This Week in Anime
Does Buddy Daddies Live Up To Its Zany Title?
by Monique Thomas & Steve Jones,
More than just a SPY x FAMILY lookalike. Nicky and Steve break down the appeal of this anime about the challenges of parenting while being a mobster.
This series is streaming on Crunchyroll
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News Network.
Spoiler Warning for discussion of the series ahead.
@Lossthief
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@BeeDubsProwl
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@NickyEnchilada
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@vestenet
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Steve
Nicky, it seems more and more anime these days are asking the toughest question of all—which is more difficult, making your living as a highly skilled professional assassin on the dark fringes of society, or raising one single child? And I think they're each coming to the correct conclusion:
Nicky, it seems more and more anime these days are asking the toughest question of all—which is more difficult, making your living as a highly skilled professional assassin on the dark fringes of society, or raising one single child? And I think they're each coming to the correct conclusion:
Nicky
Hell, as anyone who has ever had to handle a toddler for more than a few hours will know, there are very few challenges like being a parent. There's been several anime that deal with the struggle of parenthood or being around children, from the aptly named cooking-centric Sweetness and Lightning to last year's genre-pastiche action-comedy SPY x FAMILY. Some range from straightforward real-life dramas to fantastic and funny re-imaginings of everyday struggles. Our current spotlight, Buddy Daddies, blends a bit of both as two hitmen struggle with the balance of taking life and raising one. What could possibly go wrong?
Hell, as anyone who has ever had to handle a toddler for more than a few hours will know, there are very few challenges like being a parent. There's been several anime that deal with the struggle of parenthood or being around children, from the aptly named cooking-centric Sweetness and Lightning to last year's genre-pastiche action-comedy SPY x FAMILY. Some range from straightforward real-life dramas to fantastic and funny re-imaginings of everyday struggles. Our current spotlight, Buddy Daddies, blends a bit of both as two hitmen struggle with the balance of taking life and raising one. What could possibly go wrong?
They're doing just peachy.
So I know the joke/expectation going into the season was that Buddy Daddies was the result of P.A. Works looking at the explosive popularity of SPY x FAMILY and going "we can make that gayer." Outside the surface similarities, though, they are much different shows with different vibes. Like, the premiere especially deals with a ton of black humor as our two lead hitmen's blood-spattered livelihoods intersect with their domestic callings.
So I know the joke/expectation going into the season was that Buddy Daddies was the result of P.A. Works looking at the explosive popularity of SPY x FAMILY and going "we can make that gayer." Outside the surface similarities, though, they are much different shows with different vibes. Like, the premiere especially deals with a ton of black humor as our two lead hitmen's blood-spattered livelihoods intersect with their domestic callings.
Oh yeah, it's easy to see this original series as an imitator to one of last year's biggest shows, since they're attracting the same crowd. Though they have similar premises, there are a few key elements that separate them, which include their settings: Buddy Daddies takes place in modern-day vs SPY x FAMILY's take on the Cold War era. While I don't find the comparison to something simple and well-liked to be a bad thing, I'm more than happy when a show can stand on its own. Besides, P.A. Works always puts out a solid effort, and they stand in my good graces for their work on Ya Boy Kongming! and Akiba Maid War.
Oh hard agree. There's even some Akiba Maid War-caliber jokes in here.
The comedy and action in Buddy Daddies are pretty snappy. As an original series, we don't have to worry about the animation matching pre-existing panels or descriptors from other mediums, and I believe this is what gives Buddy Daddies's direction some freedom to be as quick-witted and fast-moving as it is. While it took me a bit to settle in, episodes are overall breezy to watch. Besides, it's more fun when I don't know what to expect! Having a family can be full of surprises.
Yeah it has a good grasp on the fundamentals, for sure. The cast complements each other well too. Kazuki is the "normal" hitman whose lifestyle tore him away from the possibility of a happy family. Rei has an unflappable veneer that belies his own messed-up upbringing as the scion of a mob family. And Miri makes good faces.
It really wouldn't be TWIA if we didn't show off some face-game, would it? Though I think Anya would still win in a face-off, there's no losing when it comes to seeing adorableness on-screen!
Plus it's just a good splash of realism. Look at any four-year-old. They're making weird faces all the dang time.
Speaking of realism, the only special powers Buddy Daddies' possess are being good at their jobs and not much else. Kazuki likes to cook and clean and Rei is skilled at video games, but a large portion of the show is really just dealing with everyday struggles. It took me a bit to grow on Miri in particular since at first the child mostly felt like either an obstacle or a cute object, but I appreciate that nothing about having a kid thrust into their care (after they totally assassinated her biological father) is ideal
I don't want to steal any valor, because pretty much all of my knowledge here comes secondhand from friends and family, but Buddy Daddies really seems to understand that having a kid is expensive, unpredictable, and utterly draining. There are parts where Kazuki and Rei look completely dead inside, and it has nothing to do with their day jobs.
Or that moment when they think that daycare has solved all their problems, except that it turns out, when you put a bunch of kids together for several hours each day, they brew a veritable microbial soup.
Or that moment when they think that daycare has solved all their problems, except that it turns out, when you put a bunch of kids together for several hours each day, they brew a veritable microbial soup.
It's exaggerated for our entertainment, but a large portion of the conflict really is just two young men struggling with how tiring and tedious parenting can be. There are a lot of hitches and nuances that normally wouldn't have a place in a story because those are boring things mostly dealt with by housewives and not men with jobs. I really liked the daycare stuff since it also emphasizes how much of it is systematic and bureaucratic. They have to do research, forge papers, interviews, and much more just so they can have some peace of mind to actually make money and not have their four-year-old walking through a line of gunfire.
They were papas!
The fish-out-of-water stuff is great. These dudes know their way around life-or-death espionage mission, but they're utterly flummoxed when it comes to pre-interviews with a daycare worker.
I really didn't expect the show to veer into such a wholesome direction either, but I think it manages to make Kazuki and Rei's bond with Miri believable. A lot of that stems from their own familial experiences, and more specifically, them wanting her to have a better, more normal childhood than either of them got.
The fish-out-of-water stuff is great. These dudes know their way around life-or-death espionage mission, but they're utterly flummoxed when it comes to pre-interviews with a daycare worker.
I really didn't expect the show to veer into such a wholesome direction either, but I think it manages to make Kazuki and Rei's bond with Miri believable. A lot of that stems from their own familial experiences, and more specifically, them wanting her to have a better, more normal childhood than either of them got.
Those experiences also open the door for quite a bit of drama too! Rei's from a mob family and Kazuki is still struggling with grief and loss. Even Miri's story isn't 100% peaches and cream, as her mother effectively abandoned her, unconcerned for the safety of a child she never asked for in the first place.
Yeah, after two episodes of zany hitman antics, the stuff with Miri's mom hits in an entirely different and genuinely upsetting way. I don't know if it's a tonal shift the show pulls off as well as it needed to, but I do appreciate that it is at least slightly sympathetic to her situation.
It was almost more upsetting than watching Rei's dad reprimand him for not murdering a dog the right way! Which is the same episode, albeit brief.
What a cool, normal guy.
However, most of the dark stuff isn't too lingering or complex, it's mostly a vehicle for pathos and growth for our two dads as they reconcile the shift in their lives. I wouldn't say the show is too deep, but the bit of texture is appreciated to keep the simple stuff from being bland. I especially appreciate watching Rei, who was rather reluctant about the whole deal, warming up to their family life. Even though he can barely be called an adult most of the time, making Kazuki do all the housework at home even before Miri came into the picture. He gets points for stepping up when he needs to.
You could argue this is less a two dads + one kid household, and more of a single dad with one large adult son and one smaller daughter situation.
Given how bad I have seen some men are about raising children and doing housework, pretty much leaving the whole burden to the shoulders on their respective wives/partners, it's pretty normal. Kazuki being the mom-ish one that's never appreciated enough is the joke that gets played up, but Rei contributes by being extremely cool or extremely dorky in any given moment. He's pretty moe.
I mean as moe as a gamer can be, I guess.
It is very funny how well he cleans up, though. Dude goes from playing Hitman to being Agent 47 (with more hair).
It is very funny how well he cleans up, though. Dude goes from playing Hitman to being Agent 47 (with more hair).
It's just conservation of energy but for being cool.
Meanwhile, I think Kazuki, the "responsibe' parent, still gets some really great moments with his over-reactive imagination and worrying nature. It's fitting for a schemer to have to come up with every possible worst-scenario.
Meanwhile, I think Kazuki, the "responsibe' parent, still gets some really great moments with his over-reactive imagination and worrying nature. It's fitting for a schemer to have to come up with every possible worst-scenario.
That there is even a single second where it seems like he might actually snipe a four-year-old—that's the good stuff.
Kazuki has a ton of great lines too. He and Rei are a natural comedy duo.
Kazuki has a ton of great lines too. He and Rei are a natural comedy duo.
The zoo episode might be funny enough by itself to be worth a watch as a sampler for the rest of the show.
Yeah even the lowkey bits are good, like Kazuki and Rei here perfectly falling into their respective roles of "concerned parent" and "cool parent."
Every once in a while there's a pretty good aside or one-off that gets me chuckling, like a peak at the daycare mom's groupchat.
Nothing but respect for unhinged mom thirst. Indistinguishable from Twitter comments about the show.
There's also the time Miri described sing-a-long time as "diabolical".
Though, going back to thirst, I will say my one gripe with the show might be that the relationship between Rei and Kazuki is not quite, let's say, "passionate" as some might expect from the show's premise of two men and a baby?
Though, going back to thirst, I will say my one gripe with the show might be that the relationship between Rei and Kazuki is not quite, let's say, "passionate" as some might expect from the show's premise of two men and a baby?
As is usually the case, it sure would be nicer if the anime stopped being a coward and made them actual husbands. As it is, they do share a bond that goes deeper than friends or business partners, and it was nice to see that intimacy in their backstory this week. It wouldn't take much to take that one extra step, but I don't expect the show to go there.
I'll be clear that they're definitely family, leaning on each other, depending on each other. They refer to each other as partners but it's entirely platonic. Really more of a life-partner situation than a romantic couple. Kazuki even laments that he has terrible luck with women and has been a frequent face in the nearby redlight district. Which doesn't make him "straight", but it feels weird to be so chaste when more normative displays of sexuality are forefront.
On the positive note, it is lamp-shaded that having a non-traditional family could lead to institutional trouble but nothing resembling overt homophobia, even implying that many people are "accepting" of their situation, which is way different than what you'd expect of the real world.
On the positive note, it is lamp-shaded that having a non-traditional family could lead to institutional trouble but nothing resembling overt homophobia, even implying that many people are "accepting" of their situation, which is way different than what you'd expect of the real world.
I did laugh that literally the first scene after the title drop is Kazuki waking up in bed next to a woman. Like the showrunners went "whoops, can't make it look TOO gay!"
And if I can voice another minor disappointment, I'm a little sad that the show moved away from the goofy assassination hijinks involving surprise toddler interference. I understand most people's idea of a good time probably isn't putting an adorable child in mortal peril each week, but to use the anime's own vocabulary, I guess I'm just a little diabolical.
And if I can voice another minor disappointment, I'm a little sad that the show moved away from the goofy assassination hijinks involving surprise toddler interference. I understand most people's idea of a good time probably isn't putting an adorable child in mortal peril each week, but to use the anime's own vocabulary, I guess I'm just a little diabolical.
I thought having a child around actually lowered the stakes since obviously she couldn't be in any real danger. While say, the solo mission with Rei was much more exciting, though again, more of a tone divergence for a show that's still mostly hijinks.
I would love to see more involved heist set-ups and stunts like some of the early episodes as they're obviously pulling from Lupin III as well as action movies.
The jazzy leimotif is an obvious tell but also extremely catchy.
I would love to see more involved heist set-ups and stunts like some of the early episodes as they're obviously pulling from Lupin III as well as action movies.
The jazzy leimotif is an obvious tell but also extremely catchy.
I always appreciate a jazz infusion in an anime soundtrack. With this week's cliffhanger, though, it looks like the rest of the series will probably pit Kazuki and Rei against the rest of the underworld as they fight to protect their precious found family. But who knows, they could still have fun with that.
Overall, there are definitely ways for Buddy Daddies to be more ambitious with its premise, but it succeeds in being a cute and comedic bit of entertainment suitable for anyone looking to add to their household viewing schedules. Though I watched a lot of it in chunks, it's really a show you might want to take on an episode-by-episode basis, as its real strengths lie in those precious little moments.
While I don't envy any show that has to live up to the sublimity of the name "Buddy Daddies," I'd say this one does a respectable run at it. It can be funny, heartwarming, spooky, and irreverent—and sometimes all in the same episode. And most importantly, it's an anime for the moms.
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