Meet your next favorite anime
If there’s one thing to enjoy about living in 2023, it’s the fact that watching anime isn’t too niche anymore. We now celebrate the abundance of new anime seasons and fresh debuts worth binge-watching. Everyone’s love for Haikyu!! remains unmatched, Chainsaw Man is at the top of the shonen genre game and Spy x Family has a chokehold on everyone thanks to its wholesome approach to spy stories, found family and fake marriage tropes. And if you love seeing Loid, Yor and Anya play the part of the perfect family too well, you’ll most definitely enjoy Buddy Daddies.
Buddy Daddies follows two assassins, Kazuki Kurusu and Rei Suwa. The two meet a little girl named Miri, who stumbles alone into Tokyo to look for her father. Unfortunately, Miri’s dad is nowhere to be seen, thanks to another successful job by the dynamic duo. So Kazuki and Rei somehow find themselves taking her under their wing and going through the woes of parenting while juggling their crazy violent jobs. But of course, stories like this are never easy. As it turns out, Miri happens to be the secret child of a previously successful job: a mafia leader. So will this found family work out? Well, needing the answer to that is why we’re tuning in.
Buddy Daddies first premiered last January 7, 2023, and has released five episodes since. An original story by P.A. Works and produced by Aniplex, the narrative has caught the attention of so many people hook, line and sinker. While people would think it’s a direct copy of the previous espionage-themed childcare anime that hit everyone’s screens, Buddy Daddies has managed to set itself apart:
RELATED: “Knock At The Cabin” Review: M. Night’s Done With Twists & Turns
The deeper perspectives
If you look closely, Buddy Daddies also tackles deeper topics through a mature lens, such as parenthood becoming a choice for many. In one of the episodes, Kazuki sets off to look for Miri’s mother in an attempt to return the child to her. But as they meet and speak, he learns that despite the little girl’s positive outlook, Miri’s previous home life wasn’t the best. Her mother resented the child and considered parenthood a problem thrust onto her—the opposite Rei and Kazuki, who chose to raise her. The assassin realizes that Miri’s better off with two loving and patient dads than living with a biological parent who resents their existence. And that’s the beauty of found family, isn’t it?
So sure, they stumble and make mistakes. Parenting always poses different challenges. But they learn, grow and realize that raising a four-year-old might not be a walk in the park but it is a rewarding ride.
RELATED: Anime Movies That Will Have You Sobbing
The discussion
By all means, Buddy Daddies isn’t an explicit BL story, though many may disagree. Nonetheless, it doesn’t mean they shy away from meaningful and narrative-changing discussions. That includes putting modern families on the map. In episode four, Rei and Kazuki embark on the biggest challenge: finding Miri the best-fitting daycare, which includes papers, shopping and showing face as Miri’s parents. While the concept of two dads to one child might’ve been foreign, the two weren’t met with anything more hostile than double-takes and raised eyebrows. And when the interviewer hears nothing but genuine praise and love from Miri as she talks about her parents, and that’s enough to grant her admission.
You see, this isn’t necessarily a bait-y scene; it's genuine support for same-sex parents. CBR translates an interview with producers Mitsuhito Tsuji and Toba Yosuke, who discuss the story's inspirations (read: real parenting woes) and origins. The idea for this began with Tsuji began raising children on his own. The thought of two assassins with a violent day job needing to raise children made an exciting concept. Yosuke explains, “Two men raising children who aren't related by blood is a modern story where values are diversifying, so I thought this would work. I thought that a ‘family not related by blood' and ‘two people of the same sex raising a child' are both great themes.”
RELATED: 90s Anime That Shaped a Generation
Buddy Daddies may have an abundance of fight scenes and blood like any action anime, but it does double down on the wholesomeness of a childcare anime. More than giving the audience serotonin boosts every time Miri smiles or comes on screen, there’s no denying that Buddy Daddies also tries to make a statement.
Now, where to catch the show? Well, don’t make me say it.
Art Matthew Ian Fetalver
