The fall 2022 anime season is gearing up to be one of the best in recent memory. The season features new adventures like Blue Lock, returning classics like My Hero Academia, and the second season of Spy x Family.
Many fans are especially excited for Spy x Family, which features Loid Forger, a double agent working for the nation of Westalis as he spies on Ostania’s political leader Donovan Desmond. There are plenty of other double agents in anime just like Loid. Some work for the good guys, some for the bad, and some for anywhere in between.
Mukuro Ikusaba
Mukuro Ikusaba never got the chance to become one of the most beloved Danganronpa characters. Sadly, the majority of the cast didn’t even have the chance to meet the actual Mukuro in the first place.
Most people knew Mukuro Ikusaba as Enoshima Junko, the Ultimate Fashionista. Instead, Mukuro was helping the real Junko spy on the students of Hope’s Peak to create their killing game. Oddly, the double agent was double-crossed by her sister and partner in crime. Before Mukuro could do much of anything, the real Junko killed her.
Aizen
Aizen Sosuke is one of the most beloved villains in Bleach and one of the most well-known twist villains in anime. While Aizen was working with Tousen and Gin all along, he had convinced the rest of Soul Society that he was killed.
The Bleach antagonist was ultimately working for himself, unlike many other double agents. After his betrayal, Aizen’s true brilliance shone, as he was able to usurp Hueco Mundo and make his own kingdom there. Still, Aizen arguably wouldn’t have been a very good double agent if it weren’t for the illusionary powers of his Zanpakuto, as numerous people already were suspicious of him and hated him.
Loid Forger
It isn’t often that an anime protagonist is a double agent, but it all makes sense in a spy anime. Loid Forger from Spy X Family, code name Twilight, is a spy from Westalis meant to scrutinize the nation of Ostania.
What makes Loid’s character so interesting is the relationship he forges with Ostanian assassin Yor. As Loid and Yor’s relationship has grown, it seems hard to believe that either would target their partner. However, Loid’s work as a spy makes the dynamic of his marriage with Yor and his antagonistic relationship with his secret policeman brother-in-law a constant source of anxious feelings for the audience.
Kabuto
Kabuto was one of the earliest allies introduced in Naruto. He was initially revealed as a Genin who had failed the Chunin Exams multiple times. However, in reality, he was a double agent for Orochimaru who had the potential to become one of Naruto’s best side characters.
Eventually, after Kabuto had already betrayed the Hidden Leaf, he became a powerful antagonist. Kabuto’s strength was always in his intelligence, which made him the ideal double agent character. His betrayal would have been made even more meaningful if he had more time to be close to Naruto and the gang, but it was still a fun twist.
Annie
Annie Leonhart was the antagonist of season 1 of Attack on Titan and one of the original cadet gang that the audience followed. Tragically, she turned out to be the powerful Female Titan.
Part of what made Annie’s betrayal so interesting was the mystery that surrounded her even after her capture. What followed Annie’s defeat revealed her true status as a proper double agent rather than an ordinary traitor: her allegiance to Marley. As a Warrior Candidate, Annie’s mission was to invade paradise and take the founding titan.
Reiner
Reiner was originally one of Eren’s best friends and, other than Mikasa, was among the most skilled of the cadets. However, Reiner and his friend Bertholdt turned out to be Warrior Candidates like their old friend Annie.
Reiner’s identity as the Armored Titan was an even more shocking plot twist than Annie’s identity as the Female Titan. However, the consequences of his actions were what truly drove Reiner’s double agent arc. Even after returning to Marley, Reiner lived in anguish over the atrocities he’d committed in Paradise as a Warrior Candidate.
Hawks
Similar to spy characters like Loid Forger, Hawks was never a twist villain or a traitor. However, My Hero Academia took a little under half an episode to trick the audience into believing he had gone rogue.
Instead, Hawks was a spy against the League of Villains while pretending to be a spy for them against the hero. “Triple agent” characters like Hawks are a fun twist to take the audience on a ride. The arc made an already beloved hero an even better audience favorite and helped establish Hawks as a huge player in the show moving forward.
Itachi
Itachi Uchiha was one of the most beloved Naruto characters in the entire franchise, and for good reason. After massacring his entire clan and drawing the hatred of his village and brother, it was later revealed that Itachi was following the Hokage’s orders.
Following orders alone wouldn’t have made Itachi a sympathetic villain. However, it was the deal he made that truly made Itachi one of the greatest double agents of all time. If he ended the lives of every other Uchiha, he was permitted to keep his younger brother Sasuke alive. Unfortunately, Itachi’s secret nearly led to the demise of the village he once called home.
Gin
While Aizen seemed nearly unbeatable with his immense power, army of hollows, and the nearly omnipotent Hogyoku, his right-hand man Ichimaru Gin was the only person to get the better of Aizen.
Gin’s final betrayal showed that he was a triple agent who betrayed Soul Society just so that he could get to Aizen. With Gin’s Bankai, he nearly became one of the first non-protagonists in anime to successfully save the day. Sadly, even Gin’s perfect plan was unable to defeat the ridiculous powers of the Hogyoku, putting an end to one of the best double agent arcs ever.
Avilio
The protagonist of 91 Days proves why the mafia show is among the best in the genre. By teaming up with his friend and moonshine maker Corteo, Avilio infiltrates the prohibition-era mafia family that killed his parents.
What makes Avilio’s time under the Vanetti family so tragic isn’t just what the Vanetti family did to his own family; it’s the brotherhood that forms between Avilio and Nero Vanetti. Eventually, Nero begins to consider Avilio his best friend. Making the main character a double agent is tricky, but making their betrayal of the antagonist heartbreaking is what makes 91 Days special.