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Book Review: The Way of the Househusband, Vol 12 by Kousuke Oono

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The Way of the Househusband, Vol 12   

Author: Kousuke Oono

Publisher: Viz Media

American release date: August 20, 2024

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Manga/Comedy/168 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

When another baseball shatters a window in the Boss’ home, he becomes fed up and determined to do something about it. So he sends for the troops, his purpose to go to war. Tatsu and the others arrive on the field to face their opponents – a baseball team of youngsters, who promise to “crush them inta dust.”  Can age hold its own in the face of youth?

Masa decides he wants to be a YouTube content creator and hopes to grow it to be his main source of income, as he explains to Tatsu. Tatsu notices that Masa’s view counts are rather sad, though. As Tatsu is visiting and relaxing with Masa, Masa suddenly starts filming for his channel, and announces he has his first guest – none other than Tatsu, who is taken by surprise. Masa’s intent is to review convenience food items, but maybe Tatsu wasn’t his best choice?

Tora is annoyed to find new competition for his crepe cart in the form of a nearby oden cart. He and Tatsu come down a little hard on the owner of the cart, especially considering the poor guy hasn’t even had a customer yet and isn’t doing very well. So Tatsu and Tora decide to help the newcomer out by critiquing his food.

A group of parents and kids, including Tatsu, are attending a traffic safety class being given by Officer Masaki and the police department mascot, a monkey named Fuzz. Masaki demonstrates safety by putting Fuzz into dangerous situations so he can explain what to do if that happens, but Tatsu is having none of it, and butts heads with Masaki, concerned over the mascot’s own safety.

It’s Halloween, and Tatsu is determined to show the kids the ins and outs of trick or treating!

While taking tea with some of the women from the committee, Tatsu reveals that a Starbox Coffee has opened in their town! They decide they need to check this out and hurry over there, only to be met by a rival gang with the same idea. The leader and Tatsu get into a contest to see who can outdo the other with their orders.

Tatsu and Masa are on a mission to thoroughly clean Tatsu’s apartment. But when Masa mistakenly tries to burn one of Miku’s Policure figurines, she decides to bring in an expert to show them how it’s done.

Miku invites Tora’s sister, Koharu, to go with her to buy a Valentine’s present for Tatsu. Koharu buys a chocolate making kit and Miku decides to help her so they can both give chocolates. Miku has a unique style, perhaps influenced by Tatsu, and she turns the experience into a game of Russian roulette for Tatsu and Tora, who are less than thrilled at spending time together.

Another great volume of The Way of the Househusband. Tatsu is always up to something and it’s invariably entertaining. By now, everyone has become a familiar character and I look forward to seeing them all and what they are up to. I never get bored, and I look forward to the next volume, which I have already pre-ordered.

Book Review: The Way of the Househusband, Vol 11 by Kousuke Oono

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The Way of the Househusband, Vol 11     

Author: Kousuke Oono

Publisher: Viz Media

American release date: February 20, 2024

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Manga/Comedy/168 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Tatsu and Miku head to a theme park for a little fun, but everywhere they go, someone is muscling in on them – none other than Tora, who is there with his sister, Koharu. Everywhere they go, the two couples seem to keep running into each other, with the men trying to outdo each other. Can Miku and Koharu keep these two in check?

Masa is looking for new digs because his landlady is threatening to kick him out if he’s late with the rent again! Tatsu goes with him to do some recon, but the realtors seem kind of shady. The trouble is, Masa doesn’t have a lot of money. Can he make do with what he can afford, with the help of Tatsu? And can he overlook some of the problems?

The small café where Tatsu works during the day becomes a bar at night. A new client who enters the premises is dismayed by the strong Yakuza presence. But he quickly learns that appearances can be deceiving as he pours his heart out to them.

When Miku asks Masa if he’s made any progress at cooking, he offers to cook them something from whatever Tatsu has on hand. When Miku shows off her skills with ramen, Masa knows he can do better, given the chance. Will he manage to impress his boss, or will Tatsu have to school him once again?

Miku’s friend gives her an old camera, and Tatsu suddenly becomes camera-shy, telling her not to point it at him. To please Miku, they head off for a day of photography, and all is well, until something unexpected starts to show up in the photos.

Tatsu doesn’t like the way his clothes smell when dried inside because of the rain so he orders a secret weapon – a professional grade laundry dehumidifier! Tatsu declares war on odors, and that includes Gin!

Tatsu learns about a new and improved product that has five times the lactic acid bacteria, is good for stress relief, and improves sleep quality. But when he tries to purchase some, he’s told the product is sold out! Of course, he can pay a high price for it on the black market. Tatsu’s mission is to find a source of Yakmil Y – cause he’s gotta have it!

Tatsu and Miku receive thank you gifts in the mail from the hometown tax donation program – marbled matsukata steaks! Miku wants the cooking to commence, but Tatsu tells her that’s not the way to do it. They have to let the steaks rest until dinner the next day. All day, they manage to get through each of their days by remembering the dinner that is to come!

A young reporter visits the Katagi Shopping District, but she is rather brash and impolite in some of her language. When she enters the café where Tatsu works, she immediately accuses everyone of being Yakuza! Time she learned who she is really dealing with!

In Bonus Story 1, Tatsu prepares to take his tea like a gentleman,  and in Bonus Story 2, the young reporter spends some time with Gin. In the third Bonus story, a boss rallies his employees to do their best at Katagy Land!

I never get tired of reading about Tatsu and his adventures, to be honest, so I hope he keeps writing them for a long time to come. I especially like stories with Tatsu and Miku, or Tatsu and Masa, or the three of them together. I loved the first story, with Tatsu and Tora posturing at the theme park, Katkagy Land, which also features in one of the bonus stories.  I’m afraid one of the stories didn’t exactly resonate with me, the one with the Yakmil Y, but I think it was because Tatsu was portrayed as some kind of addict I that one, but that doesn’t mean others won’t enjoy that one too. That didn’t deter me from enjoying the entire book, already pre-ordered the next one!

Book Review: The Way of the Househusband, Vol 8 by Kousuke Oono

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The Way of the Househusband, Vol 8   

Author: Kousuke Oono

Publisher: Viz Media

American release date: August 16, 2022

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Manga/Comedy/168 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Sales at Torajiro’s crepe truck have plummeted, and the reason is Koharu, his sister.  She’s opened a rival truck called Lovely Donuts, which is taking Torajiro’s customers. What’s a guy to do but call on the only man who can save him…Tatsu?

Tatsu and Miku awake to find a winter wonderland just outside their door. But it’s the condensation that has Tatsu’s knickers in a twist! While Miku goes to work, Tatsu heads to the store to stock up in case things get worse. He runs across some men who are under orders from their boss to clear the area outside of his office, but they are having a tough time of it. Tatsu berates them for having the wrong equipment and sets them straight.

Tatsu, Miku, and Masa get together for movie night. The only question is what to watch. Seems that everyone has different ideas and tastes.

Miku’s coworker persuades her to adopt his hamster, but since they have Gin, that doesn’t seem practical, so they try to present him to Masa as a gift. But Masa barely has enough for him to subsist on, let alone a pet. Tatsu’s old boss is also a no-go because of Pinky. While Tatsu tries to figure out what to do, the cops think they’ve finally caught him doing something illegal.

Miku is supposed to go golfing with a client, but she’s never golfed before. Tatsu tells her she’s in good hands with him and he’ll show her the ropes! He takes her golfing, but she finds the rules as he explains them to her probably don’t apply to her.

Tatsu and Miku run into Tora and Koharu. The crepe man claims to have a very hot product to show them, but he can’t do it there. So they arrange to meet on the mountain over the weekend. The product turns out to be a riverside tent sauna! Sounds like fun, right?

Tatsu and Masa and some of the guys head to the mountain to search for bamboo shoots. Tatsu reminds them that since it’s the boss’ mountain, he will need a cut of their haul too.  But when circumstances deal them a blow, and they’re left with almost nothing, how do they explain that to the boss?

Tatsu takes Miku and Masa to his favorite Chinese restaurant, which he says has a secret menu. The chef proudly shows them his newest dish, a Sichuan super spicy hot pot. Anyone who can finish it will get the dish for free. Of course the three of them are game! But can they do it?

Tatsu attends a crime prevention class, and he is most eager to assist the officer in charge with her demonstrations.

Tatsu is back and he’s in fine form with another round of hilarious hijinx! These stories never get old, and I love Tatsu so much! I hope this series runs for a long time to come. Look for bonus stories, one about zombies and the other an episode of Policure! If you don’t know what Policure is, you need to go back and start reading the series again lol

Book Review: The Way of the Househusband, Vol 7 by Kousuke Oono

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The Way of the Househusband, Vol 7     

Author: Kousuke Oono

Publisher: Viz Media

American release date: January 18, 2022

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Manga/Comedy/168 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Ms. Torii is trying to keep a low profile as she indulges in a guilty pleasure, but she has the misfortune to run into Tatsu at his part-time gig. He shows her the ropes, and helps her to enjoy the experience.

A typhoon is rolling into the area, and this means war! Tatsu is up to the challenge, determined to defend his turf from the invader, no matter the cost! But when he learns that Masa is out and about at this perilous time, he is determined to save him!

Tatsu, Miku, and Masa go camping. When Masa accidentally knocks over the rice, he approaches the other campers in hopes of finding someone with extra and runs into Tora, who is also camping. When Tatsu finds out, the one-upmanship begins!

Tatsu and Masa are taking collections… for the neighborhood association. But oddly, the people they approach seem to take Tatsu’s requests as some kind of threat. When he approaches one particularly difficult group of men, Tatsu has to make them understand what the money is actually going to be used for.

Miku absolutely loves watching Policure, and Tatsu enjoys it along with her. But she has a favor to ask of him. Her friend has a very ill child in the hospital who also loves Policure, so can Tatsu visit her… but dressed as a character from the show?

Tatsu and two of his associates are called upon for a delicate job involving a man’s beloved daughter named Pinky’s birthday.  Of course they’ll do it, and each plans the perfect gift according to their own talents. Which will the beloved canine prefer?

Tatsu shows Masa how to make malt amazake, a non-alcoholic sake. Tatsu has to keep reminding Masa to have patience or he’ll ruin the product! The next day, Miku is subjected to the amazake everywhere she turns, to her dismay. Is there no limit to the stuff?

Miku’s father invites Tatsu to go with him to a meeting of his haiku club, and is gratified to find Tatsu admires his haiku. When Tatsu tries his hand at some haiku of his own, there seems to be an oddly familiar theme in what he writes. When the club runs into a rival group, a friendly haiku slam is proposed.  Can these two groups discover any common ground?

After meticulously ironing everything, Tatsu overdoes it and  has thrown out his back! Miku discovers him lying face down on the floor. But he refuses to take it easy, and she ends up having to carry him to a doctor… for the second time in their relationship.

I never get tired of these stories. I could read them forever! Each volume is so good! I love everything about them, the art, the stories, the characters. I think they are perfect. My favorite story in this volume was the one with the child in the hospital, made me cry (good cry, not bad). Also, another glimpse into how Tatsu and Miku met. I hope we get to see more of that, cause I am dying to know how the demure Miku met and fell in love with a Yazuka! Look for the bonus stories involving Tora going camping and Gin’s encounter with an otaku.

Can’t wait to read more!