Okay, so I have a confession to make. When I was a wee 13-year-old, I was starting to move on from the Beyblade and Digimon realm of action-packed fun to the world of Shojou fantasy. I was a growing girl, and soft gothic romance was my new thing. So, it was no surprise I fell head over heels for Vampire Knight. And then it happened. The main couple? They turned out to be related. So, when the same thing almost happened in Spy X Family for Yuri x Yor? Consider me scared.

Okay, so it’s sufficient to say that Yuri Briar has an unhealthy attachment to his sister, Yor Forger. I won’t say that he’s in love with her, but he certainly does have a Brother Complex that can come off as way more intense than it needs to be. And I get why like Yor is the only family he has left, and he’s gone through so much to give back to her for being the only light in his life. So, he thinks no one is good enough for someone so pure and lovable.

Which, well, he isn’t wrong. Yor is very, very easy to love. But the thing is, I’m so tired of these skeevy sibling relationships in anime. Like, we as a community need to have a real conversation about how there are anime out there that veer into the incest realm and it’s extremely icky. I do not like how the entire dynamic plays out, even if it’s exaggerated for comedy. Because in the end, it’s still nauseating to watch a blood relative being touted as a viable love interest.

But see, this is why I appreciate Spy X Family for not taking the same tired route. Over here, Yor is in an established relationship with someone else and Yuri is just jealous of not being the provider in her life anymore. So, let’s discuss the nuances of the relationships here in Lore Analysis – where we dive deep into the mythos of the most popular anime out right now and discuss what we can discern. Today, it’s (deadly) sibling love!

Yuri And Yor: Lying To Each Other Out Of Love!

Yuri and Yor have a pretty typical upbringing for being children of war. Their parents were out of the picture long before Yor and Yuri had a chance to grow up. So, it’s just been the two of them all this time.

And I can see how that would lead Yuri to be so utterly attached to Yor. When you have no one in your life but one person, and that one person sells her soul to provide for you, all with a smile on her face? I can see why Yuri loves her so much. She was the only one who cared for him and made sure he was going to school. Even if she couldn’t understand his high intelligence, she did her best to nurture and encourage him. She was his mom, dad, and everything in between.

So, when Yuri became part of the Secret Police, he took the job as an opportunity to provide back for her. Unaware that she hid skeletons in her closet, Yuri hid his true job from her and so the two are caught in this web where they lie to each other, thinking they are sparing the other from hurt.

It’s why Yor entered the fake marriage with Loid Forger in the first place. It’s why Yuri decided to put the two on the spot to see if Loid truly cared for her or was exploiting her. But hey, in a family this dysfunctional? That was bound to happen.

Why I’m Thankful The Mangaka Isn’t Pushing Yuri As A Love Interest:

Oftentimes, dynamics like Yuri and Yor are played up as a serious romantic route, and that’s creepy, to say the least. Borderline incestuous relationships in anime are sadly not as rare as you’d think.

Which is why I’m glad that isn’t what happened here. Some anime tries to brush off the ‘step sibling’ trope as comedic relief and it never works. Here, it’s clear that Yor never viewed Yuri as anything but her baby brother, and Yuri, in turn, doesn’t have any sexual inclinations towards her. It’s basically him being overzealous in his protective nature and that’s it.

Honestly, I was so relieved because Lord knows I can’t stomach another Kaname Kuran X Yuki Cross monstrosity.