MANGA REVIEW | "The Way of the Househusband" - Volume Twelve
After 100 chapters, The Way of the Househusband has finally come clean. The Immortal Dragon isn’t as immortal as he claims to be. In fact, there are two things that have the power to take down the former yakuza member without breaking a sweat. Those things are in focus in the twelfth volume: children and Western establishments.
As we all know, anything involving baseball equates to comic gold in the manga & anime worlds. The Way of the Househusband is no exception, as Tatsu and his strongest crew members go Mano a Mano with the toughest gang around: second graders. What should be a no-brainer victory evolves into chaos, as a literal man-child evens out the odds. Even when the Immortal Dragon attempts to get the adults out of a jam, one big source keeps victory out of their grasp: the actual baseball rules.
It’s in this two-parter (which celebrates 100 manga chapters) that shows the strengths of this manga. On top of that, it demonstrates why it’s so much funnier when Taiju interacts with someone less than a quarter of his age. A Halloween chapter also proves this, as Tatsu helps the kids make some major sugar scores. Without spoiling too much, it delivers the fact that just because you’re older than a kid doesn’t mean you’re smarter than one!
There are also other fun highlights in this volume of The Way of the Househusband. Masa tries his hand at being a YouTuber, with Tatsu ruining his videos by over-explaining things. An oden cart attempts to go Western with its food choices, only for the Immortal Dragon to jump in and deliver something…pretty average. Apartment clean-up results in more junk being shoved in Tatsu’s apartment than what was initially thrown out.
But the best is saved for two chapters, with a certain chimp cop stealing the spotlight from Tatsu. Traffic safety laws are put to the test, with the poor monkey officer bearing the brunt of poor protocol. And then, a certain Seattle-based coffee chain opens in the neighborhood, with Tatsu and the gang trying their best to figure out just how ordering works. In fact, one person literally dies just trying to piece together the custom order list!
The Way of the Househusband hasn’t been on its A-game in a while, so it’s a nice change of pace when a volume delivers a good amount of comedy. Volume Twelve isn’t perfect, but there are far more laughs here than in some of the more previous collections. Tatsu and his wife still have plenty of life left to showcase, but it’s up to those in their neighborhood to feed them comedy gold. If not, then The Way of the Househusband may once again find itself back in Average Town.
FINAL GRADE:
Promotional consideration provided by Chantelle Sturt of VIZ Media.
