The episode kicks off with a rip-roaring ’70s-style car chase, complete with a lounge music soundtrack and a mysterious motorcyclist with a few Bond-like tricks up his sleeves. Turns out, the driver of the car he’s chasing is in on the whole thing, and the two have laid a trap for some sub-par jewelry smugglers. The chase ends at a warehouse, where the shakedown is going according to plan when suddenly, a cheesy, overly loud ringtone breaks the two agents’ tough guy act: turns out their kid just came down with a fever. Gotta go pick her up! Even mercs for hire gotta have priorities, man. Cut to several months earlier, when Miri-chan first came into the guys’ lives. Rei is a surly otaku with a habit of taking in strays, while Kazuki is no stranger to a honey trap and can bake a mean cake. The two are partners and housemates, executing assassination jobs by night and rocking a bit of a mother-son vibe by day, with Kazuki possessing the homemaker gene, while Rei has perfected the art of communicating via impatient grunts. They are good at what they do though, which is killing. Then one night, on Christmas Eve, a little girl throws a spanner in the works and follows them smack dab into the middle of a high-profile job, looking for her Papa amid a rain of gunfire. The only way for Kazuki to keep her safe? Tell her he’s her Daddy. 

Are you suffering from Spy x Family withdrawal? Longing for more of Yor’s inhuman agility in the face of gunfire and skill for a tidy exit (Rei)? Or Loid’s mastery of the disguise and superior cooking skills (Kazuki)? Or perhaps Anya’s obliviousness and supernatural ability to wrap grown adults around her little finger with ease (Miri)? Then look no further! Buddy Daddies is the one for you, a cross between the mega-hit of 2022 and the 1980s comedy Three Men and a Baby. And it’s just as gorgeous too, with P.A. Works’ trademark lush backgrounds on display and so far, sharper animation than with last season’s Akiba Maid War, yet with the same zany inventiveness of that unusual series. A return to form, perhaps? This opening episode hits all the right beats for an action-comedy-slice-of-life mashup, with dynamic action sequences punctuated by humorous visual puns (Kazuki literally loses the shirt off his back in a gambling parlor), and pitch-perfect comedic timing that makes even predictable gags—like the phone call from the babysitter in the middle of a job—sparkle. This is going to be an absolute blast!

Buddy Daddies is streaming on Crunchyroll.

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claire

Claire is a cultural historian by day and anime enthusiast by night. She grew up watching anime without knowing it, misspent her youth studiously avoiding it, and finally came to her senses a few years ago and embraced it. Mostly because of Boogiepop, Kensuke Ushio and Naoko Yamada.

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