The Way of the Househusband, originally created by mangaka Kousuke Oono originally published in 2018 that was adapted into a live-action series in 2020 and popular anime in 2021. The series was acquired by VIZ Media in 2019, and one of the various results of this relationship isThe Way of the Househusband: The Gangster’s Guide to Housekeeping, a guidebook containing recipes and housekeeping hacks from the series, co-authored by seasoned writer, editor and producer Laurie Ulster; and Victoria Rosenthal, prolific author ofseveral videogame-inspired cookbooks and recipes.
GameRant sat down with the authors of the guide a week before its July 25 release to learn more about the exciting new must-have forThe Way of the Husbandfans, more specifically regarding the project’s origins, creation process, and the authors' feelings about their experience.
The interview has been edited for the sake of brevity and clarity.
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Q: How did The Gangster’s Guide to Housekeeping idea/project come about?
Rosenthal:We can’t say much about how it came up, because I had an editor at VIZ reach out to me because we’d discussed worked on previous projects, asking if I had any interest in any and manga. I listed some of my favourites, and she let me know aboutThe Way of the Househusbandproject coming up. Then she mentioned that it would be an entire housekeeping guide, and I thought that I could do the recipes, but we’re definitely going to need someone for the housekeeping portion. That’s where Laurie came in.
Ulster:So I basically answered someone who was looking for a writer to do the rest, and their prospective writer didn’t have to be super familiar withThe Way of the Househusbandbut had to have an interest in it and have written about household and lifestyle content. I’m someone who understands fandom, and the importance of being true to the IP you’re working in, and I was lucky enough to get the job.
Q: Was Oono-sensei involved in this project at any point? Was there any contact with him over the course of the project?
Rosenthal: I wish we’d had that opportunity, but no. I know that since it had to get approved, the editors who reached out to me definitely interacted with him.
Q: What do you think setsThe Way of the Househusbandapart from other anime/manga titles, or television in general?
Rosenthal: I think the biggest charm of the series is taking a rough-‘n’-tough guy (a yakuza), asking what would happen if he left that life, and really committed to being a househusband. Each chapter being nice little short stories is something that really caught my eye because I could kind of relate to them, but it was a completely different direction to what I’d take it in.
Ulster: I am new to this world of anime and manga, so I don’t have that much background to put it in context with other anime/manga, but what I loved aboutThe Way of the Househusbandwas Tatsu’s voice, because I was trying very hard to get inside his head and see things through his eyes. I loved his sincerity and energy, because he’s 100% sincere in everything. The story’s premise is so much fun and the story of a gangster who has all that energy, drive and perseverance but applying it to the household stuff we all have to deal with, was immensely appealing and a lot of fun to “play pretend” with.
Q: What kind of difficulties (if any) did you face while compiling and puttingThe Gangster’s Guide to Housekeepingtogether?
Rosenthal: For me, there was a much smaller section written in voice, like flavour text, so it wasn’t too difficult to get Tatsu’s voice because he’s such a strong character in the manga, so it just felt natural. There definitely were some recipes that required testing – making udon from scratch was a first-time experience, and that took more effort than figuring out the writing style for Tatsu.
Ulster: Same for me, once I got into his head, I started seeing things that way. For me, the hardest part was the tremendous amount of research for the things I hadn’t encountered before that were in the manga that I wanted to include tips about. I’d never heard of a laundry bar, and I know that there are people in America who use them; they’re certainly used in other countries, but that was new. It was really about trying to do very diligent research to apply what I know from my world, and make it fit into this very different worldview.
Q: It’s great hearing you talk about getting into Tatsu’s voice because he’s a strong character, but he’s also really sweet. With that in mind, is the primacy of vegan/vegetarian recipes in The Gangster’s Guide to Housekeeping something that you discussed and agreed upon?
Rosenthal: The way we worked it was actually very separate. I handled the recipes and there wasn’t much interaction between us. We had an editor in between ensuring that the voice was similar and that things were sounding the same. There are definitely meat and fish recipes included, all of them are picked from what was inThe Way of the Househusbandmanga, based on which recipes stood out. There was a list, and we had to pick which ones we wanted to include as there was a limit to how many recipes we were to include in this book.
Ulster: Victoria did 100% of the recipes and food content, that was all her!
Q: The excerpt of The Gangster’s Guide to Housekeeping we saw mentioned something about being “a failure of a househusband” if one cannot accommodate the needs of their guests. It feels so much like something Tatsu would say, so the inclusion of vegan and vegetarian recipes is exciting.
Rosenthal: That is something I live by with all my recipe writing. I think having a recipe is nice, it’s there – but you need to accommodate those you are going to feed, or even for yourself. If there is a recipe that doesn’t fit your dietary restrictions, you can adjust – it might require research and some repeat testing, but recipes are a backbone. You’re allowed to change them and adjust them for your needs.
Q: Victoria, given the growth of cooking-centric anime/manga titles, and the fact that you’ve done various cookbooks adapting recipes from videogames, do you think this uptick in cooking anime titles could influence the kind of work you want to do going forward, or the kinds of recipes you’d like to explore?
Rosenthal: I know for sure my dream title in the anime world would beDragon Ball. There’s so much food in that series, and that’s always been something I’ve wanted to do. I find that people can be intimidated by the kitchen, but attaching these iconic franchises that they love can give them that first step to be like, “I want to try that food because the characters that I connect to are making it. Let me see if I can do it”. I think it’s a nice baby step for somebody to finally start cooking.
Q: Laurie, you did mention that you’re relatively new to the world of anime and manga, but writing for TV is your favourite thing. Do you think The Way of the Househusband: Gangster’s Guide to Housekeeping has opened you up to exploring further options in this realm [of anime/manga]?
Ulster: Yeah, I love exploring new things. My experience as a writer has often been that I have been hired to write about things that I start off with minimal knowledge, but as I write, I become a fan of that thing. It’s happened to me with TV shows, actors and in this case, Tatsu’s story. I become a fan through the research and exploration, and then I stay with it. There are so many shows I never would’ve learned to love had I not been hired to write about them. It’s funny that it happens that way because it used to always be in reverse – I love something, I’m passionate, and then I end up writing about it. It’s really exciting when it happens the other way too.
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The Way of the Househusband: Gangster’s Guide to Housekeepingreleases July 25.
