The Way of the Househusband

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The Way of the Househusband
The cover art shows Tatsu, a man in an apron and sunglasses, clenching his fist menacingly while carrying a bag of groceries
Japanese volume 1 cover, featuring Tatsu
極主夫道
(Gokushufudō)
Genre
Manga
Written byKousuke Oono
Published byShinchosha
English publisher
Viz Media
ImprintBunch Comics
MagazineKurage Bunch
DemographicSeinen
Original runFebruary 23, 2018 (2018-02-23) – present
Volumes7 (List of volumes)
Television drama
Directed byToichiro Ruto
Written byManabu Uda
Music byEishi Segawa
StudioFINE Entertainment
Original networkNippon TV
Original run October 11, 2020 – December 13, 2020
Episodes10
Original net animation
Directed byChiaki Kon
Written bySusumu Yamakawa
Music byGin
StudioJ.C.Staff
Licensed byNetflix
CN
bilibili
Released April 8, 2021 – present
Runtime16–19 minutes
Episodes5 (List of episodes)
Wikipe-tan face.svg Anime and manga portal

The Way of the Househusband (Japanese: 極主夫道, Hepburn: Gokushufudō) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kousuke Oono. Published in the online manga magazine Kurage Bunch since 2018, The Way of the Househusband follows an ex-yakuza boss who retires from crime to become a househusband. The series was adapted into a live-action television drama by Nippon TV in 2020. A Netflix original net animation (ONA) anime series produced by J.C.Staff was released in April 2021. A second part of the anime has been announced.

Synopsis[]

Tatsu, an infamous and feared yakuza boss nicknamed "the Immortal Dragon", retires from crime to become a househusband so that he can support Miku, his kyariaūman wife. The episodic series depicts a variety of comedic scenarios, typically wherein Tatsu's banal domestic work as a househusband is juxtaposed against his intimidating personality and appearance, and his frequent run-ins with former yakuza associates and rivals.

Characters[]

Tatsu (龍)
Portrayed by: Kenjiro Tsuda (promotional video and anime) (Japanese);[4][5] Jonah Scott (English), Hiroshi Tamaki (drama)[6]
A former yakuza boss who applies the skill and intensity he possessed as a crime lord to housework and domestic tasks as a househusband.
Miku (美久)
Portrayed by: Maaya Sakamoto (promotional video),[4] Shizuka Itō (anime) (Japanese);[7] Laura Post (English), Haruna Kawaguchi (drama)[8]
A career-focused designer with a strong work ethic, and Tatsu's wife. She is secretly an otaku. In the TV drama, Miku has a daughter named Himawari (ひまわり).
Masa (雅)
Portrayed by: Kenichi Suzumura (promotional video),[9] Kazuyuki Okitsu (anime) (Japanese);[7] Andres Paul Ramacho (English), Jun Shison (drama)[10]
An underling in Tatsu's former gang. He often unwittingly comes to assist Tatsu in his chores and errands.
Torajirō (虎二郎)
Portrayed by: Yoshimasa Hosoya (promotional video and anime) (Japanese);[11][12] Ben Pronsky (English), Kenichi Takitō (drama)[10]
A former yakuza boss. Tatsu dismantled his gang while he was in prison, and he now owns a food truck that sells crêpes.
Hibari Torii (酉井雲雀)
Portrayed by: Atsuko Tanaka (anime) (Japanese);[12] Melissa Greenspan (English); Izumi Inamori (drama)[10]
Gin (銀)
Portrayed by: Yuki Kaji (drama spinoff),[13] M.A.O (anime) (Japanese);[12] Laura Stahl (English)
Young Yakuza Lieutenant (むヤクザの若頭)
Portrayed by: Jun Fukushima (anime);[12] Billy Kametz (English)
Chairperson (の会長)
Portrayed by: Kimiko Saitō (anime);[12] Barbara Goodson (English)
Policemen (をする警官)
Portrayed by: Masashi Nogawa and Junichi Yanagita (anime) (Japanese);[12] Keith Silverstein (English), Junpei Yasui and Yūta Furukawa (drama)[14][10]
Former Yakuza Boss (組長のおやじ)
Portrayed by: Hōchū Ōtsuka (anime) (Japanese);[12] Jason Marnocha (English), Naoto Takenaka (drama)[10]

Media[]

Manga[]

The Way of the Househusband, written and illustrated by Kousuke Oono, was initially published on the Shinchosha's online manga magazine Kurage Bunch as a five chapter limited series from February 23 to March 23, 2018,[15][16] but became popular enough to be serialized as an ongoing series, starting on May 18 of the same year.[17][3] It has been collected into seven tankōbon volumes by Shinchosha.

In North America, Viz Media announced it had acquired the rights to publish an English-language translation of the series in February 2019, the first volume of which was published in September of that year.[18]

No. Original release date Original ISBN English release date English ISBN
1 August 8, 2018[19]978-4-10-772104-4September 17, 2019[20]978-1-9747-1389-9
2 December 7, 2018[21]978-4-10-772137-2January 21, 2020[22]978-1-9747-1044-7
3 June 8, 2019[23]978-4-10-772191-4May 19, 2020[24]978-1-9747-1346-2
4 December 9, 2019[25]978-4-10-772238-6September 15, 2020[26]978-1-9747-1767-5
5 June 9, 2020[27]978-4-10-772291-1May 18, 2021[28]978-1-9747-2177-1
6 November 9, 2020[29]978-4-10-772338-3September 21, 2021[30]978-1-9747-2461-1
7 March 9, 2021[31]978-4-10-772368-0——
8 September 9, 2021[32]978-4-10-772419-9——

Promotional videos[]

External video
video icon Vol. 1 promotional video, YouTube
video icon Vol. 2 promotional video, YouTube
video icon Vol. 3 promotional video, YouTube
video icon Vol. 4 promotional video, YouTube
video icon Live action promotional video, YouTube
video icon Vol. 5 promotional video, YouTube

Multiple motion comic videos have been produced to promote the release of the series' tankōbon volumes. The videos feature Kenjiro Tsuda as the voice of Tatsu, Kenichi Suzumura as the voice of Masa, Yoshimasa Hosoya as the voice of Torajiro, and Subaru Kimura as the voice of G-Goda.[33][9][11][34]

In December 2019, a live-action promotional video adapting scenes from The Way of the Househusband was produced to commemorate the series reaching 1.2 million copies in print.[4] The video stars Tsuda reprising his role as Tatsu and Maaya Sakamoto as Miku, and is co-directed by Tsuda and Hayato Yazaki.[35]

Television drama[]

On July 8, 2020, Nippon TV announced that it would adapt The Way of the Househusband into a live-action television drama, which premiered in October 2020. The series stars Hiroshi Tamaki as Tatsu,[6] is produced by  [ja], and features  [ja] as director and  [ja] as screenplay writer.[36]

On July 29, 2021, Netflix announced that another live-action adaptation, The Ingenuity of the Househusband, would release on August 29, 2021, starring Kenjiro Tsuda as Tatsu, who previously voiced the character in the anime adaptation and the manga's promotional videos.[37]

Anime[]

At the Netflix Anime Festival on October 26, 2020, an original net animation (ONA) anime series adaptation of The Way of the Househusband was announced. The series is produced by J.C.Staff and directed by Chiaki Kon, with Susumu Yamakawa handling the series' scripts. Kenjiro Tsuda reprised his role as Tatsu from the manga promotional videos.[5] The series was released on April 8, 2021.[38] A second part of the series has been announced.[39]

Episode list[]

No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleOriginal release date
Part 1
11"Episode 1"April 8, 2021 (2021-04-08)
Miku rushes off to work but forgets her bento. Tatsu tracks down a Policure Blu-ray for Miku’s birthday. Gin takes a walk around the neighborhood.
22"Episode 2"April 8, 2021 (2021-04-08)
Masa realizes that housewives — and househusbands — have a lot in common with the yakuza. Tatsu takes a yoga class and thoroughly enjoys himself.
33"Episode 3"April 8, 2021 (2021-04-08)
Tatsu and Masa bump into Torajiro, a fellow ex-gangster now running a crepe truck. The cops grow suspicious of Tatsu’s balcony herb garden.
44"Episode 4"April 8, 2021 (2021-04-08)
Miku’s dad tries to bond with Tatsu over a game of catch. A cockroach infiltrates the apartment. The Immortal Claus stops by a kids’ Christmas party.
55"Episode 5"April 8, 2021 (2021-04-08)
Tatsu takes a part-time job at a cafe. Then he bumps into a deceased yakuza boss’s wife, who’s now working at the supermarket. It’s Tatsu’s birthday!

Reception[]

Critical reception[]

The Way of the Househusband has been positively received by critics. Reviewing the first volume of the series for Polygon, writer Julia Lee called The Way of the Househusband "the perfect blend of comedy and action" and "a nice, silly pick-me-up manga."[40] Anime News Network gave the series 4.5 out of 5 stars, calling it "confident and expertly paced, with gorgeous artwork and perfect comic timing."[41] Conversely, Reuben Baron of Comic Book Resources summarized the series as having a "cute premise, but not one with a ton of variation," though he offered praise for the quality of its art.[3]

The anime series, while originally highly anticipated, was heavily criticized for its limited animation, which resembled a motion comic rather than anime.[42] Meanwhile in the Chinese version which was released on bilibili, the tattoos were completely removed due to television censorship in China.[43]

Sales[]

1.2 million copies of The Way of the Househusband are in print as of December 2019.[4] In Oricon's sales rankings, the first volume of The Way of the Househusband had sold 95,637 copies as of September 2018,[44] while the second volume had sold 143,051 copies as of January 2019.[45] The first volume of the English-language translation of the series placed sixteenth in Nielsen BookScan's best-selling graphic novels for adults in September 2019.[46]

Awards[]

Year Category Institution or publication Result Notes Ref.
2018 Best Overall Series Pixiv Comic Ranking Won [47]
2018 Best Comedy Series Pixiv Comic Ranking Won [47]
2018 Best Web Manga Series Next Manga Awards Runner-up [48]
2018 Annual Ranking Web Manga General Election Ninth Place [49]
2018 Annual Ranking Nationwide Bookstore Employees' Recommended Comics of 2018 Second Place [50]
2019 Best Series for Male Readers Kono Manga ga Sugoi! Eighth Place [51]
2020 Best Humor Publication Eisner Awards Won English-language translation by Viz Media [52]

References[]

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  2. ^ "The Way of the Househusband". Viz Media. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c Baron, Reuben (14 September 2019). "REVIEW: The Way of the Househusband Vol. 1 is Cute, But One-Note". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "「極主夫道」実写PV公開、津田健次郎主演＆監督で坂本真綾が妻の声を担当". Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Retrieved 17 January 2020.
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External links[]

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