IT'S TIME FOR A DIVORCE | THE WAY OF THE HOUSE HUSBAND REVIEW|
Intro:
One of the best manga to ever drop in my opinion is The Way of the House Husband. It is not up for debate. So when word came out about Netflix, the company that brought us Castlevania's anime, that they would be getting their hands on this particular intellectual property, I was excited. Sadly, the excitement was quickly killed after what was honestly a great, fun, explosive opening theme. The Way of the House Husband is one of the most disappointing anime Netflix has produced and here is why.
Strengths:
Much like the manga, The Way of the House Husband holds its own when it comes to the story line. The Way of the Househusband follows an ex-yakuza boss who retires from crime to become a househusband. His high jinks and shenanigans are only made more adorable with his interactions with his wife, a hard working business woman. This comedic story is light hearted and will fulfill any need you have to refill your belief in love meter. If you're looking for a laugh this is definitely a great anime to watch, even with one of the things that cripples it most.
Another great aspect of this series is the art style. Its very bold color pallet matches the goofy nature of the story and aligns well with the ex-yakuza boss turned house husband's antics. The color scheme gives a very spring-time and in love feeling to it which can be seen in the image above. As far as strengths, this is as deep as it goes.
Weaknesses:
The animation for this anime is an absolute misfire. I'm not sure what possessed Netflix to produce this particular comedic anime in a motion comics format that is reminiscent from Marvel's failed straight to DVD motion comic films from 2009, but it is probably the most excitement killing thing about this animation. This seems so far from the norm from a Netflix anime. Anime such as DOTA, DOGMA, and The Great Pretender have all recently been released. Each of them have a fully flushed out animation style that does their stories justice and the Way of the House Husband should've been no different. The motion comic style chosen to be the animation style is jarring and does not fit the fluidity of the characters or their stories. This is a huge reason as to many don't want to watch the Way of the House Husband. If we wanted stiff, we would've continued to read the manga.
This is a very short anime. This is not something new for Netflix whatsoever and there are wonderful examples of this method working such as with Castlevania or DOTA. Where these two anime were able to shine thanks to a very beautiful and fluid animation style, The Way of the House Husband does not get its chance to truly shine in a similar fashion. The length of this series accompanied by its choppy animation style leaves a lot to be desired.
Overall:
The Way of the House Husband is an anime that had a lot of potential thanks to its great source material. Unfortunately Netflix fails to capitalize on the rabid excitement from fans and presents a lack luster, almost rushed version of a final product. This anime seems to have been an after thought on Netflix's constant spinning wheel of production and it shows through the lack of animation, length of the season, and almost stiff presentation. This entertaining story deserve so much more attention to detail than what it got and it truly makes the experience as a fan rather disappointing. I would give this a 5/10.
Check out the trailer here:
