Buddy Daddies

Episode 4

After the attempt to return Miri to her mother fails, Kazuki and Rei become keenly aware that raising a child is a full-time job and doesn't leave much time to go out murderin'. In their continued to search to get a break from the tiny tornado that's taken up residence in their condo, our Buddy Daddies take on two new foes: government bureaucracy and preschool social norms.

I felt for Kazuki a lot in this episode. For the child-free readers at home, there is an entire hierarchy that begins at preschool, specifically in getting your kid in the "right" school, and plenty of silent parent group judgments based on where you enroll your child. Kazuki and Rei enlist Miri (with the help of some forgery) in a state-run preschool. All of the obnoxious paperwork is because the school is free, and based on my experience, it's a fair trade-off. Both of my sons went to daycare, where I paid roughly $600 a month for one child to attend for three days a week during regular work hours (my kids are about seven years apart in age, so fortunately, I didn't have to pay for both at the same time!). They didn't go to a "top of the line" preschool; I couldn't afford to send them to the local Montessori facility where they'd eat organic crackers and commune with nature (I'm sure the Montessori method is fine, but it's often implemented as the reasoning behind a higher price point) or anywhere that promised to teach them French or Mandarin.

Anyway, much of this episode's charm and comedy stems from Kazuki being an incredibly relatable parent. It's hard to summarize the exact feeling of having a child (whom you love) physically attached to you for 3-4 years and then releasing them into daycare. I'd side with Rei and immediately go home and play video games. This episode is full of small shout-outs to parenthood that reveal that the staff really get it. Besides the wave of relief that hits post-drop-off, there's Kazuki's (misguided) attempt to dress Miri for social success and a wink at the monstrous mommy message groups. Kazuki is half right when he takes Miri shopping for school: there is absolutely an unspoken battle being waged via children and parent fashion.

Kazuki and Rei showing up to Miri's first day in three-piece suits had me both guffawing and mortified as a mom that has appeared at my kid's school conferences more than a little extra. There's a balance of wanting to appear put together without falling into the "try-hard" territory. If this sounds anxiety-inducing, that's because it is, but the last thing you'd want as a parent is to inadvertently cause your kid to be ostracized because the classmates' parents don't like you.

Speaking of ostracization, I have some quibbles that none of the daycare staff made an effort to socially integrate the new girl into the group, especially an outgoing girl like Miri. They did inform Kazuki about the matter, but I have another quibble that the solution was "make your kid conform." My dislike of that point isn't as sharp here because Kazuki was dressing Miri for school picture day instead of play clothes, so her outfits weren't environmentally appropriate but her playmates' reactions were also wrong.

The episode lacked action this week, but it made up for it in the #relatable department. The cute post-credit reveal of Miri's new room was the icing on the cake. Now that she's safely in daycare, Rei and Kazuki can get back to what they do best: murder for hire.

Rating:

Buddy Daddies is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.