'The Way of the Househusband' Is a Comedy Gem

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.