#lea over-analyzes fictional stuff again

[night-heron-writes]

The World of Spy x Family: Spy Radios

We don’t see a ton of Twilight/WISE’s spy gear in the show, and even less of the SSS’s counterintelligence gear, but what we do see blows me away. The attention to detail in this anime and manga is impressive. I’ve been able to research and clearly identify everything except the WISE HQ set of screens/radios (mostly bc we only get a zoomed out perspective of that), and it all matches up to what would have been used during the Cold War and in West and East Germany.

Let’s start with Twilight’s own radio kit. In the manga it looks like this:

And in the anime it’s practically identical, with only a few knobs and things moved around:

Now, it’s not exactly identical to it’s real-world counterpart, but it’s astoundingly close. The Spy x Family version just looks a little sleeker.

This is an ESK-52/Type 41 Amateur Radio Set, produced by the West German company Telefunken for the West German Intelligence Service, or the Bundesnachrictdienst. It was first produced in 1952,and was primarily used during the Cold War.

The Type 41 is a type of stay-behind radio set, used by spies who stayed behind in other countries to gather intelligence. For secrecy reasons, spy radios were often marketed as “amateur radio sets” to make them seem less suspicious. The Type 41 comes inside a suitcase, and is fully capable of both receiving and transmitting morse code messages over radio frequencies. It came equipped with headphones that look very similar to the ones portrayed in Spy x Family:

And now for the SSS. In Episode/Chapter 1, when Anya accidentally sends the message with her location and a challenge. In the manga, we can barely see it because of all the speech bubbles, but here’s what we can see:

The anime gives us a much clearer shot:

This one looks pretty close to its real-world counterpart, the R-353. You can see that the anime/manga simplified things a little bit, but overall they look very similar:

The R-353 was a Soviet-manufactured spy radio set, also used by other Warsaw Pact countries, such as East Germany. In East Germany, it was used by the government, and by the Stasi in particular.

The R-353 was one of the most sophisticated Cold War Soviet spy radios, with the capability to receive and send morse code signals over radio frequencies, which  could be sent manually, semi-automatically with the numerical dial, or completely automatically by magnetic tape.

Now, on to the tricky part: WISE HQ. Here’s what it looks like in the manga:

and in the anime:

As of yet, I’ve been unable to concretely identify anything in these pictures, although I strongly suspect the the cabinets with rotors are Bombe Machines, which look like this:

Bombe machines were used to brute-force the Enigma machine during WW2, and i’m not sure how WISE would have got a hold of any, since every single Bombe machine the British had was destroyed after the war to maintain secrecy. Perhaps WISE got a hold of a Polish Bombe machine and are trying to break Ostania’s ciphers?

Trying to play I Spy with the radios and other equipment in these panels/screencaps of WISE HQ has been tricky. The shots are all zoomed out, making it nearly impossible to see any identifiers. My best guess is a combination of radio transceivers (transmitter/receiver combination) and Telex machines (teletypewriters - think telegraph but combined with a typewriter and outputting ASCII characters rather than Morse code).

Without more detailed and close-up shots of the equipment in WISE HQ, I can’t make any guesses as to the specifics of the machines.

In conclusion, I continue to be blown away by the attention to detail in this series, in both the anime and manga. Even things we see maybe once or twice are very well thought-out, and there are so many layers to dig through, from the geography all the way to the spy gadgets that have maybe ten seconds of screentime or one manga panel.

Edit: all info on the historical spy gear i talked about can be found at cryptomuseum.com. I highly recommend checking it out if you’re interested, they have done a very thorough job of documenting things.

#spy x family #spy x family meta #meta analysis #lea over-analyzes fictional stuff again #in all seriousness there's so much to dig into here #i'm not great at the politics/plot analysis #but hot damn can i analyze the language geography and spy stuff #just you wait until i post about the cryptography

[night-heron-writes]

The World of Spy x Family: Newston Castle

We all know that Spy x Family is set in pseudo Cold War Germany. Tatsuya Endo makes that very clear—the capital city of Ostania is Berlint, just one letter off from the actual capital of Germany. And the names of the divided countries also pay homage to that: Westalis and Ostania come from the German words for “west” and “east”, respectively. 

But it doesn’t stop there. Take the castle from Episode 5 (Chapter 6 of the Manga), for example. Endo could have left it unnamed, or just made up a name, but he decided to call it Newston Castle. That name is very decidedly reminiscent of Neuschwanstein Castle, and is in fact almost a direct translation.

Furthermore, the location of the castle is listed as a little ways outside Münk. Now, Münk is very similar to München, or what non-German speakers would know as Munich. Münk would also fit with the in-universe trend of altering place names just a little bit, like Hugaria being the in-universe equivalent of Hungary.  Neuschwanstein Castle is similarly located a little ways southwest of Munich. Starting to sound familiar? Lets look at the pictures.

Newston Castle:

Neuschwanstein Castle:

Clearly, the animation team took a few creative liberties (like moving the lake right up to the castle), but the influence is pretty damn clear. It’s the little details like this that make me appreciate the series even more.

The only snag in this theory is that during the cold war, Munich and Neuschwanstein Castle were in West Germany, which leaves us with two possibilities: 1) that in Spy x Famliy, the two nations are divided much more equally than in actual history, and 2) that they all went to Westalis for the castle sequence, and risked being caught at the border just to celebrate Anya’s acceptance into Eden.

Personally, I think the first theory is more likely, given that Endo has already taken a number of creative liberties, and that we’ve not head anything about Berlint being divided into East and West, like what happened to real-world Berlin during the Cold War. And Anya gives the Forger Family address as 128 Park Avenue, West Berlint. Unless, she means the western part of East Berlint, but I think that’s not as likely. However, we don’t yet have a full map of both countries, so both theories are still viable.

Let’s compare the map we do have with an actual map of East and West Germany.

Spy x Family Map:

Real-world Map:

So far, the maps look pretty similar, but all we have is the northernmost bit of the Spy x Family map. Who knows what the rest of it looks like? The border could continue straight down the middle, in which case Münk and Newston Castle would be firmly in Ostanian territory. Do you see Munich down in the far-right corner of the real-world map? No wonder the Forgers needed a plane to get there from Belin(t)!

#spy x family #spy x family meta #newston castle #lea over-analyzes fictional stuff again #world of spy x family #this parallel has been bothering me for almost a *week* #my thought process was like 'newston castle' -> 'neuschwanstein castle literally translates to swan stone castle' -> 'oh endo did it again' #this series is about ten times deeper if you look at the linguistics #tatsuya endo really put a lot of thought into the worldbuilding #and i intend to unpack it

[night-heron-writes]

My Thoughts on Spy x Family Chapter 75

Warning: This post contains spoilers for Chapter 75 of the manga

Firstly, the stellas were very much deserved all around. All four of them were very brave the entire time, and even though I think Anya and Damian each deserved an extra stella for the bomb collars around their necks, I wouldn't be surprised if Eden has a policy of not giving out more than one stella at a time to each student.

Becky wanting to use the event to launch her singing career is hysterical and honestly a very 6-year-old thing to do.

Now for the parents' reactions:

Mr. Blackbell wins 2nd place in the Most Concerned Parent Contest. He was literally ready to go to war for her and started bawling the moment she was safe.

The Anya/Yor reunion was sweet and went down pretty much as I expected. I am glad Anya got to break down and cry now that she and everyone else are safe.

Twilight's reaction was kinda underwhelming, but I'm banking on him just absolutely breaking down once he gets back home. He's probably still running on adrenaline and hasn't really processed anything yet.

But Melinda. Holy shit. This woman is complicated. Where do I even start with her?

I'm noticing how the positive, caring thoughts/emotions come first, and then are followed by the appallingly cold stuff. It's like her first, instinctual reaction is to love and worry for Damian, but she's desperately trying to convince herself she doesn't care.

Interestingly enough, the way she's talking here makes me wonder if she is Donovan's second wife. Not once has Melinda ever mentioned Demetrius, even with the Mommy Club. She did, however, bring up Damian in conversation with Yor.

If she is indeed Mrs. Desmond No. 2, then I'm very curious ab what might have happened to her predecessor. Her being Donovan's second wife would potentially explain the seemingly large age gap between Demetrius and Damian.

It also seems like she didn't want children, or at least didn't want to have children in this particular relationship. Given what we know of Donovan and what we now know of Melinda's psyche, I think its safe to say he is at the very least emotionally abusing his family and quite possibly doing much worse. He seems like the type to pull some messed up psychological shit. It would make sense imo for Melinda to not want to bring kids into that kind of household. But I can imagine her wishes not being respected, partly bc of societal pressure and partly bc Donovan doesn't seem to care what anyone else wants.

That might explain her abrupt attitude switch, if she has loads of Donovan-related trauma. She literally went from Yuri-levels of devotion to and obsession over her son to wishing he'd died in the hijacking within like 0.1 seconds after Donovan was mentioned. She even calls him "that man" instead of "my husband" or "your father", which is honestly very telling.

I wonder if Melinda trying to convince herself she doesn't care about Damian is so that Donovan can't use him against her. If this is the case, then Donovan getting wind of her actual feelings towards Damian could be disastrous for them both. This of course doesn't excuse her behavior in the slightest, but is one interesting theory to explain her mental and emotional state.

Melinda seems to think that Damian's existence traps her in the Donovan household. She both loves him because he's her son and resents him because he keeps her tied to a waking nightmare, hence her wishing he'd died in the hijacking. She probably thinks that if he'd died, they'd both be free. If she didn't have him to worry about, she would likely run away to the in-universe equivalent of Italy or something. I can't imagine her being happy in her current situation.

All in all, I'm starting to think that living in the dorms is really the safest, healthiest option for the Desmond kids. They may face ridiculously high expectations, but at least they have a solid routine and aren't in a house where they have to wonder if their parents actually care for their well-being.

I think it would be fascinating if at some point Melinda suffers a breakdown and ends up a patient of everybody's favorite psychiatrist, Loid Forger. What other kinds of issues lurk beneath the surface of her mind?

#spy x family #spy x family meta #lea over analyzes fictional stuff again #melinda desmond #melinda desmond is fucked up #spy x family spoilers #spy x family chapter 75 #spy x family chapter 75 spoilers

[night-heron-writes]

Buddy Daddies & Music: Recap Episode

So the recap episode didn’t bring anything new plotwise, but it did give me plenty to dig into with the music.

Most of Kazuki’s first narration section, up to the title card, has background music that feels almost reminicsent of a circus or an arcade game, probably to highlight exactly how unprepared he and Rei were to look after a kid. The bright chords and fast tempo also serve to highlight the feeling of being rushed and overwhelmed. The failed hit job from episode 2 is accompanied by the usual action jazz, not really anything new there. Kazuki’s meeting with Miri’s mom keeps it’s soundtrack from episode 3, with Misaki singing her song, and a melancholy piano version playing during their conversation. Interestingly enough, the clarinet and piano theme I identified earlier in the series, “Miri’s Family”, doesn’t play once during Kazuki’s first narration section, not even in places where it plays in the original episodes, like the “For three?” “For three.” dialogue.

However, “Miri’s Family” does play in Rei’s narration section, right after he decides that yes, he can be a Papa to Miri. This is exactly where it plays in Episode 3, but I find it interesting that Rei’s section keeps it and Kazuki’s doesn’t. I suppose it’s meant to highlight how significant this is for Rei and how much this will change their family dynamic. This time, it continues through the scene of all three of them having a sleepover.

Miri’s disaster montage keeps its original music. We get light jazz playing throughout the scenes where Rei and Kazuki are getting Miri ready for daycare. The arrival at Aozora daycare keeps its original music as well. The scenes with Miri and her friends sharing lunch as well as the fight with disguised!KazuRei and the criminal also keep their original music. Miri and Kazuki’s resolution also keeps its original trumpet- and flute-heavy soundtrack.

What almost sounds like a lullaby played on a celesta (music-box sounding instrument, also sometimes called a bell piano) plays while Rei and Miri discover Kazuki’s note, maybe to emphasize how childishly they’ve been behaving lately? Or perhaps to indicate a kind of wake-up call for Rei?

Kazuki’s flashback to Yuzuko’s death also retains its soundtrack, and so does his conversation with Karin.

Unsurprisingly, we keep the basson for Rei’s conversation with his boss. That man is creepy as hell and they’ve already got a good instrument for him, so why change it?

Most surprising to me was that “Miri’s Family” starts playing right after Rei kills his mentor, while he’s thinking on the dock, and continues until Kazuki picks him up. That was not what played there during Episode 8, and that seems pretty significant. It means that Rei thinks that what just happened means something for their family, and he’s just come to some sort of big revelation about it. Sadly we don’t get to find out what he thinks is important or why, since the show cuts him off right then in the form of Kazuki.

Can’t wait to see what the next episode brings and if my predictions still hold true, since this recap hasn’t really shown us much new in terms of plot. See you when the trailer drops!

#buddy daddies #music analysis #lea over analyzes fictional stuff again #how can i get this many words out of analyzing an episode with no new footage? #buddy daddies spoilers #buddy daddies meta

[night-heron-writes]

Buddy Daddies Episode 8/9 Theories

We know that Episode 8 is going to be titled "Nothing Seek, Nothing Find", and so far all the episode titles have been idioms or cliches. This one isn't exactly an idiom/cliche, but touches on several, mainly "hide and seek". Other people have done a detailed breakdown of the title and synopsis, so I won't bother rehashing all that when other people have said it better.

However, the title made my linguistic senses tingle, and when combined with the synopsis, leads me to believe that it's setting up Episode 9 to be titled "Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained". Episode 8 is going to be the last of the backstory focused episodes, in my non-professional opinion, and and Episode 9 feels like it should start setting up more conflicts. I think we'll start to see more conflict between Rei and Kazuki's assassin work and keeping Miri safe. We've already dealt with her making their work hard for them (Episode 2), and I don't think the anime is going to rehash that.

Episode 9 feels to me like it might be a tipping point in the series, setting up the final arc of the season. I feel like Episode 9 is going to force Rei and/or Kazuki to make a decision/take a risk and Miri's safety might be jeopardized because of or in spite of that. And an episode where they have to take a big risk without knowing the outcome would fit really well with the title "Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained".

But, I could be completely wrong, because as we all know, nobody anticipated Episode 7 turning out quite how it did. Karin threw pretty much everybody for a loop, and Episode 8 could do the same, not to mention the fact that we know nothing about Episode 9 yet. This is all pure speculation, but I'm having fun throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. We'll see if this theory holds true after Epsiode 8...

#buddy daddies #meta #speculation #lea over analyzes fictional stuff again #buddy daddies theories

[night-heron-writes]

Buddy Daddies & Music Part 2

After discovering that our antagonists have their own thematic instruments, I was inspired to do a rewatch of the whole show with an ear towards significant themes. I'll put the rest under a Read More due to some amount of spoilers for various episodes.

First off, I am devastated that I can't find the tracks to the soundtrack anywhere yet, otherwise I would link to the music I mean. For now you'll have to suffer through my descriptions.

So far, I've only been able to pinpoint one significant recurring theme, outside of basic stuff like the brassy jazz theme for action sequences. It's a soft, emotional theme, with the clarinet carrying the melody and the piano providing the accompaniment. It first pops up at the end of Episode 1 during the van ride back to Rei and Kazuki's apartment. I've taken to calling it "Miri's Family", as it only pops up during moments where one or more of our main trio is thinking about their family, or significant events have occurred that change the family. If the official soundtrack has a different name for this piece, well I haven't been able to find that yet.

"Miri's Family" plays at the end of Episode 1, like I mentioned earlier, from the van ride up through Rei's line "I can't have a cat, but you can have a kid?" and then tapers off to stop when they open the envelope with the pictures.

It pops up again in Episode 3, right after Rei decides that he is one of Miri's papas, and it plays through the "For three?" "For three." dialogue and them all heading home.

The next time it shows up is in Episode 5, when Miri is asking Kyutaro about her Papas' jobs. Interestingly enough, it doesn't start playing until Kyutaro is describing how terrible Kazuki is at being a comedian, and it stops right as Miri is confused about what an oil baron is.

It pops up again at the end of Episode 5, during Kazuki and Rei's conversation with Kyutaro, right as he is reminding them of the dangers of their jobs and ends right as he tells them they can't have any regrets. This time, we get a piano-only version of the theme, with the piano providing both the melody and accompaniment, rather than simply accompanying the clarinet. It's faint at times, and a little hard to hear.

In Episode 6, "Miri's Family" shows up at the end, when Miri is thanking her disguised!Papas for saving her friends from the pickpocket. It starts when Miri runs up and hugs disguised!Kazuki and ends when Rei says "Well, just do your best, I guess" to Kazuki.

It shows up again in Episode 8, during the back-and-forth between Rei's fight with his mentor and Miri and Kazuki discussing why Rei always looks sad. It begins right after Miri's line "Papa Rei's the same. He looked all snappy today, but he also looked sad," as the scene cuts back to Rei's fight. It ends when Miri asks when Rei is coming home. This one was also a piano-only rendition.

What I also found interesting were the times it didn't play. I expected it to turn up at the end of Episode 7, when Kazuki is gazing fondly at a sleeping Rei and Miri. It didn't show up at all in Episode 7, or in Episode 4, which surprised me. It also didn't play during the conversation in Episode 8 where Rei tells his mentor he also has something he wants to protect.

For the most part, "Miri's Family" shows up during moments where one or more of our main trio is contemplating their family, and also in moments that signal a big shift in dynamic, like Kazuki and Rei acquiring Miri and Rei accepting the title of "papa". "Miri's Family" is both a lighthearted and somber theme, which seems to fit the feel of these moments very well. There's almost something bittersweet about it too, much like how Kazuki and Rei giving Miri the childhood they never got is a bit of a bittersweet thing too. Overall I think it fits them very well and can't wait to see where it shows up in future episodes.

What I also found intriguing was the instrumentation. Up until the end of Episode 5, the clarinet carries the melody and is backed up by the piano. But in the conversation with Kyutaro at the end of Episode 5 and where it pops up in Episode 8, we get a piano-only rendition. Both of those are times when two-thirds of the family is separated from the family member they're thinking about. Up until Episode 8, I thought that the clarinet was Miri's thematic instrument, and that we'd get the piano rendition only when she wasn't present, but we got the piano rendition in Episode 8 despite Miri being there. Maybe we get the piano version when two of our main trio is worried about the other member?

I can't wait to see if any new recurring musical themes pop up, or if there are any I have missed that new episodes make obvious. If I've missed one you've noticed, feel free to yell at me in the comments.

#long post #buddy daddies #buddy daddies meta #music analysis #lea over analyzes fictional stuff again #'Miri's Family' theme #buddy daddies spoilers

[night-heron-writes]

Buddy Daddies Episode 9 Theories

So it looks like I was wrong about the title. 🤷‍♀️😂 My original guess had been "Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained" in hopes that it would play off the title for Episode 8. However, the confirmed title is "Nothing Sweet Without Sweat" which is fairly similar in meaning. I liked my guess for an episode where the whole situation from the end of Episode 8 gets dealt with, but it looks like that's not what we're getting.

From the promo video, it looks like Episode 9 is going to be a Sports Day episode. The calm before the storm, if you will. I'm holding out hope that we get a B plot where Kyutaro has to decide what he's going to do with the whole situation, but it's also possible that they won't address that until episode 10. He'd better make the right decision. If he betrays Kazuki, Rei, and Miri I will learn to shoot and eliminate him myself.

My predictions for this episode:

The daycare mamas' group chat pops up again, probably speculating on Rei and Kazuki's relationship history or how they got Miri

Rei and Kazuki get way over-invested bc they don't understand the idea of "friendly competition". (Almost a given, especially after that promo video 😂)

Kyutaro will show up at least once, likely in the post-credit scene

the post-credit scene will be the the only part of the episode that addresses the request for information.

We will get a hilariously over-the-top training montage where Kazuki and Rei coach Miri. I'm talking like on the order of the dodgeball episode of spy x family where the kiddos were climbing a jungle gym but it looked like mountain climbing 😂

we get at least one new important musical theme, or one becomes important that wasn't earlier.

#buddy daddies #buddy daddies theories #buddy daddies episode 9 #lea over analyzes fictional stuff again

[night-heron-writes]

Spy X Family Chapter 76

~*~ Warning: Contains spoilers for Chapter 76 of the manga! Open at your own risk, agents! ~*~

First of all, a slight break from the crushing angst was nice. After a whole bunch of stressful chapters, a little bit of fluff was in order.

It was nice to see, as I expected, that Twilight was worried, in his own quiet, overthinking way. He's not at the point yet to just absolutely break down and show his emotional side, but he shows he cares with his repeated concern for Anya's mental health as well as her physical well-being. I also noticed that during their breakfast conversation, he didn't once think "for the mission". We're making progress, people!

Also, he drives her to school! I can't imagine him letting her back on a schoolbus for quite a while after that whole ordeal.

I found it interesting that Anya has picked up that something is weird with Damian's family. Of course, she doesn't quite understand the depth of it, she's six. But she's noticed that something doesn't quite add up, and it stuck with her.

And then Twilight, the poor sap, misunderstands her pensiveness as her being mad at him for not picking her up. He has a remarkable ability to feel guilty for situations he wasn't involved in or things he would have no way to change. (Shh it's the trauma)

And there we have our first "for the mission" of this chapter 😂. Interestingly enough, it's not about her Stellas, or even her friendship with Damian. He's thinking that if she's traumatized, then the mission is in danger. And he's not wrong, but it's nice to see the "for the mission" directed at her well-being and nothing else.

And then we get the discussion between Henderson and the tutor-in-residence, which feels like the set-up for a longer plotline. Especially this gem:

Henderson continues his trend of being a Loid Forger fanboy, but to me this seems like an excellent way for Endo to start giving more and more plot-relevant clients to Loid Forger. Perhaps even Melinda or Donovan Desmond at some point? One can only hope.

And then we have this panel:

I notice that Jeeves says "residence" instead of "rooms" or something similar. It looks like Melinda lives in a completely different house most of the time, then. An interesting window into the Desmond home life, and one I didn't quite expect. I wouldn't have thought that Donovan would allow such a thing. For a man so concerned with the Desmond family name he doesn't seem to care if people think familial relations are strained.

Poor kiddo, no wonder he seems happier in the dorms. I get that Melinda has her own stuff to deal with, but after last chapter's drama and how she went on about cooking for Damian, I expected her to at least eat with him. It's another comparison drawn between the Forger family and the Desmond family: the Forgers are all present at breakfast, and openly voice their concern for Anya, while Melinda straight up leaves the building and Damian only finds out she cooked from Jeeves.

The scenes with the other kids swooning over Damian, Becky, and Anya are cute, and of course getting another Stella goes to Anya's head a little bit. "Double Starlight Anya", really? 😂

This one made me chuckle out loud. And that little smirk on her face 😂

And Becky calling it like it is:

Also some of these rich Eden kiddos really need to touch grass once in a while. "Peasants" are people just like everyone else, and it's slightly appalling how these kids think that class makes a biological difference. As they get older, that can easily turn into bigotry.

The whiplash of Anya and Damian getting along somewhat to fighting to getting along again to fighting again is such an accurate depiction of little kids' friendships. Ten minutes is long enough to start and finish two separate wars.

And then we get this cute panel at the end, which sums all of that up nicely.

In conclusion, the fluff was strong in this chapter, but it wasn't a filler chapter, per se. The fluff was plot-relevant and moved the story along, as well as making a nice change from the last several chapters.

I do have a sneaking suspicion that this reprieve from the angst will be a brief one. My hunch is that either the next chapter or the one after that will take a hard left turn back into angst territory. See ya in two weeks!

#spy x family #spy x family spoilers #spy x family chapter 76 #spy x family manga #lea over analyzes fictional stuff again #long post

[night-heron-writes]

Buddy Daddies Episode 9 "No Sweet Without Sweat"

~*~Warning: Spoilers for Buddy Daddies Episode 9 under the cut~*~

Overall this was a very cute episode with almost no angst, which means next week is going to be painful. We're entering the final arc of the season here, and things are going to ramp up.

The first thing I noticed about this episode was the background music during the scene where Kazuki, Rei, and Miri were asking Kyutaro to come to the field day. The music playing in the background was typical classic-esque music that would play in a cafe, but what caught my attention was that it was played in a minor key. (Don't ask me which key, I don't have perfect pitch.) Minor keys are often used in music to signal ominous things. If I have my music theory straight, D-minor is considered the saddest key. It'd be interesting to know exactly which key this piece was played in.

Another thing that caught my eye was the way the shot zoomed in on Kyutaro's face when his eyes narrowed, and then the immediate cut to the opening song. This does not bode well, and combined with the musical implications I am starting to get an inkling that Kyutaro will betray our protagonists.

Rei going overkill to secure a spot was hilarious and also very touching. He went out in the middle of the night to secure the best spot to watch Miri. However, the barbed wire monstrosity was a bit much. Plus the way he just easily vaulted over the brick wall? He missed his calling as an Olympic gymnast smh.

Also Kazuki's camera setup kills me. I grew up with a dad who loves to take pictures and has all the snazzy cameras, but even he never used three at once. Look at that telescoping lens on the middle one! Kazuki is prepared.

The discord helped me identify the brand that the cameras spoof off of. If you look at the marking on the camera, you'll see that it says "Milox", which is a spoof of Nilox. Here's a screencap so you can see it clearly.

I think somebody needs to tell Kazuki that this is not what people usually mean by "fun fact".

Absolutely dying at the fact that the daycare mamas still believe the whole "oil baron and washed-up comedian" story. 😂 What kind of fanfiction-type bullshit has Kazuki been coming up with?

Miss Anna is the MVP of tug-of-war. We stan a queen.

Poor Taiga has managed to make enemies for life out of both Rei and Kazuki. That child isn't going to make it to elementary school.

What really got me about this episode was that the leitmotif I've nicknamed "Miri's Family" started playing the minute Rei unfolded the scavenger hunt card that says "family", and it doesn't stop playing until the field day is officially over. I think that's the longest we've heard it play! I'm almost in tears bc Rei and Kazuki have realized that Miri thinks of them as a family. A big moment for the both of them, and the leitmotif makes it all even more touching.

But the post-credit scene. Ah fuck. It's October now, and Kyutaro has yet to either give the organization information or tell Rei and Kazuki. So his decision so far is not to decide? It looks like the organization is starting to get antsy and press for information. Kyutaro better abide by what he told Rei and Kazuki in episode 5:

One final note: It's absolutely hysterical how wrong my predictions were for this episode:

The daycare mamas' group chat pops up again, probably speculating on Rei and Kazuki's relationship history or how they got Miri

Rei and Kazuki get way over-invested bc they don't understand the idea of "friendly competition". (Almost a given, especially after that promo video 😂)

Kyutaro will show up at least once, likely in the post-credit scene

the post-credit scene will be the the only part of the episode that addresses the request for information.

We will get a hilariously over-the-top training montage where Kazuki and Rei coach Miri. I'm talking like on the order of the dodgeball episode of spy x family where the kiddos were climbing a jungle gym but it looked like mountain climbing 😂

we get at least one new important musical theme, or one becomes important that wasn't earlier.

I'm at 2 for 6 with my predictions.🤣 Maybe I'd better stick to the musical analysis...

#buddy daddies #buddy daddies spoilers #episode 9 #lea over analyzes fictional stuff again #long post

[night-heron-writes]

Buddy Daddies Episode 10

~*~WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR BUDDY DADDIES EPISODE 10~*~

Okay so first things first. Ouch. Damn was Episode 10 angsty. Also Misaki looks unsettlingly like me? I don’t quite know how to feel about that 😂

Poor Miss Anna is not musically talented in the slightest, and all the kids are roasting her for it. Miri’s singing voice is really nice for a toddler, which makes sense since Misaki apparently taught her to sing, and Misaki is a really good singer.

So, Misaki’s back. We all knew that from the PV. She’s got a new haircut, new clothes, and seems to have gone sober. Good for her. However, the daycare is an interesting spot for her to show up at. How would she know where Miri goes to daycare?

The timing of her return is also suspicious to me. Just in the last couple episodes we learned that the organization is after Miri and Kazuki. I suspect Kyutaro is behind her reappearance, since this is the least violent way to resolve things. Not much of a resolution, but hey, we still have three episodes left.

Rei being the one to pull Kazuki back from a fight is interesting. He usually doesn’t get involved in whatever Kazuki decides to do, and he used to not care about making a scene in front of the daycare moms. Character growth!

Somebody else here on tumblr identified a piece of music as “Kazuki’s Theme” (I can’t remember your name, sorry! If you’re the person/know the person who did, please tell me in the tags so I can credit properly!). “Kazuki’s Theme” starts playing once they’re back in Rei’s apartment and Miri is playing with Misaki. It’s a very melancholy theme, the same one that played during Kazuki’s conversation in episode 7 with Karin. It often pops up when he believes he doesn’t deserve happiness.

Misaki dodging singing for Miri is interesting, especially given that we know she used to sing for/around Miri all the time. Rei also seems somewhat suspicious.

Oh so Misaki has cancer? Not what I expected. But if she has throat cancer, why is she still smoking cigarettes? Old habits and addictions are hard to break, but this is almost downright self-destructive. I’m also noticing the connection between Rei quitting smoking for Miri’s health, and Misaki being unable to do so even though continuing to smoke puts her life at risk.

Misaki having cancer also adds an interesting, rather macabre dimension to her theme being an instrumental version of “Don’t Say Goodbye”. She’s dying, at least potentially, and is trying desperately to cling to life, to not have to say goodbye. If you listen closely to her dialogue, you’ll also notice that her voice sounds strained, which adds an excellent dimension of realism.

How does she know that Rei and Kazuki are involved in “dangerous business”? I’m suspecting Kyutaro even more now, since Kazuki gave nothing away about his profession in Episode 3.

So it was Kyutaro who called in Misaki! I knew it! It’s also really the only choice he could make where nobody dies. His language in this episode is really harsh compared to previous episodes, and I’m willing to bet it’s because he’s feeling more than a little guilty.

Their final family outing is so sweet and so painful at the same time. Rei and Kazuki are trying to give Miri one last good experience with them before they have to say goodbye. The most painful part, at least to me, was that right when Miri says she wishes Misaki could’ve eaten with them, the theme I’ve nicknamed “Miri’s Family” starts playing—but it’s the piano rendition used when things are serious or sad. The music this episode straight up broke my heart worse than the episode itself.

The Ferris Wheel ride is eerily silent for a while. There’s not any background music, which is often more telling than whatever music might play. Other fans have compared the Ferris Wheel ride to the family’s journey together, and it’s certainly a good comparison to make.

Interestingly enough, Kazuki brings up the cat from Episode 1. Not a single mention of that cat has been made up until now.

The ride is silent until Kazuki says “Sometimes it’s kinder not to get involved”, when “Kazuki’s Theme” starts playing. He’s basically given up on ever having a permanent family, or ever being happy.

Rei talks a lot in this episode, especially in this conversation. He’s more open and emotional than we’ve seen him before, and he reacts a lot to Kazuki just giving up. His line about Miri having shown him things he never would have seen otherwise hurts so bad 😭.

Kazuki tells Miri she’s having a sleepover with Misaki. I can’t help but wonder how Misaki is going to explain that Miri will be living with her now, that she won’t be seeing her Papas again. I can’t imagine that being a fun conversation.

Kazuki wrapping his scarf around Miri paralleling the cat in Episode 1 made me bawl my eyes out. And so did Kazuki’s line “Guess we weren’t able to change.” But he has changed, they both have, and we still have three (?) episodes left. It’s not over yet and this series had better have a happy ending. If it doesn’t I will learn to draw and animate a second season myself.

#buddy daddies #buddy daddies spoilers #episode 10 #the angst was *strong* this episode #lea over analyzes fictional stuff again #long post

[night-heron-writes]

Buddy Daddies & Music

I haven't seen anything about it yet, but after seeing Episode 8 I just have to share.

Warning: Spoilers for Buddy Daddies Episode 8

So one thing I noticed in the early episodes, and confirmed in this episode, is that some Buddy Daddies characters have their own thematic instrument. The main two i've noticed are our antagonists: Rei's father and Ryo Ogino.

The thematic instrument for Rei's father is a bassoon. The bassoon is a woodwind instrument that is used to express a variety of things but often somber or spooky situations. Very fitting for Rei's father, a somber and spooky man.

The bassoon features in a lot of things, but the best example i have is the Funeral March of a Marionette by Charles Gounoud, Funeral March of a Marionette was used in the Alfred Hitchcock Presents TV show to add suspense.

Now, Ryo Ogino's is a more well-known instrument: the organ. The organ is the precursor to the synthesizer and usually has at least 2 keyboards, sometimes as many as 4. There are different types of organ: church organ, theatre organ, and electric organ. My bet is that Ryo Ogino's instrument is a Theatre Organ, but it could be any of them.

Organs are also well-known for adding spookiness to a piece. If you've ever heard The Phantom of the Opera or been to a halloween-themed concert you'll immediately know what I mean.

Here's probably the most famous classical example: Toccata and Fugue by Johann Sebastian Bach

I haven't yet noticed any specific musical instruments for any other characters, but if you have please yell at me in the comments!

#buddy daddies #buddy daddies meta #music analysis #lea over analyzes fictional stuff again #Youtube