Gokushufudou, or more commonly known as The Way of the Househusband, is a serialized gag-comedy manga about an ex-Yakuza legend who settles down and becomes a full-time househusband. And, the reason this series has been drawing a lot of eyes lately is because of the highly-anticipated anime adaptation on Netflix.
For both good and bad reasons, the adaptation is hyper-faithful to the source material, meaning that a lot of the little bits of trivia and references hidden throughout it are just as relevant as they’ve ever been. So, let’s take a look and go over some of the biggest aspects of the franchise fans might not know about.
10 There Are Fake Brand Name Products Hidden Throughout
This happens a lot in any type of media, whether it's film, sitcoms, or animation, but Way of the Househusband seems to have an extra share of “off-brand” references in it. One of the chapters/episodes has Tatsu in a life-or-death battle with a Roomba or “Roomboo” as it’s called in that universe. Another escapade has Tatsu hopping between multiple Toys R Us (Toys A Mas in the manga) trying to get a limited piece of PoliCure merch for his beloved wife. There’s just a lot of them spread throughout the series, in pretty subtle ways. Sometimes they’re in the background, sometimes they’re right there on Tatsu’s apron. But, people will likely be surprised at just how many there’ve been throughout the series to date.
9 The Style Of The Netflix Adaptation Was An Intentional Choice
The actual style of animation for the Netflix anime is by far the most polarizing Way of the Househusband has ever been. Comparing differences between the original manga and the anime adaptation isn't anything new, of course. But, this isn’t a traditionally animated show, rather, it’s more like a motion comic. Instinctively most fans of the anime genre would think this was because of a lack of budget or time, but turns out it was actively a deliberate choice. The anime’s producer, Kon Chiaki, expressed this fact in an interview, saying that it took a lot of “trial and error” to get the anime to its current state. The opinion on this animation style will vastly differ from person to person. But, when anime fans have seen how amazing animated stuff can look, watching a show that's the exact opposite is just a bit tough.
8 PoliCure Is Basically Pretty Cure
It hasn’t popped up a ton in the anime adaptation yet, but Tatsu’s wife, Miku, is a huge fan of an in-universe anime called PoliCure. This is used as a gag multiple times throughout the series, yet many people don’t know that this fake anime is actually a reference to Pretty Cure, a legitimate magical girl anime from the mid-2000s that goes by the nickname “PreCure”. It’s a bit more on-the-nose than most of the other off-brand references in the series, and whenever it pops up the characters tend to make references to classic PreCure stereotypes as well. Seriously, the depths this ex-Yakuza warrior will go to in order to make his wife happy is so cute, and for those who are fans of other similar Comedy Gag-Anime like Horimiya, Gokushufudou will scratch that same itch for them.
7 Immortal Tatsu’s Japanese VA Also Voiced A Certain Jujutsu Kaisen Character
Moving on to the Voice Actor facts, of which there are quite a few. Most of them revolve around Kenjiro Tsuda, the VA for Immortal Tatsu himself. This accomplished actor has done a lot of anime work in the past but is most recently known for voicing Kento Nanami in Jujutsu Kaisen (an exorcism/occult-focused shonen anime), another character who dresses in a full suit with slicked-back hair.
While these two characters might and dress relatively similarly, they couldn’t be more different personality-wise. Well, outside of their workaholic tendencies.
6 Kenjiro Tsuda Actually Became Immortal Tatsu
So, by now it's understood that Househusband has a manga, a live-action series, an anime adaptation, but what about a celebratory Promotional Video? That’s right, back in 2019, to celebrate the series reaching 1.2 million copies in print, a promotional live-action video was made recreating certain scenes from the manga. In it, Tatsu is actually played by the same man who voices him in the anime, Kenjiro Tsuda. It’s crazy just how well Tsuda pulls off Tatsu’s look too, maybe he really is Immortal Tatsu, in the flesh?
5 There’s A Live-Action Adaptation As Well
It’s really surprising how few people know about The Way of the Househusband live-action series. Though, to be fair, it’s not streaming anywhere in the US. It premiered on Nippon TV back in October of 2020 and diverges quite a bit from the manga source material. In it, Tatsu is a replacement Home Economics teacher, rather than a full-time house. Oh, and most importantly, he also has a daughter! That said, while it makes some pretty big changes to the core concept, reception to the live-action series seems to be pretty positive, at least more than the anime adaptation has been so far.
4 It Didn’t Start As A Serialized Series
Originally, Way of the Househusband wasn’t supposed to be anything more than a limited-run gag series. The plan was to release five chapters in the popular Kurage Bunch online magazine, but the first release did so amazingly well that they decided to give it a full serialization. Then, not long after, Viz Media (which is essentially Shonen Jump) got an English-translation team going, and fans got their first chapter in the states later that year.
3 Tatsu’s Back Tattoo Isn’t Unique To Him
Yakuza in Japan are commonly compared to the Mafia in the states, but the two groups/organizations are pretty foundationally different. Yakuza are a lot more honor-bound on average and wear their loyalty with pride. And, a lot of the time, a Yakuza would get tattoos that represented their struggle, their journey, and their connection to the Yakuza lifestyle. The tattoos could be anywhere, but gigantic back pieces became the iconic symbol of a true Yakuza. Anyone who’s a fan of the popular Yakuza game franchise should know about this, and Tatsu sticks to that tradition as well, showing off his back piece in the first panel of the manga. We've already had the best characters of the Winter 2021 Anime Season, but Tatsu is quickly becoming one of the stand-outs for Spring 2021.
2 The Meaning Behind Tatsu’s Name
Speaking of Tatsu, where does that name come from exactly? Well, look no further than the very same back tattoo that was previously mentioned, that shows a rising dragon. Because of the way the Japanese language works, Tatsu can actually stand for a lot of different things, such as to “rise”, “stand up”, or even to be “healthy”.
But, the most common definition, especially in regards to male names/nicknames, is that it means “rising dragon”. Makes more sense now why he’s called Immortal Tatsu, huh?
1 The English VA For Tatsu Also Voiced Another Similar Character
It seems a bit unfair to go so much into the Japanese VA for Tatsu without ending things on the English VA. Jonah Scott gives life to Tatsu in the Dub, and the guy is a huge fan of the series. And, like Kenjiro, he also has a sizeable background voice acting for anime, such as voicing Legosi in Beastars (a pretty unique show in its own right). Once again, for anyone familiar with Beastars, it’s ironic that Jonah voices both of them since Legosi and Tatsu are constantly misunderstood due to their scary appearance. And, both of these characters are constantly trying to reinvent themselves and the stereotypes that people have about them at first glance.