REVIEW: ‘The Ingenuity of the Househusband’ Part 2 Delivers A Pleasant Distraction

The Ingenuity of the Househusband Part 2 is a slice-of-life comedy starring Kenjiro Tsuda streaming on Netflix. Returning for another set of five brief episodes, The Ingenuity of the Househusband delivers more of what made its first installment a breath of fresh air. Part 2 expands upon the moments Tsuda takes viewers through to make it different enough to keep the formula fresh while not disrupting the laid-back chillness of the series.

Where season two manages to shake up the formula from its predecessor is mainly in the style of scenarios The Ingenuity of the Househusband Part 2 presents for Tsuda. Except for the first episode in this batch of stories, each of this season’s stories sees its protagonist tackling multiple things per episode. This decision takes the character through more per story and keeps the energy a little higher while still being a relaxing watch.

Many of the stories in this season also give slightly more narrative to the tales than the first season. For example, rather than Tsuda simply realizing that his door is squeaky and must be fixed, we see him receiving gifts that must be taken care of, getting distracted from his preparations to do voice work on The Way of the Househusband, and, what is certainly my favorite of the batch, deciding he will do nothing one day.

Seeing this individual who is always taking such pride in fixing, tinkering, and improving everything around him try to relax for a day is far more fun than it has any right to be. Perhaps what makes it so enjoyable is how wonderfully familiar it is. After all, we’ve all made that declarative statement, only to break it five minutes later when we remember we wanted to take care of X thing.

The final element that lifts The Ingenuity of the Househusband Part 2 over its predecessor is its final moments. As the series comes to a close, Tsuda takes a moment to talk directly to the audience about his feelings about being a househusband. It is a simple moment that delivers a plain yet eloquent message about doing what is appealing to us.

Just as with last season, the presentation of every episode in this run of the series does a wonderful job of reinforcing the pleasant air of calm serenity. The moments are always bright, and the camera angles that are utilized do a great job of showcasing both the task at hand, as well as the man performing them. It even provides a few sneaky guest appearances from an adorable cat whose presence just seems to harmonize with the tone of the moments it appears in.

So, when all is said and done, The Ingenuity of the Househusband Part 2 provides another roughly 20 minutes of warmth, serenity, and a handful of chuckles. So, if you need something to breathe a bit of light serenity to your day, you won’t need to look farther than this.

The Ingenuity of the Househusband Part 2 is streaming now on Netflix.