English Dub Season Review: The Way of the Househusband Season One Part Two

Overview:

Who would have ever thought that the most feared gangster of his time now spends his days as a modest househusband? Seemingly giving up the way of the yakuza, the legendary “Immortal Dragon” Tatsu, best known for his prolific skirmishes against rival gangs, has abruptly vanished. Unbeknownst to most, however, Tatsu is currently staying at an apartment with his wife, doing his best to live a peaceful life.

Our Take:

I feel like your enjoyment of The Way of the Househusband totally depends on what you expect going in. Admittedly I was even a little disappointed when I watched the first episode of part one. But if you focus less on the animation and instead focus on the comedy you won’t be disappointed.

The “white powder” gag is one of my favorites and I was really happy it made a few appearances. Tatsu is really smart and strong but at times he can be so dumb. What this part of the season has that is way better than the first part is more Miku. I understand that she’s a businesswoman but she was super underutilized in the first part.

This time we get to see more of her and Tatsu’s relationship and they are super cute together. We still don’t really know how they met or what made Tatsu leave the yakuza lifestyle for her but that might come later. Tatsu clearly adores Miku and will do whatever he can to make her happy. It could be participating in a live Policure show so she can meet the actors or doing a Halloween costume contest with her to try to win something. Miku does her own things to support Tatsu, like taking on some shady yakuza in beach volleyball. Every move that she does she yells out like she’s in an anime. I’m telling you, just adding more Miku makes this part immensely better than the first. They are without a doubt one of the cutest couples in anime.

Okay, so the elephant in the room… the animation. It’s not good for an anime and since that is what this is marketed as that’s what we have to go on. This is essentially a motion comic that is recreating panels of the manga with voices. But if you get over that I really think you will find something enjoyable. I do understand that is a huge dealbreaker for some and I get it but I can only mention my own experience. Going in knowing what it was going to be this time made my enjoyment way better than the first half. I think there was a little more animating this time around but there still isn’t much there, this was also how the author of the manga wanted it so I respect them honoring their wishes.

The voice cast was solid as usual, Jonah Scott IS Tatsu to me. He does such a fantastic job, I love when Tatsu starts to get excited about something and you can feel it in Jonah’s performance. Since we got more Miku this time we also get more Laura Post as well. I love getting to hear her voice and she and Jonah have such awesome chemistry with the two characters. I especially love when she gets really exasperated at some of Tatsu’s antics.

This was so funny, it really is a great series if you can get past the animation thing. I know that that can be a big ask. There are some great series I still haven’t tried because of the animation so believe me I get it. I just hope that there isn’t as much backlash this time with the series because of that.

If you want some cute heartwarming couple moments, or maybe some slice of life, there’s even some over-the-top hilarity. There’s really a little bit of something for everyone here but it still has some major flaws. It’s a unique premise with some really cool ideas to explore but the manga might be the best way to experience it. However, if you go that route you will be missing out on some amazing voice talent. I hope that there will be more The Way of the Househusband in the future.