x Family Code: White”. Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 9, 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2024.