- Mangaka : Oono, Kousuke
- Publisher : Viz Media
- Genre : Slice of Life, Comedy, Romance
- Published : September, 2019
Gokushufudou (The Way of the Househusband) Introduction
Not too long ago, there was a yakuza whose name struck fear in the hearts of most. Known as The Immortal Dragon, this beast was a threat to all those who he crossed paths with. The Immortal Dragon now though has found a new enemy one he didn’t expect to be so tough. It will take The Immortal Dragon all of his skills to win over this new enemy. Can the feared yakuza face...be a house husband!?
Contains Spoilers
Discussion Time
We have read many slice of life manga where the focus is on a stay at home man who doesn’t work but instead helps with dinner and errands while the wife does the primary work and is the breadwinner. However, after volume one of Gokushufudou, we have found a series that takes that concept and makes it extreme. Our young house-husband, as he deems himself, is named Tatsu and he also happens to be an ex-yakuza dubbed The Immortal Drago, giving up his criminal ways in favor of being a great husband who helps his wife—Miku—while she works as a designer to earn the money in the household.
Our first volume shows Tatsu endure numerous problems that arise from being a stay at home husband such as dealing with salesmen, trying to run to the store during sales, dealing with a silly cat and babysitting the neighbor's kid. What makes the whole volume funnier than most slice of life/comedy series is that Tatsu being an ex-yakuza means he tends to come off as scary and violent even when his actions are an attempt to be civil. We laughed so hard seeing The Immortal Dragon try to avoid being like his former self but usually comes across as so extreme, it’s absurd. For example, when Tatsu is babysitting the child he is watching causes a big mess and he resorts to acting like a mafioso to try and rectify the situation.
Trust us, folks; Gokushufudou isn’t a series you should sleep on if you’ve been in the need for a comedic romance with heavy slice of life elements. Here’s a few more reasons why Gokushufudou should be on your next reading agenda!
1. Yakuza Days Are a Distant Memory
We loved how Gokushufudou has taken a very silly concept of making an ex-yakuza and turned it into a romance/slice of life/comedy so wonderfully. Rather than resort to constant re-emergences of violence, Gokushufudou focuses on finding solutions for Tatsu in calm and peaceful ways. All the while, Tatsu is indeed a former yakuza so you can expect some of his “peaceful” exploits to be a bit...extreme. Even as ridiculous as that sounds, volume 1 was a true treat that made us laugh so many times we lost count!
2. Impressive Art!
The first thing that really caught our eye when reading volume 1 of Gokushufudou was the art. We’ve read plenty of beautiful slice of life works but Gokushufudou feels like a fusion of shonen art with slice of life themes. Every panel of this nearly 170 page volume was eye catching and full of vibrancy that manga fans will truly enjoy!
Final Thoughts
Gokushufudou volume 1 was a magnificent start to what could be a classic slice of life/comedy/romance manga series. We can only hope volume 2 will do the same thing as the first and truly grip us hard with laughter and slice of life drama. Are you going to take our advice and check out Gokushufudou volume 1? If you plan on doing so, comment below and tell us your thoughts on the series! For even more Gokushufudou reviews and other manga series, be sure to keep stuck to us here at Honey’s Anime!
Author: Aaron
