Gokushufudou a.k.a. The Way of the Househusband is a slice-of-life comedy ONA anime
series about a former mobster who became a full-time househusband.
Tatsu was once a notorious, formidable yakuza
boss nicknamed “the Immortal Dragon.” By
his reputation alone, he makes others tremble in fear. However, one day, he decided to leave the
world of crime in exchange for a banal, homebody married life. While his kyariaūman (a career woman) wife Miku goes to work, Tatsu stays at home to do the chores and other
housekeeping tasks. However, he may have
totally retired from crime, but the yakuza boss spirit remains in him. Amusingly, by employing his yakuza skillset,
smarts, and attitude when carrying out his domestic duties, he actually turns
out being an excellent, successful homemaker.
In a
sense, The Way of the Househusband is
basically like John Wick – if John Wick is a comedy, his wife was
alive and he’s still happily married, he applies his skills as a assassin into housework, and he has a cat instead of a dog.
The series
only have five episodes. Each episode
runs for 16 to 19 minutes, and similar to other slice-of-life comedy anime
series like Nichijou and Daily Lives of High School Boys, an
episode is composed of a couple of situational vignettes. More episodes are reportedly on the way,
presumably later this year.
But even
with only those five episodes, The Way of
the Househusband has cemented itself as comedy gem (but, of course, I would
want more episodes). It’s utterly
hilarious. Apparently, there’s simply a
lot of great jokes that can be mined from the absurd contrast of Tatsu’s menacing,
hard-ass persona and his plain, day-to-day responsibilities as a househusband. Moreover, the scenarios that bring these
about are cleverly hysterical and sufficiently varied, and the comedic timing and
overall execution for them are impeccable.
Which
brings us to the animation. The loudest
criticism thrown at this anime is its “slide show” animation. However, this is clearly intentional, a
creative choice – not a result of production incompetence or laziness. The “motion comic” visuals are actually
fitting with its tone and style of comedy.
Honestly, I believe it’s funnier this way than if it was animated in the
traditional, more fluid sense.
Overall,
I really enjoyed The Way of the
Househusband. It’s such a breezy
show that one can turn to for easy chuckles and upbeat emotion.
2 comments:
I like to think this is a prequel to the John Wick movies. Before his wife died.
I like to think of this as the prequel to the John Wick movies. This is what he did before his wife died.
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