“Buddy Daddies” is an anime series that follows the story of Kazuku and Rei, two hitmen who find themselves taking care of a young girl named Miri. The series is an action-packed adventure that explores themes of family, loyalty, and the bonds that can be formed between unlikely companions. This series is available to stream on Crunchyroll.
Plot Summary
In the first episode, Kazuku and Rei are hired to eliminate their new target, a human trafficker. But things go awry when a young girl named Miri ruins their plan. Unable to leave the little girl by herself, they take her to their apartment to ask her whereabouts. They find out that the target they killed is Miri’s biological father.
Since Miri is too young to know her mother’s whereabouts, Kazuku and Rei leave Miri in their apartment to search for her mother, hoping to keep her existence a secret from their colleague Kyutaro, who is angry at how badly they carried out their mission. During their next mission, Miri almost blows their cover, but they receive a lead on Miri’s mother from Kyutaro.
Kazuki, who was initially questioning whether to leave Miri or not, decides to return her. They find Miri’s mother, a singer/prostitute, who refuses to take responsibility for her daughter. Rei, who initially avoids Miri due to his traumatic childhood, eventually decides to become her father along with Kazuki.
Kazuki and Rei try to enroll Miri in daycare but need employment and tax records they don’t have, so Kazuki forges them. They pose as wealthy parents, buy Miri expensive clothes, and enroll her in daycare. However, she struggles to make friends since Miri’s clothes make her stand out, so they take her shopping for more normal clothes and redecorate a room for her.
Kazuki and Rei run out of money and ask Kyutaro for work. He doesn’t trust them with work yet, so he gives them intelligence-gathering missions. Due to a flu outbreak, they must take care of Miri at home, and gather intelligence while she sleeps. When this doesn’t work out, Kyutaro ends up taking care of Miri to let them finish their jobs.
When asked what jobs her papas do, Kyutaro tells Miri that Kazuku is a comedian and Rei is an oil baron. This causes a stir when she presents her dad’s jobs in front of the class.
Kazuki is haunted by a traumatic event after almost losing Miri in a car accident, leading him to believe he doesn’t deserve happiness. With the help of his sister-in-law, Karin, he comes to terms with his wife’s and unborn child’s deaths in a car explosion and is reminded that he deserves to be happy.
Rei is summoned by his father, the head of a major assassin organization, who orders him to assassinate his former trainer. Rei learns of the unjust murder of his girlfriend and engages in a fight with him, ultimately killing him. This causes Rei to question his role as an assassin. Kazuki and Miri prepare a birthday party for Rei, while Rei’s father sends a demand for information on them to Kyutaro.
Kazuki and Rei start practicing with Miri for a sports competition at the daycare. Rei booby-traps a spot to watch Miri’s sports event with razor wire, makes popular rice balls filled with sweets, and cheers for Miri during the race, causing her to come in last place. Later, Miri chooses Rei as her item in the parent/child obstacle course scavenger hunt, which reveals “family” as her item and brings Kazuki to tears. Kyutaro retrieves photographs of Rei with Kazuki and Miri for Rei’s father.
Miri’s mother, Misaki, returns, reveals she is dying of throat cancer and threatens to blackmail Kazuki and Rei with their identities as assassins. Kyutaro reveals that Boss has threatened to kill Kazuki and Miri if Rei doesn’t return to the organization, forcing them to give Miri to Misaki for safety. They have a fun day out with Miri before handing her over, and they wonder if she’ll hate them if she learns the truth. They accept that they’ll never see her again and won’t have a chance at normal happiness.
What happens to Misaki and Kazuki when Ogino tries to kill them?
After Misaki takes Miri, Kazuki and Rei are devastated. They struggle to cope with their loss, with Rei returning to his father and Kazuki feeling lost and purposeless. Misaki and Miri moved to an apartment nearby so that Miri could still attend daycare. Kazuki is not allowed to work due to concerns about his mental state.
Shigeki betrays Rei by informing him that he plans to cut all of Rei’s ties to his life outside the organization by killing Kazuki and Miri. Rei immediately sends a message to Kazuki to warn him, but Ogino, one of the assassins, shoots both Misaki and Kazuki. Miri is spared because she is asleep in her room.
Misaki dies in Kazuki’s arms, and he and Kyutaro take Miri with them. Rei later joins them at a safehouse that Shigeki doesn’t know about. Kazuku considers faking Miri’s death and sending her to an orphanage far from Japan, but Rei is determined to find a way to stay together while protecting Miri.
Why do Kazuki and Rei quit being assassins?
Kazuki and Rei inform Kyutaro that they are now Miri’s full-time fathers and are quitting their job as assassins to give Miri a normal and stable life. They then face the Organization to speak with Shigeki, but are forced to shoot their way in.
After a difficult fight, they kill Ogino. Then Rei announces that he is leaving the organization to be with his real family. Kazuki and Rei then make it back in time for Miri’s daycare party and conceal their numerous bloody injuries under Santa costumes.
How does the story of Buddy Daddies end, and what happens to Kazuki, Rei, and Miri?
Ten years later, Kazuki and Rei run a diner together, the Diner Nest, where Rei’s French Toast is the signature dish. The teenage Miri is now in high school and lives happily with her two papas. This shows that despite the difficult challenges they faced in the past, they were able to overcome them and build a happy life together.
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