Summary
With a much better showing this time around, Buddy Daddies finds a way to balance the heart and emotion that makes the premise intriguing while still keeping aspects of the episode lighthearted and fun.
We recap the Crunchyroll anime series Buddy Daddies Season 1 Episode 3, “Spice of Life,” which contains spoilers.
Although the first episode came out strong, episode two of Buddy Daddies felt like many of the same jokes and action with a new paint job. While the second installment seemed to find its footing better toward the end, it won’t matter if this episode doesn’t capitalize on that momentum. Kazuki (voiced by Toshiyuki Toyonaga) and Rei (voiced by Koki Uchiyama) seeking out Miri’s mother could throw a wrench into their plans, especially if she does not take her daughter back. Here’s hoping that episode three doesn’t struggle with the same pitfalls as its predecessor as we meet Miri’s mother for the first time.
Buddy Daddies Season 1 Episode 3 Recap
The episode opens with Rei being woken up from what appears to be a bad dream and flashback to eat breakfast. Over a bowl of cereal, Kazuki informs him that he’s going to see Kyutaro about Miri’s mother. Rei asks if he’ll really be able to give Miri up after seeing how close they are, but Kazuki says he can’t take care of a kid because of the type of lives they live.
Kyutaro isn’t pleased to see Kazuki but still gives him the information. He hints at knowing about Miri, although he doesn’t say so directly.
While at the park, Kazuki and Rei reminisce about their old childhoods while discussing Miri. Kazuki never met his parents, leading him down this path, but Rei just seems to have a bad relationship with him. Afraid someone will overhear them, Kazuki tells Miri not to call him Papa in public. As he watches Rei buy Miri a snack, Kazuki laments that maybe he was never truly cut out for fatherhood. His earlier instructions to Miri come back to bite him, though, when a local officer approaches Miri on the swing, asking who she’s with, and she refuses to call him Papa. On their way home, he explains in some situations, the word is okay and that, for now, she should use the same for Rei too.
Not wanting to sleep alone, Miri searches for Rei only to find him asleep in the tub. He says he sleeps there in case of ambush, and Miri insists on joining him so that she won’t be scared alone. She tries forcing Rei to smile, but he says he wasn’t brought up that way until she finally falls asleep in the tub.
The next day, Kazuki and Rei drive Miri back to her mother. Again, Rei asks if he’s sure, and Kazuki assures him this is the right thing to do. Still, when they get to the correct city, Kazuki goes ahead to check out the mother’s place of work first, leaving Rei and Miri alone in the car. He finds her practicing inside a club, and as he goes to ask about Miri, they’re both attacked by her boyfriend/ bar manager. Kazuki easily gets the upper hand, causing the man to run out of the bar. This upsets Miri’s mother, but she offers to treat the cut on Kazuki’s face anyway.
Miri forces Rei to take her to a nearby park, forcing him to play with her. He asks her why she insists on referring to Kazuki as Papa and not her real father, but she replies that a “Papa” is “the person who saves you when you’re in trouble!” This causes Rei to think back to his own father, who used to ruthlessly train him for his future with questionable tactics and preferred to be called “Boss”. As he comes to, Rei realizes he has lost sight of Miri.
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Back at the bar, Kazuki mentions Miri, causing Miri’s mother to think he came here on her birth father’s behalf. When he says he took Miri in, her mother tells him it does not matter as she and her daughter are no longer anything to one another. As Kazuki grows upset, Miri’s mother reveals that she was taken advantage of when she conceived Miri, and the child was never wanted. She admits how much she could not stand her daughter’s pleasant nature, causing Rei to scold her more, but she only laughs at him for not understanding. She says she was never interested in having a family, no matter how much he tries to convince her that sacrificing yourself is one of the joys of parenthood. “It’s always the ones with the loftiest ideals, who bring the greatest misfortune to their families,” she warns him, prompting a flashback in Kazuki’s mind to a terrible explosion. As she grows more frustrated, Kazuki leaves after dropping his business card on the table.
Ending Explained
Rei searches for Miri, finally spotting her speaking with a couple of police officers who think she’s lost. He hides behind a tree, about to let them take her in when she calls out to be saved by her Papa. He turns around then, goes to the police, and introduces himself as such, which surprises and delights Miri as she runs into his arms.
On their way back to the car, they meet up with Kazuki. Miri runs into his arms, excited to tell him about spending the day playing with “Papa Rei”. Rei wonders what’s next, and Kazuki says they should grab dinner on the way home, confirming it will be a dinner for three. The episode ends with them eating dinner before Miri forces them all to sleep in the same bed together.
This episode made up for what a lot of episode 2 lacked. Instead of relying on forced jokes, the humor in this episode progressed more naturally around the actual plot. It was nice to see this episode progress the storyline and not turn into a mission-of-the-week type series. The more we learn about Kazuki and Rei, the more invested I feel, wanting to learn more about how they came to be assassins and how that will play into the series in the future.
The three main characters and their relationship are the best part of the series so far. The premise and action are fun to watch, but their jobs are not appropriate for children. Once they figure out how to deal with Miri during missions, I feel like that will help balance out the two totally different tones of the show. There’s no way she can realistically go with them everywhere on every mission, but seeing them interact together as a family still feels vital to the story. I think this episode did a better job overall, using the strong emotions to its advantage while still finding a way to keep parts lighthearted. If the series continues like this, it should only get better in the future.
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