is a Japanese

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series written and illustrated by Kousuke Oono. Published in the online

manga magazine Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is used ...

''Bunch'' since 2018, ''The Way of the Househusband'' follows an ex-

yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the ter ...

member who retires from crime to become a

househusband A stay-at-home dad (alternatively, full-time father, stay-at-home father, house dad, househusband, or house-spouse) is a father who is the main caregiver of the children and is generally the homemaker of the household. The female equivalent is t ...

. The series was adapted into a live-action television drama by

Nippon TV JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as , is the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned-and-operated by the which is a subsidiary of the certified broadcasting holding company , itself a listed su ...

in 2020. A

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

original net animation An original net animation (ONA), known in Japan as , is an anime that is directly released onto the Internet. ONAs may also have been aired on television if they were first directly released on the Internet. The name mirrors original video animati ...

(ONA)

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

series produced by

J.C.Staff , is a Japanese animation studio founded in January 1986 by Tomoyuki Miyata, who previously worked at Tatsunoko Production. The studio's first release was ''Yōtōden'' in 1987. They have produced several well-known anime series, such as '' Food ...

was released from April to October 2021. A second season premiered in January 2023.

Synopsis

Tatsu, an infamous and feared ''

'' boss nicknamed "the Immortal

Dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

", retires from crime to become a househusband so that he can support Miku, his 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

; : Portrayed by: (promotional video and anime) (Japanese);

Jonah Scott Jonah Scott is an American voice actor working for Funimation, SDI Media and Bang Zoom! Entertainment. He is known for his roles in ''Beastars'' as Legoshi, ''Akudama Drive'' as Courier, '' High-Rise Invasion'' as Sniper Mask and ''Dying Light ...

(English), (drama) : A former yakuza boss who applies the skill and intensity he possessed as a crime lord to housework and domestic tasks as a househusband. ; : Portrayed by:

Maaya Sakamoto Maaya may refer to: * Maaya (given name), a feminine Japanese given name * ''Maaya'' (1972 film), an Indian Malayalam film * ''Maaya'' (2014 film), an Indian Telugu film See also * Maya (disambiguation) Maya may refer to: Civilizations * Maya ...

(promotional video),

Shizuka Itō is a Japanese voice actress and singer from Tokyo, Japan. She is represented by Ken Production. She won a "Best Actress in Supporting Roles" award at the 10th Seiyu Awards for her roles in ''Prison School'' and ''Sailor Moon Crystal''. She is ...

(anime) (Japanese);

Laura Post Laura Post (born June 23) is an American voice actress and voice director known for her works in anime dubbed in English by Bang Zoom! Entertainment and Studiopolis like portraying Aria Lieze in ''Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's'', Ragyo Kiryuin ...

(English), (drama) : A career-focused

designer A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exp ...

with a strong work ethic, and Tatsu's wife. She is secretly an

otaku is a Japanese word that describes people with consuming interests, particularly in anime, manga, video games, or computers. Its contemporary use originated with a 1983 essay by Akio Nakamori in ''Manga Burikko''. may be used as a pejorativ ...

, obsessed with

magical girl is a subgenre of Japanese fantasy media (including anime, manga, light novels, and live-action media) centered around young girls who possess magical abilities, which they typically use through an ideal alter ego into which they can transfo ...

anime. ; : Portrayed by:

Kenichi Suzumura is a Japanese voice actor, narrator, and singer who is affiliated with and a representative of INTENTION, a voice acting company he founded in March 2012. He voiced Morley in ''Macross 7'', Hikaru Hitachiin in ''Ouran High School Host Club'', Mas ...

(promotional video),

Kazuyuki Okitsu is a Japanese voice actor and narrator. After he graduated from the Osaka University of Arts, he was initially represented by the REM talent agency. However, since May 2007, he has been affiliated with Kekke Corporation. Filmography TV anime ;2 ...

(anime) (Japanese); Andres Paul Ramacho (English), Jun Shison (drama) : An underling in Tatsu's former gang. He often unwittingly comes to assist Tatsu in his chores and errands. ; : Portrayed by: Yoshimasa Hosoya (promotional video and anime) (Japanese);

Ben Pronsky Ben Pronsky is an American voice and television actor. Career Pronsky studied regularly at the Larry Moss Studio and was founder and director of the Edgemar Film Festival in Santa Monica, California. He currently resides in Los Angeles. He has a ...

(English), (drama) : A former yakuza boss. Tatsu dismantled his gang while he was in prison, and he now owns a

food truck A food truck is a large motorized vehicle (such as a van) or trailer, equipped to cook, prepare, serve, and/or sell food. Some, including ice cream trucks, sell frozen or prepackaged food; others have on-board kitchens and prepare food from scratc ...

that sells

crêpe A crêpe or crepe ( or , , Quebec French: ) is a very thin type of pancake. Crêpes are usually one of two varieties: ''sweet crêpes'' () or ''savoury galettes'' (). They are often served with a wide variety of fillings such as cheese, ...

s. He still has a big rivalry when Tatsu even when it is about home chores. ; : Portrayed by: Atsuko Tanaka (anime) (Japanese);

Melissa Greenspan Melissa Greenspan is an American actress known for her recurring roles as Kim on '' Providence'' and as Cindy on the '' Desperate Housewives''. She also appeared in ''Party of Five'', '' Saved by the Bell: The New Class'', '' Beverly Hills 90210' ...

(English);

Izumi Inamori is a Japanese actress signed to Burning Production. Biography Izumi Inamori was born and grew up in Kagoshima Prefecture. After finished from the local high school, Inamori went to University of Texas at Arlington to study English abroad. Aft ...

(drama) : 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. ; : Portrayed by:

Yuki Kaji Yuki, Yūki or Yuuki may refer to: Places * Yuki, Hiroshima (Jinseki), a town in Jinseki District, Hiroshima, Japan * Yuki, Hiroshima (Saeki), a town in Saeki District, Hiroshima, Japan * Yūki, Ibaraki, a city on Honshu island in Japan * Yuki, ...

(drama spinoff), M.A.O (anime) (Japanese);

Laura Stahl Laura Stahl is an American voice actress and voice director, known for her work on anime dubs for Bang Zoom! Entertainment, Studiopolis, NYAV Post and SDI Media. She is of African American and Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ...

(English) : Tatsu and Miku's cat. It has its own adventures on his own walking around the neighborhood and meeting other animals. ; : Portrayed by:

Jun Fukushima is a Japanese voice actor and narrator who is affiliated with Arts Vision. He is most well known for his role as Kazuma Sato in the anime/light novel series ''Konosuba''. He has been acting since the 1990s. Personal life He is the eldest of thr ...

(anime);

Billy Kametz Billy P. Kametz (March 22, 1987 – June 9, 2022) was an American voice actor. He was best known for his work dubbing anime and video games. Born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Kametz began his voice acting career in 2016 when he moved to Los An ...

(season 1), Stephen Fu (season 2) (English) ; : Portrayed by: Kimiko Saitō (anime);

Barbara Goodson Barbara Goodson is an American voice actress who has done voice-over work in cartoons and shows. Her best-known role was providing the English dub voice of the main villain Empress Rita Repulsa in the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, starting with ' ...

(English) ; : Portrayed by: Masashi Nogawa and Junichi Yanagita (anime) (Japanese);

Keith Silverstein Keith Silverstein is an American voice actor, known for lending his voice to English Versions of Japanese anime and video games, affiliated with Bang Zoom! Entertainment, Viz Media, Studiopolis and Funimation. He is best known for his roles as ...

(English), Junpei Yasui and

Yūta Furukawa , born on July 9, 1987, in Nagano Prefecture, is a Japanese actor, singer, and model. He is best known for his roles as Shusuke Fuji in '' Musical: The Prince of Tennis''; Sebastian Michaelis in the '' Black Butler'' musicals, and Kirikaze in '' ...

(drama) : 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. ; : Portrayed by:

Hōchū Ōtsuka is a Japanese voice actor and narrator affiliated with the talent management firm Crazy Box. He is best known for his roles as the voices of Kyao Mirao in '' Heavy Metal L-Gaim''; Mont Blanc Noland in ''One Piece''; Yazan Gable in '' Mobile Su ...

(anime) (Japanese); Jason Marnocha (English),

Naoto Takenaka is a Japanese actor, comedian, singer, and director from Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, affiliated with From First Production. He is married to idol singer and actress Midori Kinouchi. He is also known as the voice of Samuel L. Jac ...

(drama) : 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. ; : Portrayed by:

Tomokazu Sugita is a Japanese voice actor and author. He mainly plays young men and is characterized by his "deep bass voice," and he often performs ad-libs and imitations. He is best known for his roles as Gintoki Sakata in '' Gintama'', Tadaomi Karasuma in ...

(anime); Gogo Lomo-David (English) : An immigrant that lives in the same building as Tatsu. He nearly suffocates himself while trying to make a BBQ in his own home. ; : Portrayed by:

Subaru Kimura , known professionally as , is a German-Japanese actor and rapper. His best-known role is voicing Takeshi Goda in the ''Doraemon'' series, which has spawned numerous specials. Biography Kimura was born in Blankenburg (Harz) and raised in Japan ...

(promotional video and anime);

Kaiji Tang Kaiji Tang (pronounced "Kai-jee"; born January 25, 1984) is a Chinese voice actor who is based in Los Angeles. Biography Tang was born in Shanghai, China on January 25, 1984. He graduated from the University of California, Riverside with a deg ...

(English) ; : Portrayed by:

Marika Matsumoto is a Japanese actress. From 2001 and 2003, she was known as "Mini Stop-chan", acting as the mascot for the Ministop convenience store chain commercials in Japan. She is the owner of a unique voice and has held a recital with upcoming star Satos ...

(film),

Ami Koshimizu is a Japanese actress and singer. She has voiced many different types of characters, from young girls to adult women, as well as boys and animals. Her roles include leads such as Ryuko Matoi in '' Kill la Kill'', Kallen Stadtfeld in ''Code Geass ...

(anime), Ryan Bartley (English) : An employee at the Lovely Donuts fast food chain and the little sister of Torajirō. In the film she is a gang leader. ; : Portrayed by:

Tina Tamashiro is a Japanese actress and model. Tamashiro was born to an American father and a Japanese mother. She was scouted by the president of her agency when she was walking home with her friends. In July 2012, Tamashiro won the Kodansha sponsored Miss ...

(drama) : A college student working at a cafe, she is a character original to the drama. ; : Portrayed by: Tamaki Shiratori (drama) : 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.

Media

Manga

''The Way of the Househusband'', written and illustrated by Kousuke Oono, was initially published on the

Shinchosha is a publisher founded in 1896 in Japan and headquartered in Yaraichō, Shinjuku, Tokyo. Shinchosha is one of the sponsors of the Japan Fantasy Novel Award. Books * Haruki Murakami: '' Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World'' (19 ...

's online manga magazine ''Kurage Bunch'' as a five chapter

limited series Limited series may refer to: *Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series *Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered *Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number of ...

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 eleven ''

tankōbon is the Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...

'' volumes by Shinchosha. In North America,

Viz Media VIZ Media LLC is an American manga publisher, anime distributor and entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ M ...

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 A motion comic (or animated comic) is a form of animation combining elements of print comic books and animation. Individual panels are expanded into a full shot while sound effects, voice acting, and animation are added to the original artwork. Tex ...

videos have been produced to promote the release of the series' volumes. The videos feature Kenjiro Tsuda as the voice of Tatsu,

as the voice of Masa, Yoshimasa Hosoya as the voice of Torajiro, and

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

as Miku, and is co-directed by Tsuda and Hayato Yazaki.

Television drama

On July 8, 2020,

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 is a Japanese actor, singer, and model from Nagoya, Japan. When he was still in high school, he was discovered by a talent agent while out shopping with friends. He made his debut in the drama ''Am I Weird?'' (私ってへん？ ''Watashitte Hen ...

as Tatsu, is produced by , and features as director and as screenplay writer.

Episode list

On July 29, 2021,

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

Anime Festival on October 26, 2020, an

(ONA)

series adaptation of ''The Way of the Househusband'' was announced. The series is produced by

and directed by

Chiaki Kon is a Japanese anime director. She started her career in 1998 after joining Pierrot. Biography Chiaki Kon was born in September 29, at Chiba Prefecture, Japan. As a child, she used to watch and fan of Toei Animation's anime adaptation works, su ...

, 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.

Episode list

Season 1 (2021)

Season 2 (2023)

Film

On November 3, 2021,

Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan , abbreviated SPE or SPEJ, is a Japanese film studio, based in Minato-ku, Tokyo. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, with the majority of SPEJ's shares held by Sony Pictures Entertainment. Sony Pictu ...

announced a live-action film set to be released on Summer 2022, with Tōichirō Rutō returning as director.

Haruna Kawaguchi is a Japanese actress, YouTuber, and model under Ken-On. She is known for playing lead roles in '' Ouran High School Host Club'', '' POV: Norowareta Film'', '' Zekkyō Gakkyū'', and ''Say "I love you"''. Career In 2007 Kawaguchi won the Grand ...

, Jun Shison, Tamaki Shiratori,

Kenichi Takitō is a Japanese actor. Career Takitō belonged to Tatsuya Nakadai's acting academy and theater troupe Mumeijuku from 1998 to 2007. Filmography Films *'' Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.'' (2003) *''Climber's High'' (2009) – Shusaku Kanzawa *'' Fish St ...

, Junpei Yasui,

, 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 is a Japanese actress and singer. Filmography Film * ''Rex: Kyōryū Monogatari'' (1993) * ''Hero Interview'' (1994) * ''Homeless Child'' (1994) * '' Lupin III: Farewell to Nostradamus'' (1995) * ''Kikansha Sensei'' (1997) * '' Star Kid'' (1 ...

as Shiraishi-sensei,

as Koharu, Kenta Izuka as Yamamoto, Tomoko Fujita as Katō, Kunito Watanabe as Kazuma and

Yua Shinkawa is a Japanese actress and model. Life and career Shinkawa made her screen debut in the television drama ''Chōnan no Kekkon'' in 2008, and made her film debut in the 2010 film ''Matataki'' in which Keiko Kitagawa played the lead role. In 2010, ...

as Kasumi joined the cast.

Reception

Critical reception

''The Way of the Househusband'' has been positively received by critics. Reviewing the first volume of the series for ''

Polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed ''polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two toge ...

'', 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 Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and oth ...

'' 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 ''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion. History Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...

'' 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

rather than anime. Meanwhile, in the Chinese version which was released on bilibili, the tattoos were completely removed due to

television censorship in China Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, e ...

Sales

1.2 million copies of ''The Way of the Househusband'' are in print as of December 2019. In

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...

's sales rankings, the first volume of ''The Way of the Househusband'' had sold 95,637 copies as of September 2018, while the second volume had sold 143,051 copies as of January 2019. The first volume of the English-language translation of the series placed sixteenth in

Nielsen BookScan BookScan is a data provider for the book publishing industry that compiles point of sale data for book sales, owned by The NPD Group in the United States and the Nielsen Company in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, India, Sou ...

's best-selling graphic novels for adults in September 2019.

Awards

, - ! scope="row", 2018 , Best Overall Series , Pixiv Comic Ranking , , , , - ! scope="row", 2018 , Best Comedy Series , Pixiv Comic Ranking , , , , - ! scope="row", 2018 , Best Web Manga Series ,

Next Manga Award The is an annual award for manga series presented by Kadokawa Corporation's ''Da Vinci'' magazine and Niconico streaming website. It is divided into two categories: one for print manga, and one for web manga. Overview The award was originally e ...

s , , , , - ! scope="row", 2018 , Annual Ranking , Web Manga General Election , , , , - ! scope="row", 2018 , Annual Ranking , Nationwide Bookstore Employees' Recommended Comics of 2018 , , , , - ! scope="row", 2019 , Best Series for Male Readers , ''

Kono Manga ga Sugoi! is an annual reference mook series published by Takarajimasha since 2005 featuring yearly rankings and reviews of manga. The rankings are compiled by surveying people in the manga and publishing industry. The series is part of Takarajimasha's ...

'' , , , , - ! scope="row", 2020 , Best Humor Publication ,

Eisner Awards The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...

, , English-language translation by

, , -

References

External links

Official website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Way of the Househusband, The 2018 manga 2020 Japanese television series debuts 2020 Japanese television series endings 2021 anime ONAs Action anime and manga Anime series based on manga Comedy anime and manga Cooking in anime and manga Japanese-language Netflix original programming J.C.Staff Netflix original anime Nippon TV dramas Seinen manga Shinchosha manga Slice of life anime and manga Viz Media manga Works about the Yakuza Yakuza in anime and manga Japanese comedy films Japanese action films