Netflix has announced that it will exclusively stream the anime series The Way of the Househusband on 8 April 2021. J.C. Staff, whose previous credentials include shows like Food Wars!, A Certain Scientific Railgun and DanMachi is in charge of the animation production. Netflix first brought up the show in October 2020. To go along with the air date, its official trailer was also released by Netflix on its Twitter account.
During their Anime Festival in 2020, Netflix announced that the award-winning manga series, with the same title by Kousuke Oono, will be getting an anime adaptation in 2021. The first visual for the upcoming series was released showing the former yakuza Tatsu in one of the most adorable aprons holding a bento.
Netflix’s teaser confirmed that some segments of The Way of the Househusband anime adaptation will draw directly from the manga. For example, people can see a segment involving a Roomba-style vacuum owned by former Yakuza Tatsu and his wife, Miku. He’s stopped by police while speeding on his bike to deliver her lunch. There are also segments where his “apprentice” Masa is learning his ways.
Kenjiro Tsuda, who had previously brought the main character to life through a series of live-action shorts, will be providing the voice for Tatsu, the titular househusband. Confirmed to fill out the rest of the main trio are Shizuka Itou as Miku, Tatsu’s wife and Kazuyuki Okitsu as Masa, Tatsu’s former lackey. If you want to check out the original series for yourself, Viz Media has licensed the manga for an official English release.
Uchikubi Gokumon Club will be performing the opening and ending theme song. Key staff includes Chiaki Kon (Junjō Romantica) as director and Susumu Yamakawa (Back Street Girls: Gokudols) as series composer.
Netflix describes the series as:
It’s a day in the life of your average househusband—if your average househusband is the legendary yakuza ‘the Immortal Dragon’! A former yakuza legend leaves it all behind to become your everyday househusband. But it’s not easy to walk away from the gangster life, and what should be mundane household tasks are anything but! He was the fiercest member of the yakuza, a man who left countless underworld legends in his wake. They called him ‘the Immortal Dragon.’ But one day he walked away from it all to travel another path—the path of the househusband! The curtain rises on this cozy yakuza comedy!
Multiple adaptations of the Kousuke Oono manga appeared over the years. There was a live-action commercial in 2019. In 2020, a live-action TV show aired in Japan and it added new, original characters like Tatsu and Miku’s daughter.
The manga won the Best Humor Publication category at last year’s Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards.
While The Way of the Househusband series will release on Netflix on 8 April 2021, the fifth volume of the manga will release on 18 May 2021.