FEATURE: My Home Hero and the Courage of Fatherhood
Warning: This article contains spoilers for Episode 11 of My Home Hero.
It is said that being a parent is the most difficult job in the world, and it makes sense, you are responsible for another life for the rest of yours. In the world of anime, we have many examples of wonderful parents and a similar number of terrible parents. There are also plenty of fathers who are absent from their children’s stories — that is not the case with Tetsuo Tosu, the protagonist of the anime My Home Hero.
The anime adaptation of Naoki Yamakawa’s suspense manga with illustrations by Masashi Asaki premiered on April 2, its run through the spring anime season culminates appropriately on Father’s Day. What better time to honor the courage fatherhood requires than by talking about one of the bravest fathers anime and manga have to offer?
An Ordinary Man Capable of Everything
Tetsuo Tosu is an ordinary man. Unlike other anime fathers who have near-superhuman or out-of-this-world abilities, the protagonist of My Home Hero is seemingly the most normal of guys. However, he would go to any lengths to protect his family.
When we first meet him, it’s in his almost pathetic attempt to reconnect with his college student daughter, Reika. As soon as he realizes that the young woman is being mistreated by her boyfriend, Tetsuo does not hesitate to take extreme measures to protect her safety, even at the cost of becoming a murderer.
Being a parent requires sacrifice, from waking up in the middle of the night to tend to your crying baby to breaking your back working to ensure their future. Tetsuo is the kind of father who does not only what is expected of him as a father but is also willing to go the extra mile and sacrifice his soul if necessary to ensure the safety of his family.
Faced with the fact that his daughter will continue to be the target of a criminal organization even after the death of her abusive boyfriend, Tetsuo decides to cover up the crime with the help of his equally brave wife, Kasen. Together they must continue fighting to avoid detection and also destroy the criminals in the process. A task that seems very complicated for a simple salesman fond of mystery novels and a housewife, especially when they are up against ruthless and clever criminals.
Not All Fatherly Love is Healthy
Tetsuo is not the only example of fatherly love My Home Hero offers us. Yoshitatsu Matori, Nobuto’s father, is an expert con man who works for the criminal syndicate at the center of the story. Like our protagonist, Yoshitatsu deeply loves his son, but he has not been the best example or guide for the young man.
Yoshitatsu suffers from the very beginning, not knowing for sure if his son where his son is. When in the penultimate episode of the anime this other father decides to investigate the crime scene for himself, he cannot help but crumble under the realization that he has lost his son for good. Witnessing another father’s suffering, Tetsuo offers to turn himself in to the authorities. But seeing Yoshitatsu will not be satisfied with that, and that his wife and daughter are in danger, once again the protagonist of the story decides to fight to protect them.
While it is difficult to empathize with Yoshitatsu’s methods and his role as Nobuto’s father, it is clear that his love for his son is sincere and that he is willing to do anything for him. In a certain way, Tetsuo and Yoshitatsu are a reflection of the other and two examples of paternal love expressed in two different ways: One seeking to protect, the other to avenge.
My Home Hero’s anime concludes today, though manga readers know that there is more to come and everything gets even more complicated. Tetsuo, Kasen and Reika will have to go past their limits to save their family and the story will show us other examples of parents, although none more dedicated than the humble salesman who leads this show. Tetsuo Tosu is an ordinary father, like any other, but facing extraordinary circumstances, he becomes a hero. Today I can only wish all anime-loving parents have a great day, you are our heroes too.
What other ordinary anime parents are heroes for you? Let me know in the comments below!
Watch My Home Hero on Crunchyroll
Amílcar Trejo Mosquera is a writer for Crunchyroll News. He also writes for O’kuroku Webzine (in spanish, sorry) and you can find him on Twitch, Twitter or Instagram.
