The Way of the Househusband

The Way of the Househusband (極主夫道) 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 member who retires from crime to become a househusband. The series was adapted into a live-action television drama by Nippon TV in 2020.

An original net animation (ONA) series produced by J.C.Staff was released from April to October 2021 on Netflix. A second season premiered in January 2023.

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)
 * A former yakuza boss who applies the skill and intensity he possessed as a crime lord to housework and domestic tasks as a househusband.
 * A former yakuza boss who applies the skill and intensity he possessed as a crime lord to housework and domestic tasks as a househusband.
 * 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)
 * A career-focused designer with a strong work ethic, and Tatsu's wife. She is secretly an otaku and obsessed with magical girl anime, notably a parody of Pretty Cure named "Policure".
 * A career-focused designer with a strong work ethic, and Tatsu's wife. She is secretly an otaku and obsessed with magical girl anime, notably a parody of Pretty Cure named "Policure".
 * A career-focused designer with a strong work ethic, and Tatsu's wife. She is secretly an otaku and obsessed with magical girl anime, notably a parody of Pretty Cure named "Policure".


 * Masa (雅)
 * An underling in Tatsu's former gang. He often unwittingly comes to assist Tatsu in his chores and errands.
 * An underling in Tatsu's former gang. He often unwittingly comes to assist Tatsu in his chores and errands.
 * An underling in Tatsu's former gang. He often unwittingly comes to assist Tatsu in his chores and errands.


 * Torajirō (虎二郎)
 * A former yakuza boss. Tatsu dismantled his gang while he was in prison, and he now owns a food truck that sells crêpes. He still has a strong rivalry with Tatsu, even when it is about home chores.
 * A former yakuza boss. Tatsu dismantled his gang while he was in prison, and he now owns a food truck that sells crêpes. He still has a strong rivalry with Tatsu, even when it is about home chores.
 * A former yakuza boss. Tatsu dismantled his gang while he was in prison, and he now owns a food truck that sells crêpes. He still has a strong rivalry with Tatsu, even when it is about home chores.


 * Hibari Torii (酉井雲雀)
 * A former yakuza leader. After her gang was disbanded, she started working at a grocery store. In the live-action she is named Hibari Eguchi and is married to Tatsu's former boss.
 * A former yakuza leader. After her gang was disbanded, she started working at a grocery store. In the live-action she is named Hibari Eguchi and is married to Tatsu's former boss.
 * A former yakuza leader. After her gang was disbanded, she started working at a grocery store. In the live-action she is named Hibari Eguchi and is married to Tatsu's former boss.


 * Gin (銀)
 * Tatsu and Miku's cat. He has many adventures on his own walking around the neighborhood and meeting other animals.
 * Tatsu and Miku's cat. He has many adventures on his own walking around the neighborhood and meeting other animals.
 * Tatsu and Miku's cat. He has many adventures on his own walking around the neighborhood and meeting other animals.


 * Young Yakuza Lieutenant (むヤクザの若頭)


 * Chairperson (の会長)


 * Policemen (をする警官)
 * A couple of policemen. One of them recognizes Tatsu as a dangerous yakuza and tries to find evidence to put him in jail, leading to hilarious mistakes.
 * A couple of policemen. One of them recognizes Tatsu as a dangerous yakuza and tries to find evidence to put him in jail, leading to hilarious mistakes.
 * A couple of policemen. One of them recognizes Tatsu as a dangerous yakuza and tries to find evidence to put him in jail, leading to hilarious mistakes.


 * Former Yakuza Boss (組長のおやじ)
 * Tatsu's former boss in the yakuza. He tries to make Tatsu come back to his own ways only to discover how skilled Tatsu became as a househusband when Tatsu fed his dog with a tasty plate he cooked himself. In the drama he is named Kikujiro Eguchi and is married to Hibari.
 * Tatsu's former boss in the yakuza. He tries to make Tatsu come back to his own ways only to discover how skilled Tatsu became as a househusband when Tatsu fed his dog with a tasty plate he cooked himself. In the drama he is named Kikujiro Eguchi and is married to Hibari.
 * Tatsu's former boss in the yakuza. He tries to make Tatsu come back to his own ways only to discover how skilled Tatsu became as a househusband when Tatsu fed his dog with a tasty plate he cooked himself. In the drama he is named Kikujiro Eguchi and is married to Hibari.


 * Bob (ボブ)
 * An immigrant that lives in the same building as Tatsu. He nearly suffocates himself while trying to make a BBQ in his own home.
 * An immigrant that lives in the same building as Tatsu. He nearly suffocates himself while trying to make a BBQ in his own home.


 * Gōda (剛田)


 * Koharu (小春)
 * An employee at the Lovely Donuts fast food chain and the little sister of Torajirō. In the film she is a gang leader.
 * An employee at the Lovely Donuts fast food chain and the little sister of Torajirō. In the film she is a gang leader.
 * An employee at the Lovely Donuts fast food chain and the little sister of Torajirō. In the film she is a gang leader.


 * Yukari Ōmae (大前ゆかり)
 * A college student working at a cafe, she is a character original to the drama.
 * A college student working at a cafe, she is a character original to the drama.


 * Himawari (ひまわり)
 * Miku's daughter and Tatsu's stepdaughter, she is a character original to the drama. She is an elementary school student who is often more serious than her parents.
 * Miku's daughter and Tatsu's stepdaughter, she is a character original to the drama. She is an elementary school student who is often more serious than her parents.

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, but became popular enough to be serialized as an ongoing series, starting on May 18 of the same year. It has been collected into fourteen 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.

Promotional videos
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.

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. The video stars Tsuda reprising his role as Tatsu and Maaya Sakamoto as Miku, and is co-directed by Tsuda and Hayato Yazaki.

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, is produced by FINE Entertainment, and features Tōichirō Rutō as director and Manabu Uda as screenplay writer.

Episodes
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 himself, who previously voiced Tatsu in the anime adaptation and the manga's promotional videos. A second season was released on October 7, 2021.

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. The series was released on April 8, 2021. A second part of the series was released on October 7, 2021. The opening theme is "Shufu no Michi" (The Path of the Househusband), while the ending theme is "Gokushufukaidō" (The Highway of the Househusband), both performed by Uchikubigokumon-Dōkōkai. A second season was announced at the Netflix Tudum Japan event on September 25, 2022. It premiered on January 1, 2023.

Film
On November 3, 2021, Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan announced a live-action film set to be released on Summer 2022, with Tōichirō Rutō returning as director. Hiroshi Tamaki, Haruna Kawaguchi, Jun Shison, Tamaki Shiratori, Naoto Takenaka, Izumi Inamori, Kenichi Takitō, Yūta Furukawa, Junpei Yasui, Tina Tamashiro, Megumi, and Michiko Tanaka will also return as their characters from the television drama. On February 24, 2022, it was revealed that Kōtarō Yoshida as Kondō, Yumi Adachi as Shiraishi-sensei, Marika Matsumoto as Koharu, Kenta Izuka as Yamamoto, Tomoko Fujita as Katō, Kunito Watanabe as Kazuma and Yua Shinkawa as Kasumi joined the cast.

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." 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." 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.

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

Sales
By December 2019, The Way of the Househusband had 1.2 million copies in print. In Oricon's sales rankings, the first volume of The Way of the Househusband had sold 95,637 copies by September 2018, while the second volume had sold 143,051 copies by January 2019. 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.

Awards
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 * Best Overall Series
 * Pixiv Comic Ranking
 * Won
 * Best Comedy Series
 * Pixiv Comic Ranking
 * Won
 * Best Web Manga Series
 * Next Manga Awards
 * Annual Ranking
 * Web Manga General Election
 * Ninth Place
 * Annual Ranking
 * Nationwide Bookstore Employees' Recommended Comics of 2018
 * Second Place
 * Best Series for Male Readers
 * Kono Manga ga Sugoi!
 * Eighth Place
 * Best Humor Publication
 * Eisner Awards
 * Won
 * English-language translation by Viz Media