My Brother's Husband, Volume 1 by Gengoroh Tagame

I understand that the author tends towards gay manga of a more sexually explicit nature, and even though this book was mostly PG-rated there were also a few (slightly) gratuitous bathing and shower scenes put in there, I assume, so the writer could draw some nudes of male characters whose bodies he admired. The little girl is delightful and reminded me of a kid from a Hayao Miyazaki film. His daughter, on the other hand, embraces Mike’s presence immediately and is innocently baffled by her father’s prejudiced misconceptions.ĭespite it’s tendency to get didactic about the bigotry many gays have to go through, My Brother’s Husband is an endearing slice-of-life that taught me a little bit about social differences in Japanese culture. He accommodates Mike because he feels like it’s the appropriate thing to do, but despite Mike’s tender-hearted and fun-loving nature Yaichi finds himself feeling constantly on guard around him. Yaichi has a lot of resolved baggage concerning his brother’s death and despite the good times they shared he still has a homophobic chip on his shoulder. One day his entire life is upheaved by the arrival of his dead gay brother’s Canadian partner, Mike Flanagan. The main character Yaichi is a single dad who lives with his adorable daughter Kana in Tokyo. Oops! I would call My Brother’s Husband a cozy type of read, and I think it’s a perfect way to temporarily escape from the stress of COVID-19 and social distancing. Naturally, I commemorated that by reading the first twenty or so pages of the story backward while trying to figure out why characters seemed to be doing things in reverse.

Well, this book was kind of a milestone for me, it was the first manga I’ve ever read.

My Brother's Husband, Volume 1 by Gengoroh Tagame