Gerald Rathkolb
October 19, 2023 
A found family of sorts
So what if I told you there’s an anime series out there that features a found family of sorts, two adults who are assassins who are raising a kid. I know this show kind of sounds very familiar but I assure you it’s probably not the one you’re thinking of. So many of you were probably thinking of the show Spy x Family, however the show I’m talking about is the 2023 PA Works show Buddy Daddies.
There is zero doubt that the two shows share many similarities, both are shows about assassins, both are shows that have little kids, and both have a light tone to them, so its no wonder that they draw comparison. However, those differences are mostly surface level and Buddy Daddies shows PA Works is a studio always worth keeping an eye on.
Buddy Daddies is the story of two assassins for hire. Kazuki Kurusu, the “normal” half of the duo and the one who is mostly in charge of gathering information for the targets, and if anyone is in charge it’s Kazuki. Then there’s Rei Suwa, the guns and explosives expert. To say Rei is paranoid and a bit on edge may be an understatement since the man sleeps in an empty bathtub at night in case his room is attacked while he sleeps. Rei is definitely special, unable to take care of himself in any meaningful way except solve every problem with a bullet.
During a Christmas Eve job (the first episode makes for a good Christmas watch), Rei and Kazuki infiltrate a fancy christmas party being held by a human trafficker. They do this by Kazuki using his other skill as an excellent cook and sneaking in with an elaborate Christmas cake. It would have worked on me, the cake looks delicious. Seeing this cake we meet the third member of the crew, Miri, a precocious and perpetually energetic four year old, seemingly oblivious to the violence, killing and gunplay around her. Miri is looking for her father whom she has never met and said she could find him at the party. This, of course, messes with the plans Kazuki had, not so much Rei as he seems to take every situation as it comes. Miri is then held hostage in the party by Rei and Kazuki’s target. In order for their target to let down his guard, Kazuki says he is Miri’s father, which allows them to kill their target, however, this also leaves Kazuki and Rei 
with a tiny child to take care of, not something that is easy for a pair of assassins. The show plays out like some extremely violent sitcom, Kazuki and Rei have to balance the challenges of being a pseudo dad to this precocious child while also carrying out their duties of putting bullets in the heads of people they’re hired to kill.
PA Works has been shown to be one of the most reliable studios working in anime. Their previous show, Akiba Maid Wars was an easy contender for best show of the season, and their show before that, Ya Boy Kongming! was also one of the best shows of that season and that year. Buddy Daddies is no exception, excellent execution (pun intended) all around. The action scenes are played out with some heavy inspiration from John Wick with many bullets fired by the enemies and few precise bullets fired by the Kazuki and Rei. The humor comes at you fast and the show manages to balance the brattiness of Miri with the humor of two violent doofuses trying to raise a child, learn what children eat, that they may, in fact, need to be educated and what comes with that, among many other trials of parenthood.
Buddy Daddies is another stand out work from the excellent and reliable creative team and PA Works and one that is absolutely worth adding to your collection.
Studio/Company: Crunchyroll
Rating: No Rated
