Buddy Daddies Season 1 Episode 3 “Spice of Life” Recap & Review

Spice of Life

Episode 3 of Buddy Daddies begins with Rei dreaming about an event with his father. She wakes Rei up violently as Kazuki tells him that Miri wanted to have breakfast with him.

During breakfast, Kazuki toys with Miri with a banana as Rei enjoys his cereal. He asks Kazuki if he’s set on returning Miri to her mother. Kazuki says he’s still on board because it’s too dangerous for Miri to spend time with them. At the Yadorigi cafe, Kazuki apologizes for failing the previous mission.

Kyutarou handed in the parentage information he required from him. Kazuki leaves and meets up with Rei and Miri in the park. He tells Rei that he knows where Miri’s mother’s located. Kazuki admits he never met his parents as Miri presents them with mud dumplings she made in the park. Suddenly, a sweet potato truck catches her attention. While Miri’s preoccupied, Kazuki tells Rei that he doesn’t recall smiling as much as Miri when he was her age.

Rei admits that he didn’t either. While Rei buys Miri some sweet potatoes, Kazuki tells himself that he wasn’t cut out to be a caretaker. Kazuki leaves Rei and Miri behind to buy drinks. Miri rushes to the swings and asks Rei for help. A child protection agency officer stumbles upon Miri. He asks Rei if he’s Miri’s father or if she has any family. Rei says no–to Miri’s dismay. Kazuki returns, and the man asks him if he’s Miri’s father.

He says “yes,” but Miri refuses to acknowledge him as her dad because he told her not to do that around strangers earlier. With some convincing, Miri calls Kazuki “papa” to remove the officer’s suspicion. Kazuki, Rei, and Miri leave the park as Kazuki tells Miri she can call him “papa” when they’re in situations like that. Kazuki tells Rei he should allow Miri to call him her father, but Rei refuses. At night, Kazuki tucks Miri in and tells her to sleep.

He refuses to let her sleep with him, so Miri asks if she can sleep with Rei. Kazuki says he doesn’t know where he’s at. This entices Miri to look for him, and she finds him sleeping in the bathroom. Miri asks Rei why he sleeps in the tub, and he says–just in case they get ambushed by scary people. Miri says she will sleep with him to prevent scary people from instilling fear into Rei. She tries to help him smile, but Rei says he can’t. Eventually, Miri falls asleep, and Rei leaves her in the tub alone.

Meanwhile, Kazuki researches information about Miri’s mother. In the morning, Reim, Kazuki, and Miri go on a trip to meet Miri’s mother. In the car, Kazuki tells Rei this will be their last outing with Miri and that he doesn’t plan to back out. Kazuki tells Rei and Miri to wait in the car. He arrives at Miri’s mother’s workplace and hears a song Miri sang in a previous episode. In the car, Miri starts irritating Rei because she’s bored. Meanwhile, Kazuki meets Miri’s mother but gets into a brawl with a strange man.

Kazuki wins the fight, resulting in the man fleeing the establishment. Kazuki gets slapped by Miri’s mother because he assaulted her man. However, Miri’s mother promises to treat Kazuki’s wounds. Rei takes Miri to the park and gets forced to play with her. After some fun shenanigans, Kazuki and Miri sit on the bench. He asks Miri why she call Kazuki “papa.” Miri says it’s because she saved him even though Rei tells her Kazuki’s not her real father. Miri argues dads are people who save their offspring no matter what.

Rei recalls a memory with his father and a dog. His father beats him for not finishing off the dog. His father tells him to refer to him as his boss. Afterward, Rei awakens from his memory and notices that Miri’s gone missing. At the same time, Kazuki and Miri’s mother discuss Miri and Hayami. Miri’s mother says she could care less about Miri’s well-being because she feels Hayami forced her to have Miri. She feels Miri’s solely responsible for ruining her dreams.

Kazuki recalls a flashback of his wife possibly dying in an explosive accident. This occurs when Miri’s mother brings up the fact that Kazuki never knew of the struggles that come with raising kids. Kazuki leaves disappointed. On the other side, Rei searches for Miri. Rei sports Miri talking with police officers, and they’re convinced she’s a lost child. Miri pleads for Rei to save her as he recalls the same instance with his father and Miri’s words about fatherhood.

Rei tells the officers that he’s her father. Miri rushes into Rei’s arms, and they meet up with Kazuki. Kazuki tells Rei that their next course of action is to get dinner on the way home. They head home and dine on Miri’s favorite meal, Hamburg steak. The episode concludes with Miri, Rei, and Kazuki sleeping together.

The Episode Review

This was a great episode of Buddy Daddies. In it, we received more details about Rei, Kazuki, and Miri’s past lives and some development for Rei’s character. It was a bundle of sunshine that contained some darker elements. Many fans will feel heartbroken after hearing how poorly Miri’s mother views Miri as her daughter.

Although Miri’s mother provides some valid reasons for thinking poorly of Miri, it’ll surely hit hard with viewers who are currently raising families or plan to in the near future. It’s a bummer Miri’s real parents turned out to be heartless individuals, but thankfully, she’s with two males who’ll surely treat her with love and respect.

On that note, this episode contained some joyful moments between Rei and Miri. It was great seeing them bond over mundane activities from playing with a seesaw to him pushing her on the swing. It filled my heart with immense satisfaction to hear Rei say that he was Miri’s father in front of the police.

Although he’s shown somewhat of a caring side in the past, it’s great to see that side of him evolve beautifully in this chapter. Overall, this episode contained great character development, drama, and power. Although Miri can feel like a handful to watch, her childlike personality feels realistic and captures the essence of innocence. Hopefully, the next few episodes can continue giving fans something grandiose and astonishing.