English Dub Review: Buddy Daddies “Spice of Life”

Overview:

Kazuki plans to send Miri back to her mother and Miri tries to get Rei to act like her papa.

Our Take:

Miri continues to be the hyperactive child that she is. Kazuki stills acts as her father the best he can, but he’s ready to give Miri back to her mother. Rei, on the other hand, is a lot more hands off with Miri. She wants to get closer to him too, but Rei wants no part of it. Kazuki evens tells Rei that in certain situations, he needs to pose as her father, but Rei just doesn’t understand. This is because of his broken relationship with his father that we see glimpses of in this episode.

Miri explains to Rei that a papa is someone who protects you and takes care of you. Even though he originally wanted nothing to do with Miri, he eventually warms up to her and calls himself her papa. This was a nice touching moment. I understand why Rei is cold, especially after learning more about his past, but I’m glad that he’s warming up to this whole idea of being a parent.

Speaking of parents, Kazuki talks to Miri’s mother to try and put his plan in motion. Unfortunately, she wants nothing to do with Miri. She claims that she never wanted to be a mother and that having Miri ruined her life. Kazuki tries to talk some sense into her, but she just won’t listen to her. This is heartbreaking, but at the same time, it’s clear that Miri going back with her mother would be a terrible idea at this point. That means Kazuki and Rei have to keep taking care of her, which doesn’t seem to be a bad thing.

This is a great episode as it builds the bond between Rei and Miri and it strengthens that bond tha Kazuki has already built with Miri. Sure, Miri isn’t with her real parents, but it seems lie she’s much happier with Kazuki and Rei. Besides, her idea of family is a lot more than being related by blood, so I’m sure she wouldn’t trade this family for the world.