Tag: Comedy

The Way of the Househusband, Vol. 6

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The Way of the Househusband, Vol. 6 by Kousuke Oono
Series Name: The Way of the House Husband
Genres: Comedy, Contemporary, Slice of Life
Intended Age Group: Older Teen
Publisher: Viz
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-9747-2461-1
Rating: 3.5/5
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Description from the Book

All of Tatsu’s hustling and networking since leaving the yakuza has earned him an offer he can’t refuse – an invitation to run with the women’s association, the movers and shakers of his neighborhood. But before he can be initiated, the Immortal Dragon must prove to the board’s heavyweights that he truly can hack it as a homemaker. It will be the greatest test of this househusband’s skills yet!

Personal & Info

This series is always good for a laugh. Volume six is the last volume my household has, so it might be a bit until I gain access to more.

Characters

Tatsu and Miku are the primary characters for each volume.

Masa, Tatsu’s sworn brother from the yakuza, is a regular. He seems to have befriended Miku, which I think is cool.

The geek dude Tatsu encounters randomly makes more appearances in this volume. I bet he and Miku would get along great, but they haven’t met, yet.

Story & Thoughts

While I’m giving this a three and a half, which is along the same lines I’ve been rating the other volumes of the series, I think this one is one of the better volumes. I like the events that occur in the chapters. While they aren’t insanely hilarious, they are more overall amusing.

Tatsu takes on more responsibilities. He tries to help a struggling housewife friend of Miku’s. The women’s association tries him as a male applicant, which leads to learning more skills. And let’s not forget dog sitting an adorable pooch.

The yakuza jokes are played up big in the first chapter. They heavily imply prostitution, but obviously that’s not what he means. We all know this by now, but his demeanor and appearance always make people in the story misunderstand.

I still think the chapters with Miku are some of the best. This volume finally hints a tiny bit at how Miku and Tatsu met. I hope we get the full story eventually.

I haven’t been reading these consecutively, but I think my favorites so far are volume one and volume six. It might be a while before I’m able to read seven and onward, since I don’t yet have access to them. They will be read and reviewed eventually, though.

The Way of the Househusband, Vol. 5

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The Way of the Househusband, Vol 5 by Kousuke Oono
Series Name: The Way of the House Husband
Genres: Comedy, Contemporary, Slice of Life
Intended Age Group: Older Teen
Publisher: Viz
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-9747-2177-1
Rating: 3.5/5
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Description from the Book

Tatsu is ambushed by a yakuza with a beef, and there’s only one way to settle things – an epic rap battle! But this throwdown is only a warm-up for the buffet battle yet to come, because when you’re the Immortal Dragon, you don’t choose the househusband life, it chooses you!

Personal & Info

This series is always good for a chuckle. I think it’s wise to spread them out a little. The humor probably doesn’t hold up as well if you try to binge it, or maybe that’s just me.

Characters

Tatsu and Miku are the primary characters for each volume.

Masa, Tatsu’s sworn brother from the yakuza, is a regular.

A bunch of the retired yakuza characters from other volumes appear in this one

Story & Thoughts

The humor for this volume seems to tone down all the white powder jokes. They don’t come up as often. The jokes are more situational and related to the actions a person takes. The yakuza innuendo speech is still all over the place. I think that’s a permanent fixture because it comes from their background. At least it’s not blown out of proportion so much this time.

We learn where Miku gets her cooking skills from. She gets it from her dad. I don’t know how her mother can stand both of them in the kitchen at the same time. Tatsu certainly can’t stand the sight.

There’s a chapter about a costume contest. It seems like everyone wants second prize, which is a year supply of rice. Unfortunately the chapter does not say who wins second. They only say who wins first place.

I think this is the first time we really see Tatsu without his sunglasses. His face is shown a lot in this volume. He looks younger and more handsome without his glasses.

My favorite chapter in this book is probably the first one. Tatsu doesn’t know how to relax and Masa tries to help. The chapter at the bar is pretty good, too.

The Way of the Househusband, Vol. 4

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The Way of the Househusband, Vol. 4 by Kousuke Oono
Series Name: The Way of the House Husband
Genres: Comedy, Contemporary, Slice of Life
Intended Age Group: Older Teen
Publisher: Viz
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-9747-1767-5
Rating: 3/5
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Description from the Book

On what begins as just another shopping trip, Tatsu has a run-in with a thief – of the feline persuasion! When the gangster-turned-homemaker gives chase, yakuza are quickly drawn into the fray, and chaos erupts in the streets of the shopping district. Even everyday errands can turn treacherous when you’re the Immortal Dragon!

Personal & Info

I wasn’t really feeling this one. I’m not sure if that speaks for the quality or my mood. It still got a smile out of me, though.

Characters

Tatsu and Miku are the primary characters for each volume.

Masa is a regular, but his parts are rather small.

Various other housewives make appearances at least once per volume.

Story & Thoughts

Masa wants so much to be like Tatsu, but he always fails spectacularly. It’s nice how supportive Tatsu is. The chapters with Masa are some of my favorites.

The chapters with Miku in them are always great. I like her interactions with Tatsu. She seems to find his eccentric qualities endearing. They also have great chemistry together, but not in a romantic way, since this series isn’t focused on that. The volleyball chapter is one of my favorites in this volume.

The white powder jokes are getting a little tired. Any food item that looks like a white powder of some sort is always referred to as white powder, by Tatsu, with the story intention of it sounding like drugs. I find it hard to believe the people he spends time with haven’t realized that yet. And how the heck is Miku supposed to know which white powder to buy for him if he refers to so many things as white powder?

I find it hard to believe a “Japanophile” can’t tell the difference between a type of dagger and a katana. I’m pretty sure the knife Tatsu uses is called a tanto. Also, who grills with charcoal INDOORS? That seems like an extremely stupid thing to do, for obvious reasons. Can’t the guy grill on his balcony instead?

There is no mention of the possible overarching plot I saw introduced in volume three. Maybe it’s nothing, or maybe it’ll just take longer to have any further implementation.

The Way of the Househusband, Vol. 3

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The Way of the Househusband, Vol. 3 by Kousuke Oono
Series Name: The Way of the House Husband
Genres: Comedy, Contemporary, Slice of Life
Intended Age Group: Older Teen
Publisher: Viz
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-9747-1346-2
Rating: 3.5/5
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Description from the Book

The Immortal Dragon, once the fiercest member of the yakuza, is now a married man devoted to supporting his loving wife – as a househusband! But when the gangster-turned-homemaker needs to make some quick cash to buy her a present, he turns to the only skills he knows – and gets his first part-time job! The cozy yakuza comedy continues!

Personal & Info

This is a three and a half, and while some might think that’s low, it’s actually decent. Based on the system I use, it’s a good score. I use this score for things that are above average, but not outstandingly good.

This volume is funny enough to make me giggle, but the particular slice of life stories in the volume are not as great as the ones in the first volume. The fact it makes me giggle gets it that half score. If it were to excite me as much as, say, that one chapter in volume one where Tatsu criticizes the Roomba and the cat gets into shenanigans making a mess of everything, then it would earn that four.

Characters

Tatsu and Miku are the primary characters for each volume.

Masa appears to be a regular. He’s a “sworn brother” to Tatsu from his days as a yakuza.

Various other housewives make appearances at least once per volume.

Story & Thoughts

There appears to be a running theme of retired yakuza showing up with various generic jobs. They all take everything super seriously. Like the guy from volume two who has a crepe truck. It’s pretty great. We see two more in this book.

It looks like a possible overarching plot is being introduced. In a couple different chapters, there are people talking about something going on with the yakuza. Tatsu is not relevant to it as of yet, but it’s in his periphery.

Tatsu seems like a great husband. He tries hard to take care of all Miku’s needs, even if he doesn’t quite know how to handle it effectively sometimes. Falling for TV ads certainly is not helpful. It’s pretty amazing how he can do something in practically two seconds that neither Miku, nor Masa, seem to be able to. I think Miku would live in filth without him, and probably not eat nearly as well.

Masa seems to be taking some lessons to heart. His skills are more that of a beginner, so he needs more practice. He always wants to “guugle” things, which can be helpful, but this is often brought up at inconvenient times.

There are bonus chapters in every volume. Each one, so far, has at least one starring Gin, their family cat. I think those are the best ones.

His Majesty the Demon King’s Housekeeper, Vol. 1

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His Majesty the Demon King’s Housekeeper, Vol. 1 by Saiko Wadori, Mika Kajiyama
Series Name: His Majesty the Demon King’s Housekeeper
Genres: Comedy, Fantasy, Isekai, Romance 
Intended Age Group: 13+
Publisher: Seven Seas
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-63858-407-0
Rating: 3.5/5
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Description from the Book

For Takatsuki Sakura, a trip to the library turns into a fantastical journey. She has been swept away to a grandiose castle ruled by a gorgeous demon king. Magic and wonder covers every room. Taking it in, Sakura can hardly breathe…because of all the dust and dirt. A curse has prevented this kingdom from cleaning. Only Sakura and her housekeeping knowhow can scrub away this dark magic and grime!

Personal & Info

Not going to lie, I grabbed this because the cover looks nice and the description mentions the word library.

Housekeepers and maids are always popular in manga. I don’t think I’ve actually tried any series with them in the title, though. I did see a couple episodes of Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, and I like that. I’ll probably try reading or watching more of that eventually. Anyway, my point is, this is my first real try(maybe specifically with manga) at anything with maid or housekeeper in the title.

Characters

Sakura, is the main character. She’s an enthusiastic neat freak, because her mother traumatized her as a child.

His Majesty the Demon King, I don’t believe we get a name in this volume. We’re going to have to wait and see about that. He’s so pretty.

Milia is a cat demon with shapeshifting abilities. She’s the girl with purple hair on the cover.

Lehaye is the chamberlain to the King. He takes advantage of any profitable opportunity.

Sadeen is His Majesty’s personal guard. He’s mostly good at doing strong man things.

Ruval is a minstrel, and self-invited guest in the palace.

Story & Thoughts

Isekai are a dime a dozen these days, so I’m always a little wary when trying them. This one is surprisingly good. I give it a three and a half out of five. Three and a half usually means above average enough that it stands out to me and I want to continue the series. It seems like it can only get better from here. Several plot hooks are thrown in toward the end of the volume.

The kingdom this takes place in is heavily reliant on magic. Nobody knows how to do anything without it. This is why Sakura is their only hope for cleanliness.

This series is interesting because it has cleaning tutorials thrown in. Legit tutorials, like using salt to clean iron, and the use of baking soda as a cleaning agent. It even talks about alkaline solutions. You could probably legitimately learn some cleaning tips from reading this.

The King is not exactly what one would expect in a standard isekai. He’s literally just living in luxury, and has no plans to cause any chaos. There’s no evil army for a hero to fight against. He’s not even a villain. I think the atypical cast adds to the charm of the story. The whole thing is unexpectedly wholesome.

The afterward describes the series as a rom-com, and I do agree with that. There are funny moments scattered around, and the story doesn’t seem super serious. Nothing blatantly romantic happens in this volume, but there are definitely hints of romance to come. I’m interested in seeing what happens.

The Way of the Househusband, Vol. 2

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The Way of the Househusband, Vol. 2 by Kousuke Oono
Series Name: The Way of the House Husband
Genres: Comedy, Contemporary, Slice of Life
Intended Age Group: Older Teen
Publisher: Viz
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-9747-1044-7
Rating: 3.5/5
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Description from the Book

The legendary yakuza “the Immortal Dragon” has washed his hands of the gangster life for something far more dangerous – becoming a househusband! Cleaning, laundry, grocery, shopping, cooking… These days he’s doing everything he can to succeed as man of the house, if it doesn’t kill him first! The cozy yakuza comedy continues!

Personal & Info

I’m learning Japanese with a phone app, and only recently started on it. I have designated days where I MUST work on blog related things, even if it’s just reading without actually posting anything. The day I read this, I was addicted to my Japanese app and had to make myself stop. Thankfully, this book is funny enough that I was giggling after the first couple pages. That made it so much easier to tear myself away from my phone for a while to get stuff done.

Characters

Tatsu and his wife Miku are the primary characters for each volume, but mostly Tatsu.

Masa will probably be making constant appearances. He doesn’t seem to do much aside from be amazed by Tatsu.

Tatsu spends his free time with a group of housewives. They will probably be frequent characters as a group. None of them have any names as of yet.

Story & Thoughts

I don’t think this one is quite as funny as the first volume. The book is still slice of life stories, but I don’t think they hit quite the same. They still make me giggle a little, so it earns a three and a half instead of just a three.

Tatsu is teaching Masa some househusband skills, which he doesn’t seem entirely interested in. That leads to some funny moments as Tatsu gets intense about subjects and Masa is just like, whatever bro. I think he appreciates the usefulness of the skills, but not necessarily the doing them himself part.

This volume shows how unreasonable some of Tatsu’s criteria for making simple choices is. He blows things out of proportion due to his background, because he wants everything to be safe to an unreasonable extent. I’m not sure how Miku puts up with it.

The in-laws come for a visit. The ones from Miku’s side of the family. I find it surprising they approve of Tatsu. Most parents would probably be appalled if their daughter brought home a gang member, retired or not.

I love how well Tatsu gets along with the other housewives. Obviously, they think he’s a little strange, but they seem fond of him. The parts where he does activities with them are some of the best parts of this volume, in my opinion.

The Way of the Househusband, Vol. 1

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The Way of the Househusband, Vol. 1 by Kousuke Oono
Series Name: The Way of the House Husband
Genres: Comedy, Slice of Life, Contemporary
Intended Age Group: Older Teen
Publisher: Viz
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-9747-0940-3
Rating: 4/5
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Description from the Book

He was the fiercest member of the yakuza, a man who left countless underworld legends in his wake. They called him “the Immortal Dragon.” But one day he walked away from it all to travel another path – the path of the househusband! The curtain rises on this cozy yakuza comedy!

Personal & Info

My husband loves yakuza themed stuff with humor mixed in, so our copies of this series belong to him. He highly recommends the series, and the announcement of it caught my interest, too. Reading this makes me want to see how the anime turned out.

I was going to give this a three and a half, but it made me laugh, so I’m bumping it to a four. I also took a short break halfway through, so it’s fair to make up for any discrepancy there may have been.

Characters

Tatsu is the main character, also known as “the Immortal Dragon.”

Miku is Tatsu’s wife. She’s a designer of some sort, and also a geek, which I think is amazing.

Masa appears to be someone Tatsu knows from his days as a yakuza.

Gin is the family cat, and one of the best characters in my opinion.

Story & Thoughts

When I hear something is a comedy, I’m generally not sure what to think about it until I read it myself, especially with manga. As with anything, there are different types of comedy, and different ways to make stories funny. This series seems to have its own formula that works well.

Each chapter is a slice of life story. There is a simple event, encounter, or task to be done. Some of them are funny throughout, while others save the punch line until the end of the chapter. Sometimes there is more added to the punch line on the page after the chapter end, where there is a single picture drawn.

I think the main point of the comedy is how unexpectedly considerate Tatsu is, and how seriously he handles everything. He has a lot of eccentricities. When was the last time you saw someone criticize a Roomba for not being able to clean crevices?

The art style contributes, too. There are times when it looks like a run of the mill highly detailed manga, and then there are others where it looks dark and ominous. I’m curious how Tatsu’s tattoo is drawn, because it looks different than everything else.

I will definitely be continuing the series. I have questions, like how did Tatsu and Miku end up together? Because they seem like very different people. They are funny together though. I love how Miku is a geek and Tatsu tries to understand what she likes, while also trying not to let her spend their money frivolously.

Juniper (Spell Library #2)

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Juniper by Eva Delaney
Series Name: Spell Library
Genres: Comedy, Contemporary, Fantasy, Ghosts, Magic, Paranormal Romance, Pirates, Reverse Harem, Romance, Shifters, Vampires
Intended Age Group: Adult
Publisher: Independent
Edition: Kindle
ASIN: B086HG2WRC
Rating: 3.5/5
Amazon

Description

Juniper is in hiding from some allies turned enemies for taking some things that weren’t hers. When she decides to use some dark magic for a night of fun with her three favorite toys, things go awry. The toys become dildo shifters! The three being: a shy vampire, an 18th century pirate, and Shakespeare himself.

The spell only lasts until morning, so Juniper promises to show them a good time. But can she really stand to let them go? If she wants a real chance at a future with them, she must come out of hiding and confront her problems.

Personal & Info

Violet is good, so I am continuing the series. If you also read Violet, I do not recommend using that as an expectation for this book. Violet is cute and funny, and generally appropriate. This book goes in a completely different, erotic, direction.

Some of these have paperback copies available, but not all of them. I can only find Amazon links for them, so that’s all I’m listing.

I don’t have good notes for this one, so I’m not sure I’ll have much to say. I’ll do my best anyway.

Characters

Juniper, the main character, is a dark witch. She’s hiding from people in plain sight by not using dark magic, because apparently people can track that. She’s a thriving business woman in the sex toy industry. Her products are magically enhanced for all kinds of shenanigans.

Oscar, I believe he is the bookish vampire. He is my favorite in this volume. I resonate with him and want him for myself.

Sam is the pirate. I think he hogs most of Juniper’s attention.

Shakes is literally Shakespeare. I think they function under the logic he doesn’t LOOK like Shakespeare because he looks younger than the commonly seen pictures or something like that.

Alyssa, I think she is Juniper’s best friend, if I am remembering right.

Story & Thoughts

I actually think the first third of the book is difficult to read, because it seems like it’s trying too hard. By this I mean, throwing in as many sexual jokes and phrases as possible, to the point where they don’t make sense, or sound strange. Some of the humor is lost because of this. After the first third, the story finds its pace and gets better.

This book has more action in it than Violet. There are magic duels, for example. I think an entire street gets messed up because of one.

I can’t remember the finer details about the story events toward the end with the island and the other witches and warlocks or whatever you want to call them. What I do remember is the book is very erotic, like, maybe eighty percent erotic, and twenty percent actual deep story. I’m making up these numbers.

There are elaborate sex scenes scattered about. Three ways, guy on guy, almost anything you can think for them to do, they do. It’s not shy either, you might as well be reading a full blown erotica.

It’s incredibly obvious Juniper’s favorite guy is the pirate. They have the best chemistry of the three, and their personalities seem to compliment each other in a gravitational way.

Violet (Spell Library #1)

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Violet by Mia Harlan
Series Name: Spell Library
Genres: Comedy, Contemporary, Fantasy, Magic, Paranormal Romance, Reverse Harem, Romance, Shifters, Vampires
Intended Age Group: Adult
Publisher: Independent
Edition: Kindle
ASIN: B086HXCNHT
Rating: 4.5/5
Amazon

Description

Violet is a young chameleon shifter on the run. She’s spent the past year posing as her 80-year-old best friend in Silver Springs. No one can ever find out who she is or what she looks like or she might end up dead. Not even her three fated mates: a bear shifter, a vampire mage, and a troll cop. But that might be out of her control.

Personal & Info

I see a lot of ebook ads on social media. That’s where I found this one. The description was so out there and funny on its own that I added it to my wish list. I scroll through my wish list regularly for sales, and this one was free one day, so I grabbed it. I’m glad I did, too, because this book is glorious!

I am unable to find any hardcopies or listings on other major sites, so I’ve only listed the link to the Amazon kindle version.

It’s been a while since I read this, but I like to read this series every so often as a pallet cleanser when I need a break. At this point, I’ve read four of them (in the past two years), so I’d like to get reviews up for them so I won’t be missing any when I get around to reading more of them.

All of these books CAN be read as stand alone novels, but they do connect a little. The characters appear in other books, and the main connector is a novel that gets passed to each main character.

Characters

Violet, the main character, is a chameleon shifter. She impersonates her best friend to work at the library. Violet is in a bit of trouble, so nobody can know who she really is.

Violet, Violet’s best friend (yes there are two Violets), is a skunk shifter. Other Violet impersonates this Violet at work.

Liam is troll police officer. I don’t mean the jokester kind, he is a literal troll. He’s related to one of the old ladies that frequents the library.

Bert is Liam’s partner. He’s a vampire who chooses to work the day shift.

Cash is a wealthy vampire. His name is rather fitting when you think about it. I think he invented this world’s version of social media, if I remember right.

Nole is a bear shifter. He works at the library with Violet. I believe he has two brothers, but I probably won’t be mentioning them.

Story & Thoughts

This book has me laughing and giggling most of the way. The first half is hilarious

The story occurs within the span of only a few days. Day one, Violet is practically bombarded by men. I won’t say how, because that would spoil the comedy.

My favorite is Cash. I like his sense of humor the most, and he seems like the sweetest, in my opinion. No details on how or why, because I don’t want to spoil anything.

The story is not purely comedy, though. It gets serious in the second half, but the events practically fly by, so it doesn’t feel like the book itself is serious.

Both Violets get a happy ending, which is great. It’s not really a surprise though, because as a romance, a happily ever after is standard. I am a little surprised at the ending old lady Violet gets, though. That part caught me off guard, but good for her.

The general setting of the story intrigues me, but I have to wonder what humans see if they can’t see all the paranormal stuff.

I’m tempted to give Violet a perfect score, because, as a comedy, the rating system is a little different. I laughed a lot, which is good, but I feel like there is something missing from the serious section. I love this book. It’s a great break from the more serious fantasy I often read.