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.